DoorDash vs Uber Eats for restaurants: which costs less and brings more

For a US restaurant, DoorDash costs less at the bottom: its Basic plan takes 15% of a delivered order, while Uber Eats' cheapest plan, Lite, has taken 20% since March 2026 [1] [2] [3]. Pickup is cheaper on DoorDash too, 6% against Uber's 7% or 10% [1] [2]. At the top, both take 30%.

Which one brings you more orders depends on your town, not on the rate card. DoorDash has the largest share of US meal delivery sales [4], but Uber Eats can be the bigger app in some cities and neighborhoods. Below: every fee side by side, one order and one month worked out, how to find out which app your diners use, whether to be on both, and a simple test to decide.

DoorDash vs Uber Eats fees, side by side (2026)

US rates for independent restaurants, from each company's own pricing page where it shows them, and from reports where it doesn't (marked).

Many pages comparing the two still show Uber Eats at 15% on Lite and 6% on pickup. Those were the rates before March 11, 2026, when Uber raised Lite to 20%, pickup to 7% and Plus orders from Uber One members to 30% [3].

One $25 order on every plan

The same $25 food subtotal, delivered or picked up, before your food and packaging cost.

So on rate alone, DoorDash wins or ties every line except its own-site tool, where the difference is pennies. The bigger difference is usually how many orders each app sends you, covered below.

A month of orders on each app

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

The $4,500 a year on the cheapest plans is the clearest money difference between the two apps for an independent place. If you plan to sit on the lowest tier, DoorDash costs less per order. If you're going to the top tier anyway, the rate is a tie and the decision is about reach.

Which app brings more orders where you are

National share says DoorDash is bigger [4]. Your street may disagree. Uber Eats is often reported to be stronger in dense big-city centers and DoorDash in suburbs and smaller towns, but that's a pattern in reviews, not a measured rule. Check your own market in an evening:

1. Open both apps at your address at dinner time. Search your cuisine ("pizza", "pho", "bakery"). Count how many places show up within your delivery area on each, and how long they quote for delivery.
2. Look at who your rivals use. If the three places most like yours are on only one app, that app is where your diners look.
3. Ask at the counter for a week. "Do you use DoorDash or Uber Eats?" Write down the answers. Twenty answers tell you more than any national chart.
4. Ask your delivery customers how they found you. A diner who already orders from you through one app is not new reach on the other.
5. Look at drivers outside. The bags on the bikes and cars waiting outside busy places near you show which app is moving orders on your block.

Should you be on both?

Many independents run both, each on its lowest plan, so diners who only use one app can still find them. It works when:

• Your kitchen can absorb a rush from two tablets at once without slowing the dining room.
• Your point-of-sale system connects to both, or you're willing to manage two tablets and two menus.
• You keep both menus in sync: a sold-out item turned off in one app and left on in the other is a refund waiting to happen.

It works less well when you're small, slow at peak, or most of your app orders are regulars, who will simply move from one app to the other. Two apps then add tablets and refunds without adding diners.

Being on both also doesn't stop you choosing a different plan on each. Running Basic on DoorDash and Lite on Uber Eats is the cheapest way to be everywhere; moving one of them up is a separate test.

A 6-step test to decide

1. Start both on the cheapest plan (or the one you're on, if you're already listed).
2. Run four full weeks without changing prices or promotions, so the two compare fairly.
3. Count three things per app: orders, food sales, and new customers (both apps' reports show first-time diners).
4. Work out what each order left you: subtotal minus commission minus food and packaging cost. How to price a menu item shows how to get your plate cost.
5. Drop or keep. An app that brings few new diners and mostly your regulars is costing you commission on people you already had.
6. Only then test a higher plan on the app that brought the most new diners, for at least a month, and judge it on the break-even: on a $25 order with 30% food cost, Plus needs about 22% more orders than Basic to leave you the same, Premier about 37.5% more (worked out in DoorDash's commission fee for restaurants).

Trials make the first month look better on both apps. Judge on the first full month at the real rate.

