Steak 'n Shake

Review by eFreeware

If Steak 'n Shake is already part of your routine, the official app is the most direct way to skip the ordering line. It handles the whole transaction: find a location, pick items from the menu, choose pickup or delivery, pay, and collect points while you are at it. For anyone who eats there often enough to care about rewards, that combination is the main draw.

The app is free to download, carries no ads and offers no in-app purchases, so there is no upsell layer between you and a Steakburger. The developer, Steak 'n Shake Enterprises, keeps the focus on ordering and the rewards program rather than on extras. What follows is a look at who it fits, how the ordering and rewards sides work, what it costs, and how it compares with the alternatives.

Built for regulars, not one-time visitors

This app makes the most sense for people who order from Steak 'n Shake with some frequency. The rewards program rewards repeat visits: members earn a point for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases, and twenty points convert into a $2 reward. Someone who drops in once a year will not see much come back from that, while a household that orders every couple of weeks will accumulate rewards steadily.

It also suits anyone who would rather not stand at the counter working out a customized order. The app lets you put together an order the way you like it, choosing sides, drinks and toppings, then send it ahead for pickup or delivery. If your usual order is complicated, having it saved and repeatable is the practical benefit.

Delivery is one route the app supports, so it works for people who would rather eat at home than drive over. Pickup, on the other hand, is for those passing near a location anyway. Both options are handled in the same flow, which keeps the choice simple at checkout.

Finding a location and building an order

The first job is finding a restaurant near you. The app locates nearby Steak 'n Shake locations, and from there you browse the full menu, which covers Steakburgers, shakes made in house, fries fried in 100% beef tallow and the rest of the lineup. Browsing before you commit is useful if you want to compare a few items or check what is available.

Customization is where the app earns its keep for picky eaters. You choose the toppings, sides and drinks that go with your meal, so the order arrives the way you want it rather than as a fixed combo. That level of control is the difference between ordering ahead and simply calling in a standard item.

Reordering is the shortcut for people who know what they like. The app lets you repeat a favorite or something you recently enjoyed, which cuts the whole process down to a couple of taps. For a weekday lunch or a standing weekend order, that is the feature most likely to be used.

Rewards, points and offers in one place

Each dollar spent earns a point, and 20 points redeem for $2. The app tracks your points and available rewards, so you can see where you stand without keeping a receipt or asking at the counter. Exclusive offers also appear in the app for members.

The math is straightforward enough to plan around: twenty dollars in qualifying spending returns two dollars. That is a modest return, and it only applies to purchases that qualify, so it is best treated as a small bonus on top of the convenience of ordering ahead rather than as a reason to visit more often.

Because points, rewards and offers all live in the same place as the menu, there is no separate loyalty card or account juggling involved in the ordering flow. Members can check their balance and then place an order in the same session.

Paying without re-entering card details

Checkout is set up to be quick on repeat orders. You can store the ways you pay, such as credit cards and gift cards, so the details do not need to be typed in every time. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also accepted, which covers people who prefer not to store a card in the app at all.

Gift card support is a small but handy detail. If you have a Steak 'n Shake gift card sitting unused, the app gives you a way to spend it on an order without carrying the physical card. Between saved cards, gift cards and the two wallet options, most common payment habits are covered.

Free to use, with no ads or purchases

The app costs nothing to download. It contains no ads and no in-app purchases, so nothing interrupts the ordering flow and there is no paid tier to weigh. The rewards program is a loyalty scheme tied to qualifying purchases rather than a subscription or an unlock.

That makes the cost question simple: you pay for the food you order and nothing for the app itself. There is no premium version to compare against the free one, and no advertising to work around. For a restaurant app, that is a clean arrangement.

How it compares with ordering another way

The obvious alternative is walking in and ordering at the counter, which needs no download and no account but also no saved favorites and no points tracking. If you rarely customize and never order the same thing twice, the app adds little to that experience beyond the ability to skip the line.

A general delivery marketplace is the other option for getting Steak 'n Shake to your door. Those services cover many restaurants at once, while this app is tied to a single chain and its own menu, rewards and payment options. If Steak 'n Shake is what you want, ordering through the brand's own app keeps the rewards attached to the purchase.

A dedicated loyalty app or a wallet-based payment setup could handle parts of this, but neither would combine the menu, the customization, the saved payment methods and the points in one place. The trade-off is that everything here serves one restaurant brand.

A worthwhile install for frequent Steak 'n Shake customers

With over a million installs and a 4.2 average from more than thirteen thousand ratings, the app has clearly found an audience among people who order regularly. It has been available since November 2012 and was last updated in October 2026 with performance improvements and bug fixes, so it is an actively maintained part of the brand's service rather than a leftover.

My recommendation is straightforward. If Steak 'n Shake is a regular stop and you want to order ahead, customize your meal, pay with a saved card or wallet, and collect points toward $2 rewards, this app covers all of it at no cost and without ads. If you visit only occasionally or prefer to order in person, the benefits are thinner, though there is little downside to having it on your phone.

What's new in version 5.0.4

Performance improvements and bug fixes.