Delivery App Commission Math for Sit-Down Restaurants

Delivery apps bring orders. They also take a large share of each one. For a full-service restaurant, a takeout order through a marketplace can earn far less than the same food eaten in the dining room. This guide walks through delivery app commission math with a clear worked example for a 60-seat restaurant. It compares a marketplace order with a first-party order from your own website, then shows how to move regulars to direct ordering without leaving the apps. All example numbers are illustrative, not from a real restaurant.

In short: Marketplace apps commonly take about 15% to 30% of each order, depending on the plan; check your contract. After commission, food cost and packaging, the margin on an app order can be small. A direct order from your own website usually costs only card processing on top of food and packaging. Keep the apps for new guests, move regulars to direct ordering with links, QR codes and rewards, and track margin per order by channel.

How does delivery app commission math work?

Delivery app commission math starts with the order subtotal and subtracts every cost tied to that order: the marketplace commission, food cost, packaging and any extra fees on your statement. What is left is your margin before labor and rent. Do the same math for direct orders to see the gap.

The basic formula:

Margin per order = subtotal − commission − food cost − packaging − other order fees

Each part needs a real number from your business:

Part	Where to find it	Notes
Subtotal	Marketplace statement or POS report	Before tax and the guest’s tip
Commission	Your marketplace contract and statement	Commonly about 15%–30%, depending on plan
Other order fees	Marketplace statement	Payment processing, marketing or promotion fees, if charged
Food cost	Your recipe costing	Often expressed as a percentage of menu price
Packaging	Your supplier invoices	Containers, bags, cutlery, napkins, labels

Commission rates and fee structures differ by marketplace, by plan and by contract. They also change. The ranges in this guide are what is commonly reported, not a quote. Check your own contract and statements for your real rates.

What does a marketplace order really earn? A worked example

In this illustrative example, a 60-seat restaurant earns about $16.50 on a $40 marketplace order after a 25% commission, 30% food cost and $1.50 in packaging. That is about 41% of the subtotal before labor and rent. The same order from the restaurant’s own website earns about $25.30.

Every number in this section is illustrative. It is not from a real restaurant. Replace each one with your own.

The restaurant

• 60 seats, full service, open for dinner six nights a week.
• Average takeout order subtotal: $40.
• Food cost: 30% of menu price.
• Packaging per order: $1.50.
• Marketplace commission on their plan: 25% (within the common range; check your contract).
• Card processing on direct orders: 3% of the order (illustrative; your rate will differ).

One order, two channels

Line	Marketplace order	Direct order (own website)
Subtotal	$40.00	$40.00
Commission	−$10.00 (25%)	$0.00
Card processing	Often included in commission or charged separately; check your statement	−$1.20 (3%)
Food cost	−$12.00 (30%)	−$12.00 (30%)
Packaging	−$1.50	−$1.50
Margin before labor and rent	$16.50	$25.30
Margin as % of subtotal	41%	63%

The direct order keeps $8.80 more in this example. That is the gap you can work to close.

One month, two channels

Say the restaurant gets 300 marketplace orders a month (illustrative).

Scenario	Marketplace orders	Direct orders	Monthly margin from takeout
Today: all on apps	300	0	300 × $16.50 = $4,950
Move 30% of orders to direct	210	90	210 × $16.50 + 90 × $25.30 = $5,742
Move 50% of orders to direct	150	150	150 × $16.50 + 150 × $25.30 = $6,270

Moving 30% of orders to direct ordering adds about $792 a month in this example. Moving half adds about $1,320. These numbers ignore the cost of the online ordering system and any delivery cost for direct orders. Add those in for your own math.

What this example leaves out

• Delivery cost on direct orders. If you deliver from your own site, add driver pay or a per-trip delivery fee. Pickup-only orders have none.
• Marketing and promotion fees. Some marketplace plans charge extra for placement or discounts.
• Refunds and errors. Marketplaces may charge you for missing items. Track these on your statement.
• Labor. Packing takeout takes time. That cost is similar on both channels.
• The cost of your online ordering system. Add the monthly fee to the direct side.

How does a marketplace order compare with a dine-in order?

