The platform fee vs commission question comes down to one thing: does your cost grow with the size of the bill, with the number of orders, or not at all? Commission grows with the bill. A per-order fee grows with the count. A platform fee, meaning a monthly subscription, stays flat whatever you sell. Each of these models suits a different kind of restaurant at a different stage, and most platforms mix two of them.
This post defines the three models, works each one out on the same month of orders, shows where the hidden lines sit, and gives you a simple way to decide. The numbers are illustrative, chosen to be typical for a small restaurant or cloud kitchen in an Indian city.
The three pricing models, defined
Commission
A percentage of the order value, taken before the money reaches you. This is how Zomato and Swiggy charge, and their commission is commonly 18 to 30 percent of the order value, plus GST on the commission. Some direct-ordering tools and payment-first platforms also charge a smaller percentage on each order and call it a platform fee, so always ask whether a "fee" is flat or a percentage.
Per-order fee
A fixed rupee amount for every order that passes through the system, regardless of what the order is worth. A ₹10 per-order fee costs ₹10 on a ₹150 chai-and-samosa order and ₹10 on a ₹2,500 party order. The fee is usually billed from a prepaid wallet or added to the monthly invoice.
Platform fee (subscription)
A fixed monthly or yearly amount for access to the software, whatever your volume. In software terms this is SaaS pricing. On its own it is rare for ordering platforms built for food because the platform's costs do grow with orders, so most pair it with a per-order fee or a payment margin.
Payment gateway charges sit underneath all three. Whether you pay commission or a flat fee, a UPI or card payment still goes through a gateway that takes its own cut, as covered in payment gateway charges in India.
The same month, costed three ways
Assume a kitchen doing 800 orders a month at an average of ₹350, which is ₹2,80,000 in sales. The table compares a 25 percent commission, a ₹10 per-order fee on a ₹1,999 plan, and a pure ₹4,999 subscription with nothing per order. GST on fees is left out to keep the comparison readable; add 18 percent to each platform line for the real invoice.
| Model | How it is calculated | Monthly cost on 800 orders | Effective rate on sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission at 25 percent | ₹2,80,000 × 25 percent | ₹70,000 | 25 percent |
| Plan plus per-order fee | ₹1,999 + (800 × ₹10) | ₹9,999 | About 3.6 percent |
| Subscription only | Flat | ₹4,999 | About 1.8 percent |
At this volume the gap between commission and the flat models is around ₹60,000 a month, which for many small kitchens is the entire profit. The gap is the reason the direct channel exists; the full argument is in aggregator commission vs direct ordering.
The comparison is not the whole story, though, because the three models do not deliver the same thing. Commission on an aggregator buys you a place in an app with millions of users. A per-order fee buys software to take orders from customers you already reach. Treat them as the costs of two different channels rather than three prices for one product.
Where each model breaks even
The crossover points are what should drive your decision. Work them out for your own numbers; these three are the ones that matter.
Commission vs per-order fee
Commission costs more than a ₹10 per-order fee on any order above about ₹40 at 25 percent. In other words, on every real food order. The only case where commission wins on cost is when it brings an order you would never have received otherwise. That is the discovery argument, and it is a fair one for new restaurants with no customer base yet.
Per-order fee vs subscription only
Set the ₹10 fee against the difference in plan price. In the example above the pure subscription is ₹3,000 a month more than the ₹1,999 plan, so the per-order model is cheaper until you cross 300 orders a month. Above that, a flat subscription would be cheaper, if one existed with the same features and no order cap. Most pure subscriptions come with order limits or feature tiers, so check the fine print on what "unlimited" means.
Low-volume months
A per-order fee has a property that subscriptions lack: in a bad month, you pay less. A tiffin service that closes for ten days over Diwali pays for fewer orders. A flat plan charges the same whether you served 200 or 2,000.
The hidden lines in each model
No pricing page tells the full story. These are the lines to ask about before you sign.
- Under commission: sponsored listing and ad spend to stay visible, platform-funded discounts that are partly or fully charged back to you, packaging charge caps, and payment gateway fees that are sometimes deducted separately from the commission. See what Zomato really costs a restaurant for the complete list.
