How our ranking works

As of: 2 September 2026

way.food sorts search results and overviews by fixed main parameters. Here we explain what they are, how much each one weighs and what does not influence the ranking. The full version is Annex 1 to our provider terms.

Search results

The following main parameters are listed in descending importance: what sits higher up weighs more than everything below it. A lower-ranked parameter cannot make up for a higher-ranked one. No other factors play a role in the ordering.

1. Fit. Providers with a concretely bookable package that matches your guest count and budget always come before providers who could only make you an individual offer. Concretely bookable means: guest count, budget range and the essential features match without any negotiation. This parameter takes precedence over all others. A higher subscription, a better score or better reviews never overtake a matching, bookable offer.
2. Subscription tier. Premium Plus comes before Premium, Premium before Basic, Basic before Free. The subscription is a paid service and influences placement more than all following parameters combined. Within the same fit group a provider on a higher tier always comes before a provider on a lower tier, so a Free provider does not move ahead of a Basic provider through better reviews. Providers without a paid subscription are fully listed and bookable. The paid tiers buy the placement within the group, not the listing and not precedence over a matching offer. If a provider is on a free trial, we place them like the respective tier.
3. Match with optional search filters, such as the preparation method. Matching providers move up, but only within a subscription tier. A filter never excludes anyone and changes neither the order of the tiers nor the precedence of fit.
4. Internal quality and reliability score. Every provider starts neutral and the score moves within a fixed range. It rises through successfully completed and confirmed bookings, good published reviews and quick replies to enquiries. It falls through no replies, provider cancellations, very poor reviews, rule violations after a warning and declined requests, where the reason for declining is weighted differently. A plausible decline because the venue is outside the service area has no negative effect. We may correct the score in individual cases, for instance to fix errors. Every correction is logged, cannot be bought and does not change the order of the subscription tiers.
5. Average of published customer reviews. What counts is the average star rating, not the number of reviews. A better average helps within the order that points 1 to 4 have already set.
6. Deposit rate. The final tie-breaker: it only applies when providers are level on all points above. Then a lower deposit rate sits slightly higher. In practice it hardly matters.

Overviews without a search

The home page, the map and provider lists show providers without a specific search. There we group by subscription tier, Premium Plus before Premium before Basic before Free, and shuffle randomly within a group. Quality, reviews or behaviour play no role within these groups. City pages sort by subscription tier and then by distance. For “similar providers” we first separate providers with a paid subscription from Free providers and then consider category, country, distance and the specific tier.

Concierge matching

When we match an enquiry personally, the only algorithmic parameter is the distance to the venue. A member of staff makes the selection, not the algorithm. The subscription tier may be shown to that person but does not sort there.

What does not influence the ranking

• The only paid influence is the subscription tier. There is no paid single placement, no “featured” or “sponsored” programme and no editorial preference. Nobody can buy a specific position or have one fixed manually.
• Click counts, profile views, conversion rates, the number of reviews and the price level are not ranking factors in the search results.
• In the search results, distance only decides whether a provider is eligible for your venue at all, not the order of the providers who are eligible.
• There are no affiliate or referral programmes that improve the ranking. We do not favour providers affiliated with us.

Why this order

What you can actually book comes first: bookability and fit. Then comes the subscription placement, through which we finance the platform and which we disclose transparently here; it deliberately only works between offers that are comparable after the fit check. Only then do quality and reliability from real booking activity decide, followed by the review average and, at the very end, the deposit rate.

How you influence the results

Your guest count, your budget and the optional search filters determine which offers count as a match. Providers improve their position through concretely bookable, matching offers, through the choice of their subscription tier and through reliable handling, quick replies and good service.