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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Donatos Pizza vs Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery

Donatos Pizza 4.7★ · Free to download 20
Winner Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery 4.9★ · Free to download 75

Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery is the clear winner due to its significantly more reliable app experience and better handling of rewards and discounts, despite some reported issues.

Full reviews: Donatos Pizza · Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery

Donatos Pizza faces severe and widespread app functionality issues, with users frequently unable to log in, place orders, or redeem rewards. In contrast, Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery, while not without its own glitches, generally offers a more stable ordering experience, with many users praising its ease of use and consistent service.

Head to head

App Functionality & Reliability edge: Papa Johns Pizza & DeliveryR1R4R7R10
Donatos Pizza Donatos Pizza's app is plagued with critical issues, with numerous users reporting it is glitchy, crashes, won't open, or prevents them from completing orders R1R4R10R16. Common problems include login failures, inability to add items to the cart, payment processing errors, and address validation issues R7. Some users indicate these problems have persisted for years and worsen with updates .
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery's app is generally more functional, with users finding it easy to use for ordering . However, it does have its own set of bugs, including occasional crashes , login difficulties , and issues with saving delivery instructions . Some users also report the app being slow .
Rewards & Discounts edge: Papa Johns Pizza & DeliveryR4R6R13R17
Donatos Pizza Many Donatos Pizza users report significant problems with the rewards system, stating that points don't load, are lost, or cannot be redeemed R4R6R13R17. Special deals and coupons often do not work within the app, leading to frustration R13.
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery also has issues with its rewards program, with users frequently reporting 'Papa Dough' failing to load or displaying errors . Additionally, some users experience problems with promo codes and discounts not applying correctly or being honored by specific stores . Gift card issues are also noted .
Ordering Experience & Features edge: Papa Johns Pizza & DeliveryR1R7R8R10
Donatos Pizza Donatos Pizza users struggle with basic ordering functions, such as adding items, validating addresses, and processing payments R1R7R10. The app lacks features like delivery tracking and the ability to drop a pin for delivery . Some report issues with the AI phone system being awful R8.
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery generally provides a smooth ordering process . However, some users find the customization options buggy, like removing toppings on a vegetarian pizza , or the inability to specify half-sauce options . There are requests for features like ordering from past history or defaulting to the last payment method . The pizza tracker is also reported to not always work . Some users dislike being prompted to tip for carry-out or being forced to build their own pizza .
Customer Service & Store Experience edge: Papa Johns Pizza & DeliveryR6R9R12R16
Donatos Pizza Donatos Pizza users express frustration with app issues leading to lost business and having to call or visit stores to order R6R16. Employees themselves reportedly complain about the online experience R12. One review mentioned a smoking employee at a drive-thru, impacting the store experience R9.
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery receives praise for good service, quick orders, and friendly staff at locations . However, there are reports of cancelled orders without notice , rude staff, and issues with product availability . Some delivery issues are noted where orders are sent to incorrect stores .
Price & Value edge: Papa Johns Pizza & DeliveryR1R13R81R97
Donatos Pizza Donatos Pizza users mention that app glitches prevent them from using special deals, making the food unaffordable at times R13. One user noted a different price on a boyfriend's app for the same order R1.
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery is noted for offering good deals and pairings R97. However, some users feel prices have become expensive, especially with added fees, even when using deals R81. There are also complaints about discounts not being honored, leading to paying full price .
Pick Donatos Pizza if

You prioritize Donatos Pizza's food quality above all else and are willing to tolerate significant app issues, potentially resorting to phone orders or in-store visits R4.

Pick Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery if

You want a generally reliable pizza ordering app with a good selection of deals and consistently fresh pizza, even if you might encounter occasional glitches with rewards or specific features R97.

Evidence note: The evidence for Donatos Pizza is heavily skewed towards negative app experiences, with very few positive comments about the app itself, despite its high lifetime rating. Many positive reviews for Donatos refer to the food, not the app. Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery has a larger volume of reviews, showing a mix of positive experiences with the app and food, alongside specific complaints about functionality and pricing.

Frequently asked

Which app is more reliable for placing orders?
Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery is significantly more reliable for placing orders, as Donatos Pizza users frequently report critical errors that prevent them from completing purchases, logging in, or even opening the app R1R10R16R27.
Do the apps handle rewards and discounts well?
Neither app handles rewards and discounts perfectly, but Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery has fewer critical issues, while Donatos Pizza users consistently report that rewards never load, points are lost, or deals don't apply (R4, R13, R20, R31, , for Donatos; , , , , for Papa Johns).
Are there issues with logging into these apps?
Yes, both apps have reported issues with logging in, but Donatos Pizza users experience more severe and frequent problems, often being unable to log in with existing accounts, create new ones, or reset passwords (R10, R23, R25, R30, , , , for Donatos; , , , for Papa Johns).

