The real cost of delivery-app commissions, and how to calculate it for your restaurant

Delivery apps brought your restaurant customers you could not reach before, and that is true. It is equally true that many owners do not know exactly how much they pay for it, because the deduction happens before the money reaches their account.

Start with the right number

Take one month of statements from the app and collect three numbers: your total sales through the app, the total that reached your bank, and any extra fees (marketing, featured placement, service fees). The gap between sales and what you received is what you actually paid. In most cases it lands between 20% and 30% of sales, not just the rate written in the contract.

Turn the rate into a monthly amount

A restaurant selling 60,000 SAR a month through apps at a 25% commission pays 15,000 SAR a month, or 180,000 SAR a year. That is two staff salaries, a kitchen upgrade, or a full year of local marketing.

A customer who already knows you does not need the app

Split your customers into two groups: those who discovered you through the app, and those who already knew you and order through it because it is convenient. The second group is your net loss: you pay an acquisition fee for a customer you already acquired. The goal is not to leave the apps, but to move that second group to your direct channel.

How to build your direct channel

A digital menu with a link and a QR code: on the table, on the receipt, on the delivery bag, in your Instagram bio. When a customer orders from your link you pay no commission, and you get their number so you can reach them again.

A simple loyalty program: "your sixth order from our link is free" gives customers a concrete reason to order from you directly instead of through the app.

When is a flat subscription cheaper?

Compare a fixed monthly subscription with the commissions you pay on customers who already know you. If moving just ten orders a month from the app to your direct link covers the subscription, everything after that is pure profit. For most restaurants that happens in the first week.