Online orders · Hospitality
What Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats really cost you
The commission is not a detail on the invoice — on a delivery-heavy site it is often the single largest line after wages and food. Here are the rates as published in 2026, what they take out of a real month, and what changes when the order comes through your own front door.
The rates, as published.
- Uber Eats publishes its UK rates: 30 % when Uber delivers, 13 % when you deliver, 13 % on pick-up, plus a one-off £650 activation fee (excl. VAT).
- Deliveroo does not publish UK rates. Industry guides put it between 15 % and 35 %, with most independents on 25–30 %.
- Just Eat is usually the lowest headline rate, 14–25 %, because it offers self-delivery tiers.
Rates are negotiable and vary by contract — check your own agreement before working from any of these figures.
What it takes out of a real month
Take a site doing £3,000 a month through the platforms — a modest figure for a place that delivers. At the rates above:
- at 14 % — £420 a month, £5,040 a year
- at 25 % — £750 a month, £9,000 a year
- at 30 % — £900 a month, £10,800 a year
That is the money that leaves before you have paid for the food, the packaging or the person who cooked it. On a 10 % net margin, a 25 % commission means you are working the shift for someone else.
The part that is easy to miss: the customer is not yours
The commission is visible. What is not visible is that the relationship belongs to the platform. You do not get the email address. You cannot tell that person the kitchen is closed on Monday, or that there is a new menu. Next time they open the app, they see you next to four competitors, sorted by whoever pays more.
An order taken on your own site gives you the opposite: the name, the history, the ability to say something. That is worth more over a year than the percentage.
What actually changes with your own ordering
Nobody sensible tells you to switch the platforms off. They bring you people who did not know you. What you can do is stop paying a percentage on the people who already know you — the regulars, the office round the corner, the Friday-night family.
- 0 % commission on orders taken through your own link
- Payment goes to your provider account — it never passes through us
- The customer is yours: name, order history, and a reason to come back
- The platforms stay on for discovery, at whatever rate you negotiated
What it costs to have your own ordering
A fixed price, no commission, no lock-in: £179 a month for the system — till, kitchen screen, QR menu, direct orders, bookings, delivery, clocking in. The website, if you want one, is £2,000 and it is yours by contract. Without a website it is £239 a month for the first six months, then £179.
Put your own numbers in and see what your pack costs: build your pack.
Who wrote this. Tiago, Ultras-Sites. I build restaurant websites and the system that runs behind them — till, orders, bookings, delivery — in Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. One person to deal with, and prices written out in full: build your pack.