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Donatos Pizza 2/5 · US Terrible: App is extremely glitchy. At first it wouldn’t accept my address that I had previously saved. Now it won’t even allow me to add pizzas to the order. The final straw is I gave up and my bf got a completely different price on his app.
  2. [R4] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Seemingly broken: Technical errors every time I try to use the app. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of rewards points because of this, which is the whole point of having this app. Great food, but the app never works properly for me.
  3. [R7] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US I can almost never complete my order due to Invalid Token Error: This app is so frustrating. I always log in and order everything with no problem. Then when I go to submit the payment, I get an error message.
  4. [R10] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Flat out didn’t work: Can’t log on with existing account information. Created New account but hitting the place order button does nothing, no error messages, no confirmation messages. Just no change in the screen. Over all app is unresponsive and the flow does not make sense.
  5. [R6] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US App not working: I keep getting and an internal server error when attempting to pay! Have had to call or go to the store to order. Then I don’t get my points for the purchase. Been going on for over a week now!
  6. [R13] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US I love donatos pizza I just wish the app was better: Anytime I order from your app the special deals never work and it upsets me because I love you guys and when the app glitches I can’t afford to buy it. So please fix the app it genuinely would mean the world to me to see your app and services flourish to more people
  7. [R17] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US App took my points for rewards: For the most part it’s easy to navigate the app but it took around 150 points from me when I didn’t spend the points.
  8. [R8] Donatos Pizza 4/5 · US Their AI phone system is awful: It took a needlessly long amount of time to order rather than simply talking to a human.
  9. [R9] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US Smoking employee: Went to Donatos in Whitehall Ohio on Hamilton rd. Woman smoking in drive thru window till I pulled all the way up. Least my 2 salads didn’t taste like smoke. But major turn off for me because been buying there salads 2 everyday for about 5 yrs never seen this at any other locations
  10. [R12] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US JANE, FIX THIS APP!!!!!: The app and online ordering is TERRIBLE!! Even the employees at multiple locations complain about the online experience. And bore that you have to call and get a third party you’re almost forced to use the online version and the developer is TERRIBLE!!! Please, please, please….., please someone at Donatos get this taken care of!!
  11. [R16] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Can't even open it now: The app is terrible!!!!! I've struggled with it over the last year or more. Now it won't even open. Several times I was so frustrated that we didn't even order from them and ate elsewhere! Lost my business.
  12. [R81] Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery 3/5 · US When did this get so expensive: $20 for a medium pepperoni and brownies(using papa deals $6.99 per and $3 papa cash) once they are done with all the random fees. Normally I’d get chicken and onion but they are charging an extra $2 for chicken. If this wasn’t a pregnancy craving I would have just gotten a pizza door dashed from a good pizza from a wood fire place for that price.
  13. [R97] Papa Johns Pizza & Delivery 5/5 · US 6.99 pairings: A game changer. Thank you for great pizza at a great price when the world isn’t so great. I’m even more of a loyal customer now 😋🫶✨
  14. [R27] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Can’t order from the app: I can never order from the app. It always says invalid token. I thought my phone was old and thought that was the reason. I got a new phone and I still cant order from the app.
  15. [R20] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Rewards never load: This app is absolute garbage. Rewards will never load, buttons sometimes show up, can’t navigate back from some menus. Just trash.
  16. [R31] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Rewards Never Work: I order from here almost once a week. Why doesn’t the rewards work? Thinking about switching because of this.
  17. [R23] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US Logging in through Apple Doesn’t work: The app is fine, if only the login feature worked. When logging in with apple, nothing happens. It will act like you are logging in and then when it returns to the account screen, it asks you to login in again and it repeats
  18. [R25] Donatos Pizza 3/5 · US Please fix app: It won’t let me log in so I suppose I’m not working toward rewards. At first I was encouraged because the app asked me to update before ordering. But it totally ignores my login and displays an error message, ‘Reference Error: Can’t find variable: dataLayer. ‘ I use Safari. Is that an issue?
  19. [R30] Donatos Pizza 1/5 · US Not usable: Impressively bad app currently. Asks you to turn on facial rec, once you do that you’re still not logged in. You try to login and it reverts you to the front page with no chance to click sign in. You go guest route, fill your cart and get ‘invalid token’ again. TOUGH

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store