If you run a restaurant in Medford or anywhere in South Jersey, restaurant online ordering without commission sounds like found money. It isn't found, and it isn't automatic. The short answer: DoorDash's own pricing page lists a delivery commission of 15%, 25% or 30%, depending on plan. Direct ordering swaps that percentage for a list of smaller costs: card processing, ordering software, delivery and a build. You only save on orders you actually move off the app. This post gives you a worksheet to run the monthly math for one restaurant with your own numbers. It sits under our guide to restaurant loyalty program software and guest data. The worksheet is easy. Getting guests to use it is the hard part.
What DoorDash Charges, and What That Fee Pays For
Start with the number on your statement, not the number in a headline. The DoorDash Merchant Fees & Pricing page, as we read it on October 14, 2026, sets delivery commission by plan. Orders placed in the DoorDash app carry 15% on Basic, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premier. The same page lists pickup at 6% on all plans. The commission is a percentage of the order subtotal, not a flat fee.
The page also says what the commission covers: your listing and marketing on DoorDash, Dasher logistics, customer support and credit card processing. That list is the whole argument. When you leave, you stop paying for each item on it, and you have to replace each one yourself.
Here is what the percentages mean in dollars, using only arithmetic. On every $1,000 of order subtotals, 15% is $150, 25% is $250 and 30% is $300. Pickup at 6% is $60. Those are the amounts you are trying to keep, minus what it costs to keep them.
Two cautions. Rates and plan terms change, and your signed agreement may differ from the public page. Pull your last three monthly statements and use the rate you actually paid. Also note that we have not confirmed what DoorDash charges customers in service fees, or how those fees affect order volume. That part of the picture is outside this worksheet.
The Worksheet: Seven Lines for One Restaurant
Do this on paper or in a spreadsheet. Use one location and one month. If you have a Shore location that closes in winter, run it for your open months only.
| Line | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| A | DoorDash orders per week | Merchant dashboard or weekly statement |
| B | Average order subtotal | Same report; use subtotal, not the total with tax and tip |
| C | Your commission rate | Your statements, split by delivery and pickup |
| D | Monthly DoorDash fees = A × 4.33 × B × C | Calculation (4.33 is 52 weeks ÷ 12 months) |
| E | Share of those orders you could realistically move | Your honest guess; start low |
| F | Fees avoided = D × E | Calculation |
| G | Monthly cost of running direct ordering | The next section |
Your answer is F minus G. If it is negative, direct ordering costs you money at your current volume. If it is positive, you have a case, but only as strong as the guess on line E.
The break-even shortcut
You can skip most of the arithmetic with one question: how much in orders per month must you move to cover the fixed cost of going direct?
Take the commission rate you pay and subtract your variable cost on a direct order, mainly the card processing rate on your processor statement. That gap is what you keep on each dollar moved. Divide your fixed monthly direct costs by the gap.
For example, if the gap were 20 points, each $1,000 you move would keep $200. Every $100 a month in fixed costs would then need $500 a month moved to break even. Your gap will differ, so use your own numbers.
What Direct Ordering Costs to Run
Line G is where owners usually undercount. Walk through each item and write down a number, even a rough one.
- Card processing. DoorDash says its commission includes processing. Direct, you pay your processor's rate on every order. Read the effective rate off your statement.
- Ordering software. Your POS may already include an ordering page. Toast and Square both offer ordering products. Check each vendor's current pricing page, because plans and fees change.
- Delivery. The delivery commission also pays for Dasher logistics. If you deliver direct, you need your own drivers or a dispatch service. Price that honestly. For many kitchens, direct ordering means pickup only.
- Guest incentives. If you offer a discount to switch guests, count it. A free appetizer on a first direct order is a real cost.
- The build, spread over time. A branded ordering page needs design and setup. Divide the one-time cost by 24 months and add it to line G.
- Support and changes. Menu updates, 86'd items, holiday hours and a broken checkout all need someone who answers the phone.
The build question has two honest answers. If your POS already supplies an ordering page, you may only need a well-built website that links to it. If you want ordering tied to your guest list, loyalty and email, that is web design and development scoped around your menu and your POS. For scale, the custom-app tiers we publish run from $15,000 to $100,000+. A restaurant ordering page is usually far smaller than a full app, and we scope it in a proposal. We won't put a number on it here.
For a sense of the front-end work, see the web design project we built for ALPK Restaurant.
Moving Orders Is the Hard Part
The worksheet assumes line E, the share you can move. That is the number you know least, and it decides everything.
