How College Students Can Save $240/Semester on Food Delivery

If you order delivery 3 times a week (and let's be honest, most college students order more), you're spending roughly $2,400 per year on food delivery. That's not the food — that's the markup from delivery apps.

Here's how it works, and how to stop overpaying.

The Hidden Markup You're Paying

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub all charge restaurants a commission of 15-30% per order. Restaurants pass that cost to you through inflated menu prices. A $12 burrito at Chipotle's counter? That's $14-15 on DoorDash before fees.

Then add:

• Service fee: 10-15% of your subtotal
• Delivery fee: $1.99-5.99
• Small order fee: $2-3 if your order is under $12
• Tip: $3-5 (you should still tip your driver)

That $12 burrito just became a $22 burrito.

The Fix: Order Direct

Most restaurants you love have their own online ordering system. Torchy's has one. Raising Cane's has one. Pluckers, Via 313, Chick-fil-A — they all have apps or websites where you can order at regular menu prices with no service fee.

The problem? Nobody knows these exist. Or if they do, it's too much effort to check every restaurant's website.

That's why we built Eddy — a free Chrome extension that automatically checks if there's a cheaper direct ordering option when you're browsing DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub.

The Math

That's $480/year. Over four years of college, that's $1,920 — enough for a spring break trip, a new laptop, or 2 months of rent.

Other Tips

1. Pick up when you can. Saves $5-8 per order instantly. If the restaurant is within walking distance, just go get it.
2. Stack credit card rewards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 3x points on dining. The Amex Gold gives 4x on restaurants. Use these on the orders you can't avoid.
3. Skip the subscription trap. DashPass and Uber One seem like deals, but they lock you into one platform. Eddy finds the cheapest option across ALL platforms.
4. Order with friends. Splitting a larger order eliminates small order fees and reduces the per-person delivery cost.

The Bottom Line

You're going to order delivery. That's fine. But you don't have to pay a 30% tax on it. Install Eddy, order from your favorite restaurants, and keep the difference.