Noon Minutes vs talabat mart: Comparing Grocery Prices & Delivery Times in Dubai
The answer changes by neighbourhood, by product and by hour. Rather than guess, here's how to measure it yourself with two API calls per area.
Noon Minutes and talabat mart are the two dark-store grocery services most Dubai residents have on their phone. Both promise delivery in minutes; neither is cheapest on everything. Basket price depends on which products you buy, and delivery time depends on how far you are from the nearest store and how busy it is. That makes this a question for live data, not a one-off blog verdict.
Info
This post shows the method and the code. We deliberately don't publish a fixed winner: prices and ETAs move during the day. Run the script for your own areas and products to get current numbers.
What to compare
| Signal | Endpoint | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf price (AED) | `/v1/groupsearch` | `offer_price`, `mrp`, `currency` |
| Discount depth | `/v1/groupsearch` | `(mrp - offer_price) / mrp` |
| Availability | `/v1/groupsearch` | `available` |
| Delivery time | `/v1/groupeta` | `eta` |
| Store open / serving | `/v1/groupeta` | `open` |
Search both apps at once
`/v1/groupsearch` runs one query on several platforms and groups the results by platform. Credits equal the number of platforms, so a two-platform search costs 2.
curl -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key" \
"https://api.quickcommerceapi.com/v1/groupsearch?q=eggs&lat=25.0805&lon=55.1403&platforms=NoonMinutes,TalabatMart"{
"status": "success",
"data": {
"query": "eggs",
"platforms": ["NoonMinutes", "TalabatMart"],
"credit_cost": 2,
"results": {
"NoonMinutes": [
{ "id": "...", "name": "...", "offer_price": 0, "mrp": 0,
"currency": "AED", "available": true, "quantity": "..." }
],
"TalabatMart": [
{ "id": "...", "name": "...", "offer_price": 0, "mrp": 0,
"currency": "AED", "available": true, "quantity": "..." }
]
}
}
}Delivery times for both
curl -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key" \
"https://api.quickcommerceapi.com/v1/groupeta?lat=25.0805&lon=55.1403&platforms=NoonMinutes,TalabatMart"{
"status": "success",
"data": {
"platforms": ["NoonMinutes", "TalabatMart"],
"credit_cost": 2,
"results": [
{ "platform": "NoonMinutes", "eta": "...", "open": true },
{ "platform": "TalabatMart", "eta": "...", "open": true }
]
}
}Compare a basket across neighbourhoods
The script below searches a small basket in four areas, takes the cheapest available match per product on each platform, sums the basket in AED and adds the delivery ETA. Taking the cheapest match is a simple heuristic; for a strict comparison, match on brand and pack size (`quantity`) too.
import os, re, requests
API = "https://api.quickcommerceapi.com/v1"
HEADERS = {"X-API-Key": os.environ["QC_API_KEY"]}
PLATFORMS = "NoonMinutes,TalabatMart"
BASKET = ["full fat milk 1l", "eggs 30", "white bread", "bananas", "basmati rice 5kg"]
AREAS = {
"Downtown Dubai": (25.1972, 55.2744),
"Dubai Marina": (25.0805, 55.1403),
"Deira": (25.2711, 55.3075),
"JVC": (25.0590, 55.2090),
}
def get(path, **params):
r = requests.get(f"{API}/{path}", headers=HEADERS, params=params, timeout=60)
r.raise_for_status()
return r.json()["data"]
def minutes(eta):
m = re.search(r"\d+", eta or "")
return int(m.group()) if m else None
for area, (lat, lon) in AREAS.items():
totals = {"NoonMinutes": 0.0, "TalabatMart": 0.0}
missing = {"NoonMinutes": 0, "TalabatMart": 0}
for q in BASKET:
res = get("groupsearch", q=q, lat=lat, lon=lon, platforms=PLATFORMS)["results"]
for platform in totals:
prices = [p["offer_price"] for p in res.get(platform, [])
if p.get("available") and p.get("offer_price")]
if prices:
totals[platform] += min(prices)
else:
missing[platform] += 1
etas = {e["platform"]: e for e in get("groupeta", lat=lat, lon=lon, platforms=PLATFORMS)["results"]}
print(f"\n{area}")
for platform, total in totals.items():
e = etas.get(platform, {})
eta = minutes(e.get("eta")) if e.get("open") else None
print(f" {platform:<12} AED {total:7.2f} missing {missing[platform]} "
f"ETA {f'{eta} min' if eta else 'unavailable'}")Cost per run: each basket item is a 2-credit group search, plus 2 credits for ETA, per area. Five items across four areas is (5 × 2 + 2) × 4 = 48 credits.
Reading the results
Count missing items, not just totals
A lower basket total with two items missing isn't cheaper. Report the number of matched products next to the price.
Compare like-for-like packs
A 6-egg pack and a 30-egg tray are both "eggs". Normalise to price per unit using `quantity` when you publish numbers.
Sample several times a day
ETAs stretch at dinner time and on weekends. Run the script on a schedule and compare medians, not a single reading.
Treat `open: false` as unavailable
An ETA from a closed store is meaningless; exclude it rather than showing a time.
Tip
Want this as a chart? The delivery ETA dashboard tutorial builds the same kind of view for Indian platforms; point it at `NoonMinutes,TalabatMart` and a Dubai location and it works unchanged.
Try it now
In the API Playground, choose `groupsearch` or `groupeta`, select the Downtown Dubai or Dubai Marina preset, and set platforms to `NoonMinutes,TalabatMart`. New accounts get 100 free credits, enough to run the basket script for a couple of areas.
Frequently asked questions
Is Noon Minutes or talabat mart cheaper in Dubai?
It depends on the products and the area, and it changes during the day. Compare your own basket with /v1/groupsearch using a Dubai latitude and longitude to get a current answer.
Which delivers faster, Noon Minutes or talabat mart?
Delivery time depends on distance to the nearest dark store and how busy it is. /v1/groupeta returns the live ETA and open status for both at any UAE location.
How many credits does a Noon Minutes vs talabat mart comparison cost?
Group search and group ETA charge one credit per platform, so each product search across both apps costs 2 credits and each ETA check costs 2 credits.
Do I need a pincode for UAE platforms?
No. The UAE platforms use latitude and longitude only.