DoorDash commission fee for restaurants: what you really pay

DoorDash charges US restaurants a commission on each order's subtotal: 15% on the Basic plan, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premier for delivered orders, and 6% on pickup orders on every plan [1] [2]. There is no monthly fee or contract on these plans; you pay only when an order comes in [1]. Orders placed on your own website through DoorDash's online ordering pay no commission, only card processing of 2.9% + 30¢ [3].

Below: what each plan gets you, what you keep on a real order, a month of orders worked out, how many more orders a higher plan must bring to pay for itself, the extras that add to the bill, and how to pay less without leaving DoorDash.

1. DoorDash commission rates by plan

These are DoorDash's published US rates for restaurants with 75 or fewer locations [1] [4]. Larger chains negotiate their own.

The commission is figured on the food subtotal, before tax and tip. Diners pay their own delivery and service fees on top; those go to DoorDash, not to you, and they rise on the cheaper plans. DoorDash says the Marketplace commission covers your listing, the Dasher who delivers, customer support and card processing [2].

Introductory offers. Restaurants signing up have been offered a 0% commission trial (reported as 7 days on Basic and 30 days on Plus and Premier) [4]. Check what your sign-up page offers; trials change.

The Premier guarantee. DoorDash has offered to refund a month's delivery commission on Premier if a new store gets very few orders that month (reported as fewer than 20, in the first six months, with conditions on cancellations and time online) [4]. Read the exact terms in your Merchant Portal before counting on it.

Outside the US the rates differ. DoorDash's Canadian page lists 20%, 25% and 29% on delivery and 8–10% on pickup [5].

2. What you keep on one $25 order

The same $25 order, arriving six different ways. Commission and processing at each published rate; your food, packaging and labor are not taken out yet.

The gap between the top and the bottom line is $7.50 on every order. A regular who orders twice a week through the app on Premier costs you about $780 a year in commission that a pickup order on your own site wouldn't.

3. A month of DoorDash orders, worked out

An example, not your numbers: 300 orders a month at $25 each, $7,500 in food sales.

To run your own numbers: take last month's DoorDash food sales from your Merchant Portal statement and multiply by your plan's rate. Then add the extras in section 6. Most owners who do this find the yearly figure larger than they guessed, because the fee comes out before the money arrives and never shows up as a bill.

4. Is Plus or Premier worth it? The break-even

A higher plan only pays if the extra orders cover the extra commission. Here is the math with one example: a $25 order where food and packaging cost 30% of the price ($7.50).

So if Basic brings you 200 delivery orders a month, Plus has to bring 245 and Premier 275 just to leave you where you were. If your food cost is higher than 30%, the bar is higher still: at 35%, Plus needs 25% more orders and Premier 43% more.

How to test it: stay on one plan for two to three full weeks, write down orders and food sales, switch, and compare the same weeks of the month. A plan change can take up to five business days to apply [4]. Count the weeks from the day the new rate shows on your statement, not the day you asked.

5. Should you raise your prices on DoorDash?

Many restaurants charge more in the app than at the counter, to cover the commission. The price that leaves you the same dollars as an in-store sale is your price divided by (1 − the rate):

Two limits. First, the 6% pickup rate is reported to require pickup menu prices that match your in-store prices [4], so a marked-up menu can cost you the cheap pickup rate. Second, diners compare. If your app prices are far above what they see on your own site or Google listing, some order less, and some order direct, which is cheaper for you anyway. Many owners mark up part of the gap, not all of it, and say plainly on their own site that ordering direct costs less.

How much restaurants really mark up, the markup that covers each plan, and what DoorDash's own study says it costs in sales are in does DoorDash mark up prices.

6. Other DoorDash costs on top of commission

• Tablet. DoorDash's order tablet is reported at $6 a week in the US after the trial, about $26 a month; you can avoid it if your point-of-sale system connects to DoorDash, or by taking orders by email or fax [4].
• Promotions. Discounts you fund ("$5 off $25", free delivery) come out of your payout on top of commission. Add them to the commission when you work out what an order leaves you.
• Sponsored listings. Paid placement in the app, charged per order or per click. Optional; set a monthly limit before you turn it on.
• Refunds and errors. When a diner reports a missing or wrong item, the refund can be charged to you. Check each statement's adjustments line and dispute the ones you can show were right (a photo of the sealed bag helps).
• Card processing on your own channel. 2.9% + 30¢ per order through DoorDash's online ordering [3]. Stripe's standard US rate is the same, 2.9% + 30¢ [10].

There is no monthly subscription on the Marketplace plans and no cancellation fee listed [1].

7. Fee caps in some cities

A few US cities have limited what delivery apps may charge restaurants. San Francisco has required since January 31, 2023 that apps offer restaurants a core delivery option at 15% or less of the order [7]. New York City's council made a cap of 15% on delivery and 5% on other fees permanent in 2021, and the apps challenged it in court [8]. Rules like these change and are argued over: if you're in a big city, search your city's name with "delivery fee cap" and check your plan choices against it.

