UK restaurants pay 20-35% commission to delivery platforms. This guide covers proven strategies to reduce fees, build direct ordering channels, and keep more of your revenue.
If you run a restaurant, takeaway, or delivery kitchen in the UK, you already know the numbers. Deliveroo charges between 20-35% commission. Just Eat takes 14-35% depending on your package. Uber Eats sits in a similar range. On a £20 order, you could be handing over £5-7 to the platform before you've paid for ingredients, staff, or overheads.
For many independent restaurants, delivery platforms have become a necessary evil. They bring orders, sure — but they also erode margins, control your customer relationship, and train diners to shop by discount rather than loyalty to your brand. The platforms aren't going anywhere, but that doesn't mean you have to accept the status quo.
This guide is about regaining control. We'll cover practical strategies to reduce your commission burden, shift orders to more profitable channels, and build a sustainable delivery business that doesn't leave you at the mercy of platform algorithms. Some of these tactics you can implement this week. Others require more investment but pay dividends over time.
If you're looking to optimise your existing platform listings while you build alternative channels, our delivery platform optimisation guide covers photo requirements, menu descriptions, and ranking factors in detail.
Before you can reduce costs, you need to know where your money goes. Many restaurant owners don't realise how fees stack up. Here's a typical breakdown for a £25 order on a major UK platform:
| Fee Type | Typical Rate | Cost on £25 Order |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 20-35% | £5.00 - £8.75 |
| Payment processing | 1-2% | £0.25 - £0.50 |
| Delivery fee (if using platform riders) | Variable | £1.50 - £3.00 |
| Promoted placement (optional) | Variable | £0.50 - £2.00 |
On that £25 order, you could be paying £7-14 in fees — before accounting for your food costs. At a standard 30% food cost ratio, you're left with roughly £3-10 gross profit. That's not a business model. That's surviving on volume with no margin for error.
Start by pulling your monthly statements from each platform. Calculate your effective commission rate (total fees divided by total orders). If you're above 30%, something needs to change urgently. If you're at 20-25%, you're doing better than many, but there's still room for improvement.
Platform commission rates aren't set in stone — even if they appear that way in your dashboard. If you're processing significant volume or have multiple locations, you have leverage. Here's how to use it:
One independent curry house in Manchester negotiated their Deliveroo commission from 35% to 25% simply by threatening to switch to Just Eat exclusively. They saved £12,000 in the first year. It costs nothing to ask.
Direct ordering is the holy grail for delivery revenue. You own the customer data, you set the prices, and you keep 100% of the margin (minus payment processing at ~1.5%). The challenge is getting customers to use your website instead of the apps they're already comfortable with.
Here's the practical path to building direct orders:
You don't need a £10,000 custom website. Several UK-focused services let you add online ordering to your existing site:
Most charge a flat monthly fee (£50-150) plus 1-2% transaction processing — dramatically better than 30% commission. Calculate your break-even: if you process £2,000/month through direct orders, a £100/month service fee works out to 5% — still far below platform rates.
Customers won't switch to your website just because you want them to. You need to give them a reason:
Put your website URL everywhere:
Don't be shy about it. The platforms promote themselves aggressively on your packaging — why shouldn't you?
The real value isn't in a single direct order — it's in converting platform customers into direct-order regulars. Here's how to make that transition:
The platforms hate this, of course. They explicitly prohibit contacting customers outside their system through platform-provided data. But once someone orders from your website directly, that customer relationship is yours.
Collection orders eliminate delivery costs entirely. Many customers who would happily collect don't realise it's an option — or assume there won't be a discount for doing so.
Promote collection aggressively:
For city centre locations, lunch collections from nearby offices can become a significant revenue stream with zero platform involvement. Target local businesses with flyer drops or LinkedIn outreach to office managers.
Here's a strategic reframe: treat delivery platforms as marketing channels, not sales channels. Use them to acquire new customers, then work hard to shift those customers to direct ordering for repeat business.
The economics look like this:
This approach requires accepting that some orders will always be unprofitable — but you're using those orders strategically to build a profitable customer base elsewhere.
While you work on shifting volume to direct channels, make sure you're maximising the platform orders you do receive:
Professional food photography also helps platform performance. Better photos increase click-through rates and conversion, meaning more orders from the same listing. SnackSnap lets you create platform-optimised food photos from simple phone shots — one less barrier to standing out on crowded apps.
Reducing platform dependence isn't a one-time fix — it's an ongoing strategy. The restaurants thriving in 2026 are those that used platforms to build their customer base, then systematically shifted that base to owned channels.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
This transition takes time and consistent effort. But the alternative — remaining dependent on platforms that can raise commissions or change algorithms at any moment — is far riskier for your business long-term.
Platforms prohibit using their customer data (emails, phone numbers) to contact customers outside the platform. However, including printed materials in delivery bags, using branded packaging, and promoting your website on social media are all acceptable. The key distinction: you can't mine their database, but you can market to customers who chose to order from you.
On a £25 order, the difference between platform commission (30%) and direct ordering (1.5% processing) is roughly £7. If you shift just 50 orders per month to direct, that's £350/month or £4,200 annually in saved commissions. Scale that to 200 orders and you're looking at nearly £17,000 yearly savings — enough to hire part-time staff or invest in equipment.
Start with your existing website and a simple ordering integration. If you use Square, Toast, or a similar POS, they often have online ordering modules for £50-100/month. For a completely free option, use WhatsApp Business for orders with manual payment processing — not scalable, but sufficient to test demand for direct ordering before investing in proper infrastructure.
Generally, no. Platforms still provide valuable discovery for new customers. The goal is balance — use platforms for acquisition, direct channels for retention. Only consider leaving a platform if their commission structure becomes truly untenable and you've built a robust direct-ordering customer base to compensate.
You have three options: hire your own drivers (best control, highest fixed costs), partner with a local courier service (flexible, moderate cost), or use platform delivery services that allow direct orders (some platforms offer this at lower commission rates). Many restaurants start with self-delivery in a small radius and expand as volume grows.
The delivery platform landscape isn't going to become more favourable to restaurants. Commission rates may fluctuate, but the fundamental dynamic — platforms owning the customer relationship — works against independent operators. The restaurants that thrive are those that use platforms strategically while building owned channels that deliver real profitability.
Better food photos drive more orders whether they come through platforms or your direct channel. Professional images increase click-through rates on Deliveroo, boost conversion on your website, and make your social media promotion more effective.
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Learn how UK restaurants are using AI menu photography to increase delivery orders by up to 40%. This comprehensive guide covers everything from platform requirements to optimisation strategies for Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats.
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