Pricing your menu on each app

Both apps let you set your own prices. The price that keeps your take the same as a $20 counter sale:

Two things to weigh before you mark up. On Uber Eats, prices that don't match your store move pickup from 7% to 10% [2], and DoorDash's 6% pickup rate is reported to depend on matching too [7]. And diners compare: the same dish at different prices on the two apps and on your own site is noticed. Many owners mark up part of the gap and keep one price across both apps, which is also easier to run.

How far to raise app prices, plan by plan, is worked out in does DoorDash mark up prices. If you run your own drivers, both apps list self-delivery at 15%; DoorDash's side is in DoorDash self-delivery commission.

Where both apps cost the most: your regulars

Neither app is expensive for a diner who found you in it. Both are expensive for the diner who's ordered from you twenty times. Whichever you choose, give regulars a cheaper way to order:

• Add your own ordering link to your Google Business Profile, set as preferred for pickup [9].
• Put a card in every app bag: "Order direct next time, same food, lower price."
• Make your site's first screen an "Order for pickup" button, not a link to either app.

The pickup side of this is worked out in does DoorDash charge commission on pickup orders, and the rates you'd pay with a third app are in Grubhub's commission fee for restaurants. If you need a page of your own first, you can build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu, with orders that ring your phone and no fee per order.

Common mistakes

• Comparing on old rates. A comparison that shows Uber Eats Lite at 15% predates March 2026 [3].
• Choosing on national market share. Check your own town in an evening; it costs nothing.
• Judging on the trial month. 0% commission makes any app look great.
• Counting regulars as new reach. A regular who switches apps is no new order, only a new commission.
• Two menus out of sync. Sold-out items on one app become refunds you pay.
• Paying Uber's Plus member rate without counting it. Check how many of your Plus orders come from Uber One members; at 30%, they cost the same as Premium.

Questions

Is DoorDash or Uber Eats cheaper for restaurants?

DoorDash, at the bottom tier and on pickup: 15% vs 20% delivered on the cheapest plans, 6% vs 7% or 10% on pickup [1] [2]. Both top plans are 30%.

Does Uber Eats charge restaurants more than DoorDash?

Since March 2026, on Lite and on pickup, yes [3]. On Plus they match unless the order comes from an Uber One member, which costs 30% [2].

Which app has more customers?

DoorDash has the largest share of US meal delivery sales [4]. Locally it varies; check both apps at your address.

Can I be on DoorDash and Uber Eats at the same time?

Yes, many restaurants list on both. Check your sign-up terms for any exclusive offer before you agree to one, and expect two tablets unless your POS connects to both.

What does each charge for orders on my own website?

DoorDash Online Ordering: no commission, 2.9% + $0.30 [6]. Uber Webshop: 2.5% + $0.29 [2]. A page where diners pay at the counter costs $0 per order.

Which is better for a small restaurant?

On cost, DoorDash on Basic. On orders, whichever your neighbors' diners use. Many small places list on both at the lowest plan, count new diners for a month, and keep the one that brings people who didn't know them.

Whichever app you keep, your regulars can order direct for free: build your menu site from a photo of your menu. More answers are in all our guides.

Sources

1. DoorDash commission rates and pricing, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search; the page blocks direct reading).
2. Uber Eats pricing for merchants (US), Uber, read Nov 2, 2026.
3. Uber Eats increases marketplace fees, Restaurant Dive, March 10, 2026.
4. DoorDash: statistics and facts, Statista, read Nov 4, 2026 (largest share of US online meal delivery sales as of mid-2025).
5. DoorDash pricing, New Zealand, DoorDash, read Nov 4, 2026 (as listed in search: Self-Delivery 15%).
6. Give your restaurant its own ordering page, powered by DoorDash, DoorDash, read Nov 3, 2026.
7. How much does DoorDash charge restaurants?, Restolabs, read Nov 4, 2026 (reported: trials, Premier guarantee, tablet, pickup price matching).
8. View past payments and breakdowns, Uber Help, read Nov 2, 2026 (as listed in search).
9. Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 1, 2026.