8. DoorDash vs Uber Eats commission

Every fee of the two apps side by side, with a month on each and a test to choose, is in DoorDash vs Uber Eats for restaurants. In short:

Uber Eats uses the same three-tier shape. DoorDash's own comparison lists Uber Eats at 20% (Lite), 25% (Plus) and 30% (Premium), and pickup at 7% [6]; Uber Eats was reported to have raised its Lite rate from 15% in March 2026 [11]. Grubhub's plans charge a marketing commission by tier (5%, 15% or 20%) plus a delivery fee from 10% when its drivers deliver; the plans and the pickup catch are in Grubhub's commission fee for restaurants. On all three apps the real question is the same: which orders would have come to you anyway? Every Uber Eats plan, the 7% or 10% pickup rule and a $25 order worked out are in Uber Eats commission for restaurants.

9. How to pay DoorDash less without leaving it

For most independents, DoorDash is worth something: it brings people who've never heard of you. What costs the most is the commission on people who already know you. Keep the app for discovery and move the rest:

1. Look up your split. In your statements, how much is delivery and how much pickup? A pickup order in the app at 6% is the easiest one to move to your own site at 0%.
2. Pick the plan on numbers. Use section 4. If Plus didn't bring 22% more orders in your test, go back to Basic.
3. Put your own Order button on Google. Google Business Profile lets you add your own ordering link next to the apps, and choose which one is preferred for pickup [9]. Diners searching your name are your regulars.
4. A card in every DoorDash bag. "Order direct next time: pickup, no app fees", with a QR code. It's the one place you know a repeat customer will see it.
5. Same food, lower price direct. If your app prices are marked up, your own site's prices are lower. Say so on the card and your site.
6. Your website's first screen is one button. Order for pickup. Not a PDF menu, not a link to the app.
7. Turn off what you didn't choose. Promotions and sponsored listings you never set up on purpose: check the Marketing tab.
8. Count it every month. Direct orders, app delivery, app pickup, and the commission paid. If direct orders aren't rising after two months, look at which step above you skipped.

DoorDash's own commission-free ordering page for your website, its Starter, Boost and Pro tiers and when each pays, is in DoorDash Storefront fees. The fees that remain once an order comes direct, and eight ways to take those orders with their prices, are in commission-free online ordering for restaurants. If you need your own ordering page first, you can build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu; diners pay you at the counter, so no one takes a cut.

If you already have drivers, DoorDash also lets you deliver app orders yourself. The rate, a $30 order worked six ways and what a driver costs a trip are in DoorDash self-delivery commission.

Common mistakes

• Reading the rate as the whole cost. Promotions, refunds and the tablet come on top.
• Moving to Premier on hope. Without counting orders before and after, you can't tell whether the extra 15 points paid for themselves.
• Sending regulars to the app. A "Find us on DoorDash" sticker on your door asks your best customers to pay 15–30% more to reach you.
• Marking up the pickup menu and losing the 6% pickup rate.
• Never checking the adjustments line. Refunds for "missing items" add up quietly.

Questions

How much does DoorDash take from a restaurant per order?

15%, 25% or 30% of the food subtotal on delivered orders, by plan, and 6% on pickup orders, on DoorDash's US plans [1]. On a $25 delivered order that's $3.75 to $7.50.

Does DoorDash charge a monthly fee to restaurants?

Not on the Marketplace plans: they list no monthly fee, subscription or contract [1]. The optional tablet is reported at $6 a week [4].

Does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders?

Yes, 6% on every US plan [1]. Pickup orders on your own website through DoorDash's online ordering pay no commission, only card processing [3]. A pickup order through every app, and a month of pickups worked out, are in does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders.

Can I negotiate DoorDash's commission?

The published plans are fixed for restaurants with up to 75 locations; larger groups negotiate. What you control is the plan you pick, and how many of your orders go through the app at all.

Is DoorDash worth it for a small restaurant?

For new customers who find you in the app, often yes. For regulars who'd order from you anyway, the commission is money you don't need to pay. Many independents keep DoorDash on Basic for discovery and send regulars to their own pickup ordering.

What does DoorDash's commission cover?

DoorDash says it covers your listing and marketing in the app, the Dasher's delivery, customer support and card processing [2]. Promotions and sponsored listings are extra.

Want your regulars to order from you, not the app? Build your menu site free from a photo of your menu, with pickup orders that ring your phone and no commission. For the full cost of a website and ordering, see what a restaurant website costs, and more answers in all our guides.

Sources

1. DoorDash commission rates and pricing, DoorDash, read Nov 1, 2026 (as listed in search; the page blocks direct reading).
2. DoorDash commission and fees, explained, DoorDash, read Nov 1, 2026 (as listed in search).
3. Grow sales on your own channels with Online Ordering, DoorDash, read Nov 1, 2026 (as listed in search).
4. How much does DoorDash charge restaurants?, Restolabs, read Nov 1, 2026 (reported, not DoorDash's own page: trial offers, Premier guarantee, tablet, 75-location limit, pickup price matching, plan change timing).
5. DoorDash pricing, Canada, DoorDash, read Nov 1, 2026 (as listed in search).
6. Which delivery service is best for restaurants, DoorDash, read Nov 1, 2026 (as listed in search; a rival's comparison).
7. Delivery services FAQ, City and County of San Francisco, Nov 2022.
8. New York City Council OKs cap on food delivery fees, Transport Topics, 2021.
9. Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 1, 2026.
10. Stripe pricing, Stripe, read Oct 22, 2026.
11. How the Uber Eats fees stack up against 3PD competitors, Pulse, 2026, read Nov 1, 2026 (reported).