How Much Does Doordash Charge Restaurants?

Doordash has been a lifesaver for many restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The delivery service, however, does cost restaurants money to use. The exact fee depends on the type of delivery service that the restaurant uses from Doordash, but they are fairly reasonable fees. 

Generally, Doordash charges restaurants anywhere from 10% to 30% of the total sales price as the service fee or a flat fee (typically around $4) per delivery. 

The rest of this article will go into detail about some of the finer points about the fees that a restaurant must pay to use Doordash. 

The Different Doordash Services Available to Restaurants

Name of Service	Service Description	Price
Storefront	This is basically a delivery software for restaurants to use on their website. Doordash drivers fulfill the deliveries.	Customers pay a $4 fee + 10% of the total order.The restaurant pays 2.9% + 30 cents for the credit card transaction.
Doordash Drive	Doordash drivers deliver food for restaurants. The restaurant uses their own delivery system to process orders.	Restaurant pays a flat delivery fee (price varies) per order.
Marketplace	Your restaurant will appear on the Doordash app and customers can order directly from the app.	15% to 30% sales commision + 6% pickup commision on all orders.

Doordash has a few different services available that allow restaurants to offer delivery without having to hire their own delivery drivers.

Doordash will also market your restaurant to their customers with the Storefront and Marketplace services. 

As you can see from the table above, the fees vary quite a bit depending on the service that the restaurant chooses. The fees can vary even further because high-volume restaurants can often negotiate a lower fee than low volume restaurants.

Some states and jurisdictions also limit the commission that Doordash can take from restaurants. 

Is It Worth It For a Restaurant to Partner with Doordash?

Whether or not a restaurant should partner with Doordash comes down to a few different factors that must be carefully examined. Some basic questions to ask before partnering with Doordash include the following:

• Does the restaurant already have in-house delivery drivers?
• Does the restaurant serve food that can be reasonably delivered? 
• Does the restaurant have enough profit margin to cover the Doordash delivery commission?
  • Note: This does not apply to Storefront. 

To keep things simple, most restaurants would benefit from partnering with Doordash. It’s more expensive to have in-house delivery drivers than to pay Doordash a commission to handle all the deliveries along with the marketing. 

It’s also possible with Storefront for the restaurant to not pay anything other than a standard credit card processing fee. The customer pays the delivery fee, which is not ideal but many customers have already accepted that delivery will cost a little extra money. 

Final Thoughts

To summarize, Doordash charges restaurants either a percentage of the total sale or a flat fee to use the service. The exact fee charged depends on the service the restaurant uses and their particular agreement with Doordash – it is possible for restaurants to pay lower Doordash fees.