Direct Ordering vs Deliveroo: Which Is Better for Restaurants?
Direct ordering vs Deliveroo: the short answer
Direct ordering is better for margins. Deliveroo is better for getting found.
Plenty of restaurants use both. Deliveroo brings in people who've never heard of you. Your own ordering site is where you want them ordering the second time, and the third, and every time after that. Over time you move the regulars off Deliveroo and onto your own channel.
What does Deliveroo actually cost?
Deliveroo takes a commission on every order, usually somewhere between 25% and 35% of the order value. Where you land in that range depends on your contract, your location and how many orders you do.
On a £30 order, that's £7.50–£10.50 to Deliveroo before you've paid for ingredients, staff or packaging.
Depending on your contract and market, you might also be paying for:
- marketing fees for promoted placements
- tablet costs and integration fees
- packaging that meets Deliveroo's requirements
Deliveroo doesn't publish standard rates. Your rate is whatever's in your contract, so it's worth digging it out.
What does direct ordering cost?
Direct ordering platforms like Flipdish usually charge a flat monthly fee or a small fee per transaction. Not a cut of every order.
| Model | Typical cost | On a £30 order |
|---|---|---|
| Deliveroo | 25–35% commission | £7.50–£10.50 |
| Direct ordering platform | Monthly fee or small % | £0.50–£1.50 |
Volume is where this adds up. Take a restaurant doing 200 orders a week at a £30 average. That's £6,000 a week, and £1,500–£2,100 of it goes to Deliveroo in commission. Put those same orders through a direct channel and the restaurant keeps roughly £1,200–£1,800 more every week.
What Deliveroo gives you that direct ordering doesn't
Customers. Millions of people in the UK use the Deliveroo app regularly, and a listing puts you in front of people who would never have found your website.
Deliveroo also takes care of payments, delivery if you use their riders, and customer support when a delivery goes wrong.
If you're a new restaurant, or you've just opened somewhere nobody knows you yet, Deliveroo brings in orders you simply wouldn't get otherwise.
What direct ordering gives you that Deliveroo doesn't
The customer. When someone orders through your own website or app, you get their contact details and you can market to them again. You control everything from the order to the delivery. And you pay a fraction of the Deliveroo cost on each order.
Someone who orders through Deliveroo is Deliveroo's customer. Someone who orders through your website or app is your customer.
How to use both
Use Deliveroo to find new customers and direct ordering to keep them.
- Stay on Deliveroo for the new customers it brings in.
- Point people to your own website or app wherever you can - on packaging, receipts, emails, at the counter.
- Give them a reason to switch. A loyalty discount works, so does a first-order offer or a few dishes that are only on your own menu.
- Check the split between Deliveroo and direct orders every month. You want the direct share going up.
How Flipdish helps
Flipdish provides restaurant websites, branded mobile apps and a POS system, all connected, so online and in-person orders end up in the same place.
With Flipdish you get:
- your own ordering channel, with no marketplace taking commission on each order
- loyalty tools to reward people for ordering direct
- AI marketing that gets customers ordering again without you having to chase them
- one view of every order, whether it came in through your website, your app or the counter
Multi-location groups and franchise operators can run all of it centrally. Prices are on the Flipdish online ordering pricing page.
If you're handing Deliveroo 30% of every order, the maths on building your own channel isn't complicated.
Talk to Flipdish about building your direct ordering channel →
