DoorDash self-delivery commission: what it costs and when it pays

DoorDash's Self-Delivery program lists your restaurant in the DoorDash app while your own drivers take the food. In the US, DoorDash lists the commission on those orders at 15% of the subtotal, and $6.00 a delivery for any order you hand to a Dasher instead; you set the delivery fee the diner pays and you keep it, along with the tip [1]. On a $30 order, that's $4.50 to DoorDash.

That's the same 15% as DoorDash's Basic Marketplace plan, where a Dasher drives for you [2]. So Self-Delivery saves you money against the Plus (25%) and Premier (30%) plans, not against Basic, and the saving only stays a saving if your driver costs less than the gap. Below: the rate beside every plan, one order worked six ways, what a driver really costs a trip, the number of orders where it pays, and how to set it up without leaving diners waiting.

What DoorDash Self-Delivery is

Self-Delivery is a way of being on the DoorDash Marketplace without using Dashers. Diners find you in the app, order and pay DoorDash as usual. The order comes to your tablet or your point of sale, and someone on your staff drives it to the diner [1] [3].

DoorDash launched it in 2020 for restaurants that already had their own drivers, mostly pizza and Chinese takeout places that never stopped delivering themselves [4]. It is not the same as:

• DoorDash Drive On-Demand, where you take the order on your own site and pay DoorDash a flat fee for a Dasher to carry it. DoorDash's US product page lists $6.99 to $10.99 an order [5].
• DoorDash Online Ordering (once called Storefront), your own ordering page powered by DoorDash, with no commission and card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 [6]. Its fees are in DoorDash Storefront fees.
• The Marketplace plans Basic, Plus and Premier, where DoorDash finds the diner and a Dasher drives. Those rates are in DoorDash commission fee for restaurants.

The self-delivery commission beside DoorDash's plans

All the rates below are on the food subtotal, before tax and tip.

A note on the numbers. DoorDash's US pages block automated reading, so the Self-Delivery rate here is as DoorDash's own page shows in search results, and that page is several years old [1]. Rates differ by country: DoorDash's New Zealand page lists a much higher self-delivery rate than its Australian one [7]. Before you sign, ask DoorDash for your rate in writing, and check the Merchant Portal once you're live.

One $30 order, six ways

A $30 delivery order of food (before tax and tip). The diner pays a $3.99 delivery fee where you set it. Your driver's cost is worked out in the next section; here we use $5.50 a trip.

Three things show up. Against Basic, your own driver loses you $1.51 on this order: you pay the same 15% and then pay the driver too. Against Plus and Premier, your own driver wins by $1.49 to $2.99. And the one route that keeps every dollar is the diner who orders on your own page and collects the food, which is why most places that save money on delivery do it by moving regulars to pickup, not by hiring drivers.

Basic isn't the same deal for the diner, though. DoorDash says Basic shows your store to fewer people and charges diners higher fees than Plus or Premier [2]. With Self-Delivery you set the delivery fee and the zone yourself [1] [3], so you can keep the fee low for people close by.

What your own driver costs a trip

This is the number most owners skip, and it decides the whole question. A driver costs you their pay for the time on the road and the cost of the car.

1. Time. A local trip out and back, with parking and the hand-over, often takes 20 to 30 minutes. At a $16 hourly wage, 25 minutes is $6.67. If the driver also folds boxes and answers the phone between runs, count only the road time.
2. The car. The IRS business mileage rate, the figure it allows for the full cost of running a car, was 70 cents a mile for 2025 [8]. A 4-mile round trip is $2.80. If the car is the driver's own, many places pay this rate back to the driver; if it's yours, it's your fuel, wear and insurance.
3. Payroll costs. Employer taxes and workers' comp add to the wage. Ask your payroll provider for your own rate.
4. The tip goes to the driver, so it doesn't change your cost, but it does change who will take the job.

Put together, one trip at a time costs roughly $7 to $10. Two orders on one run cut it nearly in half per order. That's why the $5.50 figure above only holds for a busy driver who carries more than one bag per run. One order an hour per driver, and Self-Delivery costs more than Plus.

Work out your own number:

When self-delivery pays: the break-even

Self-Delivery beats a Marketplace plan when your net driver cost per order is less than the commission you'd save. On a $30 order:

On a $50 order, the bar rises to $5.00 against Plus and $7.50 against Premier. So Self-Delivery makes sense when three things are true together:

• Your orders are large (family dinners, catering trays, pizza for a party).
• Your drivers are busy enough to carry two or more orders a run, or they already work for you and sit idle between runs.
• You'd otherwise be on Plus or Premier for the reach.

If you'd be on Basic anyway, Self-Delivery buys control (your fee, your zone, your driver at the door), not a lower commission.

Who it fits and who it doesn't

Pizza places in particular often already run drivers for phone and web orders. For them, Self-Delivery fills the same drivers' idle time with app orders. What a pizza site needs to take those direct orders is in pizza website: what it needs.

