Delivery app commission: what it takes and how to cover it

A delivery app commission is the share of each order the app keeps, and the big apps publish plans from 15% to 30%. It comes off the full menu price, before you've paid for the food, the packaging or the people who made it. Price your app menu to cover it, and move your regulars to direct ordering.

How a delivery app commission works

When a guest orders through a delivery app, the app charges the guest, keeps its share and pays you the rest. The commission is a percentage of what the order sells for. It grows with every dollar on the ticket, whether that dollar was profitable or not.

The apps differ by country: DoorDash and Uber Eats in the US, plus SkipTheDishes in Canada; Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats in the UK and Ireland; Uber Eats and DoorDash in Australia and New Zealand. Rates and plans vary by app and by contract, but the math on this page works the same for all of them.

The commission isn't money for nothing. Some apps offer more than one plan, and a lower rate can come with less included. Depending on your plan, the commission can pay for the driver, your listing and the marketing that puts your menu in front of strangers. That reach is real. The trouble is paying for it on every order, including orders from guests who already know you.

The headline rate isn't always the whole story, either. Marketing fees, promotions you agreed to fund and refunds can come out of your payout too. So start from the payout statement, not the contract.

What a 30% commission does to one order

It's easy to read a commission as a slice of your profit. It's a slice of your sales, and it comes off first. Here is one $30 delivery order from a quick service restaurant at a 30% commission, with example costs.

Food and labor at 30% each sit inside the ranges RestaurantDoctorAI uses for quick service. Together they make a prime cost of 60%, which is that format's ceiling. The kitchen did its job. The commission and the packaging took what would have been the margin.

That's how a restaurant can get busier on delivery and see nothing change at the bottom of the P&L. For the number behind all of this, see how restaurant prime cost works.

Check app orders against your own numbers

Your format's prime cost target covers the whole restaurant, not one app order. A bar's ceiling is low because drinks are about half its sales. Full service and fine dining ceilings include the staff who serve your tables. An app order is mostly food, and nobody serves it at a table.

So work out app orders from your own costs: the plate cost of your top app dishes, the packaging and the time to cook and pack them. Then take off the real rate from your payout statement.

Every 5 points of real rate costs $1.50 on a $30 order, and here that's the difference between a thin margin and none. That's why you price from the rate on your payout statement, not the rate in your plan.

How much to mark up menu prices on delivery apps

An app order should leave you the same dollars as the same dishes sold in your dining room. To get there, price up from your in-house price, using the real rate from your payout statement.

The markup is always bigger than the commission, because the app takes its cut from the higher price too. Here is the same $14 dish at other rates:

Round odd results up, not down. And know what a dish costs to make before you price it. If you're not sure, work out its plate cost first.

1. 01Pull last month's payout statement for each app and work out its real rate with the formula above.
2. 02Raise app prices to at least the break-even price. Most apps let you set prices separately from your dining room.
3. 03Take dishes that travel badly or earn little off the app menus. Put your highest-profit dishes and add-ons first.
4. 04Check whether each app offers a lower-commission plan. Some trade a smaller delivery area for a lower fee, which can pay off when most orders come from nearby.
5. 05Compare next month's payout statements with this month's. You want more kept per order while order counts hold roughly steady.

Check the payout before you fund an app promotion such as buy-one-get-one. A promotion can cost more than the order earns.

Before you raise app prices, read your app's pricing rules too. Some apps limit how much higher app prices can be if you want their badges or promotions, and higher prices can mean fewer app orders. Weigh that against a commission that takes your whole margin at regular prices.

Moving regulars to direct ordering

Pricing covers the commission. It doesn't change who pays it. If your regulars order through an app every week, you pay a commission on guests who already know you.

Direct ordering means orders placed with you: by phone, through your own ordering link or through pickup ordering in your POS. You still pay for card processing, but no app commission comes off the top.

Check each app agreement before you start. Contracts differ on what you can put in the bag and how you can reach app customers.

1. 01Set app prices first, with the break-even formula above, so app orders cover their commission while you switch.
2. 02If your agreement allows it, put a card in every app order with your own phone number or ordering link and a reason to order direct next time, such as a free side. Your own printer is fine.
3. 03Make sure your Google Business Profile and website send people to your own ordering link or phone number first.
4. 04If your POS already includes pickup ordering, turn it on and promote it. Pickup orders you take yourself pay no delivery app commission.
5. 05Track direct and pickup orders every week. You want them growing, and the apps' share of your sales slowly falling.

Don't switch the apps off overnight. They're good at reaching people who have never heard of you, and that's worth paying for. Keep them for first orders, and move repeat orders to your own channels.

Common questions

What is a typical delivery app commission?

DoorDash publishes plans at 15%, 25% and 30%, and Uber Eats at 20%, 25% and 30% (their merchant pricing pages, checked September 2026). The lower rates come with less included, such as a smaller delivery area. What you really pay can be higher once marketing fees, promotions and refunds come out. Your payout statement shows the real rate.

Should restaurants charge more on delivery apps?

If you want an app order to leave you what a dining room order does, yes. Divide your in-house price by 1 minus the real commission rate: at 30%, a $14 dish becomes $20.00. Check your agreement first, since contracts differ on pricing.

Is DoorDash worth it for restaurants?

DoorDash, or any delivery app, can be worth it as a way to reach new guests. The trouble starts when a large share of your sales pays full commission at regular menu prices, including orders from regulars. Work out the real rate from your payout statement, price the app menu to cover it, and move repeat guests to direct ordering.