Build Your Food Delivery Platform Without 20–30% Commissions
Build Your Food Delivery Platform Without 20–30% Commissions
Anurag Jain
Last Updated on June 23, 2025
Let’s be real, why are you hustling to make the perfect burger just to hand over 30% of your profits to a delivery app that barely knows your brand? If you’ve ever cringed at your monthly payout from DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub, you’re not alone.
Thousands of U.S. restaurant owners are catching on: these platforms are not built to help small businesses thrive; they’re built to grow their own bottom lines.
At Oyelabs, we’ve helped 100+ food businesses ditch the fees and launch their own branded food delivery platforms, complete with real-time order tracking, secure payments, and full data ownership. You get total control over your margins, your customer experience, and your marketing.
So, if you’re done being the sidekick to someone else’s app, let’s talk about how you become the hero of your own story (and your own delivery system).
Why Food Delivery Apps Charge 20–30% in Commissions
Delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats don’t run lean operations. Their business model is built on high-margin commissions taken directly from restaurant partners to fund their expansive infrastructure.
This 20–30% commission isn’t random, it’s split across multiple components: paid advertising to attract users, backend tech costs, third-party driver payouts, payment gateway fees, and customer service overhead.
Here’s what the breakdown typically looks like across major U.S. platforms:
| Platform | Avg. Commission Range | Driver Fees | Marketing & Ads | Platform / Support Fees |
| Uber Eats | 25% – 30% | ~10% | ~8% | ~7% |
| DoorDash | 20% – 30% | ~9% | ~6–10% | ~5–8% |
| Grubhub | 15% – 25% | ~8% | ~5–8% | ~5–7% |
Now ask yourself – who’s paying for this? You are. Per order. And the platforms are scaling fast… on your margins.
The truth is, many restaurant owners would prefer a one-time setup or flat monthly fee over watching commissions eat into their revenue, order after order. That’s why growing numbers are choosing to launch their own food delivery app and take back control.
These apps use your food to acquire customers, but they own the customer relationship entirely. They brand the experience, keep the data, and cross-sell competitors at checkout.
For small and mid-sized restaurants, that model simply doesn’t work. With food costs, rent, and labor already squeezing profits, giving away 30% on each order makes long-term sustainability nearly impossible.
And if you’re the one doing the cooking, the branding, and the fulfillment, shouldn’t you own the customer too?
The Hidden Costs of Using Third-Party Food Delivery Apps
70% of U.S. consumers prefer to order directly from a restaurant rather than a third-party app.
Commission fees aren’t the only loss. There are operational, financial, and marketing limitations built into the platform model that are rarely discussed.
First, you don’t control pricing. Most delivery apps enforce price parity clauses, preventing you from offering lower rates or better deals on your own website. If you want to push discounts or bundle offers, you often can’t, unless you also run them on the delivery platform, where you’re already losing margin.
Second, you lose access to the customer. Delivery apps don’t share contact information. You can’t build loyalty programs, retarget past buyers, or recover abandoned orders. Your highest-value customers are out of reach.
Third, there’s a lack of brand ownership. Your restaurant exists inside a standard layout. There’s no room for customization, no control over presentation, and no customer experience beyond the order.
And finally, there’s risk. When delivery quality slips, your brand reputation suffers, even though the logistics aren’t in your hands.
A 30% commission is visible. But the loss of brand, data, and control is the real cost.
Restaurant Owners Are Speaking Out
Across Reddit, trade forums, and industry news, a consistent theme has emerged: restaurant operators are exhausted by one-sided delivery terms.
Some of the users often express concern that third-party platforms are cannibalizing direct traffic. Customers become loyal to the app, not the restaurant, and there’s no incentive to return outside the platform.
At Oyelabs, we’ve helped restaurants move from idea to launch in under 3 weeks, with platforms that include:
- Custom branding
- Order management dashboards
- Delivery zone mapping
- CRM and email integrations
- Loyalty and reward systems
Restaurants that own their ordering channel earn more per order, retain customer data, and build long-term equity.
The Alternative: Build Your Own Food Delivery Platform
If third-party apps are draining your margins, building your own delivery infrastructure isn’t just possible, it’s practical. Over 45% of restaurants are investing in branded digital ordering platforms.
A branded delivery system gives you ownership. You control pricing. You control promotions. You manage your customers directly. And with today’s tools and white-label technologies, you don’t need a tech team or a six-figure investment to get started.
Your platform can include:
- Mobile apps (iOS & Android)
- Custom ordering website
- Real-time delivery tracking
- CRM tools to build loyalty
- Secure payment integrations (Stripe, Square, PayPal)
The key difference? You own the platform. You’re no longer renting space on someone else’s marketplace.
You don’t need a Silicon Valley dev team to make this happen. Most successful restaurateurs today simply partner with experts who help them set up their restaurant delivery app without the technical chaos.
This shift isn’t about avoiding fees; it’s about building something scalable, measurable, and designed around your customers, not someone else’s.
Benefits of Building Your Own Delivery Platform
Restaurants that run their own systems consistently report higher margins, stronger brand loyalty, and better repeat order rates. Here’s why:
- Keep 100% of Your Revenue: When you eliminate commissions, every order becomes profitable. You pay a one-time setup or flat tech fee, not a recurring cut of your sales.
- Full Control Over Pricing and Promotions: You decide what discounts to run, when, and how. No more constraints from platform-wide rules or pricing parity clauses.
- Direct Access to Customers: You can build email lists, run retargeting ads, and launch loyalty programs based on actual purchase history. This data is the foundation for sustained growth.
