RestaurantOwners.news · Best Pick

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

Grubhub gives commission-sensitive independents the lowest available floor — Marketplace tiers start as low as 5% delivery commission, and Grubhub Direct caps at 10% — while DoorDash Basic and Uber Eats Lite both floor at 15% but deliver meaningfully larger customer pools that can offset the higher cut.

Grubhub

Best for: Cost-first operators in metro markets who want the lowest commission floor and flexible rate negotiation

• 👍 Marketplace commission starts as low as 5%, the lowest floor of the three platforms
• 👍 Grubhub Direct tier caps at 10% delivery commission — well below competitors' entry plans
• 👍 More flexible contract structure; restaurants can adjust visibility spend independently
• 👍 Amazon Prime / Grubhub+ integration drives repeat orders in dense urban areas

• 👎 Smallest driver network of the three; slower delivery times reported outside core metros
• 👎 Lower overall market share means fewer eyeballs than DoorDash or Uber Eats
• 👎 Marketing visibility on the platform often requires paying toward the higher end of the commission range to rank well
• 👎 Processing fee (3.05% + $0.30) slightly higher than Uber Eats' 2.5% + $0.29

DoorDash

Best for: Volume-driven independents who need the widest US customer reach and want growth protections at entry commission

• 👍 Largest US market share — more customers see the listing by default
• 👍 Basic plan at 15% delivery commission matches Uber Eats Lite's floor
• 👍 Premier plan includes a Growth Guarantee: refund credits if fewer than 20 orders/month
• 👍 Strong marketing analytics and DashPass subscriber base drives repeat orders

• 👎 15% is the hard floor — no sub-15% tier exists unlike Grubhub
• 👎 Processing fee (2.9% + $0.30) is slightly higher than Uber Eats
• 👎 Wider reach comes with higher customer delivery fees on Basic, which can suppress order volume
• 👎 Moving up tiers to reduce customer fees pushes restaurant commission to 25–30%

Uber Eats

Best for: Operators in tourist corridors or markets with heavy Uber One / rideshare crossover who want competitive entry-rate commission

• 👍 Lite plan at 15% delivery commission and the lowest processing fee (2.5% + $0.29) among the three
• 👍 Uber One membership cross-sells delivery to an existing rideshare user base
• 👍 Real-time order tracking and reliability reputation supports customer satisfaction scores
• 👍 Good international coverage for restaurants near airports or hospitality districts

• 👎 Network size trails DoorDash domestically; fewer drivers in suburban or rural markets
• 👎 15% floor matches DoorDash but offers no sub-15% path like Grubhub
• 👎 Limited contract flexibility compared to Grubhub's negotiated-rate model
• 👎 Premium tiers escalate commission to 30%, same ceiling as competitors

How to choose

If cutting per-order commission is the primary goal and you're in a metro area, start on Grubhub's Marketplace or Direct tier; if your market runs on DoorDash volume and you need the reach to fill covers, lock in the Basic 15% plan and pair it with a direct-ordering link on your receipts and socials to recapture repeat customers at zero commission.

For a small independent laser-focused on commission cost, open on Grubhub first — the 5–10% tier range is the only sub-15% option any of the three platforms offer, and that margin difference is real money on a tight food-cost budget. Add DoorDash Basic at 15% for reach once Grubhub volume is stable. Aggressively convert repeat delivery customers to direct orders through your own ordering page; third-party apps are a customer-acquisition channel, not a permanent fulfillment cost.

How we picked: Options ranked by commission rate floor (lowest cost of sales first), then adjusted for customer reach (order volume potential), payout/processing fee structure, and menu/marketing control. Grubhub wins on cost floor; DoorDash wins on reach; Uber Eats wins on processing efficiency and hospitality-corridor fit. Growth Guarantee on DoorDash Premier noted but not weighted heavily for a cost-cutting operator unlikely to start at the 30% tier.