What Marketplace Commissions Really Cost Your Restaurant

Every restaurant owner knows the marketplace fee is high. Fewer sit down and work out what it means over a month, because the number only shows up buried in a payout statement.

This post walks through the math in the open, so you can do it for your own numbers.

Where a marketplace order goes

Take a typical order and follow the money:

The menu price is what the customer sees.
The commission is taken off the top before you see a cent. Marketplaces typically take a percentage of the order subtotal, and higher tiers cost more.
Payment processing is usually inside that percentage, but check your statement.
Promotions you opt into are funded by you, not the platform.

What is left is what reaches your bank account. On a busy night the gap between "sales" and "deposit" is the commission line.

Do the monthly math

You only need three numbers:

Your average online order value.
How many marketplace orders you receive in a month.
The commission percentage on your current plan.

Multiply them together. That is what you are paying for the privilege of being listed. Most owners who run this exercise for the first time find the result is larger than their rent for the month.

What changes with your own ordering site

When a customer orders from your own site or app, there is no commission on that order. You still pay for payment processing, and you may pay for delivery if the customer chooses it, but those are costs you can see and control.

Just as important, the customer is yours. You keep the order history and the contact details, which means you can invite them back without paying a platform to reach someone who already likes your food.

Do you have to leave the marketplaces?

No. Many restaurants keep a marketplace listing for discovery and move their regulars to direct ordering. The listing becomes an acquisition channel rather than the only channel.

The goal is simple: every repeat customer who orders direct instead of through a marketplace is a full-price order.

Next step

If you want to see what direct ordering looks like for your restaurant, the pricing page lays out the plans, and how it works walks through setup.