How to price your menu for delivery apps without losing money
2026-06-19 · 10 min
Dine-in prices lose money on delivery once the platform takes its cut. Here's the simple markup math, a worked example, and the pricing mistakes that quietly kill margins.
Why delivery needs different prices from dine-in
A price that earns you a healthy margin in the dining room can lose money the moment it goes on a delivery app, because the platform takes 25–40% of it before you see a dirham. If you list the same price on both, you are effectively giving the platform your profit.
The fix isn't complicated: set delivery prices high enough that, after the platform's full cut and your costs, you still hit a target margin.
The markup math: solve for a target margin
You want: price − food cost − packaging − (price × platform fee %) ≥ target margin × price.
Rearranged, the price you need is: (food + packaging) ÷ (1 − platform fee % − target margin %).
So if your fees are 32% and you want a 20% margin, you divide your per-item cost by (1 − 0.32 − 0.20) = 0.48. A 6 AED cost item needs to sell for about 12.5 AED on that platform.
A worked example
A burger costs you 14 AED in food and 2 AED in packaging = 16 AED. Talabat takes ~30% commission + 2.5% payment = 32.5%. You want a 20% margin.
Required price = 16 ÷ (1 − 0.325 − 0.20) = 16 ÷ 0.475 ≈ 33.7 AED. If your dine-in price is 28, your Talabat price should be around 34 — not 28.
Charge the dine-in 28 on delivery and after the cut you keep roughly 28 − 9.1 (fees) − 16 (cost) = 2.9 AED, about a 10% margin — half of what you wanted, before any discount.
Per-item, per-channel pricing
Different platforms take different cuts, so the right price differs per platform. The cheapest-commission channel can carry a lower price; the most expensive needs a higher one.
Set a price for each channel rather than one delivery price for all. It's a few minutes of setup that can move your delivery margin by several points.
Promotions and caps
Discounts are a pricing decision too. A flat percentage off a large basket can wipe out the margin you built into the price. Cap percentage promos to a maximum dirham amount, and model the promo before you launch it.
Also decide who funds the discount: if the platform co-funds part of it, you can be more generous; if it's all on you, keep it tight.
Common pricing mistakes
Listing dine-in prices on delivery. The number one margin killer.
Pricing off food cost alone and ignoring the platform's cut.
One delivery price across platforms that charge very different commissions.
Round-number psychology overriding the math (29 because it looks nice, when you needed 34).
Never revisiting prices after the platform raises its commission or you renegotiate.
Quick checklist
Know each platform's full effective fee %. Know each item's true cost. Set per-channel prices to your target margin. Cap your promos. Re-check every quarter.
Costrify shows your real profit on every delivery platform — after commission, fees, food cost and ad spend — and tells you exactly what to fix. Try the live demo free.