How Much Does DoorDash Charge Restaurants?

DoorDash charges US restaurants a 15%, 25% or 30% commission on delivery orders under its Basic, Plus and Premier plans, and 6% on pickup orders under every plan, after introductory periods. Those are the published Partnership Plan rates for restaurants with 75 or fewer US locations, checked on September 23, 2026; your agreement governs the terms that apply to your business.

According to DoorDash's merchant pricing page, Basic starts with a 0% introductory rate for 7 days and Plus and Premier for 30 days. Plus adds a wider delivery area, a lower customer delivery fee on non-DashPass orders and DashPass access; Premier adds the widest delivery range, a sponsored listing and an order guarantee. The 6% pickup rate requires DoorDash pickup menu prices to match in-store prices. Optional promotions, advertising and tablet rental can add costs, so treat the plan rate as the floor of what an order costs you.

How DoorDash compares with Uber Eats and Grubhub

At the middle and top tiers, the two largest delivery apps price almost identically; the differences sit in the entry plan, pickup and how delivery is billed. The rates below come from each company's merchant pricing page on September 23, 2026.

See a finance workflow for reconciling orders, fees and deposits.

Uber Eats lists its Lite plan at a 20% marketplace fee nationally and lower in named cities, including 15% for delivery in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and New York City, and a 15% self-delivery fee when your own staff deliver. Grubhub separates the marketing commission from delivery: restaurants that use Grubhub's drivers pay a delivery fee starting at 10% on top of the plan rate, while self-delivery carries no delivery fee.

Illustrative platform comparison: on a $45 delivery subtotal at the entry tier, DoorDash Basic costs $6.75, Uber Eats Lite costs $9.00 at 20% or $6.75 where the 15% city rate applies, and Grubhub Basic with Grubhub drivers costs at least $6.75 (5% plus a delivery fee from 10%). Check each agreement for payment-processing and other charges not shown on the pricing pages.

What remains after the commission?

The answer depends on the order's variable costs, additional labor and any more profitable demand it displaces. Comparing a platform commission with a restaurant-wide net margin does not prove the order loses money. Whole-business net margin already includes costs that may not change when the kitchen accepts one more order.

Illustrative order calculation: assume a $45 delivery subtotal on Premier, with $14 of ingredients, $2 of packaging, $6 of additional paid preparation labor and $1.50 of expected restaurant-funded refunds or adjustments. Contribution after those listed costs is $45 − $13.50 − $14 − $2 − $6 − $1.50 = $8.

The $8 helps cover costs not included in the example; it is not net profit. If the order requires no extra paid labor, its incremental contribution differs. If it delays an in-house order, needs an overtime shift or creates waste, include those consequences. Do not count a payment charge twice if your contract includes it within the platform commission.

A higher plan needs enough additional contribution

Proposed plan comparison: evaluate the whole batch of orders at each plan, not just the commission difference on newly acquired orders. A higher rate can apply to orders that would have arrived under the cheaper plan as well.

Using the same hypothetical $45 ticket and $23.50 of noncommission costs, Basic leaves $14.75 per order and Plus leaves $10.25. At 100 Basic orders, contribution is $1,475. Plus would need at least 144 otherwise comparable orders to exceed that amount: 144 × $10.25 = $1,476. This assumes identical tickets, costs, refunds and available capacity. It is a sensitivity calculation, not an expected sales lift from changing plans.

Premier's order guarantee changes the early risk rather than the steady-state math: for a location's first six months on Premier, DoorDash refunds that month's commission if the location accepts fewer than 20 orders, provided it cancels fewer than five orders and keeps its DoorDash hours open for at least 90% of its set store hours. A location expecting well above 20 orders a month should judge Premier on the plan comparison above.

Replace those assumptions with your menu mix and paid labor. A higher tier that adds small, expensive-to-pack orders may not clear the threshold. One that brings valuable orders during otherwise idle periods may. Test under comparable operating conditions and record other changes in advertising or promotions.

Read the payout alongside the order export

Keep an order-level record of the subtotal, merchant-funded discount, platform charge, refund, adjustment and expected payout. Reconcile it to the deposit by settlement period. Separate timing differences from missing money; an order accepted near the cutoff may settle in the next period.

Assign the controller or bookkeeper to unresolved financial differences and the location manager to operational causes such as missing items, cancellations and long preparation times. Preserve the platform reference needed to investigate a disputed adjustment. A weekly total alone can conceal repeated small issues.

Evaluate direct ordering with the same discipline. Include payment fees, fulfillment, marketing, software and support. A direct delivery order still needs a driver or delivery service. A phone order still consumes staff time unless a tested system completes the relevant handoff. Moving an existing customer to a different channel should be measured as a channel change rather than a new customer acquired.

Set a rule for the kitchen as well as the plan

Choose which dishes travel well, how packaging affects contribution and when order volume exceeds practical capacity. Assign one person to maintain channel availability and menu changes. Any proposed price change needs a review of the current platform terms and its likely effect on demand.

After the trial period, keep the plan that produces acceptable contribution and service at the volume your kitchen can handle. Use the finance operations workflow example to plan payout reconciliation, and the restaurant operations resources for the systems decisions behind reliable order fulfillment.