Commission-Free Online Ordering: Cut Your Delivery App Fees

On this page 8 sections

1. What Third-Party Apps Really Cost per Order
2. Online Ordering Payment Fees on Direct Orders
3. Commission-Free Online Ordering for Restaurants: Side-by-Side Math
4. Setting up First-Party Ordering on Your Restaurant Ordering Website
5. Handling Delivery Without the Big Apps
6. Moving Regular Customers to Restaurant Direct Online Ordering
7. When Staying on Third-Party Apps Still Makes Sense
8. Next Steps

Key takeaways

• A third-party app commission is charged on the whole order, while direct-order processing costs only a small slice of the ticket plus your software and delivery costs.
• "Commission-free" ordering software can still charge per-order, subscription or customer-facing fees, so compare total cost per order.
• Delivery is the hardest piece to replace. Pickup-first ordering and on-demand couriers are practical middle grounds.
• Move regulars gradually with packaging inserts, direct-order rewards and in-store prompts, and keep the apps for discovery.

Delivery apps bring in orders, but every order costs you a commission on the full ticket. Commission-free online ordering for restaurants lets you take those orders on your own website or app and pay only card processing and software costs. This guide covers four things. It walks through the per-order math with clearly labeled example numbers. It explains what card fees look like on direct orders. It shows how to set up first-party ordering and handle delivery yourself. And it covers how to move your regulars to your own channel without giving up the reach the apps provide.

What Third-Party Apps Really Cost per Order

Marketplace apps generally charge a commission calculated as a percentage of the order subtotal. The rate depends on the plan you choose, and delivery plans usually cost more than pickup-only plans. Many restaurants pay a meaningful share of every ticket. The exact figure depends on your contract, so pull your current agreement and a recent payout statement before you run any numbers.

The headline commission is rarely the only cost. Look for these on your statements:

• Plan tier and add-ons. Higher tiers may include wider delivery radius, better placement or marketing features at a higher commission.
• Payment processing. Some plans fold card processing into the commission. Others list it separately.
• Promotions and ads. Discounts you fund and sponsored placement come out of your payout.
• Refunds and adjustments. Missing-item complaints and error charges can reduce your payout, sometimes with limited ability to dispute them.
• Menu markup effects. If you raise app prices to cover commissions, regulars who notice the difference may order less often.

Some cities and states have adopted or debated rules on delivery app fees. If your area has them, confirm the current terms with your local government or a qualified advisor.

Online Ordering Payment Fees on Direct Orders

When a guest orders from your own site, you pay for card processing instead of a commission. Online orders are card-not-present transactions. These generally carry higher interchange than tapped or dipped cards because the fraud risk is higher. Even so, processing is typically a small fraction of what a commission takes on the same order.

What you pay depends on three things:

• Pricing model. Flat-rate pricing charges one blended rate. Interchange-plus passes through the card networks' costs plus a disclosed markup. Our comparison of interchange-plus vs. flat-rate pricing explains which tends to cost less at different volumes.
• Card mix. Rewards credit cards and corporate cards cost more to accept than debit cards.
• Gateway and per-transaction fees. Your payment gateway may add a monthly fee, a per-transaction fee or both.

If you're unsure whether your current rates are reasonable, this breakdown of restaurant credit card processing fees and what counts as a fair rate is a good benchmark.

Protecting Direct Orders From Fraud

Taking orders yourself means handling card-not-present fraud and disputes yourself. Turn on address verification (AVS) and CVV checks. Watch for warning signs such as large first-time orders sent to unusual addresses. Consider 3-D Secure authentication for online orders, which adds an issuer verification step and can shift liability for certain fraud chargebacks to the card issuer under network rules. Keep order confirmations and pickup or delivery records so you can respond if a dispute comes in. Our guide to how chargebacks work covers the process step by step.

Commission-Free Online Ordering for Restaurants: Side-by-Side Math

The table below compares one order through an app with the same order taken directly. Every number is illustrative. Replace them with figures from your own contract, processor statement and software pricing.

Illustrative assumptions: a $40 food subtotal. The app commission is 15% for pickup and 25% for delivery. Direct-order processing is 2.9% plus $0.30. Ordering software averages $0.50 per order. A third-party courier charges $7.00 per delivery, and you charge the guest a $3.99 delivery fee. Tips go to whoever delivers and are excluded.

In this example, the restaurant keeps about $4 more on a pickup order and about $5 more on a delivery order by going direct. Shift 300 orders a month and that's roughly $1,200 to $1,500 a month. Again, this is illustrative only.

Two points keep the math honest:

1. Delivery margins are thinner than pickup margins. A courier fee can absorb much of the savings, so direct pickup is usually where first-party ordering pays off fastest.
2. Fixed software costs need volume. A flat monthly fee spread across a handful of orders can cost more per order than you expect. Calculate your break-even order count.

