ChowNow vs DoorDash for restaurants: commission, monthly plan and how many orders it takes to break even
DoorDash takes a commission on every order: 15%, 25% or 30% on delivery depending on the plan, and 6% on pickup [1]. ChowNow charges no commission on orders from your own ChowNow page: a monthly plan reported at $119 to $298 on an annual contract, a one-time setup fee and a card rate of 2.95% + 29¢ [2]. On a $30 order, DoorDash Plus keeps $7.50; ChowNow's card fee is about $1.18. The catch is that ChowNow only handles orders from people who already found you, while DoorDash also brings new ones.
If you want pickup orders without any monthly plan, you can build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu. Below: they are different jobs, a side-by-side table, one $30 order, a month at three sizes, the break-even in orders, delivery, and a plan to use both.
They do different jobs
DoorDash is a marketplace: diners open the app, browse, and pick you. You pay for being found. ChowNow is a tool: it gives you a page and an app under your name, and the diner arrives from your website, your Google profile or a sign at the counter. You pay a flat price for taking the order. Comparing them as two prices for the same thing misleads. The right question is how many of your orders already come from people who know you, because those are the ones you are overpaying for on DoorDash.
DoorDash also lets you take orders on your own website at no commission, with card processing of 2.9% + 30¢ [1]. So the real choice is often a DoorDash-powered page, a ChowNow page, or a free pickup page of your own. Our DoorDash alternatives guide compares the three.
Side by side
| DoorDash marketplace | ChowNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Who finds you | Diners in the app | Your own customers |
| Commission, delivery | 15% / 25% / 30% by plan | None on your own page |
| Commission, pickup | 6% | None |
| Monthly fee | None | $119 to $298 (reported) |
| Setup fee | None | $119 to $499 (reported) |
| Card processing | Included or shown on the statement, by plan | 2.95% + 29¢ |
| Delivery drivers | DoorDash Dashers | Yours; ChowNow does not supply couriers in an older source [3] |
| Customer emails | Mostly kept by DoorDash [3] | Yours |
The rates are the ones in our DoorDash commission and ChowNow pricing guides. The 15% to 40% range some vendors quote for DoorDash [3] includes extras like promotions; the plan rates above are the base.
One $30 order, three ways
| Order | Fee | You keep of $30 |
|---|---|---|
| DoorDash Basic, delivered | 15% = $4.50 | $25.50 |
| DoorDash Plus, delivered | 25% = $7.50 | $22.50 |
| DoorDash Premier, delivered | 30% = $9.00 | $21.00 |
| DoorDash, pickup | 6% = $1.80 | $28.20 |
| ChowNow, own page | 2.95% + 29¢ = $1.18 | $28.82, before the monthly plan |
The ChowNow line leaves out the plan, which is why one order is not the answer. The plan is a fixed cost, so the more orders move to it, the less each one costs.
A month at three sizes
Same orders on both, all at $30: 150, 300 and 600 a month. ChowNow is the Pro plan at $199 with annual pricing plus its card rate; DoorDash is the commission on delivered orders at each plan.
| Orders | Sales | DoorDash Basic 15% | DoorDash Plus 25% | DoorDash Premier 30% | ChowNow Pro + card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | $4,500 | $675 | $1,125 | $1,350 | $375 |
| 300 | $9,000 | $1,350 | $2,250 | $2,700 | $552 |
| 600 | $18,000 | $2,700 | $4,500 | $5,400 | $904 |
At 300 orders, ChowNow is 2.95% of $9,000 ($265.50) plus 300 × 29¢ ($87) plus the $199 plan: $551.50. The table assumes every one of those orders would have come through ChowNow if DoorDash did not exist. They would not. That is the next section.
The break-even: how many orders must move
You do not move all your orders; you move the ones that came from regulars. Each order you move saves the DoorDash commission and costs the ChowNow card fee, about $1.18 at $30. The plan is the fixed cost to recover.
| Your DoorDash plan | Saved per $30 order | Orders to cover Hub $119 | Orders to cover Pro $199 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic 15% | $4.50 − $1.18 = $3.33 | 36 | 60 |
| Plus 25% | $7.50 − $1.18 = $6.33 | 19 | 32 |
| Premier 30% | $9.00 − $1.18 = $7.83 | 16 | 26 |
Read it this way: on DoorDash Plus, if 32 delivered orders a month would have come to your own link anyway, ChowNow Pro has paid for itself, before the setup fee. Pickup is a smaller saving: 6% of $30 is $1.80, against a $1.18 card fee, so a pickup order moved saves only 62¢. Pickup alone will not pay for a plan. If your orders are mostly pickup, a free page is the better test.
