Most restaurants choose a platform by asking one question: what is the commission? That is the wrong first question. The commission is the price; it tells you nothing about what you are getting for it.
📊 The four dimensions that decide it
Compare on these four, in this order. If a platform loses badly on one of the first two, the other two rarely rescue it.
| Dimension | The real question | How to find out |
| Reach in your blocks | How many people who would actually order from you use this app? | Open the app from your address. Count restaurants like yours. Zero competitors is a warning, not a win |
| Total cost | Commission plus processing plus the promotions required to stay visible | Ask for a sample statement from a restaurant of your size, not the rate card |
| POS integration | Does the order land in my kitchen without someone retyping it? | Ask which POS systems are natively supported, by name and version |
| Who owns the customer | Do I get the name, the address, the order history? | Read the data section of the contract. Assume the answer is no unless it says yes |
🤝 Three models, three different deals
Platforms sell more than one thing, and the cheapest option is often one you were not offered:
- Full marketplace. They list you, take the order, and deliver it. Highest commission, least work, most reach. The default everyone signs.
- Marketplace with your own driver. They list you and take the order; you deliver. Commission typically drops by a third or more. Worth it only if you already have someone who can leave the building.
- White-label ordering. Their software, your brand, your website, no marketplace. Flat monthly fee instead of commission. No new customers — but existing regulars ordering here cost you a fraction.
The strong play for most restaurants is not one of these. It is marketplace for discovery, white-label for regulars: pay commission to meet someone the first time, and give them a reason to order direct the second time.
🔍 The fine print that actually bites
Four clauses cause most of the complaints, and none of them are hidden — they are just boring enough that nobody reads them:
- Price parity. Some contracts require your platform prices to match your dining-room prices. That single clause removes your main defence against commission. Know whether yours has it.
- Who pays for refunds. When a customer complains that an item was missing, find out who absorbs it and what evidence, if any, you get to present.
- Automatic promotion enrolment. Some platforms opt you into campaigns by default and notify you rather than ask. Find the setting before you find the invoice.
- Notice period and exclusivity. How long to leave, and whether signing here blocks you signing elsewhere.
🧮 Comparing them honestly
Do not compare rate cards. Take one real week of your own orders and run it through each candidate's structure: their commission, their processing, their required promotions, on your actual order mix. The winner on paper and the winner on your numbers are frequently not the same platform, because your average ticket and your dish mix are not average.
If you cannot get a straight answer on total cost from a sales rep, that is itself information about what the relationship will be like.