Delivery App Commission Plans, Explained for Restaurant Owners

A delivery plan needs to make sense after the kitchen has prepared the food, packed it, and paid the platform. The lowest advertised percentage is a starting point. We would also ask what the plan includes, which orders the rate covers, and what remains after your own costs.

These are the published US offers we checked on October 15, 2026. Local rules, eligibility, and your agreement can change the applicable terms. Compare a current statement with the offer before making a decision, especially if you joined under an older package.

What do DoorDash's Basic, Plus and Premier plans include?

DoorDash publishes delivery commissions of 15% for Basic, 25% for Plus, and 30% for Premier, with 6% pickup across the three plans subject to its terms.

Basic includes a nearby customer listing, access to its online ordering product, and professional menu photography. Plus adds a wider delivery area, DashPass access, and lower customer delivery fees on non-DashPass orders. Premier adds the widest delivery range, a complimentary sponsored listing ad managed by DoorDash, and conditional photography and Commerce Platform benefits.

Premier also advertises a conditional commission refund guarantee. Read its eligibility rules before treating that benefit as part of your budget. It is not a promise that a restaurant will earn a particular profit.

The published 6% pickup rate requires compliance with DoorDash's merchant terms, including matching pickup menu prices to in-store prices. Delivery pricing has more flexibility: DoorDash says restaurants can set different prices for delivery orders. DoorDash also says its commission covers card processing, which matters when you compare it with other apps.

How do Uber Eats Lite, Plus and Premium differ?

Uber Eats currently publishes marketplace fees of 20% for Lite, 25% for Plus, and 30% for Premium, with regional exceptions.

Lite includes discovery when customers search for your store. Plus adds increased discoverability and a lower customer delivery fee. Uber One participation on Plus adds 5% on Uber One orders. Premium includes Uber One participation without that extra charge, the lowest available customer delivery fee, a menu photo package, matching on ad spend up to a monthly cap, and a fee refund in the first six months for months under 20 orders, with conditions.

The published pickup fee is 7% with validated in-store pricing. Without that validation, the page says pickup is 10%. The same pickup terms apply to all three marketplace tiers. Uber also publishes a separate self-delivery plan at 15% for restaurants that deliver with their own staff.

We would check the conditions attached to each benefit before comparing an actual bill. Customer delivery charges and the restaurant's marketplace fee are different amounts, so a lower charge shown to the guest does not establish what your restaurant pays.

How do Grubhub's marketing and delivery fees work?

Grubhub publishes marketing commissions of 5% for Basic, 15% for Plus, and 20% for All-access, with delivery and processing charges considered separately.

Basic includes placement on Grubhub and Seamless, a marketplace ordering link, and account support, with the standard customer delivery fee. Plus lowers that customer fee and adds a menu photoshoot, Grubhub+ members, and a monthly ad credit. All-access has the lowest customer delivery fee and adds Sponsored Listing placements and promotion credit. Grubhub attaches conditions to some of these, so confirm which apply to the package offered to you.

If Grubhub handles delivery, its published delivery fee starts at 10%. Using your own drivers avoids Grubhub's delivery fee, but your drivers still cost money. Grubhub says pickup is available with any delivery option you choose. Do not read a marketing commission as an all-in delivery rate.

The pricing page excludes payment processing fees from its plan figures. Ask for the complete schedule that applies to your restaurant and compare marketing, delivery, and processing as separate lines.

How do I choose a tier without guessing at the return?

Choose the least expensive package that provides services you need and leaves an acceptable amount after the costs of fulfilling actual orders.

Start with several representative orders from your own records. Include a simple meal, an order with extras, and something that needs more packaging. Write down the food subtotal, platform deductions, restaurant-funded discounts, ingredients, packaging, and the labor needed to prepare and hand it off. Keep pickup and delivery calculations separate.

Then ask what a higher tier would change. Do you need a wider delivery area? Can your food travel that distance well? Can the kitchen handle more orders during the hours you want to promote? A wider audience is useful only if the resulting work fits the restaurant.

We would set a review date and compare completed orders, deductions, mistakes, and the amount left toward overhead and profit. Record the plan and any promotions running during the review. More sales alone would not tell us whether an upgrade helped.

Why do some restaurants charge higher app prices?

Some restaurants use higher delivery menu prices to help cover the extra costs of that channel, where their agreement permits it. There can be a trade-off, so check each app's terms first.

That is a pricing decision we would make from the restaurant's costs and terms. Packaging, commission, and preparation all belong in the calculation. Avoid copying a neighboring restaurant's markup or adding the same percentage to everything without checking the result.

Explain an intentional difference plainly. Suggested wording for a restaurant that actually follows this policy is: Delivery menu prices differ from our in-store prices. Keep the displayed price accurate for the item and portion being sold. Do not describe a restaurant-set increase as a mandatory platform charge.

Check pickup separately. DoorDash's published pickup rate and Uber Eats' validated pickup rate have price-matching conditions. DoorDash's merchant FAQ also says stores with consistent app and in-store prices receive higher visibility in its app. Ask each platform about the terms governing your account before applying delivery prices to pickup. Give staff one approved explanation so guests receive a consistent answer.

Where do I check the plan my restaurant actually has?

Check the merchant account for the correct location, then reconcile its displayed rates with a recent statement and your agreement.

• DoorDash: In the Merchant Portal, open Settings, then Pricing plans. Review Your Plan and the delivery, pickup, and DashPass details shown for your store. DoorDash says plan changes can take up to five business days to process.
• Uber Eats: In Uber Eats Manager, open Payments and download an order-level payment breakdown to check fees actually charged. Use Manager support to confirm your named package and any account-specific terms if they are unclear.
• Grubhub: Review your financial statement's Your package and Service rate sections, plus the marketing, delivery, and processing breakdown. Ask your account advisor to confirm package details the statement does not explain.

Save a dated note of what you verified and when any agreed change takes effect. Avoid changing the plan while investigating an unexplained deduction. First establish whether it came from the package, a promotion, a delivery service, or another agreed charge.

Delvixo can help you line up each delivery plan against your own orders and keep your app menus and prices in order. We are happy to look at it with you, with no pressure to change anything.