Does DoorDash mark up prices? Who sets them, and by how much
DoorDash doesn't raise a restaurant's menu prices itself: the restaurant sets the prices diners see in the app, and DoorDash says it doesn't require them to match the menu in the store [1]. Many restaurants do set them higher, to cover DoorDash's commission of 15% to 30% on each delivered order [2]. On top of the menu price, DoorDash adds its own service and delivery fees, which go to DoorDash, not to the restaurant.
So a DoorDash order usually costs more than the counter for two separate reasons: the restaurant's markup, and DoorDash's fees. This guide splits a real order into those parts, then answers the owner's side: how much a markup must be to cover each plan, what DoorDash's own data says it costs you in sales, the pickup catch, and a plan that keeps both your margin and your regulars.
Who sets the prices on DoorDash
The restaurant. Each restaurant edits its own DoorDash menu, item by item, in the Merchant Portal or through its point of sale [3]. DoorDash's position, in its own words, is that it doesn't require delivery prices to match in-store prices but recommends that restaurants keep them as close as possible [1].
What DoorDash does set is its fees to the diner: a service fee, a delivery fee, and sometimes a small-order fee. Those are not part of the menu price, and the restaurant gets none of them.
How much more a DoorDash order costs: one order split by line
Self Financial compared the same McDonald's order in 100 of the largest US cities, in April 2025, at the counter and on the delivery apps, with no new-member discounts [4]. On DoorDash:
| Line | DoorDash | In store | Who gets the difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | $41.55 | $34.21 | The restaurant (its markup, $7.34 or 21%) |
| Sales tax | $3.56 | $2.74 | The state, taxed on the higher price |
| Service fee | $6.37 | none | DoorDash |
| Delivery fee | $3.31 | none | DoorDash |
| Other fees | $0.16 | none | DoorDash |
| Tip (15%) | $8.27 | none | The driver |
| Total | $63.21 | $36.95 | 71% more in all |
That's one chain's order, so treat it as an example, not an average. It shows the shape well: just over a quarter of the $26.26 gap was the menu markup, and the rest was DoorDash's fees, tax and the tip. In 2023 the same study found a 90% gap on DoorDash, so the total gap had come down [4].
A Restaurant Business test of 13 restaurants found all but two charged more for delivery than in store [5]. There's no official DoorDash-wide average markup; figures you'll see quoted online, such as "about 15%", rarely link to a study we could find.
Why restaurants raise their prices on DoorDash
Because the commission comes out of the menu price. On DoorDash's Plus plan, a $20 dish pays DoorDash $5.00 (25%), and the restaurant keeps $15 [2]. If food and packaging cost $7, and the cook and the counter cost another $6, there's $2 left before rent. Most independent restaurants can't take a quarter off every delivery order and stay open, so they raise the app price instead.
Packaging adds to it: a delivery order needs containers, bags and seals that a dine-in plate doesn't.
The markup that keeps you whole, plan by plan
To keep the same dollars on an app order as at the counter, the app price must be your counter price divided by (1 minus the commission). The commission is on the subtotal, before tax and tip [2].
| Plan | Commission | Markup to keep the same dollars | A $15.00 dish becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup in the app | 6% | 6.4% | $15.96 |
| Basic | 15% | 17.6% | $17.65 |
| Plus | 25% | 33.3% | $20.00 |
| Premier | 30% | 42.9% | $21.43 |
A full cover on Premier means a 43% markup, which diners notice. That's why many owners cover part of the commission, not all of it, and treat the rest as the price of a new diner. Whether a plan pays at all is worked out in DoorDash commission fee for restaurants. How to set the counter price in the first place, from the plate cost up, is in how to price a menu item.
What a markup costs you in sales, by DoorDash's numbers
DoorDash says a one-month internal study in 2023 of more than 4,500 restaurants found that marked-up menus had up to 37% fewer sales and up to 78% lower reorder rates [1]. That's DoorDash's own study, not an outside one, and DoorDash has a reason to want prices low; the words "up to" also mean the typical effect is smaller. Still, it's the only large number available, and it matches what diners say in reviews: a price gap they notice feels like being overcharged by the restaurant, not by the app.
DoorDash has also tested a label on some restaurants' listings reading "Menu Matches In-Store Prices" [5], so a store that matches can stand out next to one that doesn't.
Does DoorDash mark up pickup orders?
DoorDash adds no delivery fee to a pickup order. But a restaurant's DoorDash menu usually has one set of prices, so a marked-up menu is marked up for pickup too.
There's a cost to the restaurant as well. DoorDash's pickup commission is 6% on every plan [2], and a restaurant that wants that rate is reported to have to keep its DoorDash pickup prices in line with its prices in store [6]. Uber Eats publishes the same kind of rule: 7% on pickup with prices matched, 10% without [7]. The full sum is in does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders.
