How do you stop paying DoorDash commission?

Published May 2026 · Updated October 4, 2026

You stop paying DoorDash commission on an order when the customer orders from your own site instead. Four steps: work out what you pay now, open a commission-free ordering site, print its address on every bag and receipt, and bring customers back by email. Keep DoorDash for new diners.

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What are the four steps?

Work out what you pay now

DoorDash lists 15% on its Basic plan, 25% on Plus and 30% on Premier for delivery orders, and 6% for pickup (DoorDash for Merchants pricing, read 4 Oct 2026). Multiply your monthly DoorDash sales by your rate, then add the ads and promotions you fund. Your payout statement has the real number.
DoorDash commission calculator
Open a direct channel you own

A branded ordering site on your own domain, with pickup and delivery at checkout. A direct order pays no commission, only card processing of about 3%. Point the Order Online button on your Google Business Profile at it.
What direct ordering is
Print it on everything that leaves the kitchen

Every app order goes out in your bag with your receipt. Put your web address and a QR code on both, with one plain line: "Order direct next time." A small first-order offer gives the customer a reason. Check your DoorDash agreement for its rules on inserts.
QR code ordering
Bring them back yourself

Once someone orders direct, the customer record is yours: name, email and order history. Send email and text campaigns to customers who opted in, and let the automatic emails (welcome, second order, win-back) run. That is what a delivery app never lets you do. SMS marketing is included. We set it up with you when you want it, because US carriers require each restaurant's texts to be registered before marketing messages can go out. Until then, order-update texts work from day one.
Email marketing

Rates: DoorDash for Merchants pricing, https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026.

Get started or call 954-807-1509 or text us book a demo Ten ways to get direct orders

Do I have to leave DoorDash to stop paying commission?

No. Keep DoorDash for diners who have never heard of you. The aim is to move the repeat customer, who already knows your food, to your own site. On the Zayos $499 Operator + Tablet plan, DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub orders arrive on the same kitchen tablet as your direct orders.

How much of my DoorDash volume will move to direct?

Nobody can promise a number, and we do not publish a typical one. It depends on your customers, your offer and how visible your own site is. The savings calculator lets you set the share you expect to move. It starts at a cautious 30%, which is an estimate you set, not a promise.

How much do I save on each order that moves?

The commission minus about 3% card processing. On a $30 delivery order on the DoorDash Plus plan, DoorDash keeps $7.50 at its listed 25% rate (read on 4 October 2026). On your own site the same order costs about $0.90 in card processing.

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What else do owners ask about leaving DoorDash commission behind?

Can I contact my DoorDash customers directly?

No. DoorDash does not share customer contact details with the restaurant. What you control is your own packaging and your own premises: the bag, the receipt, the window. Review your merchant agreement for its terms on promotional inserts.

Does this work for Uber Eats and Grubhub too?

Yes. The four steps are the same for any delivery app. The listed rates differ: see what Uber Eats charges restaurants and what Grubhub charges restaurants for each company's published fees.

What does Zayos cost?

A flat $399, $499 or $599 per location per month, with no setup fee and no contract. The diner pays a flat $0.99 service fee on pickup and delivery, never the restaurant. You keep 100% of food revenue, and 100% of tips on pickup and dine-in. On delivery the tip goes to the driver.

What would you keep with DoorDash's rate filled in?

The calculator opens at 25%: DoorDash's listed rate for Plus plan. Source: DoorDash for Merchants pricing, https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. Change any number to your own. The share moved to direct is an estimate you set, not a promise. For DoorDash alone, use the DoorDash fee calculator.

Orders a month, per location

Average order ($)

Share of those orders that come through delivery apps

60%

That is 1,800 app orders a month per location (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub).

What the apps charge

30%

15% to 30% is the base commission. 25% to 35% is the blended real cost once delivery, marketing and processing fees stack. The default, 30%, is the top of the base range and the middle of the blended one. Your payout statement has your real number. Read my delivery statement

Share of app orders you expect to move to direct

30%

An estimate you set, not a promise. It starts at a cautious 30%. How fast regulars move depends on your customers, your bag inserts and your offers. Move it to see your own case.

Locations

Zayos plan

Plans are per location, per month. No setup fee, month to month.

What the apps charge

a year, at today's volume

$0 a month

What Zayos costs

a year, flat

$0 a month

Money you keep

a year, after the Zayos plan, at 30% moved to direct

$0 a month

A modeled estimate from the numbers you entered. Not a promise.

Break-even

0 app orders a month per location pays for the plan.

The $0.99 service fee on pickup and delivery is paid by the diner, so it is not a restaurant cost and is not in these numbers.

How we got this

What the apps charge: Orders × share through apps × average order × commission rate × 12 months × locations.
What Zayos costs: Plan × locations × 12 months. Nothing per order.
Commission you stop paying: App sales × share moved to direct × (commission rate minus 3% card processing, which a direct order still pays).
Total: $0
Money you keep: Commission you stop paying, minus what Zayos costs.
Break-even: Plan ÷ (average order × share moved to direct × (commission rate minus 3%)).

One measured example: Farooj Abo Alabed, live on Zayos, is on pace for $40k+ a year in commission not paid to a marketplace: its direct food sales after discounts from 10 Aug to 3 Oct 2026 (55 days), annualized at a 35% blended marketplace cost.

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No setup fee. Month to month. We get you live in under a week.

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