Most restaurant owners know their delivery app commission rate. Fewer have run it across a full year, or checked what it does and doesn’t cover. This guide puts the published rates side by side, then works through what they cost per order and per year.
We build direct ordering for restaurants through our restaurant direct ordering service, so weigh that. Every fact below about DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub was checked against their own merchant pages in October 2026.
Short answer: DoorDash charges 15%, 25% or 30% on delivery orders depending on the plan, and 6% on pickup. Uber Eats charges 20%, 25% or 30% on delivery and 7% on pickup, with lower rates in some cities. Grubhub charges a 5%, 15% or 20% marketing commission, plus a delivery fee from 10% when its drivers deliver. DoorDash says its commission includes card processing; Grubhub says its rates don’t. On a mid-tier plan, a delivered order costs you about a quarter of its subtotal.
Delivery App Commission Rates Compared
As of October 2026, from each platform’s own US pricing page:
| Plan | Delivery | Pickup |
|---|---|---|
| DoorDash Basic | 15% | 6% |
| DoorDash Plus | 25% | 6% |
| DoorDash Premier | 30% | 6% |
| Uber Eats Lite | 20% | 7% |
| Uber Eats Plus | 25% | 7% |
| Uber Eats Premium | 30% | 7% |
| Grubhub Basic | 5% + delivery | Not listed |
| Grubhub Plus | 15% + delivery | Not listed |
| Grubhub All-access | 20% + delivery | Not listed |
Sources: DoorDash pricing, Uber Eats pricing, Grubhub pricing and fees.
“Delivery” on Grubhub means its delivery fee, which starts at 10% when Grubhub’s drivers carry the order. If you deliver with your own staff, Grubhub charges no delivery fee (source).
What the Apps Actually Charge
The headline rate is a percentage of each order’s subtotal. What that percentage covers differs by platform, and that changes the real cost.
What each platform says its rate covers:
- DoorDash: the commission covers your listing and marketing in the app, Dasher delivery, customer support and credit card processing. DoorDash lists no activation, subscription, software or cancellation fees (source).
- Uber Eats: Plus and Premium start with a 0% intro rate for 30 days, with no delivery or pickup fees in that period. In some cities the Lite plan is cheaper: in Portland it starts at 15% for delivery and 4% for pickup (source).
- Grubhub: no platform or maintenance fees, and no sign-up fee. Its plan rates do not include payment processing fees (source, source).
The higher plans buy reach. DoorDash describes Basic as designed for local exposure, with Plus and Premier adding a wider customer base and lower delivery fees for customers (source). Uber Eats makes the same trade: more discoverability and lower customer delivery fees as the plan goes up (source).
Running the Annual Numbers
Here is our own worked example for an independent US restaurant on DoorDash. The rates are DoorDash’s; the restaurant is made up.
The restaurant (our example):
- Monthly delivery revenue: $22,000
- Average order value: $38
- Monthly order volume: about 580 orders
- Plan: DoorDash Plus, 25% on delivery
Monthly and annual cost at each DoorDash plan:
- Basic at 15%: $3,300 a month, $39,600 a year
- Plus at 25%: $5,500 a month, $66,000 a year
- Premier at 30%: $6,600 a month, $79,200 a year
Because DoorDash says card processing is inside the commission, there’s no separate processing line to add here (source). On Grubhub you would add your processing fees on top of the plan rate.
The same Plus rate at other sizes, still our example:
For a higher-volume restaurant at $50,000 a month in delivery:
- Monthly commission at 25%: $12,500
- Annual commission: $150,000
For a smaller restaurant at $8,000 a month in delivery:
- Monthly commission at 25%: $2,000
- Annual commission: $24,000
The scale changes. The share doesn’t: on Plus, one dollar in four of delivery sales goes to the platform before food, labor or rent.
The alternative: a direct online ordering system on your own website takes no commission. You still pay card processing, and you need a way to deliver.
What Your Delivery Revenue Actually Looks Like After Commissions
Take $100 in delivery sales on DoorDash Plus, our worked example again.
The platform takes:
- Commission at 25%: $25.00
- Separate card processing: $0, per DoorDash
You receive: $75.00
From that $75 you still pay, at your own rates:
- Food cost
- Packaging
- Prep and packing labor
- Your share of rent, utilities and overhead
Pull those percentages from your own P&L. If your food, labor and overhead already take most of each sales dollar on a dine-in order, a 25% commission can leave little or nothing on a delivery order. That’s why delivery can look strong on the sales line and weak on the profit line.
On a single $40 order, the same plan works out like this (our example):
- DoorDash Plus at 25%: $10.00 to DoorDash, $30.00 to you
- Uber Eats Plus at 25%: $10.00 to Uber, $30.00 to you
- Uber Eats Plus on an Uber One order, at 25% plus 5%: $12.00 to Uber, $28.00 to you
- Grubhub Plus at 15% plus a 10% delivery fee: $10.00 to Grubhub, under $30.00 to you once processing is taken
The Three Fees You Probably Haven’t Noticed
The headline rate is the start. These three costs sit around it.
The Marketing Tax
Each platform sells extra visibility on top of the base rate.
- Uber One on Uber Eats Plus: you pay an additional 5% on orders from Uber One members. On Premium, Uber One orders cost nothing extra (source).
- DoorDash Sponsored Listings: you bid an amount per order placed through your ad and set a daily budget. You pay only for orders, not clicks (source). Premier merchants get automatic ads at no extra cost.
- DoorDash extras: Promotions and Sponsored Listings are optional add-ons, and a DoorDash Tablet costs $6 a week after the trial (source).
These costs show up per order, so check your statements for them, not just your plan rate.
