Every time an order comes through UberEats, a significant chunk of that revenue disappears. But how much are you actually losing? Let's be precise.
If you run a delivery restaurant in Vancouver or Toronto, you already know the pain. Every time an order comes through UberEats, SkipTheDishes, or DoorDash, a significant chunk of that revenue disappears before it ever reaches your bank account. But how much are you actually losing? Let's be precise.
| 25–30% UberEats commission per order | $30 lost on every $100 order | $3,600 lost per month at $12K volume |
|---|
Here's the math for a typical delivery restaurant doing $12,000/month in delivery app orders:
Net revenue: approximately $8,100. You kept less than 68 cents of every dollar you earned.
Delivery platforms charge restaurants because they provide three things: a customer discovery channel, a payment processing system, and a delivery driver network. For that, they take roughly 15–28% in commission plus additional fees for marketing placements, promotions, and packaging requirements.
Here's what they don't provide: your customer's name, email, or phone number. When a customer orders from you on UberEats, they become UberEats' customer. If they order again next week, UberEats shows them every restaurant within 5km — including your competitors — and you start from zero again.
Commission-free direct ordering isn't a new concept. What's changed is that it's now accessible to independent restaurants without a tech team or a large budget.
With AIOrders, restaurants pay a flat monthly fee instead of a percentage per order. The difference is significant:
| Monthly Delivery Orders | 9% Commission | Flat Fee |
|---|---|---|
| $8,000 | $720 | $397 |
| $12,000 | $1,080 | $397 |
| $20,000 | $1,800 | $397 |
The break-even point is around $4,400 in monthly direct orders. Above that, every dollar you shift from delivery apps to your own ordering page goes straight to your margin.
The transition doesn't happen overnight, and you don't need to quit delivery apps cold turkey. The strategy that works:
Delivery apps are a customer acquisition tool, not a long-term revenue strategy. Use them to get discovered. Build systems to bring those customers back directly. The restaurant that does this consistently wins — because they keep their margin while their competitors give it away.