A dine-in order often brings drinks, a second course and a tip for your staff, and it has no commission or packaging. A marketplace order is usually food only, with commission and packaging taken out. For a full-service restaurant, dine-in usually earns more per guest. Takeout is still useful to fill slow nights.

	Dine-in	Marketplace takeout	Direct takeout
Commission	None	Commonly 15%–30%	None
Packaging	None	Yes	Yes
Drinks and add-ons	Common	Less common	Less common
Guest data (name, contact)	If you collect it	Often limited	Yours
Repeat ordering	Depends on service	Through the app	Through your site
Uses table space	Yes	No	No

The last row matters. On a full Friday, your tables are the limit. On a quiet Tuesday, takeout uses kitchen time that would go to waste. Plan takeout around your busy and slow nights.

How do you move regulars to direct ordering without leaving the apps?

Keep the apps for discovery, and move guests who already know you to your own website. Put your ordering link and QR code on every receipt, bag and table. Give a small reason to order direct, such as reward points. Make your own ordering page fast, clear and easy to use on a phone.

1. Set up your own online ordering. Your menu, your prices, your pickup times. Restaurant POS Studio builds an online store from your menu, so the items, modifiers and prices match what your servers ring in.
2. Add a short link and a QR code to receipts, takeout bags, table cards and the front door.
3. Put an insert in every marketplace bag. A small card that says “Order direct next time” with the QR code. Check your marketplace contract for any rules about inserts first.
4. Give a reason. Reward points, a free side on the third order, or the same price as the dining room.
5. Tell your servers. A short line at the end of the meal: “Next time, you can order takeout from our website.”
6. Use your social profiles and map listings. Link to your own ordering page, not only the app.
7. Keep your menu in sync. If an item is off the menu, take it off online too.
8. Track it. Count direct and marketplace orders each month, and the margin on each.

Pricing on the apps

Many restaurants set higher menu prices on marketplace apps to cover part of the commission, and keep their own website at dining-room prices. This makes direct ordering the better deal for guests. Check your marketplace contract and local rules before changing prices, and be open with guests.

Rewards and gift cards

Reward points give regulars a reason to order direct. Gift cards bring cash in early and pull guests back to your own channels. Both work best when they are easy to use online and in the dining room.

How do QR table menus help?

A QR table menu puts your menu on the guest’s phone from a code on the table. It helps dine-in guests read the menu, see allergy notes and photos, and learn where your online ordering page is. A guest who scans your QR menu tonight knows where to order takeout next week.

Good QR menu habits:

• Put the code on a table card, not only on the wall.
• Link to a fast, phone-friendly menu, not a large PDF.
• Include a clear button to your online ordering page.
• Show allergy notes and modifiers the same way your servers see them.
• Offer the menu in the languages your guests read.

Restaurant POS Studio includes a QR contactless menu from the same menu data as your online ordering, so prices and items stay the same everywhere.

What should you track every month?

Track orders, average order value, margin per order and total margin for each channel: dine-in, marketplace apps and direct online ordering. Review it once a month. The goal is not to remove the apps, but to know which orders pay and to grow the ones that pay most.

Metric	Marketplace	Direct online	Dine-in
Orders this month
Average order subtotal
Commission and order fees			n/a
Food cost
Packaging			n/a
Margin per order
Total margin

Copy this table into a spreadsheet and fill it in from your POS and marketplace statements each month. After three months, you will see whether your direct ordering push is working.

How do you decide what to do next?

Run your own numbers first. If your marketplace margin is far below your direct margin, put effort into moving regulars. If the apps bring many first-time guests, keep them. Set a simple goal, such as moving a set share of repeat orders to direct ordering over six months, and track it.

1. Pull three months of marketplace statements.
2. Find your real commission and fee rate.
3. Cost one typical order on each channel, using the formula above.
4. Estimate the monthly gap at your order volume.
5. Set up direct ordering and a QR menu if you do not have them.
6. Add links, QR codes and a small reward.
7. Review the numbers every month.

If you are weighing the cost of an online ordering add-on against the commission you pay today, our guide to the real cost of a restaurant POS lists the questions to ask. To see what you could keep each month, try the savings calculator.