Delivery app fees per order in the USA come down to a percentage of each order's food subtotal, set by the plan tier you pick and by whether the customer had the order delivered or collected it. Every big US marketplace charges more for the tier that gives you the most visibility, and the pickup rate is a fraction of the delivery rate on every tier. What restaurants actually pay, once you add the offers they fund, advertising, and error adjustments, is usually a few points above the headline number.
This post walks through the plan structure the major apps share, works a typical order to the bottom line, lists the costs that sit outside the commission line, and covers the apps' own lower-fee options. Rates mentioned are as listed on the apps' websites at the time of writing; always check the current pricing page of the app you are on.
How delivery app commission is structured in the US
The major US delivery apps offer restaurants tiered plans. The lowest tier lists you in the app with a limited delivery radius. The middle tier adds inclusion in the app's customer subscription programme (the membership that waives delivery fees for the customer) and more placement. The top tier adds the widest reach and the most promotion. Delivery commission rises with each tier; pickup commission stays low throughout.
| Plan tier | Delivery commission | Pickup commission | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic tier | Lowest, commonly listed around 15 percent at the time of writing | Single-digit percentage | Basic listing, customers mostly find you by searching your name |
| Middle tier | Middle, commonly listed around 25 percent at the time of writing | Single-digit percentage | Subscription programme inclusion, wider delivery radius, better placement |
| Top tier | Highest, commonly listed around 30 percent at the time of writing | Single-digit percentage | Widest reach, top placement, marketing support with conditions |
Commission is taken on the menu subtotal before taxes and before the service and delivery fees the customer pays the app. Tips go to the courier. The apps also apply their own markups and fees on the customer side; those are the app's revenue and do not reach you. They do affect how expensive your food looks in the app.
The visibility pressure is the same on every app. Basic-tier restaurants are harder to discover, so most owners who want new-customer volume end up on the middle tier. If you want the percentages laid out app by app, the US delivery app commission breakdown uses the same framework.
The real cost of a $25 order
Say a customer orders $25 of food on the middle tier. Commission at 25 percent is $6.25, so $18.75 reaches you before any cost of cooking. Food cost at around 30 percent of menu price is $7.50. Packaging is roughly a dollar. That leaves about $10.25 for labour, rent, utilities and profit.
If you funded a "$5 off your first order" offer on the same ticket, you are down to about $5.25 before fixed costs. That is the arithmetic behind the common complaint that app orders are busy work rather than profit, especially on lower-priced menus where $25 is a normal ticket.
The same $25 order on a channel you own, at a flat $0.50 per order plus card processing of roughly 3 percent, costs about $1.25. The difference per order is about $5. Over 300 app orders a month, that is roughly $1,500, which is why most owners treat marketplaces as a place to be found and work to move repeat customers to a direct channel. The practical steps are in commission-free ordering for restaurants in the USA.
Costs that do not show up in the commission line
- Restaurant-funded offers. Buy-one-get-one, percentage discounts and first-order deals are usually paid by you. They are effective at winning a first order and expensive if left running.
- Sponsored placement. Ads inside the app that push you higher in search are a separate spend, charged on performance.
- Order error adjustments. Refunds for missing or wrong items may be charged back to the restaurant depending on the case. A 3 percent error rate can quietly add a point to your effective commission.
- Price parity rules. The apps' terms on whether you may list higher prices in the app than in-store have varied by plan and market. Raising app prices without checking can affect your plan status.
- Tablet or integration. Depending on your setup, there may be a device fee or a POS integration charge from a third party.
- Payout timing. Weekly payouts mean you finance a week of food and labour before the money arrives, which matters for a small restaurant's cash flow.
Pickup, white-label pages and courier-only services: lower-fee routes
Pickup orders
When the customer orders in the app and collects, the commission drops to a single-digit rate because no courier is involved. If you have parking or a walkable location, telling customers to choose pickup is the quickest way to bring down your blended rate.
The app's white-label ordering page
Most of the big apps now offer an ordering page you add to your own website, powered by the app. Orders through it carry no marketplace commission; you pay payment processing per order, and a per-delivery fee if the app's couriers deliver them. It keeps you within the app's system and its data rules, so it is a step toward owning your orders rather than the whole journey.
Courier-only delivery
The apps also sell courier-only services: drivers for orders you took on your own channel, charged as a flat fee per delivery that varies by distance and city. It suits a restaurant with its own ordering page that does not want to hire drivers.
One app vs another: same shape, different details
The big platforms use three tiers with near-identical delivery percentages, each includes its subscription programme at the middle tier, and each charges single-digit commission on pickup. The practical differences are local: which app has more customers in your zip code, how each handles error refunds, and how responsive your account representative is. Many restaurants list on two or three and compare net revenue per order each month rather than picking on reputation.
What all of them share is the deeper cost: the customer belongs to the app. Your regulars' phone numbers, order history and the ability to message them sit with the platform. A restaurant that gets 60 percent of its orders through apps is exposed to every fee change and ranking change the apps make, which we discuss in aggregator dependency: the hidden risk in your restaurant revenue. For a comparison that sets the apps against a channel you own, see delivery apps vs direct ordering for small US restaurants.
Ways to reduce your delivery app bill
- Review your tier with data. Ask your account representative how many orders came from discovery versus customers searching your name. If most people search your name, the basic tier may serve you nearly as well as the middle tier.
- Turn offers on for a reason and off on a date. A new menu launch or a slow Tuesday, with an end date set when you create the offer.
- Promote pickup everywhere. A line on your receipt, a sign at the counter, a note in the app description.
- Watch your error rate weekly. Missing items are the fee you control completely. A checklist at the packing station pays for itself.
- Give every app customer a reason to order direct next time. A card in the bag with your own ordering link and a small first-direct-order discount is cheaper than the commission on their second app order.
For the direct channel, many independent restaurants use WhatsApp ordering, since customers already have the app and nothing needs installing. Tezzu is one platform built for this: a WhatsApp ordering bot, a free store page, card payments, order status updates, and a live dashboard, with USD plans at $49, $69 and $99 a month plus $0.50 per order through Stripe, and zero commission. The US setup is described in Tezzu for US merchants.
Put your delivery app statement next to a flat fee
Take last month's commission total and compare it with $0.50 per order. The pricing page shows the plans and what each includes.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
What are the delivery app commission rates for restaurants in the US?
At the time of writing, the major US delivery apps list delivery commission of roughly 15, 25 and 30 percent for their basic, middle and top tiers, with a single-digit rate on pickup orders. Commission is calculated on the food subtotal before taxes and customer-paid fees. Rates and plan names change and differ by app, so confirm on the app's pricing page before signing.
Do delivery apps charge the customer as well as the restaurant?
Yes. The customer pays a service fee, a delivery fee unless they hold the app's subscription membership, and sometimes a small-order fee, all of which go to the app. These do not reduce your commission. They do make your food appear more expensive in the app than on your own menu, which affects how often customers reorder.
Are the apps' white-label ordering pages free for restaurants?
Orders through an app's white-label page do not carry marketplace commission. You still pay card processing on each order and a per-delivery fee if the app's couriers deliver. It is cheaper than marketplace orders and still operates inside the app's system. Compare it with a fully independent ordering channel on cost per order and on who holds the customer relationship.
How can a small restaurant reduce delivery app fees?
Choose the lowest tier that still brings new customers, push pickup, switch promotions off when the campaign ends, cut order errors with a packing checklist, and give every app customer your direct ordering link. Over a few months the share of orders coming through the app falls, and so does the total commission bill.