- Under per-order fees: whether the fee applies to cancelled orders, whether there is a separate margin on online payments on top of the per-order fee, and how the wallet is topped up.
- Under subscriptions: order caps that bump you to a higher tier, charges for extra outlets or staff logins, and per-message WhatsApp charges billed separately.
- Under all three: the payment gateway rate and GST. Some platforms can let you connect your own gateway account and drop their margin on payments entirely; that option is explained in using your own Razorpay account on an ordering platform.
Which model suits which restaurant
The honest answer is that most restaurants use two models at once: commission on an aggregator for new customers, and a flat-fee direct channel for repeat customers. The split between the two is what to manage.
Brand new, no customer list
Commission is tolerable for the first few months because you are paying for discovery. Start the direct channel in parallel, even if it is only a WhatsApp number on the packaging, so the repeat orders have somewhere cheaper to go.
Established, with regulars
If a third or more of your orders come from people who have ordered before, every one of those on a 25 percent commission is money given away. A per-order fee on those orders costs a fraction of it. The 30/70 split that many owners settle on is described in the 30/70 rule.
High volume, low ticket
A chai or momo counter doing 1,500 orders a month at ₹120 pays ₹15,000 in per-order fees, which is 8 percent of sales. That is still far below commission, but at this ticket size a flat subscription with a genuine unlimited-order clause would be worth a look, and so would pushing a bundle to lift the average bill.
Seasonal and subscription businesses
Tiffin services, home bakers around festivals, and caterers all have uneven months. Per-order fees flex with the business; a fixed subscription does not. For them, a low plan price with a small per-order fee is usually the better shape.
What this looks like on Tezzu
Tezzu uses a plan plus per-order fee. Plans are Starter at ₹999, Growth at ₹1,999 and Enterprise at ₹3,999 a month, with ₹100 a month off on yearly billing, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. On top of the plan there is a flat ₹10 per order and zero commission. Orders are unlimited on every plan, so the only number that scales with your business is the ₹10 line.
Payments go through Razorpay for UPI and cards, with cash on delivery alongside. If you connect your own Razorpay account, the platform fee on online payments is zero; Razorpay's own gateway charge applies as per your agreement with them. Orders arrive on your own WhatsApp number and on your free store page at tezzu.in/store/your-name, and land in the live dashboard and the staff app.
On the 800-order month above, the Growth plan plus per-order fees comes to ₹9,999 before GST, against ₹70,000 at a 25 percent commission. The full breakdown of what is included in the plan and what the ₹10 covers is in Tezzu pricing explained.
Run the numbers on your own order count
See the three plans side by side and work out what 500, 1,000 or 2,000 orders a month would cost at ₹10 each with no commission.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between a platform fee and a commission?
A commission is a percentage of each order's value, so it rises with the bill. A platform fee is a fixed charge, either a monthly subscription for the software or a flat amount per order, so it does not change with the bill. Some companies use the words loosely, so always ask whether the fee is a percentage or a fixed rupee amount.
Is a per-order fee cheaper than commission?
On almost every real food order, yes. A ₹10 per-order fee equals a 25 percent commission only on a ₹40 order; on a ₹350 order the commission is ₹87.50 against ₹10. The exception is an order you would not have received without the aggregator, where the commission is paying for discovery rather than for processing.
Why do ordering platforms charge per order instead of a flat subscription?
Because their costs rise with orders: WhatsApp API conversations, payment processing, notifications and support all scale with volume. A per-order fee keeps the monthly plan low for small businesses and lets a platform offer unlimited orders without putting caps or tiers on the subscription.
Do I still pay payment gateway charges on a commission-free platform?
Yes. Gateway charges are paid to the payment company, such as Razorpay, for processing UPI and card payments, and they apply whatever pricing model the ordering platform uses. Some platforms add their own margin on payments on top; connecting your own gateway account removes that margin while the gateway's own charge stays.
Which pricing model is best for a new restaurant?
Most new restaurants run both: commission on an aggregator for discovery and a flat-fee direct channel for repeat customers. Commission costs nothing until an order arrives, which suits month one. A per-order direct channel starts cheap too, and becomes the cheaper home for every customer who comes back.