Every restaurant owner has had the moment: the delivery-app statement arrives, the month was busy, and the deposit is somehow smaller than expected. This article lays out what third-party delivery actually costs a small restaurant, with real math — and the three strategies owners use to keep more of every order.
The published numbers
DoorDash’s publicly listed partnership plans charge restaurants a percentage of every delivery order — roughly 15% on the basic tier, 25% on the mid tier, and 30% on the premium tier (the higher tiers buy you better placement and lower customer fees). Pickup orders typically run around 6%. Uber Eats and Grubhub publish similar ranges. Rates change and vary by market and contract, so always check your current agreement — but 15–30% of the ticket is the industry’s normal band.
What that means in actual dollars
Say you do a modest 300 delivery orders a month at a $35 average ticket — $10,500 in delivery revenue.
- At 15%, the apps take about $1,575/month ($18,900/year).
- At 25%, about $2,625/month ($31,500/year).
- At 30%, about $3,150/month ($37,800/year).
For a restaurant running typical single-digit profit margins, the app’s cut on an order is often larger than your profit on it. Many owners describe delivery-app volume as “renting customers”: the sales are real, but the margin — and the customer relationship — belongs to the platform.
Why owners stay anyway
Because the apps deliver demand. They’re where hungry people already are, and dropping them cold-turkey usually hurts. The goal for most restaurants isn’t to quit the apps — it’s to stop being 100% dependent on them.
Strategy 1: Own your direct channel
The single highest-leverage move: have your own website with your menu on it, and make “order direct” the best deal. Every customer who finds you directly instead of through an app is an order at full margin. If your web presence is currently a Facebook page and a Yelp listing, start there — a proper site with a text menu (not a PDF) means you show up when locals search for what you cook. We build restaurant sites for a from $149, everything included, precisely because this is the piece most small restaurants are missing. For the fuller argument, see how to take online orders without commission.
Strategy 2: Use honest-economics platforms where they exist
A newer generation of local platforms flips the model: instead of taking up to a third of the food revenue, they charge the customer a transparent flat delivery fee and leave the restaurant’s revenue mostly alone. On GFGF, restaurants keep 90% of every food order — the delivery fee is a flat, honest line the customer sees, not a percentage quietly taken from your side. Listing takes one form.
Strategy 3: Convert app customers into direct customers
- Box inserts: a card in every delivery bag with your site and a small direct-order incentive.
- Direct-only items: a menu item or bundle available only when ordering direct.
- Capture contacts: a loyalty signup or birthday club gives you a way to reach regulars that no algorithm can take away.
The bottom line
Delivery apps are a marketing channel with a very high price tag — useful for discovery, dangerous as your only channel. Own your website, list where the economics are honest, and steer regulars direct. Even shifting 30% of app volume to direct ordering puts thousands of dollars a year back in a small restaurant’s pocket.
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