Delivery Fee Impact on Restaurant Margins, Per Location
Third-party delivery fees take 15-30% off the top. See what each order really contributes, compare it with dine-in, and track the gap location by location.
Delivery Margin Per Order
Not sure? Use the food cost calculator.
DoorDash, UberEats and Grubhub marketplace rates usually sit between 15% and 30%.
Delivery vs Dine-In
Dine-In Contribution
$0.00
0.0% of ticket
Delivery Contribution
$0.00
0.0% of ticket
Margin Lost to Delivery
0.0 pts
Commission $0.00 + packaging $0.00 per order
Monthly Delivery Profit
$0.00
Monthly Commission Paid
$0.00
Why Delivery Fee Impact Has to Be Measured Per Location
Delivery mix differs by site
A suburban location running 12% of sales through delivery and a downtown site at 40% feel the same commission rate very differently at the bottom line.
Ticket size changes the math
Packaging is close to fixed per order, so small delivery tickets lose a much larger share of contribution than large ones at the same commission rate.
Promotions are not free
Sponsored placement and BOGO offers stack on top of commission. Track them per location or a "growing" delivery channel can quietly lose money.
Worked Example: $30 Order at 25% Commission
Order value: $30.00
Food cost at 30%: −$9.00 → $21.00 contribution dine-in
Marketplace commission at 25%: −$7.50
Packaging: −$1.25
Delivery contribution: $12.25, or 40.8% of the ticket versus 70% dine-in.
At 900 delivery orders a month that is $6,750 of commission — usually the single largest controllable line after food and labour, and the one most often netted out of revenue where nobody sees it.
Track it inside your full restaurant P&L
Delivery commission only means something next to food cost, labour and prime cost. InsightDash builds the whole statement from your POS export and keeps delivery fees on their own line, per location.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do delivery fees cut restaurant margins?
Third-party marketplace commissions typically run 15-30% of the order total, plus packaging. On a $30 order with 30% food cost, a 25% commission removes $7.50 of contribution margin — often more than half the profit the same order would earn dine-in.
Why does delivery fee impact differ by location?
Commission rates, delivery mix, average ticket and promotion spend vary per site. One location may run 12% of sales through delivery while another runs 40%, so the same commission rate produces a very different hit to net profit. Comparing locations side by side is the only way to see it.
Is delivery still worth it for restaurants?
Delivery can be worth it when it fills off-peak capacity and the incremental orders cover fixed costs. It stops being worth it when delivery cannibalises dine-in traffic at a much lower contribution margin. The test is contribution per order and whether total covers actually increased.
How should delivery commission appear on a restaurant P&L?
Record gross order value as revenue and the marketplace commission as a separate expense line, not netted out. Netting hides the true cost and makes food cost percentage look wrong. InsightDash keeps commission as its own line so delivery profitability stays visible.
Related Tools & Resources
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