The Pickup Commission Problem
Both big apps charge on pickup orders too, even though no driver is involved. The rates are much lower than for delivery:
- DoorDash: 6% on every plan, if your DoorDash pickup menu prices match your in-store prices (source).
- Uber Eats: 7% if you prove your in-app pickup prices match in-store. Without that proof, the pickup fee is 10% (source).
On a $40 pickup order, that’s $2.40 on DoorDash or $2.80 on Uber Eats (our example). Small per order, but it’s paid on customers who came to your counter anyway.
Refunds and Chargebacks Fall on You
When a customer reports a missing or wrong item, the refund can come out of your payout. Uber Eats calls these order error adjustments. It deducts eligible refund costs from your payout when the error was within your control, from a portion up to the full item price including tax. Uber keeps its full service fee for the entire order (source).
So you can pay commission on food you ended up refunding. Uber gives you 30 days from the order date to dispute an adjustment (source). Check your error charges every week.
The Alternative: What Direct Online Ordering Actually Costs
A direct online ordering system lets customers order and pay on your website. There’s no marketplace commission. What you do pay:
- Card processing: for example, Stripe’s standard rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (source).
- Delivery, if you offer it: your own drivers, or a courier per order. Uber Direct, for example, starts at $7.99 per delivery (source).
The apps sell direct options too. DoorDash says Online Ordering orders are commission-free but carry a payment processing fee (source). Uber Eats Webshop charges 2.5% + $0.29 per order with no marketplace commission (source). Grubhub Direct lists zero marketing commission on online orders (source).
Our worked example, back at $22,000 a month on DoorDash Plus, with 30% of orders moving to your own site:
- Orders moved: about 174, worth $6,600
- Commission no longer paid at 25%: $1,650
- Stripe processing on those orders: about $244
- Difference before delivery costs: about $1,406 a month
Delivery is the catch. DoorDash’s commission includes the Dasher. If you pay a courier for each direct delivery, that cost can take most of the gap. The math is strongest for pickup orders, your own drivers, or a delivery fee the guest pays.
Why Restaurants Stay on the Platforms Anyway
Knowing the cost doesn’t mean you should leave. There are real reasons to stay.
Discovery: the apps put you in front of people who have never heard of you. DoorDash argues that many of its orders are incremental, from customers who wouldn’t have found you otherwise (source).
Convenience for customers: some customers will only order through an app they already use. Leaving the platform loses those orders rather than converting them.
Algorithm dependency: if a large share of your orders come through one app, leaving overnight can cut volume before your own channel is ready to take it.
The goal isn’t to quit the platforms. It’s to depend on them less, by building your own ordering channel alongside them. As direct orders grow through your website, email list, Google Business Profile and regulars, the app share of your delivery sales falls.
The Smart Approach: Direct First, Apps Second
Use the apps for discovery and your own site for repeat orders:
- Pick the plan you can justify. DoorDash Basic is 15% but built for local exposure; Uber Eats Lite is 20%, lower in some cities. Compare the extra orders against the extra percentage before you move up.
- Add your website ordering link to every touchpoint: Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, receipts, bag inserts, table tents. Run Google Ads for restaurants to catch nearby people searching for what you serve.
- Give a reason to order direct. Keep it honest: “Order direct. Same menu, same food.”
- Build your email list from every direct order, then bring regulars back by email rather than through the apps.
- Track the shift monthly. In our $22,000 example, moving 30% of orders direct means about $19,800 a year in commission not paid, before processing and delivery costs.
This keeps the apps for new customers and builds an owned channel for repeat business, which is where restaurant profitability actually lives.
Ready to set up direct online ordering? See our restaurant direct ordering service, or get in touch.
The Number That Should Change Your Strategy
Run this for your own restaurant:
- Pull the last 12 months of payouts from each app’s merchant dashboard.
- Pull the last 12 months of gross app sales, before platform deductions.
- Subtract payouts from gross sales.
- Add any card processing billed separately. Grubhub’s rates exclude it; DoorDash’s commission includes it.
The result is what the apps cost you last year, ads, error charges and all. Write it down.
Now compare it with what a direct ordering system would cost you.
Related Posts
- Restaurant online ordering systems compared: what the direct options cost
- Online ordering without the 30% commission: setting up your own channel
- Restaurant menu engineering: margin by dish, not just by channel
- Restaurant email marketing: turning direct orders into repeat orders
FAQ
How much commission does DoorDash charge restaurants?
On US delivery orders, 15% on Basic, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premier. Pickup orders are 6% on every plan, if your pickup prices match in-store. DoorDash says the commission includes card processing and that there are no monthly or activation fees.
How much does Uber Eats charge restaurants?
20% on Lite, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premium for delivery, with lower Lite rates in some cities. Pickup is 7% with validated in-store pricing, or 10% without. Plus merchants pay an extra 5% on Uber One orders.
What does Grubhub charge restaurants?
A marketing commission of 5% on Basic, 15% on Plus or 20% on All-access. If Grubhub’s drivers deliver, there’s a delivery fee starting at 10%. Grubhub says these rates don’t include payment processing fees.
Do delivery apps charge commission on pickup orders?
Yes, at lower rates. DoorDash charges 6% and Uber Eats 7% on pickup, or 10% on Uber Eats without proof that app and in-store prices match.
Who pays when a delivery order is wrong?
Often you do. Uber Eats deducts eligible refund costs from your payout when the error was within your control, and keeps its full service fee for the order. You have 30 days to dispute an adjustment.
Is direct online ordering really commission-free?
There’s no marketplace commission, but it isn’t free. You pay card processing, such as Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢, and you need your own delivery or a courier. Pickup orders show the biggest saving.
Commission is easier to cut once you own the channel. A direct ordering system on your own website lets regulars order from you with no marketplace commission and gives you their details for next time. Get in touch to talk it through.