Portillo's vs Big Ed's BBQ
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Portillo's
Discover and order iconic Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and other signature dishes. Customize your meals, save favorites, and enjoy convenient pickup or delivery options. Plus, get a free slice of chocolate cake on your birthday.
- Order signature Chicago-style dishes
- Customize orders precisely
- Save favorite orders and locations
- Track delivery in real-time
- Multiple pickup options
- Free birthday cake reward
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Portillo’s We're known for our famous Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chopped salad, cheese fries, homemade chocolate cake, and chocolate cake shake. Our Italian beef is slow-roasted for four hours, thinly sliced, and served on freshly baked French bread. Then, it's dipped in hot gravy made with our homemade blend of seasonings that we've been perfecting for 50 years. Haven't tried Portillo's yet? Order an Italian beef, dipped with sweet or hot peppers (add mozzarella if you're feeling cheesy), or a Chicago-style hot dog "dragged through the garden" and you'll see what all the hype is about. Enjoy these features of the Portillo’s app: Free Cake on Your Birthday: Join Portillo’s Perks and get a free slice of our famous Chocolate Cake on your birthday, half birthday, and sign up anniversary! Delivery: Order delivery from your nearby Portillo’s. Track your order. Receive status updates about your order in real time. Easy Ways to Pick Up: There are three easy ways: Inside the Restaurant, Delivery, or Curbside pickup at participating locations. Save your Favorites: Easily save your favorite order and location so you can order quickly and come back again and again. Favorite Portillo’s locations that you order from the most. Customize your Order: Want your Italian beef sandwich dry, cut in half, with hot peppers and mozzarella cheese and gravy on the side? No problem! Simply customize your Portillo’s favorites to get exactly what you want.
Big Ed's BBQ
Easily order your favorite meals with a few taps. Browse the menu, customize dishes, and pay securely. Receive notifications when your order is ready.
- Browse and customize menu items
- Secure payment system
- Save delivery addresses and payment methods
- Schedule orders up to seven days in advance
- Restaurant location and contact info
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Your ideal meal is just a few taps away. Download the Big Ed's BBQ app free for iPhone today. With the Big Ed's BBQ mobile app, ordering food has never been easier. Whether you're looking for a quick snack or a full meal, we've got you covered. Just browse our easy-to-use menu, customize it how you'd like, place your order using our secure payment system, and sit back! A push notification will alert you when your order will be ready. With the Big Ed's BBQ app, you can: - Browse our menu for your favorite dishes and customize them how you'd like - Save your delivery addresses and payment methods securely to check out in just a few taps - Place future food orders up to seven days in advance - Get restaurant location, hours, and contact information
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Big Ed's BBQ at 4.2 against Portillo's's 1.9. Big Ed's BBQ also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 26.0). Portillo's's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 14 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Big Ed's BBQ holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Portillo's has 1K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Portillo's ships an update every 2 months, Big Ed's BBQ every 14 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Portillo's | Big Ed's BBQ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (1K ratings) | 4.2 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 8.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 14 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | #154 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 89 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Portillo's Hot Dogs, LLC | ChowNow |
Customer experience
Portillo's
Big Ed's BBQ
Bugs and requests
Portillo's
Reported bugs
5 issues- App only works in North America
- Can't create an account
- Endless login loop
- Ordering process not working
- Rewards not syncing properly
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to customize orders
- Separate pickup line for online orders
- Integration with Apple Pay
- Ability to check rewards balance
- More menu options in the app
Big Ed's BBQ
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Portillo's
No in-app purchases
Big Ed's BBQ
No in-app purchases
