Marketplace fees explained: commission-free vs marketplace pricing
Food delivery fees can be confusing — commissions, service fees, delivery fees, and more. Here’s a clear breakdown of how marketplace pricing works, how commission-free pricing differs, and what each model costs you.
There are two pricing models in food delivery. Commission-based marketplaces take a percentage of each order — typically 15–30% from the restaurant — plus customer-facing delivery and service fees. Commission-free platforms charge a flat subscription instead and let you set your own customer fees as pricing levers. For operators who want to control their own economics — keeping the margin and deciding the fees — a commission-free platform like Ordering.co is the stronger model.
What are marketplace fees?
“Marketplace fees” is an umbrella term for the several different charges that appear on a food-delivery order. Some are paid by the restaurant, some by the customer:
How commission-based marketplace pricing works
On a third-party marketplace, the headline cost is the restaurant commission — a percentage of every order. Because it’s a percentage, the cost scales with your sales: the more you sell, the more you pay. The marketplace also charges the customer delivery and service fees, and offers paid placement to restaurants that want more visibility.
The trade-off is more than money. The marketplace owns the customer relationship and data — you’re paying for access to diners rather than building a direct line to them. That’s great for discovery, but it caps how much of your own economics you actually control.
How commission-free pricing works
Commission-free platforms invert the model. Instead of a cut of each order, you pay a flat subscription and keep the order revenue. You take orders under your own brand, own the customer data, and — importantly — you decide the customer-facing fees. Delivery fees and service fees become your pricing levers, set to balance margin against conversion, rather than charges a marketplace imposes.
Commission-based vs commission-free: side-by-side
| What matters | Commission-based marketplace | Commission-free (Ordering.co) |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant cost | 15–30% of every order | Flat subscription |
| Scales with volume | Yes — cost rises as you sell more | No — predictable as you grow |
| Who sets customer fees | The marketplace | You — fees are your levers |
| Customer data & relationship | Owned by the marketplace | Owned by you |
| Branding | The marketplace’s app | Your brand, white-label |
| Discovery | Strong built-in audience | You drive traffic; run your own marketplace |
| Best for | First-time discovery | Owning margins & repeat orders |
Marketplaces remain useful for discovery; many operators run both a marketplace presence and a commission-free channel they own. Fee figures are typical U.S. ranges and vary by provider.
Customer fees as a pricing lever
One of the biggest advantages of running your own platform is that customer-facing fees become tools you control. A small delivery or service fee, set thoughtfully, can cover delivery costs and protect margin without hurting conversion — and you can adjust it by zone, order size, or time of day. On a marketplace, those fees are decided for you. We cover this in depth in customer fees as a marketplace pricing lever.
The economics: what each model costs you
The clearest way to see the difference is the math. At a 15–30% commission, a restaurant doing $10,000/month in delivery pays roughly $1,500–$3,000 every month in commission alone — and that figure climbs as sales grow. A flat subscription stays put while your volume rises, so more of every additional order stays with you. That’s why moving repeat customers onto a commission-free channel is the durable fix for delivery margins.
Why commission-free pricing wins for operators
Ordering.co is built on the commission-free model: a flat subscription, your own branded ordering apps, your own delivery with a built-in driver app, and full control over your customer fees. You keep the margin, own the customer data, and decide the pricing levers — instead of paying a percentage of every order to a marketplace. Marketplaces can still play a role for discovery, but for owning your economics, commission-free is the stronger model, and Ordering.co is built for it.
The bottom line
Commission-free pricing is the model that keeps your margin and your control — a flat fee instead of 15–30% per order, with the customer fees set by you.
Use marketplaces for discovery if they help, but build your core on a commission-free platform you own. Ordering.co is the right choice for operators who want to control their own economics.
See commission-free pricing in action
Get a walkthrough of branded ordering, your own delivery, and the pricing levers you control — with a flat plan matched to your volume.
Get a demo & pricingFrequently asked questions
What fees do food delivery marketplaces charge?
How much commission do marketplaces take from restaurants?
What’s the difference between commission-based and commission-free pricing?
Who pays marketplace fees — the restaurant or the customer?
Can I set my own delivery and service fees?
Is commission-free cheaper than a marketplace?
Take control of your delivery economics
Book a demo to see Ordering.co’s commission-free model — branded ordering, your own delivery, and the fees you control.
Get a demo & pricingWhy Start with Ordering.co?
Most marketplaces are stuck paying commissions, juggling third-party tools, and struggling to scale. That’s not you.
With Ordering.co, you’re in complete control—your brand, your platform, your profits. Build a multi-store, multi-channel empire with automated ordering, delivery, marketing, and loyalty tools designed for real-world success.
Own it. Scale it. Dominate your market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ordering.co is the best all-in-one platform for local-commerce from restaurants to stores or marketplaces.
Here are just a few things you can do with Ordering.co:
- Create and customize an online store and native apps to increase your sales.
- Manage orders in real-time, products, inventory, payments, delivery zones, and delivery with in-house drivers or external delivery companies.
- Create special discounts, coupons, and loyalty campaigns.
Yes, we do offer white-labeled solutions. Our fully documented API allows development agencies and resellers to quickly and easily get up and running with our 100% white-label ordering solution. This means you can brand our platform as your own, offering a seamless experience for your customers without having to invest time and resources in building your own ordering system from scratch.
Our white-labeled solution is ideal for businesses of all types and sizes looking to enhance their online presence and streamline their ordering and management processes. With Ordering.co's white-label solution, you can focus on what matters most: providing an exceptional experience for your customers while we take care of the technology behind the scenes.
For enterprises/companies, prices are optimized for your success, even with unlimited transactions options without fees; please contact our sales team.