How much does ezCater cost a restaurant? Zayos does the catering math
Published July 2026 · Updated July 26, 2026
ezCater charges no signup fee and no monthly fee. Per its own Restaurant Partner Help Center in July 2026, a restaurant pays 15% commission on ezCater Marketplace orders and 7% on Online Ordering orders from its own website, plus a 2.99% payment transaction fee on every order.
What does ezCater charge, line by line?
Read from ezCater's own partner documentation on 26 July 2026. To ezCater's credit, all of this is written down publicly, which is more than most marketplaces manage.
Signup and monthly fees
$0ezCater states there are no signup fees and no recurring monthly fees to be a partner, and that you only pay fees on orders you accept. That is unusual in this category and it is accurate.
Marketplace commission
15%The standard commission on orders that come from the ezCater Marketplace. It applies to the meal subtotal plus the customer facing delivery fee you set. It does not apply to voluntary tips or to taxes.
Online Ordering commission
7%The reduced commission on orders placed through the ezCater powered ordering flow you link from your own website. Same base as above: meal subtotal plus your delivery fee, never tips or taxes.
Payment transaction fee
2.99%Charged on both channels for processing the customer payment. This one applies to the meal subtotal, the delivery fee and the tax. It does not apply to voluntary tips.
Dispatch delivery
$30 minimum, or 10% above $300Optional. $30 minimum for orders up to $300, or 10% of order subtotal for orders above $300, when you hand the delivery to ezCater drivers. The customer still pays the delivery fee you set and you pay the Dispatch fee, so you carry any difference between the two. On Dispatch orders, commission on the delivery portion is calculated as a flat fee rather than a percentage.
Preferred Partner Program
2% to 20%, your choiceOptional marketing spend that boosts your Marketplace search placement. You set the percentage on the food subtotal and it is charged on every order while you are opted in. Requires a 4.0 star rating or better and at least one rated order. In several states, including TX, CO, AZ, MD and VA, Sponsored Listings has replaced it.
Tips
Passed to you in fullVoluntary tips go to you in full, with one exception: when Dispatch is used, tips go to the delivery provider.
Payouts
Weekly ACHThe billing cycle runs Monday to Sunday, payments are processed every Tuesday for the previous week, and deposits typically land 1 to 2 business days after processing. Each location is paid separately by default.
What does that add up to on a $1,200 office order?
Modeled on a $1,200 meal subtotal, a $50 delivery fee you set, and $84 of sales tax at a modeled 7%. Percentages are ezCater's published rates. Your own tax rate and delivery fee will move the totals.
- Commission, 15% of $1,250$187.50
- Transaction fee, 2.99% of $1,334$39.89
- Total ezCater fees$227.39
About 18.2% of the $1,250 you invoiced. Add Preferred Partner Program spend at 10% and it becomes $347.39, or roughly 27.8%.
- Commission, 7% of $1,250$87.50
- Transaction fee, 2.99% of $1,334$39.89
- Total ezCater fees$127.39
Exactly $100 cheaper on one order, because the 8 point commission difference lands on $1,250.
Now add delivery. Hand this order to ezCater Dispatch and the published rate above $300 is 10% of the order subtotal, so $120 on a $1,200 order, while you collect the $50 delivery fee you set. You absorb the $70 difference. ezCater states this plainly, but it is the line most operators forget when they model a big drop off.
One order rarely changes a business. Ten a month does. At this ticket size, ten Marketplace orders carry about $2,274 in fees and the same ten through your own website carry about $1,274. That $1,000 a month is the whole argument for owning the channel, which is also why the next section matters.
What is the equal price guarantee, and what does it stop me doing?
ezCater's Online Ordering documentation states that prices and fees on Online Ordering must match your lowest online pricing for comparable catering offerings, so that customers see consistent pricing whether they order from your site or find you on the Marketplace. In plain English, that is a price parity clause on the channel you thought was yours.