Setting up First-Party Ordering on Your Restaurant Ordering Website

You have three main ways to build a restaurant ordering website.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

"Commission-free" usually means no percentage commission. It does not always mean low cost. Ask every vendor these questions:

• Is there a per-order fee, a monthly subscription or both?
• Is a service fee added to the guest's total? Who keeps it?
• Can I use my own processor, or am I locked into theirs with a processing markup?
• Does it send orders directly to my POS and kitchen display or printer?
• Can I set prep times, pause ordering and limit orders per time slot during a rush?
• Does it support modifiers, combos, taxes and tipping correctly?
• Who owns the customer data, and can I export it?
• What are the contract length and cancellation terms?

If you're changing POS at the same time, this restaurant POS buyer's checklist helps you compare systems. Restaurants already on Clover can review MannyPay's Clover POS integration.

Launch Checklist

1. Rebuild your menu online with accurate modifiers, photos and allergen notes. Online menus with missing options lead to wrong orders and refunds.
2. Use a hosted payment page or tokenized card fields so card data never touches your server. This reduces your PCI DSS scope.
3. Set realistic prep times for each daypart, and set order throttling for Friday night peaks.
4. Decide your tip prompt. If you add a service or delivery charge, make sure guests can tell it apart from a tip. Our article on service charges vs. tips explains why the distinction matters.
5. Place test orders using every payment method, then refund them to confirm the full cycle works.
6. Train front-of-house staff on order handoff so pickup orders don't sit behind dine-in tickets.

Handling Delivery Without the Big Apps

Delivery is the hardest part to replace. You have several options:

• Pickup-first. Offer only pickup on your own channel at first. Keep delivery on the apps until your direct volume justifies more.
• On-demand courier services. Some delivery networks will dispatch a driver for an order placed on your site, usually for a per-delivery fee instead of a percentage. Many ordering platforms connect to these services directly.
• In-house drivers. This gives you the most control and the most responsibility. Before you hire, confirm insurance coverage for business use of vehicles, worker classification, mileage reimbursement and tip handling with a qualified insurance agent and employment attorney.

Whatever you choose, set a delivery zone and order minimum that cover your costs. Show the delivery fee clearly before checkout. Avoid promising delivery times your kitchen can't meet on a busy Saturday.

Moving Regular Customers to Restaurant Direct Online Ordering

Your regulars are the easiest customers to move because they already know your food. They just need a reason to order direct.

• Packaging inserts. A card in the bag with a QR code to your ordering page and a first-order offer. Review your app agreements first for any restrictions on marketing in app orders.
• Direct-order rewards. Points or a free item after a set number of direct orders. This guide to building a customer loyalty program that pays for itself shows how to size rewards so they cost less than the commissions you avoid.
• In-store prompts. Table tents, receipt messages and staff mentioning it at pickup: "Order on our site next time and skip the wait."
• Your online listings. Put your direct ordering link on your Google Business Profile, social media bios and website homepage so searchers find it before the app listing.
• Email and text. Collect contact details with clear consent. Text marketing has specific consent rules, so confirm your process with a qualified professional.
• Pricing. Check your app agreements for pricing terms. Where you're allowed to, keep direct-channel prices at or below app prices so ordering direct is clearly the better deal.

When Staying on Third-Party Apps Still Makes Sense

The best DoorDash commission alternative for most restaurants is a mixed approach rather than leaving the apps entirely. Apps still earn their fee in some situations:

• Discovery. New customers browsing an app may never have found you otherwise. Treat that first order as marketing, then invite them to order direct next time.
• Delivery coverage you can't staff. Late nights, distant neighborhoods and sudden rushes.
• New locations. A new store with no customer list can use apps to build early volume.
• Low-volume periods. If direct orders don't yet cover fixed software costs, app pickup may cost less for now.

Revisit the decision every quarter. As direct volume grows, you may be able to move to a lower-cost app plan or narrow your delivery radius on the apps.

Next Steps

Start with your own numbers: your current commission rate, your processing rate on card-not-present orders and the monthly cost of ordering software you're considering. Run the side-by-side math for pickup and delivery separately, then launch pickup-first and promote it to regulars.

MannyPay provides online payment processing, gateways and POS systems for restaurants. Learn more about payment processing for restaurants and bars and online payment acceptance, or request a free quote. A MannyPay specialist will respond within one business day to review your current costs and setup.

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About the author

MannyPay Editorial Team

Beyond the Swipe's editorial desk researches the publication's guides and news and cites its sources in every article. Articles reviewed by a named MannyPay editor carry that editor's byline.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.