DoorDash brings you guests who found you inside its app. Some of them already know your restaurant. Many do not, and they will never type your web address. If you remove yourself from the app, those orders may simply disappear. They were not "your" orders to save. That is why line E should be a guess about regulars, not about all volume.
Start with pickup and people who already know you
Pickup is the easiest move for two reasons. You need no drivers, and the public pickup rate is 6%, so the saving per order is smaller but easier to capture. Your regulars are the ones most likely to switch. They already walk in, call or order by name.
That makes the first test narrow: get regulars to order pickup on your own page. Measure what share did so after eight weeks. Then reset line E with a real number.
Where direct orders come from
We can't promise a conversion rate, and we haven't sourced one. What we can say is where traffic has to come from. None of it arrives on its own:
- A QR code and short web address on menus, table tents, receipts and takeout bags. Check your DoorDash agreement for any limits on what you can put in bags.
- Your Google Business Profile, which can carry an order link next to your hours and menu.
- Email and text to guests who gave you permission. This needs a guest list you own, which is why the export audit for your POS, delivery app and loyalty tool comes first.
- A reason to order direct, such as points, a perk or an early look at specials. That connects ordering to loyalty.
If DoorDash hands you only a name and an order, you can't email that guest. Direct ordering gives you the email address and the order history. That is the other half of the value, and it never appears on line F.
Money You Won't See on Line F
The worksheet counts fees avoided. It does not count what a first-party guest record is worth. We do not have a sourced number for that, so we won't invent one. Describe it in words instead.
A guest who orders direct leaves you contact details and an order history. You can use both for a slow Tuesday, a new menu or a winter reopening. A guest on a delivery app is mostly the app's guest. Our breakdown of restaurant loyalty software costs in 2026 shows what turning that record into repeat visits takes. It also shows what the pricing models hide.
The reverse risk is just as real. DoorDash may be your best discovery channel in a slow month. Dropping it can cost you reach you cannot replace. Plenty of restaurants may end up keeping both: the app for discovery and direct ordering for regulars. The worksheet will tell you which orders belong on which side.
Why Winter Is the Right Time to Run It
Winter is when many shore and suburban kitchens have slack. You can change a menu page, test a QR code and train staff without a Saturday night in July depending on it. If you wait until May, any problem lands in your busiest weeks.
Switching your ordering also touches your POS, printers and payment setup. Before you change anything that feeds the kitchen, read the cutover checklist for switching restaurant POS or loyalty in winter. Run direct ordering next to DoorDash for a few weeks first. Don't pull the app listing on day one.
A realistic winter sequence: pull three months of statements, fill in the worksheet, pick a pickup-only test and set a review date eight weeks out. At that review, you replace the guess on line E with the measured number. If the math works, extend it. If not, you have lost a few weeks of effort rather than a season.
For restaurants and bars, we also build custom CRMs that connect reservations, guest profiles, events and follow-up. The worksheet works whether or not you ever hire us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is restaurant online ordering without commission really free?
No. You skip the delivery app's percentage. You still pay card processing, ordering software, any delivery cost and the cost of building and maintaining the page. DoorDash's pricing page says its commission includes card processing, so going direct means paying that piece yourself. Direct ordering saves money only when the fees you avoid exceed those costs.
How much does DoorDash charge restaurants per order?
DoorDash Merchant Fees & Pricing, as we read it on October 14, 2026, lists delivery commission at 15% on Basic, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premier. Pickup is 6%. Check your own agreement and statements, since your terms may differ from the public page.
Can I keep DoorDash and add direct ordering?
Yes, nothing about direct ordering forces you to leave. The app can keep bringing new guests who find you through it. Your own page can serve regulars who already know you. Read your DoorDash agreement for any rules on promotions, pricing or materials in bags. Run both side by side for several weeks before deciding whether to drop either one.
How do I get customers to order direct instead of through an app?
Give them a reason and an easy path. Put a QR code on menus, receipts and takeout bags. Link ordering from your Google Business Profile. Email guests who opted in. Add a small perk for ordering direct. Start with pickup and regulars, then measure how many switch before you change your plans.
Prices in this article are starting ranges published on iolab.co/pricing. Hosting, third-party subscriptions and ongoing support are scoped separately in your proposal.
Run the Math Before You Build Anything
Fill in the seven lines first. If the result supports a direct ordering page, we can scope a custom website and ordering build with you. It would tie to your menu, POS and guest list. Bring your last three DoorDash statements and your processor's rate, and we will check your numbers with you.
Sources
Every outside claim in this article links to where it came from. These open in a new tab.
- DoorDash Merchant Fees & Pricingmerchants.doordash.com
- Toastsupport.toasttab.com