- Control the Delivery Experience: Use your own drivers or integrate with third-party delivery APIs like DoorDash Drive or Lyft Dispatch, while managing expectations and timelines.
- Custom Brand Experience: Your app reflects your restaurant, not a generic template. You decide the tone, images, layout, and design flow.
Third-Party vs. Owned Platform: A Side-by-Side View
| Feature | Third-Party App | Owned Delivery Platform |
| Commission per order | 20–35% | $0 (flat setup/monthly) |
| Customer data access | ❌ | ✅ |
| Brand customization | Very limited | Full control |
| Pricing & promotion control | Limited | Full flexibility |
| Loyalty program integration | ❌ | ✅ |
| Delivery service control | ❌ (external only) | ✅ (internal or hybrid) |
| Long-term ROI | Low | High |
Common Myths About Running Your Own Delivery App
Many restaurant owners hesitate because they’ve heard one of these:
“It’s too expensive to build.”
In the past, yes. But white-label platforms have changed that. Today, you can deploy a custom-branded system at a fraction of the cost of building from scratch. Most Oyelabs clients launch with under $5,000 in upfront cost.
“We’re not tech-savvy.”
You don’t need to be. We offer end-to-end setup, training, and support. If you know how to manage your menu, you can manage your platform.
“We’ll lose customers without the big apps.”
Not if you plan it right. Most successful restaurants run both apps for exposure and their own platform for loyal customers. Over time, the balance shifts naturally toward owned channels.
“Managing delivery is too complicated.”
You can keep using third-party fleets through services like DoorDash Drive, Postmates API, or Relay. The difference is, you route orders through your own system and maintain ownership of the transaction.
When restaurant owners understand the real numbers and the control they regain, most realize they can’t afford not to switch.
Still unsure? Talk to our experts about what it takes to move 30% commissions off your books for good.
Oyelabs Can Help You Launch in 7 Days
Time is a real constraint. That’s why our approach is lean, fast, and tailored.
At Oyelabs, we’ve built a white-label delivery solution specifically for restaurants that want out of the 30% commission trap, but don’t want to start from scratch.
Here’s what you get with our launch package:
- Branded mobile apps (iOS & Android)
- Web ordering site with responsive design
- Admin dashboard for managing menus, orders, drivers
- Stripe, Square, and PayPal integration
- Push notifications & SMS alerts
- Delivery radius configuration & multi-location support
- Loyalty system modules (optional)
- Analytics dashboard with order heatmaps and sales trends
We don’t build from zero. We deploy proven systems, then customize for your brand, workflows, and geography.
Most restaurants go live within 7 working days, and start migrating their existing customer base on Day 1.
We’ve built solutions for restaurants that wanted out of the commission trap, and we did it in days. You could be next. Just imagine the impact if you launched your own food delivery platform before the month-end.
Our platforms support both single-brand setups and multi-restaurant aggregators, so whether you’re a solo kitchen or managing a franchise, the system scales with you.
How to Transition Smoothly
Switching from third-party platforms to your own system doesn’t require a full break. The most effective approach is a gradual migration with a clear retention plan.
Here’s a roadmap we recommend to clients:
- Start with Your Regulars: Promote your platform to dine-in and call-in customers. Offer a first-time discount, app-only promo, or free delivery code.
- Train Your Staff: Ensure your team understands the value of direct orders and promotes them actively, over the phone, in-store, and on receipts.
- Incentivize Repeat Orders: Offer cashback, loyalty points, or digital coupons exclusive to your app or website. Push these via email or SMS.
- Use Third-Party Apps Strategically: Don’t shut them off immediately. Keep them for exposure, but reduce their prominence in your marketing. Include flyers or QR codes in each delivery bag directing customers to your own system.
- Monitor & Optimize: Use your admin dashboard to track user flow, bounce rates, and order success rates. Improve where necessary and test new offers based on real-time data.
A full transition typically happens over 6–10 weeks. The payoff is long-term: better margins, deeper relationships, and full control over your delivery operations.
Need help with this roadmap? OyeLabs helps you plan your custom food delivery app development step by step.
AI-Powered Food Delivery Platforms, Custom-Built by Oyelabs
At Oyelabs, we go beyond basic delivery apps, we build intelligent platforms that help restaurants operate leaner, market smarter, and deliver faster. Our AI modules are designed to solve real operational challenges in food delivery:
- Personalized menu recommendations based on order behavior
- Dynamic delivery routing using real-time traffic and distance data
- Automated re-engagement workflows triggered by user inactivity
- ML-based upselling prompts during checkout
- Customer segmentation for targeted push campaigns
Built using Python, TensorFlow, and OpenAI integrations, our AI stack is fast, scalable, and built for real-time performance.
We’ve delivered over 40 AI-enhanced solutions in the foodtech space alone—improving order accuracy, increasing retention, and lifting average ticket sizes.
Whether you’re running a single outlet or scaling a cloud kitchen brand, our AI systems integrate seamlessly with your food delivery workflow, so you stay focused on food while the platform handles everything else.
Increase your margins and reduce third-party dependency with a smarter platform? Let Oyelabs build your custom AI-powered food delivery solution.
The Future Is in Your Hands
Delivery isn’t going away. But your dependence on third-party apps can.
The restaurant industry is shifting away from aggregator platforms and inclining their interest in getting a food delivery app with custom features. More restaurant owners are choosing control over convenience, loyalty over volume, and margin over marketing promises.
You don’t need to abandon delivery. You need to own the way it works for you. Most importantly, every order adds to your profit, not someone else’s balance sheet. Still wondering if it’s the right time? If third-party commissions are taking 20–30% off every plate, the cost of waiting is clear.
Start owning your platform, your profits, and your future.
