Food delivery app commission in the USA is a percentage of each order's subtotal, and the percentage depends on which partnership tier you choose, whether the order is delivered by the app's driver or picked up by the customer, and whether it came through the marketplace app or through an ordering page the app built for your own website. The headline numbers are easy to find. What costs restaurants money is everything around them: promotions you fund, ads, error charges and the slow shift of your regulars into the app's customer base rather than yours.
This post explains how the large US delivery apps structure their fees, works through what a typical order actually nets you, lists the charges that sit outside the commission line, and covers the lower-cost options the apps themselves offer. Figures mentioned are as listed on the apps' partner pages at the time of writing; check each app's current pricing page before you sign, because plans change.
How delivery app commission tiers are structured
The large US delivery apps sell restaurants tiered partnership plans. Each tier charges a higher commission on delivery orders in exchange for wider delivery reach, more placement in the app and inclusion in the app's customer subscription programme, which waives delivery fees for members. Pickup orders carry a much lower commission on every tier, because the app does not pay a driver for them.
| Tier | Delivery commission | Pickup commission | What the higher tier buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry tier | Lowest rate, commonly listed around 15 percent at the time of writing | Single-digit percentage | Listing in the app, smaller delivery radius, no subscription-programme inclusion |
| Middle tier | Commonly listed around 25 percent at the time of writing | Same low pickup rate | Wider radius, subscription-programme inclusion, better in-app placement |
| Top tier | Commonly listed around 30 percent at the time of writing | Same low pickup rate | Widest radius, top placement, an order-volume guarantee with conditions |
Commission is calculated on the food subtotal before taxes and customer-paid fees. Customer tips go to the driver. The delivery fee and service fee the customer sees are charged by the app on top of your menu price and do not come to you.
One structural point matters more than the delivery app commission percentage itself. On the entry tier, your restaurant shows to fewer customers and is excluded from the subscription programme, so many owners feel pushed to the middle tier to stay visible. That is the design: the plan that keeps you competitive in the app is the one that takes a quarter of every order.
What a $30 order actually nets you
Take a $30 subtotal on a middle tier at 25 percent. Commission is $7.50, leaving $22.50 before you have cooked anything. Food cost on a typical independent restaurant runs somewhere around 28 to 35 percent of menu price, so call it $9.50. Packaging for a delivery order adds roughly a dollar. Labour, rent and utilities are mostly fixed, but they still have to be covered.
After commission, food and packaging, the $30 order leaves about $12 to cover everything else. On a top tier at 30 percent, commission is $9 and the margin shrinks further. On an entry tier at 15 percent it is $4.50, but you may receive fewer orders.
Now run the same order through a channel you own. A flat per-order fee of $0.50 plus card processing of roughly 3 percent (about $0.90) costs around $1.40. The difference on one order is about $6. On 400 delivery orders a month, that difference is roughly $2,400, which is why restaurants treat the delivery apps as a discovery channel and work to move repeat customers elsewhere. Our guide to commission-free ordering for restaurants in the USA walks through that shift in detail.
Delivery app restaurant fees that sit outside the commission line
Restaurants rarely budget for these, and together they can add several percentage points to the effective rate.
- Promotions you fund. First-order discounts, "spend $25 get $5 off" offers and item-level deals are typically paid by the restaurant, in full or in part. A $5 promotion on a $30 order is another 17 percent gone.
- Sponsored listings. Paying to appear higher in search within the app is an advertising spend charged per click or per order, separate from commission.
- Error charges. Missing or incorrect items generally lead to customer refunds, and each app's policy on who bears that cost varies by situation. Track your error rate; it is a direct line in your fee bill.
- Tablet and hardware. The order tablet may carry a small weekly fee, depending on your agreement.
- Price increases on the app. Many restaurants list higher prices on the apps to offset commission. The apps' rules on menu price parity have changed over time and vary by plan and region, so read your agreement before doing this.
- Sales tax handling. In most US states the delivery apps act as marketplace facilitators and collect and remit sales tax on orders. This is not a fee. It does affect how you reconcile payouts with your accountant.
