Restaurant economics

How much do delivery apps actually take from restaurants?

On delivery, 15% to 30% of the food subtotal. On pickup, 6% to 10%. Those are different products and the difference matters. Here is where the money goes, what the headline rate leaves out, and a calculator for your own pickup numbers.

The short answer

Delivery. DoorDash's plans are 15%, 25% and 30% of the food subtotal. Uber Eats moved to 20%, 25% and 30% in March 2026, with orders from Uber One members on the middle tier charged at 30%. The tier a restaurant is on determines both the rate and how much visibility it gets in the app. On a $28 delivery order at 25%, that is $7.00 to the platform, and the platform is paying a driver out of it.

Pickup. A different number entirely. DoorDash charges 6% on pickup on every plan, and that includes payment processing. Uber Eats charges 7% when your in-app prices match your in-store prices and 10% when they don't — both up from 6% in March 2026. On the same $28 order picked up by the guest, that is $1.68 to DoorDash or about $2.00 to Uber. Nobody drove anything.

Regulars runs pickup, so the calculator below uses pickup rates. Anything that compares a pickup product to a delivery tier is comparing two different things, and we'd rather you caught it here than on your statement.

Check your statements, not the published rate
Rates vary by platform, tier, market and the specific agreement signed. The only reliable number is the one on your own monthly statement. Every figure on this page is illustrative arithmetic to help you frame that number, not a claim about what you specifically pay.

Work out your own pickup number

Enter your average ticket and roughly how many pickup orders come through the apps in a day. The calculator shows what leaves the business over a year, and what the same orders would cost on Regulars.

Your pickup numbers

Pickup rates, not delivery. DoorDash charges 6% on pickup on every plan; Uber Eats charges 7% when your in-app prices match in-store and 10% when they don't (raised from 6% in March 2026). The 15–30% figures you hear are delivery tiers, where the cut pays for a driver.

Pickup commission per year
$7,856

On orders your guests picked up themselves. It's a real number and worth knowing — but the bigger cost of the apps isn't on this line. It's that they keep the guest.

Pickup orders per month390
Gross through the apps$10,912
Commission at 6%−$655 / mo
Per single order−$1.68
Same orders on Regulars Simmer (3%, capped $250/mo)−$3,000 / yr
Same orders on Regulars Full Heat$0 commission

No marketplace commission and nothing added to your guests' bills. Our platform fee is 3% capped at $250/mo on Simmer, or zero on Full Heat. Card processing is charged separately on Regulars; DoorDash's 6% includes it.

See what we charge

Pickup only, deliberately — Regulars doesn't provide drivers, so delivery commission isn't a saving we can claim. Estimate only: rates vary by plan, market and the agreement you signed, and the only reliable figure is the one on your own statement. Months calculated at 4.33 weeks. Sources: DoorDash merchant pricing (merchants.doordash.com), Uber Eats fee change reported by Restaurant Dive, March 10 2026.

What the headline percentage leaves out

The pickup gap is small. Say so.

Between 6% on DoorDash and 3% capped on Regulars Simmer — with card processing included in theirs and separate on ours — the pickup commission saving is a few points, not a fortune. On Full Heat it is the whole 6%. If commission were the only cost of the apps, plenty of kitchens would be right to stay on them. It isn't.

The customer is not yours

This is the cost that never appears on a statement. The platform keeps the name, the phone number and the order history. A guest who orders from you weekly through an app is, from your side of the counter, eleven anonymous transactions. You cannot thank them, cannot bring them back when they drift, and cannot tell them you are open on a holiday.

Every one of those orders costs commission again, forever, because you never get the chance to convert them into a direct customer.

Discounting is often required to stay visible

Promotional placement inside the apps frequently requires funding discounts or free-delivery offers. Those come out of the restaurant's margin on top of commission.

What restaurants actually do about it

  • Keep the apps for discovery, move repeats to direct. Most restaurants that solve this do not turn the apps off. They accept commission as an acquisition cost, then give returning customers a reason to order direct.
  • Price differently on the platform. Many restaurants set higher menu prices in-app to offset commission. Check your platform's current policy before doing this.
  • Own the customer list. Direct ordering gives you names and order history, which is what makes retention possible at all.
  • Move to a flat fee. A fixed monthly software cost does not grow when you have a good month. Commission does.

Frequently asked

How much does DoorDash take from restaurants?

On delivery, DoorDash publishes three plans at 15%, 25% and 30% of the food subtotal; Uber Eats charges 20%, 25% (30% on Uber One member orders) and 30% since March 2026. On pickup the rates are far lower: 6% on DoorDash across every plan, and 7% on Uber Eats when in-app prices match in-store, 10% when they don't. Lower delivery tiers reduce commission but also reduce placement and delivery radius. Rates vary by market and agreement, so check your own statements rather than a published rate.

Do delivery apps charge customers as well as restaurants?

Yes. Most delivery platforms charge the guest a delivery fee, a service fee and sometimes a small-order fee, in addition to the commission charged to the restaurant. Menu prices on the app are also frequently higher than in-store prices, which many restaurants set deliberately to offset commission.

Is commission charged on the whole order or just the food?

Commission is calculated on the food subtotal rather than on taxes and tips. On DoorDash and Uber Eats marketplace orders, payment processing is included in the commission rate. On your own direct ordering, card processing is a separate line — usually around 3% plus a few cents per order — and that applies to Regulars too.

Can restaurants negotiate delivery app commission rates?

Large chains with volume can negotiate. Independent restaurants generally choose from published tiers rather than negotiating bespoke rates. The main levers available to an independent are selecting a lower tier, adjusting menu prices on the platform, or building direct ordering to shift volume away from commission entirely.

What is the alternative to paying delivery commission?

Direct ordering through the restaurant's own site. The restaurant pays a flat software fee instead of a percentage, keeps the customer relationship and data, and either handles pickup itself or arranges its own delivery. Most restaurants run both — keeping the apps for discovery while moving repeat customers to direct.

Read next

How commission-free ordering works →
Why keeping a regular beats finding a new customer →

Keep the whole ticket

Regulars charges no marketplace commission on direct orders, adds nothing to your guests' bills, and gives you the customer list. Flat monthly fee, month to month.

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