Comparison

Cafe Rio vs El Zarape

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cafe Rio

Earn and redeem rewards for your purchases at a popular restaurant chain. Customize your loyalty program and enjoy exclusive offers. Order ahead for convenient pick-up or curbside service.

Highlights
  • Customizable rewards program
  • Earn points for purchases
  • Mobile ordering for pick-up/curbside
  • Order status tracking
  • Location finder with directions
  • Exclusive app offers
Read full description

Things are about to get very tasty! Welcome to the perks of Cafe Rio loyalty. Our My Rio Rewards™ program is as mild or as spicy as you are. How? It’s because we don’t pre-decide your reward. You get to choose! For every $1 spent on food and beverages, you earn 1 point. When you reach 100 points, we serve you a $10 app credit. That app credit can be used toward ANY Cafe Rio food or beverage item. And, app credits do not expire. When it comes to mild or spicy, we’re clearly spicy because this Rewards program is hot! In addition to rewards, the Cafe Rio app gives you fast and easy access to mobile ordering, order status tracking, special offers, location information and more. App Features: • Ordering: Easily reorder your favorites from your Recent & Favorite Orders or place a new order. Choose pick-up or curbside (where available). • Order Ready Service: On the main rewards page, you’ll see when your order is ready. Enable location services and push notifications and we’ll share progress with you. • Location Finder: Easily find Cafe Rio locations with turn-by-turn directions or call us with “one touch” dialing. • Profile: Save your profile information for faster checkout. • Rewards and Exclusive Offers: Enjoy earning free food and receiving special offers! Only available through our mobile app for My Rio Rewards members. What’s New: We have an app update! Why? Because fresh is delicious (and you deserve it). • We have a new look & feel. Explore the menu bar in the upper left corner of the app. • Set up your profile for faster ordering. • Choose curbside delivery (where available). • See your order status from the main Rewards page. • For kiosk locations, easily access the EARN QR Code from the menu to log in to your My Rio Rewards account. • Apple Pay is available to pay your orders.

About

El Zarape

Discover authentic Mexican flavors with a wide selection of tacos, burritos, and tortas. Order your favorite dishes for pickup or delivery with ease through the app.

Highlights
  • Authentic Mexican cuisine
  • Tacos, burritos, tortas
  • Breakfast and seafood options
  • Order ahead for pickup
  • Delivery available
  • Full menu browsing
Features
Read full description

Welcome to El Zarape – Authentic Mexican Flavor in the Heart of Las Vegas! From sizzling street tacos to overstuffed burritos and legendary tortas gigantes, El Zarape brings the bold, rich traditions of Mexican cuisine straight to your table. Now ordering is easier than ever with our app – your shortcut to the best Mexican food in Las Vegas. A Menu Worth Exploring: Dive into our mouth-watering lineup of tacos, burritos, combo plates, fresh seafood dishes, and hearty traditional breakfast options. Whether you're fueling up in the morning or craving a late-night burrito, El Zarape has something for every appetite. Tortas Gigantes – A Las Vegas Legend: Our towering tortas gigantes are the stuff of legend. Packed with savory meats, fresh toppings, and bold flavors, one bite and you'll understand why locals keep coming back. Order Ahead, Skip the Wait: Browse our full menu, customize your order, and choose pickup or delivery – all from the palm of your hand. Fast, simple, and always delicious. Fresh Seafood & Traditional Breakfast: From zesty seafood plates to classic Mexican breakfast favorites, our menu celebrates authentic flavors made with care and quality ingredients every single day. Download the El Zarape app today and bring the taste of authentic Mexican cuisine to wherever you are in Las Vegas!

Screenshots

Cafe Rio3 screens
El Zarape4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: El Zarape at 5.0 against Cafe Rio's 4.4. El Zarape also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Cafe Rio's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

El Zarape holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cafe Rio has 15K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cafe Rio ships an update fortnightly, El Zarape every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cafe Rio versus El Zarape: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCafe RioEl Zarape
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (15K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews6.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings15K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB49 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCafe Rio, Inc.Hunter Araujo

Customer experience

Cafe Rio

All ratings14,705 ratings
Positive86.3%
Neutral3.8%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive6.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative87.8%

El Zarape

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Cafe Rio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and loses order progress
  • Issues with login and password reset
  • Incorrect orders and missing items
  • Rewards and gift card balances not updating properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve app stability and user experience
  • Allow editing of orders in the app
  • Integrate loyalty program better with app
  • Provide more transparency on order status

El Zarape

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Cafe Rio

No in-app purchases

None

El Zarape

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cafe Rio free?
Cafe Rio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is El Zarape free?
El Zarape is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cafe Rio or El Zarape?
El Zarape is rated higher. Cafe Rio averages 4.4 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while El Zarape averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Cafe Rio or El Zarape have ads?
Neither Cafe Rio nor El Zarape shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cafe Rio or El Zarape?
Cafe Rio ships an update fortnightly, and El Zarape every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cafe Rio was updated on November 10, 2026 and El Zarape on October 25, 2026.

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