Grubhub alternatives: five ways out, one of them is Zayos.
Published July 2026 · Updated July 26, 2026
Grubhub charges a marketing commission of 5% to 20% depending on plan, plus a 10% delivery fee if you use its drivers, plus order processing. There are five real ways out, including Grubhub Direct, which is free and takes no commission. Zayos is one of them, priced flat.
What does Grubhub actually cost per order?
Marketplace pricing is not one number, it is a stack. Here are the layers, each from Grubhub’s own published material, accessed July 2026. Watch the phrase "as low as": it describes a floor, not the rate on your statement.
Grubhub Basic is described as marketing fees as low as 5% excluding delivery, Plus as low as 10%, Premium as low as 15%. Grubhub's own FAQ states the marketing commission ranges from 5% to 20% depending on the package.
Charged when Grubhub drivers deliver. Self delivery avoids it. On Premium with Grubhub delivery that is 15% plus 10%, which is why the all in figure operators quote is usually about 25%.
Grubhub's restaurant FAQ says you also pay an order processing fee covering credit card processing and fraud monitoring, without stating an amount. For Grubhub Direct it does publish the rate: 3.05% plus 30 cents per prepaid transaction.
Optional promoted placement on Grubhub Premium. Useful, and it is added on top of the plan rate rather than included in it.
Premium with Grubhub delivery: 15% marketing is $4.50 and 10% delivery is $3.00, so $7.50 leaves before processing, which is 25% of the ticket. Grubhub does not publish the Marketplace processing rate. If the 3.05% plus 30 cents it publishes for Grubhub Direct applied, that would add about $1.22, taking the total to roughly $8.72 on a $30 order, near 29%. All of it comes off the top, before food, labour or packaging.
Rates are not uniform nationwide. Grubhub maintains a separate published pricing page for New York City, where local fee cap rules apply, so confirm your own market before modelling anything.
What changed when Wonder bought Grubhub?
In January 2025 Wonder completed its acquisition of Grubhub from Just Eat Takeaway.com at an enterprise value of $650 million. Wonder has said it will surface a curated selection of Grubhub restaurant partners inside the Wonder app, next to its own owned and operated restaurants and meal kits.
Read that plainly and without drama. It does not mean your Grubhub orders stop. It does mean the channel you rent demand from is now owned by a company that also cooks and sells food. Every marketplace has its own commercial interests, and every restaurant that depends on one channel is exposed to decisions it does not get a vote on. That is an argument for owning a direct channel alongside the marketplaces, not for switching to a different landlord.
One more detail worth noticing: Grubhub markets access to customer data as an included benefit of Grubhub Direct. When a company advertises data access as a feature of its direct product, that tells you where the data sits by default on the marketplace side.
Five ways out, ranked by how much work they take.
These are routes, not brands, because "which vendor" is the second question. The first is how much disruption you can absorb this quarter. Path two costs you nothing and is not our product.
Move down a plan tier
Best when Grubhub volume is worth keeping and only the rate is wrong.
The cheapest change you can make today. Grubhub sells Basic, Plus and Premium at marketing fees described as low as 5%, 10% and 15% excluding delivery. If you are on Premium mainly for the promoted placement and sponsored listings, work out what those actually returned last quarter before you renew at the higher rate. Nothing else in your operation changes.
Turn on Grubhub Direct
Best first move for almost anyone. Low risk, no contract to unwind, real savings on repeat customers.
This is the option most alternatives pages leave out, and it is a genuinely good deal. Grubhub Direct is a branded ordering site of your own, and Grubhub states it charges no marketing commission on Direct orders. Its own material says Direct is free to all eligible Marketplace restaurants, with no setup cost, hosting fee or service fee, and access to customer data included. You pay the Grubhub standard processing fee, 3.05% plus 30 cents per prepaid transaction, plus a delivery fee only if you choose Grubhub drivers. Self delivering restaurants pay no delivery charge on Direct.
Spread across the other marketplaces
Best when you need volume now and are not ready to build a direct channel.
Not an escape from commission, but a real reduction in single channel risk. Per merchants.doordash.com (accessed July 2026), DoorDash sells Basic at 15% delivery and 6% pickup, Plus at 25% and 6%, Premier at 30% and 6%, with a $0 monthly fee, $0 signup fee, no contract and free trial periods of 7 days on Basic and 30 days on Plus and Premier. Per merchants.ubereats.com (accessed July 2026), Uber Eats sells Lite at a 20% marketplace fee, Plus at 25% after a 30 day 0% intro rate, Premium at 30% after the same intro, self delivery at 15%, and 7% pickup with validated in store pricing. Rates vary by city.
Build your own direct channel on a flat fee platform
Best when repeat customers are a real share of your orders.
Where the commission actually stops. ChowNow publishes Launch at $249 a month or $229 annual, Grow at $349 or $319 and Elevate at $449 or $409, with a $119 to $499 setup fee and processing at 2.95% + $0.29, and takes no percentage of food revenue. Owner.com publishes Flexible at $249 a month plus a 5% restaurant fee per order, or Flat Rate at $499 a month with no additional restaurant fee, with guests paying a 5% order support fee on both. Square runs $0, $49 and $149 a month with online processing at 3.3% + $0.30 on Free and 2.9% + $0.30 on paid, per NerdWallet, updated March 20, 2026. All three are direct only, so the marketplace tablets stay where they are.