And the pickup diner lives close by, is often a regular, and could have walked in and paid the counter price. Marking up their order teaches them that the app is where your food is expensive.
Three ways to price your DoorDash menu
| Plan | What you do | Good when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match the counter | Same prices everywhere | Your margins are high (coffee, pizza), or you're on Basic | A 25% to 30% commission on every order |
| Cover part | Add $1 to $2 per main, or about 10% | Most independents on Plus | Diners comparing with your own site |
| Cover all | The break-even markup above | Low-margin dishes on Premier | Fewer orders and reorders [1]; the pickup rate |
Most owners don't need one rule for the whole menu. Drinks, sides and desserts often carry a high margin and can stay at the counter price; mains with a high food cost carry the markup. Delivery-only bundles (a family meal, two mains and sides) let you set a fair app price on something with no counter price to compare.
How to change prices on your DoorDash menu
- Open the Merchant Portal and go to the menu editor, or change prices in your point of sale if your menu syncs from it [3].
- Change by item, not one blanket percentage, so drinks and sides can stay low.
- Round to prices that look like a menu ($17.50, not $17.65). Price endings and anchors are covered in menu pricing psychology.
- Write down the date and your order count for the 4 weeks before.
- Count again 4 weeks after: orders, average order, repeat diners. If orders fell more than the extra margin made, step back.
Tell your regulars that ordering direct costs less
A markup on the app works best when diners have a cheaper, easy way to order from you. Then the app price is the price of the app, and your regulars choose you directly.
- Have your own ordering page with your counter prices. If diners pay you at pickup, no one takes a cut. Commission-free online ordering lists the options and what each still costs.
- Say it once, plainly: "Same food, counter prices when you order on our site." On a card in every bag, at the counter, on your Google profile.
- Point Google at your page. Google Business Profile lets you add your own ordering link and pick it as the preferred one [8].
If you don't have a page yet, you can build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu, at your counter prices.
Common mistakes
- A blanket 30% on everything. A $3 soda at $3.90 is the price diners screenshot.
- Marking up and calling it "DoorDash's prices." Diners know the restaurant sets them [1]; staff should say so honestly.
- Losing the pickup rate. A marked-up pickup menu can cost more in commission on some apps [6] [7].
- Never measuring. Without a before-and-after count, you can't tell whether the markup paid.
- No cheaper way to order direct. Then the markup just pushes diners to a rival's listing.
Questions
Does DoorDash charge more than the restaurant?
Usually, yes, for two reasons: many restaurants set higher menu prices in the app, and DoorDash adds a service fee and a delivery fee. In one 2025 comparison of a McDonald's order, the food cost 21% more and the whole order 71% more with fees and a 15% tip [4].
Does DoorDash set the menu prices?
No. Restaurants set their own DoorDash prices; DoorDash recommends keeping them close to in-store prices but doesn't require it [1].
How much do restaurants mark up on DoorDash?
It varies by restaurant. In a Restaurant Business test of 13 restaurants, 11 charged more for delivery [5]. To cover the commission fully, a restaurant would need about 18% on Basic, 33% on Plus and 43% on Premier.
Is DoorDash pickup cheaper than delivery?
Yes for the diner: no delivery fee. But if the restaurant's DoorDash menu is marked up, the pickup food price is too. Ordering on the restaurant's own site is often cheapest.
Should I charge more on DoorDash?
Usually a little: enough to cover part of the commission, not all of it, with drinks and sides left at the counter price, and a direct way to order at counter prices for regulars. DoorDash's own data says large markups cost sales and reorders [1].
Want a place where your regulars pay your counter prices and you pay no commission? Build your menu site free from a photo of your menu. More answers are in all our guides.
Sources
- How menu pricing could impact your sales, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: no price-match requirement, recommends close to in-store; 2023 internal study of 4,500+ restaurants, up to 37% fewer sales and 78% lower reorder rates; the page blocks direct reading).
- DoorDash commission rates and pricing, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: 15%, 25%, 30% delivery, 6% pickup).
- How to edit your DoorDash menu prices, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search).
- The most expensive cities for food delivery apps, Self Financial, prices as of Apr 1, 2025, read Nov 4, 2026.
- DoorDash pushes back against inflated delivery prices, Restaurant Business, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: 13-restaurant test; "Menu Matches In-Store Prices" label).
- How much does DoorDash charge restaurants?, Restolabs, updated Jul 27, 2026 (reported: the 6% pickup rate tied to in-store prices).
- Uber Eats pricing for merchants (US), Uber, read Nov 2, 2026.
- Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 1, 2026.