How to Reduce Delivery Commission Fees

Delivery commissions are one of the biggest controllable costs in the restaurant industry today. Platforms like Uber Eats and Deliveroo charge between 15% and 30% on every order, and for many restaurants, this single line item wipes out most of the profit margin. The good news is that there are practical, proven strategies to reduce what you pay — without abandoning delivery entirely.

Why Delivery Commissions Are Eating Your Profits

The maths is brutal. If your restaurant has a 15% net profit margin (already tight for most food businesses) and you're paying 30% commission to a delivery platform, you are actually operating at a loss on every platform order. You are essentially paying the platform to lose money for you.

Yet many restaurants stay on these platforms because they fear losing the order volume entirely. This fear is understandable, but it leads to a trap: the more successful your delivery business becomes on Uber Eats, the more dependent you become on a channel that is structurally unprofitable.

The solution is not to abandon delivery — it is to shift where those orders come from. Here are four concrete strategies to do exactly that.

Strategy 1: Launch Your Own Online Ordering System

The most effective long-term strategy is to build a direct ordering channel — a branded online storefront that belongs to you, not to a platform. When customers order directly:

• You pay 5% instead of 30% — A direct ordering platform like Ordresto charges a fraction of aggregator commissions, because there is no massive marketing and logistics overhead being funded from your margins.
• QR codes on packaging — Place a QR code on every box, bag, and receipt that links directly to your ordering page. A simple message like "Order directly and save — we pass the savings to you" converts a surprising number of repeat customers.
• Social media profile links — Update your Instagram bio, Facebook page, and Google Business profile to link directly to your ordering page rather than to a third-party platform.
• Loyalty incentives — Offer a small first-order discount (5-10%) exclusively for direct orders. This incentive is easily funded by the 25% commission saving you make on each converted customer.

Strategy 2: Use a Hybrid Approach

You do not need to leave Uber Eats tomorrow. A hybrid approach is far more practical — and more profitable in the medium term:

• Use platforms for discovery — New customers who have never heard of your restaurant will find you on Uber Eats. This customer acquisition function has real value — treat it as a marketing channel, not a primary revenue channel.
• Push loyal customers to direct ordering — Once a customer has ordered from you once or twice, they know and trust your restaurant. This is the moment to convert them to your direct channel. A "thank you" card in the order with a direct ordering link works surprisingly well.
• Adjust platform pricing — Some restaurants add a small markup to their platform menu prices (where allowed by the platform's terms) to partially offset commissions, while keeping direct ordering prices lower. Check your platform contract before doing this.

Over 6-12 months, a consistent hybrid approach can shift 30-50% of your delivery volume to direct channels, dramatically improving overall delivery profitability. See also our article on how much Uber Eats takes from restaurants for the full cost breakdown.

Strategy 3: Optimize Your Delivery Zones

Not all delivery orders are equally profitable. Long-distance deliveries cost more in driver time and fuel, result in colder food and lower ratings, and often come with higher refund rates. Tightening your delivery zones can significantly improve the economics of every order you fulfill:

• Radius zones vs polygon zones — A simple radius zone (e.g. 3 km from your restaurant) is easy to set up but blunt. A polygon zone lets you draw precise boundaries that follow streets and neighbourhoods, excluding low-density areas where delivery is unprofitable while covering dense urban blocks fully.
• Zone-based delivery pricing — Charge higher delivery fees for customers at the edge of your zone. This either improves your margin on distant orders or naturally filters them out, concentrating your volume where you are most efficient.
• Time-based delivery availability — Consider limiting delivery to your peak hours when kitchen capacity is fully utilised. Accepting delivery orders during slow periods at low margins rarely improves profitability.

Ordresto's delivery zone configuration supports both radius and polygon zone types, with per-zone pricing. This gives you precise control over where you deliver and what you charge.

Strategy 4: Leverage Social Media Ordering

One of the most underused ordering channels for restaurants is social media. Millions of people follow restaurants on Instagram and interact with them on WhatsApp — and many of those people would happily order directly if it were easy to do so:

• Instagram DM orders — With an AI-powered ordering assistant connected to your Instagram, customers can place orders directly via direct message. No app download, no platform account — just a conversation that ends with a confirmed order in your dashboard.
• WhatsApp ordering — WhatsApp is the dominant messaging app in many markets. A WhatsApp ordering number that feeds into your restaurant management system captures demand from customers who would never use a dedicated ordering app.
• Zero commission on social orders — Orders that arrive via Instagram or WhatsApp are direct orders. They attract only the platform fee (5% with Ordresto), with no commission going to any aggregator.

Getting Started With Lower Commissions

Here is a practical step-by-step to start reducing your commission costs this week:

1. Create your Ordresto storefront — It takes under 10 minutes and costs nothing. Your storefront is live immediately with your full menu.
2. Generate your QR code — Ordresto produces a branded QR code that links directly to your ordering page. Print it on stickers, flyers, or receipts.
3. Update your social profiles — Change the link in your Instagram bio, Facebook page, and Google Business listing to your direct ordering URL.
4. Activate social media ordering — Connect your Instagram and WhatsApp to start receiving orders via DM.
5. Track and optimise — Monitor the split between platform orders and direct orders monthly. Set a goal to shift 10% of volume to direct each quarter.

You can also explore the dark kitchen model if you are considering a delivery-only operation where controlling commission costs is even more critical.

Frequently Asked Questions