Commission-Free Ordering: What Marketplaces and Menus Really Cost
Last updated: · 4 min read
The short answer
Delivery marketplaces bring you new guests, and they charge for it on every order, including orders from guests who already know you. Printed menus cost you each time a price or a dish changes. Both costs are easy to underestimate because they arrive in small amounts. Add them up for a year with the worksheets below, then decide which orders you want to keep on a marketplace and which should come to you directly.
What commission costs you
Marketplace commission is a percentage of every order. Research by Amárach for an Irish ordering company, reported in 2020, found that Irish restaurants were paying up to 30% commission per order, worth €75.2 million of their turnover, and that 77% of people did not know restaurants were charged it. Rates and terms have changed since then and differ by contract, so use your own statement, not that figure.
The worksheet
Take last month's marketplace statement and fill in:
| Your figures | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Orders a month | ... | 400 |
| Average order value | ... | €25 |
| Commission rate | ... | 25% |
| Commission a month | orders × value × rate | €2,500 |
| Commission a year | × 12 | €30,000 |
Then add what the statement charges on top: card or service fees, marketing packages, refunds for missing items. The example is an illustration, not a quote for any platform. Our free commission calculator does the sums for you.
Which orders are worth the commission
Not all marketplace orders are equal. A first order from someone who has never heard of you is marketing, and paying for it can make sense. The tenth order from a regular who lives two streets away is not: they would have ordered from you directly if you gave them an easy way to.
Ask yourself what share of your marketplace orders come from repeat guests. If it is half, half of your commission is being paid on guests you already won.
What printed menus cost you
Printed menus look free once they are on the table. They are not:
- Reprints. Every price change, new dish or supplier change that alters allergens means a reprint, or a menu that is out of date.
- Wear. Laminated menus get stained and torn; paper ones go after a few weeks.
- Languages. A second language doubles the job; a third triples it.
- Wrong information. An out-of-date allergen line is a safety risk, not only a cost.
The worksheet
| Your figures | |
|---|---|
| Reprints a year (price, dish, season changes) | ... |
| Copies per reprint × cost per copy | ... |
| Design or typesetting per reprint | ... |
| Languages printed | × ... |
| Printing a year | ... |
Count the reprints you skipped too: the ones where you crossed out a price by hand or told guests a dish was off. Those are the cost of a menu that cannot keep up.
Moving guests to your own ordering link
You do not have to leave marketplaces to cut what you pay them. The aim is to let guests who already know you order from you directly:
- Have your own ordering link. A page with your menu where guests order for pick-up or delivery, with no commission per order.
- Put it where your guests look. On your Google Business Profile as the preferred ordering option (see how to add your menu and order link to Google), on your website, on social media, and on a card in every takeaway bag.
- Make it as easy as the marketplace. Same dishes, photos and options; a pick-up time the guest can choose; a confirmation message.
- Keep marketplaces for discovery. Let them bring you new guests, and win the second order yourself.
The trade-offs, honestly
Your own link is not a marketplace. It does not show your restaurant to people who have never heard of it, so you have to bring guests to it. Delivery is yours to arrange, with your own staff or a courier. And with some systems, QRestAI included, guests pay you when they collect or receive the food rather than online. For many local restaurants that is how regulars pay anyway; decide whether it suits yours.
How QRestAI fits
With QRestAI online ordering, guests order for pick-up or delivery from your own link and your own menu, with no commission: you pay a monthly or yearly subscription. Guests choose a pick-up time, and you can cap orders per hour so the kitchen is not flooded. Orders placed ahead get a WhatsApp confirmation and an "order ready" message. The same menu works as a digital menu on your tables, so a price change is made once and never reprinted.
Frequently asked questions
How much commission do delivery marketplaces charge restaurants?
It depends on the platform and your contract. Research reported in Ireland in 2020 found rates of up to 30% per order. Check your own statement for the rate and any extra fees.
What is commission-free online ordering?
An ordering page of your own where guests order directly from you. You pay a fixed fee for the software instead of a percentage of every order.
Should I leave delivery marketplaces?
Not necessarily. They bring new guests. Many restaurants keep them for discovery and move regular guests to their own ordering link, where there is no commission.
How do I get guests to use my own ordering link?
Put it where guests already look: your Google Business Profile, website and social media, and a card in every takeaway bag. Make ordering as easy as on a marketplace.