Inspired Rewards vs Hey Chef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Inspired Rewards
Skip the wait at restaurants by joining waitlists remotely and receiving real-time updates. Order food ahead for dine-in or takeout, and even request refills or pay your bill directly through the app.
- Remote waitlist joining
- Real-time waitlist updates
- Order ahead for dine-in
- Order ahead for takeout
- In-restaurant ordering
- Mobile payment
Read full descriptionHide full description
Waiting sucks. So, our app users don’t wait. Use it to get on the WAITLIST without having to be at the restaurant. You’ll receive updates as you move up the list and you can time your arrival for when your table’s ready. ORDERING Order ahead – your table will be waiting for you and your food won’t be far behind. Need a refill of something – order it via the app when you’re seated in the restaurant. Order takeout – it will be waiting for you when you arrive. PAYMENT No need for your check or your server, use the app to pay and go.
Hey Chef
Easily order food ahead for pickup or delivery, customize your meals, and access exclusive deals. The app supports various payment methods and allows for order feedback.
- Order ahead for pickup
- Skip the line
- Exclusive offers
- Loyalty programs
- Customize orders
- Delivery options
- Multiple payment options
Read full descriptionHide full description
With the Hey Chef mobile app you can: • Order ahead and skip the line • Benefit from exclusive offers and loyalty programs • Customize your order • Delivery options • Provide feedback • Pay with Google and Apple pay NOTE: Application features can vary by location.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Inspired Rewards at 5.0 against Hey Chef's 4.3. Hey Chef's advantage is review sentiment (53% vs 25%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Inspired Rewards holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of Inspired Rewards's written reviews are positive against 53% of Hey Chef's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Inspired Rewards ships an update every 2 months, Hey Chef every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Inspired Rewards | Hey Chef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.3 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 24.6% of reviews | 53.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 126 MB | 148 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | SIR Corp. | Aramark Canada Ltd. |
Customer experience
Inspired Rewards
Hey Chef
User reviews
Inspired Rewards
From 2 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 💡 Order refills in app
- 🚀 Fast and easy online ordering
- 💡 See visit count for discounts
- 💡 View promos on app
Room to improve
- 🐛 App never works
- 🐛 App won't open
- 🐛 Cannot log in
- 🐛 Rewards/offers not working
- 🐛 Issues with gift cards
Hey Chef
From 7 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient ordering
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 👍 Convenient for avoiding queues
- 👍 Good for ordering ahead
- 👍 User-friendly and fast
Room to improve
- 🐛 Does not send access code
- 🐛 No security code
- 🐛 Pointless app for certain uses
- 🐛 No option to cancel orders
- 🐛 Unclear order scheduling
Bugs and requests
Inspired Rewards
Reported bugs
30 issues- App does not open
- Cannot log in
- Rewards not applying
- Offers expiring
- Trivia not working
Show 25 moreShow fewer
- Points not given for games
- Cannot log in via app (but can via browser)
- Gift card number invalid
- Delivery address not found
- Cannot retrieve coupon
- App crashes
- Keyboard issues
- Double charging
- Payment not working
- Mobile number rejected during signup
- Verification code not delivered
- Errors adding credit card
- Item no longer available at payment page
- App not collecting points
- Error on create password screen
- Cannot reset password
- User unfriendly errors
- App is outdated
- App rejects email address
- Paid at table and double charged
- Math error with gift card usage
- Special instructions character limit too small
- Cannot use email instead of mobile phone
- Cannot pay at restaurant
- App not working after first visit
Requested features
21 requests- Fix app bugs
- Allow login through browser
- Update map for delivery
- Allow multiple users per table
- Allow bill splitting per user
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Allow meal modifications
- Improve gift card functionality
- Fix math for gift card usage
- Allow email instead of mobile for signup
- Allow payment at restaurant
- Increase character limit for special instructions
- Provide timeline for 'coming soon' features
- Allow users to opt out of emails/texts during signup
- Improve customer support response time
- De-clutter landing page
- Show full bill amount before discount
- Train staff on app usage
- Allow users to change basic account info (phone, birthday)
- Fix receipt item name abbreviations
- Show discounts explicitly
- Make app more user-friendly
Hey Chef
Reported bugs
11 issues- Does not send access code
- Does not send security code
- Does not send pin to log in
- Stopped working after recent update
- Became very glitchy after recent update
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Order placed for closed restaurant
- Contact us button doesn’t work
- Glitches out when adding student card
- Won’t accept any payment method
- App must be restarted multiple times to see menu
- Technical difficulties message on iPhone
Requested features
5 requests- Add instructions for code input
- Add “order is ready” feature
- Better location services to find cafes
- More customization options for drinks (e.g., Starbucks)
- Allow users to schedule orders with clear indication of preparation time
In-app purchases
Inspired Rewards
No in-app purchases
Hey Chef
No in-app purchases
