ONDC, the Open Network for Digital Commerce, is a government-backed open network in India that lets any buyer app connect to any seller app over a shared protocol. A restaurant listed through one seller app can be found and ordered from by customers on many different buyer apps, with delivery arranged through logistics providers on the same network. It was set up as a non-profit under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to reduce dependence on a few large marketplaces, and food ordering is one of its main categories.
Why it matters
For a restaurant the appeal is cost. Seller apps on ONDC generally charge a subscription or a low percentage, and the buyer apps add their own fee, so the total is usually well below the 18 to 30 percent commission common on delivery apps. The limits are real too. Orders only come if the buyer apps your customers already use show your listing, delivery and refunds involve several parties, and the customer still belongs to the buyer app rather than to you. ONDC is best treated as one more discovery channel alongside a direct channel you own. ONDC for restaurants looks at what has actually worked.
Example
A restaurant in Bengaluru lists through a seller app that charges a flat monthly fee plus a small percentage per order. On a ₹400 order, seller app and buyer app fees might total ₹30 to ₹50, against ₹80 to ₹120 in commission on a delivery app, with delivery charged separately in both cases. If 200 orders a month arrive through ONDC, the saving against a delivery app is in the region of ₹10,000 to ₹15,000. The restaurant still asks each customer, on the packaging and in the thank-you message, to order next time on WhatsApp, because that is the only channel where it keeps the phone number. Direct ordering as the highest-margin channel explains why that last step matters.