Restaurant Online Ordering vs Delivery Apps: Keep 100% of Your Sales
Delivery apps are good at discovery but charge a commission on every order and keep the customer relationship. Your own ordering site costs a flat monthly fee — $12/month for a digital menu, $25/month with online ordering and an order dashboard — and takes no commission. The best setup for most restaurants is both — apps to be found, your own site to keep repeat customers.
Two different jobs
A delivery app and your own ordering website are often compared as if they were the same thing. They do different jobs.
- A delivery app is a marketplace. It puts your restaurant in front of people who were not looking for you, and it charges for that with a commission on each order.
- Your own site is a direct line. People who already know you order without a middleman, and you pay a flat fee instead of a percentage.
Side by side
| Delivery apps | Your own ordering site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Commission on every order | Flat monthly fee ($12 or $25) |
| Commission on orders | Yes | None — you keep 100% |
| Customer contact details | Usually held by the app | You keep them |
| Branding | The app's design | Your name, colors and design |
| New customer discovery | Strong | Limited to your own promotion |
| Order dashboard | The app's | Your own (Ordering plan) |
What the commission really costs
A simple illustration with made-up numbers: 300 orders a month at an average of $10 is $3,000 in sales. If an app took 20% (an example rate, not a quote from any app), that is $600 a month. The same restaurant on the $25 Ordering plan pays $25 — the rest stays in the till. Plug in your own volume and your own app's rate to see where you land.
What each plan includes
- Menu — $12/month: digital menu with categories and photos, mobile-friendly design, contact and location page, basic visit analytics.
- Ordering — $25/month: everything in Menu, plus online ordering with an order dashboard, custom meal and add-on options, and advanced analytics.
Not included: a custom domain, delivery-company integration (quoted per company, because every provider's API is different), and payment gateway fees. Setup takes 2–5 days; add 1–2 weeks if a delivery-company integration is involved.
The practical answer: use both
Keep a presence on the apps to be discovered, and put your own site link on every receipt, bag, social post and Google listing. Each repeat customer you move from the app to your own site stops costing a commission on every order.
Frequently asked questions
Do you take a commission on orders?
No. You keep 100% of what you charge and pay only the flat monthly subscription.
Can it connect to a delivery company?
Yes, for specific partners. That integration is quoted separately because every provider's API is different.
How long does setup take?
2–5 days for the site itself. It takes longer only if a delivery-company integration is involved.