Direct Ordering vs Third-Party Delivery: Compare the Economics Without Fooling Yourself

The wrong way to compare direct ordering with DoorDash or Uber Eats is: Marketplace commission = 25%. Direct processing = 3%. Therefore 22% of every marketplace order is available to save. That conclusion assumes the restaurant would have received every marketplace order directly anyway. Usually, that is not something you can prove. Marketplaces can create discovery, customer convenience and delivery logistics. Direct ordering can improve retained economics, customer relationship and brand control. The useful goal is to understand which demand belongs in which channel. Start by running your actual rates through the restaurant delivery commission calculator. ## Separate acquisition from transaction cost A third-party marketplace does at least two economically different jobs: 1. acquisition/discovery: putting the restaurant in front of customers who may not have searched for it directly; 2. transaction/fulfillment infrastructure: taking the order, processing payment and often coordinating delivery. A direct channel generally receives traffic the restaurant creates itself through brand awareness, repeat behaviour, Google, social, email, QR, website and other owned demand. If you compare only payment fees, you are giving the direct channel free acquisition in the model. ## Compare contribution per order For each channel, build the same contribution view. A simplified structure: Net order revenue minus food + packaging cost minus channel fee / payment processing minus incremental fulfillment cost minus incremental labour equals contribution before fixed costs The labels may differ by restaurant, but use the same logic on both sides. ## Example: marketplace order Suppose: - order subtotal: $40;

• food + packaging: $13;
• marketplace commission: 25%;
• delivery logistics are included in the marketplace arrangement for this example. Marketplace fee: $40 × 25% = $10 Simplified contribution before incremental labour/fixed costs: $40 − $13 − $10 = $17 ## Example: direct pickup order Same $40 order: - food + packaging: $13;
• direct payment processing: assume 3% for illustration;
• no third-party delivery fulfillment. Processing: $40 × 3% = $1.20 Simplified contribution: $40 − $13 − $1.20 = $25.80 The direct order contributes $8.80 more in this simplified comparison. But the correct next question is: Would this customer have placed the direct order without the marketplace? If not, comparing the two as interchangeable orders is misleading. ## Repeat customers are where direct ordering gets interesting The strongest direct-order opportunity is often a guest who already knows the restaurant. Examples: - someone who has ordered several times;
• a customer searching the restaurant's name;
• a guest arriving from the restaurant's own Instagram profile;
• a customer scanning a package or receipt QR;
• an email/SMS subscriber;
• a local regular who wants pickup. Those customers may not need marketplace discovery every time. The restaurant's job is to make the direct path easy enough that choosing it does not feel like work. ## Do not ignore fulfillment A marketplace delivery commission can bundle logistics that a direct ordering system does not. If a direct delivery order requires: - a third-party courier;
• in-house driver wages;
• mileage/insurance;
• dispatch software;
• support for failed deliveries; include those costs in the direct comparison. Products such as DoorDash Drive On-Demand and Uber Direct exist specifically to separate restaurant-owned demand from third-party delivery fulfillment. ## Do not ignore customer support and refunds Marketplace fees can also include customer support, fraud handling and refund processes. A restaurant moving orders direct inherits more responsibility for the experience. That can be valuable because the restaurant owns the relationship, but it is not costless. ## Menu pricing by channel Some restaurants use different marketplace and direct prices to offset channel fees. Before doing that: - check the current merchant agreement;
• check local pricing regulations;
• understand how price differences affect conversion;
• keep pickup price-validation rules in mind where platforms condition lower pickup rates on matching in-store prices. Do not use a universal markup percentage simply because a marketplace fee is a certain percentage. Price elasticity and contribution differ by item. ## Direct ordering has strategic value beyond fee reduction A strong direct channel can give the restaurant: - a first-party customer relationship;
• easier loyalty/repeat marketing;
• more control over brand experience;
• lower marginal transaction cost in many setups;
• the ability to coordinate website, menu, offers and ordering in one customer journey. But none of those advantages mean the restaurant should abandon marketplaces that are producing profitable incremental demand. ## Use a portfolio strategy A practical approach is: Marketplace: discovery, new-customer reach, convenience, demand aggregation. Direct: repeat customers, branded traffic, owned audience, local pickup, loyalty. Fulfillment-only products: restaurant owns the order, external network handles delivery. The channel mix can change by location, daypart and customer cohort. ## Measure new versus repeat demand if you can The most useful question for marketplace economics is not simply “What commission did we pay?” It is: How much of this fee bought incremental customers or orders we would not otherwise have received? If the platform provides new/repeat customer reporting, use it. If it does not, use directional evidence such as branded search, direct-order growth, customer surveys and repeat behaviour rather than assuming every order is incremental or cannibalized. ## A decision framework For each channel, track: 1. sales;

2. order count;
3. average order value;
4. total fees;
5. effective fee rate;
6. food/packaging cost;
7. fulfillment cost;
8. contribution dollars;
9. new versus repeat customer signal where available;
10. customer data/relationship retained. Then decide what the channel is being hired to do. A marketplace can be expensive and still valuable acquisition. A direct channel can be cheap and still produce no demand if nobody knows it exists. ## Current platform context As of August 29, 2026, public pricing varies materially by market and product. DoorDash's Marketplace rates differ between Canada and the U.S. Uber Eats also publishes different pickup and regional fee structures. That is why Kitch's calculator defaults to your actual merchant rate, with public plan presets only as editable references. For market-specific details see: - DoorDash restaurant fees in Canada

• DoorDash restaurant fees in the U.S.
• Uber Eats restaurant fees in Canada ## Sources and further reading - DoorDash Canada pricing
• DoorDash U.S. pricing
• Uber Eats Canada pricing
• Uber Eats U.S. pricing
• Restaurant delivery commission calculator ## FAQs ### Is direct ordering always more profitable than DoorDash or Uber Eats? The direct transaction may carry a lower platform fee, but profitability depends on acquisition, fulfillment, food cost, labour, payment processing and whether the customer would have ordered without the marketplace. Compare contribution and demand, not commission alone. ### Should a restaurant stop using third-party delivery? Not simply because the commission is high. A marketplace can be a valuable acquisition channel. Measure whether the orders are incremental and profitable, then make direct ordering especially easy for customers who already know the restaurant. ### How should I compare a flat delivery fee with a percentage commission? Convert both into total dollars and an effective percentage at your actual average order value and volume. Flat fees become a smaller percentage as order value rises, while percentage commissions scale directly with the subtotal.