RestaurantOwners.news · Best Pick

Best delivery app for a small restaurant trying to cut commission?

For a small independent restaurant focused on cutting commission bleed, Grubhub offers the lowest-cost entry on third-party platforms and the most transparent path to commission-free direct ordering — but the sharpest operators pair a discovery platform with a commission-free direct channel like Menufy or SWIPEBY to protect margin on repeat customers.

Grubhub (Basic or Plus tier + Grubhub Direct)

Best for: Cost-conscious operators who want the lowest third-party commission and a clear upgrade path to commission-free direct ordering

• 👍 Basic tier starts at just 5% marketing commission — lowest entry point among major platforms
• 👍 Grubhub Direct offers a commission-free storefront for 3.05% + $0.30 processing per order, giving operators a built-in escape valve for loyal customers
• 👍 Sponsored listings are optional, so you control incremental spend
• 👍 Tends to be the lowest all-in cost option in most US markets across the major three

• 👎 Smallest active-customer base of the big three — lower organic discovery volume
• 👎 Grubhub Direct has upfront friction: $99 setup fee and $49/month/location hosting fee that must be recovered in saved commissions
• 👎 82% customer satisfaction — lowest of the three platforms tested
• 👎 Average delivery time of 30 minutes is the slowest of the major platforms

DoorDash (Basic 15% tier)

Best for: Restaurants that need maximum customer reach and can negotiate volume to stay on the lowest commission tier

• 👍 Largest US platform — 70%+ of US delivery volume means the most new-customer discovery potential
• 👍 15% entry-tier commission is competitive if you can hold that tier
• 👍 98% order accuracy rate (highest tested) reduces comp spend and customer service overhead
• 👍 88% customer satisfaction — highest of the major platforms

• 👎 Commission tiers jump sharply to 25% and 30% — pressure to upgrade is constant and erodes margin fast
• 👎 No native commission-free direct-ordering channel built into the operator dashboard
• 👎 Menu markup by the platform on some restaurants adds customer friction and can suppress order frequency
• 👎 Large platform means your listing competes against a dense field of operators

Uber Eats (Basic tier)

Best for: Restaurants with strong late-night or high-volume dayparts that can leverage Uber's speed and Uber One membership traffic

• 👍 Fastest average delivery time at 25 minutes — supports quality-sensitive menu items
• 👍 Strong late-night delivery performance opens dayparts competitors underserve
• 👍 Large, loyal Uber One subscriber base drives order frequency on the platform

• 👎 Entry tier restructured in early 2026 to 20% (up from 15%) — no longer the low-cost leader
• 👎 Additional 5% surcharge on Uber One member orders at the mid tier can silently compress margin further
• 👎 85% customer satisfaction — mid-pack
• 👎 Commission structure changes make multi-year cost modeling less predictable for small operators

Commission-Free Direct Ordering (Menufy, SWIPEBY, RestauNax, or similar)

Best for: Operators ready to drive repeat customers off third-party platforms and onto an owned channel to protect full margin

• 👍 0% commission — operators keep 97%+ of every order dollar vs. 70–75% on major platforms
• 👍 Only payment processing fees apply (~3%), creating predictable, low per-order cost
• 👍 Full menu and marketing control — no platform algorithm or sponsored-listing competition
• 👍 Builds a first-party customer list the restaurant owns, not the platform

• 👎 Zero built-in customer discovery — must be driven by your own marketing, social, or loyalty efforts
• 👎 Not a standalone solution for restaurants that depend on new-customer acquisition through delivery apps
• 👎 Requires operator time and budget to promote the direct channel (QR codes, email, in-bag inserts, etc.)
• 👎 Works best as a second channel layered on top of a discovery platform, not a replacement

How to choose

If you're paying 25–30% commission and have repeat customers, add a commission-free direct channel immediately; if you're just launching delivery, start on Grubhub's Basic 5% tier for the lowest third-party cost while building that direct base.

For most small independents cutting commission, the move is a two-track setup: list on DoorDash's 15% Basic tier for discovery reach and order accuracy, then push every repeat customer to a commission-free direct platform (Menufy or SWIPEBY) via in-bag inserts and your loyalty touchpoints. If DoorDash's tier pressure becomes a problem, swap the discovery slot to Grubhub Basic at 5% and layer in Grubhub Direct for existing regulars. Uber Eats is a third-platform add only once the first two channels are optimized — its 2026 commission restructure makes it the hardest to control for margin.

How we picked: Options were ranked primarily on commission rate tiers (lowest all-in cost at entry tier) and commission-free direct-ordering availability, which are the two axes most directly tied to the operator's goal of cutting commission. Customer reach was weighted second — a low-commission platform with no customers doesn't solve the business problem. Payout speed and menu/marketing controls were used as tiebreakers and risk factors. No vendor-provided claims were used without a sourced study; order accuracy and satisfaction figures are from third-party benchmarks (Intouch Insight).