How to switch to self-delivery on DoorDash

1. Ask your DoorDash rep or merchant support for Self-Delivery and your rate in writing. If you're new, ask for it at sign-up [1].
2. Set your delivery zone. DoorDash lets self-delivery stores choose a radius or draw a custom zone on a map [3]. Start small: the closer the diner, the cheaper the trip.
3. Set your delivery fee and minimum order. You choose the fee [1]. A minimum order (say $20) keeps drivers off $8 runs.
4. Decide who drives at which times. DoorDash's Flexible Fulfillment can send orders to your drivers or to Dashers by rules, such as time of day or distance, or by a switch on the tablet [3] [9]. A common split: your driver inside 3 miles at dinner, Dashers further out or when your driver is out. Remember each Dasher hand-off costs the flat fee [1].
5. Set honest prep and drive times. The diner sees an arrival time in the app. If your driver leaves only when there are two bags, add that wait.
6. Give drivers a way to mark orders picked up and delivered. Ask DoorDash which tool your store uses for status updates; diners in the app expect to see progress.
7. Check your insurance. A personal car policy may not cover delivery for a business. Ask your insurer before the first run.
8. Run it for a month, then count. Orders, average order, orders per driver hour, refunds for late or cold food. Use the table above with your real numbers.

The orders that never needed DoorDash

Look at your DoorDash report for repeat diners. A diner who orders from you every Friday already knows you. Every one of their orders pays DoorDash 15% to 30% for finding them again. Self-Delivery lowers that a little against Plus or Premier; moving them to your own page takes it to zero.

• Pickup on your own page costs nothing per order if the diner pays you at the counter. The full sum on pickups is in does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders.
• Delivery from your own page keeps the delivery fee and the whole subtotal; your driver goes either way.
• Google can send searches for your name to your own ordering link. Google Business Profile lets you add your own link and choose it as your preferred one [10].

If you don't have a page for direct orders yet, you can build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu, then give the link to your Friday regulars.

Common mistakes

• Comparing Self-Delivery with Premier when you'd be on Basic. Against Basic the commission is the same; you just add a driver.
• Counting only the driver's wage. The car costs 70 cents a mile by the IRS's measure [8]; leave it out and every trip looks cheaper than it is.
• A zone that's too wide. One 9-mile trip can eat the margin of three short ones.
• No minimum order. A $12 order with a $6 driver cost and a 15% commission loses money.
• Handing late orders to Dashers all night. Each hand-off adds the flat fee [1]. If it happens every evening, you need another driver or a smaller zone.
• Hiring a driver for DoorDash orders alone. Start with a driver who already delivers your phone and web orders; app orders fill their gaps.

Questions

What is DoorDash's self-delivery commission?

DoorDash's US Self-Delivery page lists 15% of the subtotal on orders your own drivers deliver, and $6.00 for each order you send to a Dasher [1]. Ask for your own rate in writing; rates differ by country and contract.

Do I keep the delivery fee and tips with self-delivery?

Yes. DoorDash says self-delivery stores set their own delivery fee and keep it, along with tips [1].

Is self-delivery cheaper than DoorDash Basic?

Not on commission: both are 15% [1] [2]. Self-Delivery only comes out ahead if the delivery fee you keep covers more than your driver's cost.

Can I use my own drivers and Dashers at the same time?

Yes. Flexible Fulfillment sends orders to your drivers or Dashers by time, distance or a tablet switch [3] [9]. Each Dasher order costs the flat fee.

Does Uber Eats have self-delivery too?

Yes, also at 15% in the US, and an order you hand to Uber's couriers costs 25% [11]. The two apps are compared in DoorDash vs Uber Eats for restaurants.

What does Grubhub charge for self-delivery?

Grubhub charges its marketing rate (5%, 15% or 20% by plan) and adds its 10% delivery fee only when its own drivers deliver. The plans are in Grubhub commission fee for restaurants.

Most of the money in delivery is in the regulars. To give them a way to order from you with no commission, build your menu site free from a photo of your menu. More answers are in all our guides.

Sources

1. Deliver with your team using DoorDash Self-Delivery, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: 15% commission, $6.00 flat per Dasher delivery, you set and keep the delivery fee and tips; the page blocks direct reading and is several years old).
2. DoorDash commission rates and pricing, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: 15%, 25%, 30% delivery, 6% pickup; Basic shows to fewer diners with higher diner fees).
3. Enable self-delivery, DoorDash Developer docs, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: radius or custom zone, Flexible Fulfillment rules).
4. A new way to partner with DoorDash: introducing Self-Delivery, DoorDash, 2020, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search).
5. How much does DoorDash charge restaurants?, Restolabs, updated Jul 27, 2026 (reported: Drive On-Demand $6.99 to $10.99 an order, tablet $6 a week).
6. Give your restaurant its own ordering page, powered by DoorDash, DoorDash, read Nov 3, 2026.
7. DoorDash merchant fees and pricing, New Zealand, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search).
8. Standard mileage rates, IRS, read Nov 4, 2026 (70 cents a mile for business use in 2025).
9. Self-Delivery FAQ, DoorDash Help, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search).
10. Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 1, 2026.
11. Uber Eats pricing for merchants (US), Uber, read Nov 2, 2026.