A flat subscription and a percentage-based fee behave differently as order volume changes, but neither label describes the full cost. Build the comparison from current terms and the operation's real order mix.
What to include in the cost model
- Recurring platform subscription and included locations, brands, users, apps, and orders.
- Percentage, fixed, transaction, payment-processing, delivery, refund, promotion, and customer-facing charges.
- Implementation, design, integration, migration, training, hardware, app-store, and support work.
- Internal labor for menu operations, reconciliation, delivery, incidents, and vendor management.
- Contract duration, minimums, overages, price changes, cancellation, export, and transition costs.
Published US marketplace plans show that merchant fees vary by provider, plan, fulfillment method, and local market. DoorDash publishes 15%–30% delivery commission for its US Marketplace plans, Uber Eats publishes 20%–30% Marketplace Fees for its standard US tiers plus a 15% self-delivery option, and Grubhub publishes 5%–20% marketing commission with delivery fees starting at 10%. At $10,000 in applicable order value, 15%–30% equals $1,500–$3,000 before other applicable charges.
Compare providers on current terms
Common options include Ordering.co, ChowNow, Owner.com, Square Online, Toast, and DoorDash Storefront. Prices change, so treat any figure as a starting point. Obtain current official terms for the required territory and configuration before calculating a result.
Flat fee versus percentage: do the math
- For each percentage-based charge: eligible order value multiplied by the applicable percentage.
- For each fixed charge: charge per order multiplied by eligible order count.
- Add subscriptions, processing, delivery, implementation, support, and internal operating costs.
- Run low, expected, and high scenarios for volume, average ticket, refunds, promotions, and fulfillment mix.
- Record which terms are public, quoted, negotiated, estimated, or excluded.
Common questions
Is flat fee cheaper than commission?
It can be at some volumes and scopes, but the break-even point depends on every included cost. Calculate it for the actual operation rather than applying a universal threshold.
Is 'commission-free' always a flat fee?
No. A provider can avoid marketplace commission while still charging subscriptions, transactions, processing, delivery, implementation, or other fees.
Does the fee include branded apps and delivery?
Only the current plan and agreement can answer that. Verify app publishing, maintenance, dispatch, driver tooling, couriers, support, and every applicable charge separately.
At what volume does one model win?
The break-even is where the full modeled costs are equal. Recalculate it when ticket size, channel mix, provider terms, processing, or fulfillment changes.
Review Ordering.co's current plan details on the pricing page and use the final proposal for the actual calculation.
For a scoped pricing walkthrough, use the current demo page.