It has a real consequence. If you planned to run your own catering menu ten percent cheaper to give repeat corporate accounts a reason to book direct, that plan needs a second look while you run ezCater Online Ordering. Parity clauses are common across marketplaces and this one is disclosed openly, which beats finding it in an addendum after signing. Read it, then decide which channel keeps your discounting power.
The distinction worth holding onto: ezCater Online Ordering is ezCater's ordering flow embedded on your website, not your own storefront. Customers reach it from your domain, and the fee schedule, the parity rule and the checkout still belong to the marketplace.
Is 15% actually worth it?
Often, yes, and any page that says otherwise is selling you something. ezCater is not software you rent, it is a demand channel. Office managers, executive assistants and workplace teams with expense budgets go there first to find catering, and those buyers repeat on a schedule. Fifteen percent of an order that would never have reached your kitchen is not a cost, it is a customer acquisition price, and it is cheaper than most paid advertising.
The structure is also honest about risk. No signup fee, no monthly fee, no charge for impressions or clicks: you pay only on orders you accept. A catering operation with three good months and two dead ones pays nothing in the dead months, which a flat subscription cannot match.
The cost turns questionable in one specific case: the repeat account. When the same company orders from you every second Thursday, you are still paying 15% plus 2.99% on a relationship that no longer needs discovery. That is the order worth moving to a channel you control, and it is why ezCater itself prices its own website channel at 7% instead of 15%.
How does Zayos price catering?
Flat software per location, and a catering service fee the diner pays, not the restaurant.
10% catering fee, paid by the customer
On Zayos the catering service fee is 10%, charged to the diner at checkout. On the same $1,200 order the restaurant keeps the full $1,200 of food revenue and 100% of tips. Pickup is $0.99, delivery is $2.99 and dine in is $0, all paid by the diner.
Flat software, month to month
$499 Operator, $599 Operator plus Marketplace, or $699 Concierge, per location per month, no setup fee, no contract. A busy catering month does not raise the software bill, which is the mirror image of a commission model.
Where ezCater is clearly better
ezCater brings you corporate buyers. Zayos does not. If your catering calendar is empty, no ordering platform on earth fills it, and a marketplace with real workplace demand is the correct first move. Pay the 15% and be glad of it.
Running both is the normal answer
Discovery on the marketplace, repeat business on your own channel. Naya Grill in Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach runs its direct ordering on Zayos today and keeps $48k+ a year that used to leave as commission. Catering builders, modifiers and lead times are part of the storefront.
- ezCater Restaurant Partner Help Center, Selling Fees and Payouts. No signup or recurring monthly fees, 15% Marketplace commission, 7% Online Ordering commission, the commission base of meal subtotal plus customer facing delivery fee, exclusion of tips and taxes, the 2.99% payment transaction fee on subtotal plus delivery plus tax, Dispatch at a $30 minimum up to $300 or 10% above $300, and weekly Tuesday ACH payouts on a Monday to Sunday cycle. Accessed 26 July 2026.
- ezCater, Online Ordering: Catering Through Your Website. The reduced 7% commission, no fee to enable Online Ordering, no monthly subscription, the 2.99% payment transaction fee, and the equal price guarantee requiring Online Ordering pricing to match your lowest online pricing for comparable offerings. Accessed 26 July 2026.
- ezCater, Preferred Partner Program. The optional 2% to 20% fee on food subtotal, Marketplace orders only, the 4.0 star and one rated order eligibility rule, and the states where Sponsored Listings has replaced it. Accessed 26 July 2026.
- Zayos pricing. The $499, $599 and $699 per location tiers and the diner paid service fee, including 10% on catering.
The $1,200 order example is modeled, with its inputs stated in the section above. The percentages applied to it are ezCater's published rates, not estimates. ezCater notes that commercial terms can vary by agreement, so confirm your own rates with your account manager.
ezCater cost questions, answered.
How much commission does ezCater take from restaurants?
Does ezCater charge a monthly fee or a setup fee?
What does ezCater Dispatch cost?
What is the ezCater equal price guarantee?
How does ezCater compare to Zayos for catering?
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