Delivery app commissions explained: what Talabat, Deliveroo & Uber Eats really take
2026-06-20 · 11 min
The headline commission is never your real cost. Here's how delivery platforms actually charge restaurants — and how to work out your true profit per order.
The headline rate is never the real cost
When a delivery platform says it charges "25% commission," most owners assume that's what they lose per order. It isn't. The headline commission is one line in a stack of deductions — payment processing, delivery fees, marketing or sponsored-listing fees, and the discounts you fund all come off the same order. By the time the money lands in your bank, the effective cut is often 30–40% of the order value.
The only number that matters is your true profit per order after every one of those deductions and your own food and packaging cost. That's what tells you whether a platform makes you money or just makes you busy.
Typical commission ranges by platform
Commissions vary by country, by how delivery is fulfilled (the platform's drivers vs. your own), and by the plan tier you signed up for. As a rough guide: Talabat 15–35%, Deliveroo 25–35%, Uber Eats 15–30%, DoorDash 15–30% (tiered Basic/Plus/Premier), Zomato and Swiggy ~18–25%, Glovo and Wolt 25–35%, Jahez 15–25%, Grab and foodpanda 25–35%.
Lower rates almost always mean you handle your own delivery; the highest rates are full marketplace delivery where the platform's riders bring the food. Always treat the rate in your own contract as the truth and use these ranges only to sanity-check it.
The fees stacked on top of commission
Payment processing: usually 2–3% of the order, sometimes folded into the commission, sometimes separate.
Delivery fee: on some contracts you absorb part of the rider cost, especially for free-delivery promotions.
Marketing & sponsored listings: ad spend to appear higher in the app. This is optional but most restaurants that grow on delivery spend here — and it has to be counted as a cost of those orders.
Discounts you fund: a "30% off" you run is money off your own pocket unless the platform co-funds it. This is the single most common reason a platform looks profitable on paper but isn't.
Commission on the gross vs. the discounted subtotal
This detail quietly decides your margin. Some platforms charge commission on the full menu price; others charge it on the discounted subtotal the customer actually pays. Talabat, for example, typically charges on the post-discount amount.
It matters most when you run promotions: if commission is on the gross price, you pay the platform's cut on money the customer never paid you. Know which base your contract uses before you run any discount.
How to calculate your true cost per order (worked example)
Take a 50 AED order on a platform charging 30% commission + 2.5% payment fee, with a 5 AED packaging cost and a food cost of 30% of the menu price.
Commission: 50 × 30% = 15. Payment: 50 × 2.5% = 1.25. Food: 50 × 30% = 15. Packaging: 5. Total deductions = 36.25. Your profit on that order = 50 − 36.25 = 13.75 AED (27.5% margin).
Now add a 20% discount you fund: the customer pays 40, you give up 10, and commission is recalculated. Profit can drop to low single digits or go negative. That's why every promotion has to be modelled, not guessed.
Five ways to protect your margin
1. Price delivery items higher than dine-in to cover the platform's cut — most successful restaurants run a 15–25% delivery markup.
2. Cap percentage discounts (e.g. "50% off up to 25 AED") so big baskets don't bleed you.
3. Reconcile every payout against what you were owed — platforms make deduction errors, and they're almost always in their favour.
4. Track profit per platform, not just revenue. Revenue on delivery is easy; profit is the hard part.
5. Be willing to drop a channel that never turns a profit after a fair share of fixed costs.
The bottom line
Delivery can absolutely be profitable — but only if you measure the true cost of each order and price for it. The platforms are not going to do that math for you, and the headline commission hides most of it.
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.