Run direct and marketplace through one screen
Best when four tablets on the pass and a 25% take rate are both the problem.
The hybrid, and the reason Zayos exists. You keep the marketplaces for discovery, you build the direct channel for repeat business, and both land on the same kitchen tablet instead of three. On Zayos that is the $599 Operator + Marketplace tier, which ingests Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub orders through Otter, the aggregation service many kitchens already run. Pricing is flat and published: $499, $599 or $699 per location per month, month to month, no setup fee. The diner pays the service fee at checkout, $0.99 pickup, $2.99 delivery, $0 dine in, 10% on catering, and the restaurant keeps 100% of food revenue and tips. Honest counterweights: this is our platform, it is the newest on this page, and Naya Grill in Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach is the only restaurant live and taking orders on Zayos today, keeping over $48,000 a year that used to go to commissions at about 3,000 orders a month. Eight more storefronts are built, with ordering opening at each launch. Most operators are live in under 2 weeks.
Grubhub and its alternatives, one table.
| Option | Fixed cost | Per-order economics | Who holds the customer | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grubhub Marketplace | No monthly fee | 5% to 20% marketing, plus 10% delivery, plus processing | Marketplace terms | Discovery you do not have to build |
| Grubhub Direct | Free to eligible Marketplace restaurants | No marketing commission. 3.05% + $0.30 processing | Customer data access included | The lowest effort way to cut commission |
| DoorDash | $0 monthly, $0 signup, no contract | 15% / 25% / 30% delivery, 6% pickup | Marketplace terms | Largest marketplace reach in most US cities |
| Uber Eats | No monthly fee stated | 20% / 25% / 30% marketplace, 15% self delivery, 7% pickup | Marketplace terms | Reach plus rider network in dense areas |
| ChowNow | $249/mo ($229 annual) plus $119 to $499 setup | No percentage of food revenue. 2.95% + $0.29 | Yours | Flat fee direct ordering, nothing else |
| Owner.com | $249/mo + 5%, or $499/mo flat | Guest pays 5% order support fee | Yours | Direct ordering with marketing built in |
| Zayos | $499 / $599 / $699 per location, no setup fee | Diner pays $0.99 pickup, $2.99 delivery, $0 dine in | Yours | Direct plus marketplace orders on one tablet |
Marketplace rates vary by city and by negotiated agreement. Figures reflect each vendor’s published pricing as accessed in July 2026. Confirm your own rate card before modelling a switch.
- Grubhub, what fees does Grubhub charge restaurants. "This ranges from 5% to 20% of each order, depending on the Grubhub pricing package you choose" and "If you use our delivery service there's a 10% delivery fee", plus an order processing fee covering credit card processing and fraud monitoring with no amount stated. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- Grubhub, which product and pricing plan is right for you. Basic marketing fees as low as 5% excluding delivery, Plus as low as 10%, Premium as low as 15%; 10% delivery fee; Premium sponsored listing at an additional 5% commission; Grubhub Direct free to eligible customers with no setup cost, hosting fee or service fee, and processing at 3.05% plus 30 cents per prepaid transaction. Accessed 2026-07-26. Grubhub also publishes a separate New York City pricing page.
- DoorDash partnership plans. Basic 15% delivery and 6% pickup, Plus 25% and 6%, Premier 30% and 6%; $0 monthly fee, $0 signup fee, no contract, cancel anytime; 0% trial for 7 days on Basic and 30 days on Plus and Premier. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- Uber Eats pricing. Lite 20% marketplace fee, Plus 0% for 30 days then 25%, Premium 0% for 30 days then 30%, self delivery 15%, pickup 7% with validated in store pricing; rates vary by region. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- Wonder announces acquisition of Grubhub and Just Eat Takeaway.com completes the sale of Grubhub. Completed January 2025 at an enterprise value of $650 million; Wonder to offer a curated selection of Grubhub restaurant partners in the Wonder app. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- ChowNow pricing and Owner.com pricing. ChowNow Launch $249 / $229, Grow $349 / $319, Elevate $449 / $409, setup $119 to $499, processing 2.95% + $0.29. Owner.com Flexible $249/mo + 5% restaurant fee per order, Flat Rate $499/mo, guests pay 5% order support fee. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- NerdWallet, Square fees (updated March 20, 2026). Free $0, Plus $49, Premium $149 per month; online 3.3% + $0.30 on Free, 2.9% + $0.30 on paid. Accessed 2026-07-26.
- Zayos pricing. The $499, $599 and $699 per location tiers, no setup fee, and the diner paid service fee referenced above.
Grubhub alternatives, answered.
How much does Grubhub charge restaurants?
What does a Grubhub order really cost me?
Is Grubhub Direct actually commission free?
What changed when Wonder bought Grubhub?
Is DoorDash or Uber Eats cheaper than Grubhub?
What is the fastest way to cut what the delivery apps cost me?
See last month’s commission in one number.
The free AI report takes your real order volume and average ticket and shows what the marketplaces kept, and what a flat fee direct channel would have kept instead. About 60 seconds, no card.