DoorDash Markup Explained: Why Your Food Costs 30% More

Ever notice that your Chipotle burrito costs more on DoorDash than in the store? You're not imagining it. Here's exactly what's happening.

The Commission Structure

DoorDash charges restaurants a commission on every order. The rates vary by plan:

• DoorDash Basic: 15% commission (delivery by restaurant)
• DoorDash Plus: 25% commission (DoorDash handles delivery)
• DoorDash Premier: 30% commission (priority placement + marketing)

Most restaurants on DoorDash are on the Plus or Premier plan, meaning 25-30% of every order goes to DoorDash. Restaurants have two choices: absorb that cost (and lose money on every order) or raise their menu prices.

Most raise prices.

Real Price Differences We Found

We compared menu prices on DoorDash vs. the restaurant's own website for popular Austin restaurants:

And that's just the menu price difference. On top of that, DoorDash adds:

• Service fee: Typically 10-15% of your subtotal ($1.50-4.00)
• Delivery fee: $1.99-5.99 depending on distance and demand
• Small order fee: $2.00-3.00 for orders under $12

A $15 meal becomes $22-28 on DoorDash. The same meal ordered direct? $15-18.

Why Restaurants Don't Just Leave

Restaurants stay on DoorDash because that's where customers are. It's a visibility play — they lose money on delivery orders but hope to convert you into a walk-in customer. Many restaurants have told us they'd prefer you order from their own website.

How to Stop Overpaying

The fix is simple: before you order on DoorDash, check if the restaurant has its own ordering system. Most do — through Toast, Square, ChowNow, or their own website.

Or install Eddy, which does this automatically. When you browse a restaurant on DoorDash, Eddy checks our database of 9,500+ restaurants and shows you the direct ordering link if one exists.