Pickup, app-built storefronts and flat-fee delivery: the lower-fee options
The large apps offer three ways to pay less than the full delivery commission, each with a trade-off.
Pickup orders
Customers who order through the app and collect themselves cost you a single-digit commission. If your location gets foot traffic, promoting pickup inside the app lowers your blended rate without changing anything in the kitchen.
The app's storefront on your website
Most large apps will build an online ordering page for your own website, with no marketplace commission on orders that come through it. You still pay payment processing per order, and if you want the app's drivers to deliver those orders, there is a delivery fee per order rather than a percentage. These storefronts keep you inside the app's system, with its customer data rules, which is the main thing to weigh against a fully independent channel.
Flat-fee delivery for orders you took yourself
The apps also let you use their drivers to deliver orders that came through your own channel, for a flat fee per delivery rather than a percentage. It suits restaurants that already take orders directly but do not want to employ drivers. The fee per delivery is listed on each app's site and varies by distance and market.
How the large US delivery apps compare with each other
All three large US marketplaces use tiered plans with a similar shape: a low-commission tier with limited reach, a middle tier that includes the platform's subscription programme, and a premium tier with the widest reach. Two of them structure their tiers almost identically; the third has historically split its charge into a marketing commission plus a delivery commission, which can make the total look lower until you add the lines. Pickup is cheap on all three.
Our per-order breakdown of delivery app fees in the US and our comparison of delivery apps and direct ordering for small US restaurants cover the differences. For how US fees sit against India, the UK and the Gulf, see food delivery commission around the world.
How to lower your delivery app partner cost without leaving
- Audit your tier every quarter. If the middle tier is not producing measurably more orders than the entry tier would, downgrade. Ask your account representative at the app for the data; they have it.
- Push pickup. Mention it on packaging and at the counter. Every order that moves from delivery to pickup saves you most of the commission.
- Stop funding promotions by default. Run them for a new menu or a slow weekday, then switch them off. Open-ended promos quietly cost more than the commission.
- Put your own ordering link in front of every customer. A card in the bag, a sign at the counter, a link in your Instagram bio and Google listing. Repeat customers who order direct cost you a flat fee instead of a quarter of the ticket.
- Measure channel cost, not just order count. A delivery app order and a direct order are not worth the same. Report net revenue per channel monthly.
Many independent restaurants, including Indian restaurants with a loyal community, use a WhatsApp ordering channel for exactly this. Customers message the restaurant's number, pick from a menu, pay by card and get status updates, with no app to install. Tezzu is one option built for this: a WhatsApp ordering bot plus a free store page, with USD plans at $49, $69 and $99 a month and $0.50 per order, paid through Stripe, and no commission. Details for US restaurants are in Tezzu for US merchants.
Compare a flat per-order fee with your delivery app bill
Pull last month's delivery app statement and put the commission line next to a $0.50 per-order channel. The pricing page lays out the plans.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
What percentage do food delivery apps take from restaurants in the US?
It depends on the partnership tier. At the time of writing, the large US apps list delivery commissions in the region of 15, 25 and 30 percent for their entry, middle and top tiers, with a much lower single-digit rate on pickup orders. Commission applies to the food subtotal, before tax and customer-paid fees. Check each app's partner pricing page, since plans and rates change.
Do delivery apps charge restaurants a monthly fee?
The partnership plans are commission-based rather than a fixed monthly subscription, though your agreement may include small recurring charges such as a tablet fee. The apps' own website storefronts have no commission but charge payment processing per order. Advertising and promotions are separate, pay-as-you-go costs on top of commission.
Are the delivery apps' website storefronts really commission-free?
Orders through an app-built storefront do not carry the marketplace commission. You still pay card processing on each order and a per-delivery fee if the app's drivers deliver them. Those orders also stay within the app's system, so weigh the lower fee against how much control you want over customer data and the ordering experience.
Can a restaurant charge higher prices on delivery apps to cover the commission?
Many do, but the apps' rules on menu price parity have varied by plan and region over time. Read your current agreement before raising app prices. A cleaner approach is to keep prices consistent and move repeat customers to a lower-cost direct channel, so the apps become the channel for new customers only.