Where the moved orders come from
An order only counts as moved if the diner would have ordered anyway. Three sources are realistic: people who search your name and land on your Google profile, people at the counter who see a sign or a QR code, and your regulars who already have your number. Our guide to QR codes at the counter shows the sign, and online ordering on Google shows where your link goes. A diner who opens the DoorDash app and picks a pizza place at random is not yours yet, and sending them to ChowNow is not possible.
Delivery is the real difference
With DoorDash Marketplace, a Dasher takes the food. ChowNow's own blog says restaurants fulfil their own delivery, and a 2020 source says it does not supply couriers [3]. Check what it offers now. If you have no driver, your ChowNow page will be pickup only, and the saving above applies to pickup, where DoorDash charges only 6%. That is why a delivery-heavy restaurant stays on DoorDash longer.
What the diner sees on each
On DoorDash the diner sees your listing next to every other restaurant: photos, ratings, delivery time and a fee. They compare you on speed and price in one scroll, and the app, not you, owns the relationship. On a ChowNow page the diner sees only your menu, your photos and your name. Nobody else is a tap away. For a restaurant with a distinct menu and a loyal base, that is a better place to sell; for one that depends on being found by strangers, it is not enough alone. That is why the order of work matters: first make your own page easy to find from Google, then reduce what you pay the marketplace.
A plan to use both
- Keep DoorDash on the lowest plan that still gets you listed (Basic at 15%).
- Put your own ordering link on your Google profile, website and counter sign.
- Include a printed card in each delivered bag with your own ordering link. Check the app's rules about promoting direct ordering before you do it.
- After 60 days, count orders by source and fill the break-even table with your numbers.
- If your own orders cover the plan with room to spare, keep it; if not, cancel at the end of the term.
Mistakes when comparing them
- Treating every DoorDash order as one you could keep. Some orders exist only because the app showed your listing. Estimate the share from regulars before you count the saving.
- Ignoring the 6% pickup rate. On pickup DoorDash is cheap. Move delivery regulars first, not pickup.
- Forgetting the setup fee. ChowNow's reported $119 to $499 is paid once; spread it over a year when you compare.
- Dropping DoorDash on day one. Run both for 60 days before you decide what to cut.
Questions to ask ChowNow before you sign
- What is the plan price for my term, and what is the setup fee?
- Is delivery supported, and by whom, at what cost per trip?
- Is the card rate 2.95% + 29¢ for me, and can it change?
- Can I export my customers and orders?
- What does it cost to cancel, and when does the term end?
Frequently asked questions
Is ChowNow cheaper than DoorDash?
Per order on your own page, yes: about $1.18 against $4.50 to $9 on a $30 delivery order. But ChowNow adds a monthly plan, and it only handles orders from people who already know you.
Does ChowNow charge commission?
Not on orders from your own ChowNow page [2]. Check any marketplace listing it offers separately.
Does DoorDash charge commission on pickup?
Yes, 6% on every US plan [1]. See does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders.
Can I use ChowNow and DoorDash together?
Yes. Many restaurants keep a marketplace for discovery and a direct page for regulars.
Do I get customer emails on each?
On ChowNow, the orders are yours to export; ask to confirm. On DoorDash Marketplace, restaurants generally do not get the diner's contact details [3].
What if I only want pickup?
A page with pickup ordering and no monthly plan is cheaper than either. You can build yours free from a photo of your menu; more answers are in all our guides.
Sources
- Our DoorDash commission fee guide (15%, 25%, 30%; 6% pickup; 2.9% + 30¢ on own-website orders), with its sources.
- Our ChowNow pricing guide (plans, setup fee, 2.95% + 29¢), with its sources; ChowNow, self-published.
- ChowNow vs DoorDash, Sauce (vendor), and ChowNow's post on third-party dependence, as shown in search results Nov 11, 2026. Both sell a rival product.
Prices change and most comparison pages are written by a rival. Confirm with each company in writing.