How to Reduce UberEats Fees

UberEats has become one of the largest food delivery platforms in the world, connecting millions of hungry customers with restaurants. But this convenience comes at a steep cost for restaurant owners.

UberEats Commission Structure (2026):

| Plan | Commission | Features | |------|------------|----------| | Lite | 15% | Delivery only, customers use your packaging | | Plus | 25% | Pickup + delivery, some marketing visibility | | Premium | 30% | Full features, priority placement, promotions |

The Real Impact: On a $25 order at 25% commission:

• UberEats takes: $6.25
• Your food cost (30%): $7.50
• Remaining: $11.25 for labor, rent, utilities, and profit

For many restaurants, especially those with thin margins, UberEats fees eliminate any profit from delivery orders entirely.

But you have options. This guide will show you how to significantly reduce what you pay to UberEats—or eliminate those fees altogether.

Before you can reduce your fees, you need to understand exactly what UberEats charges:

Commission Fees (The Big One)

• 15-30% of every order
• This is your primary cost and reduction target

Additional Fees You Might Pay:

• Marketing/Promotion fees: 10-30% additional when running promotions
• Featured placement fees: Extra cost for top visibility
• Tablet fees: Some restaurants pay for UberEats tablet rental
• Payment processing: Typically 2.9% + $0.30 on pickup orders

Hidden Costs:

• Order errors: You often absorb costs of missing/wrong items
• Refunds: Customer refunds come out of your revenue
• Photo requirements: You may need to pay for professional photos
• Menu management time: Staff time to manage UberEats menu

Calculate Your True UberEats Cost: Take your last month's UberEats revenue and calculate:

1. Commission paid (check your statements)
2. Marketing/promotion spend
3. Refunds and adjustments
4. Staff time managing the platform

Many restaurants find their true cost is 35-45% of UberEats revenue, not the 25-30% they expected.

If you have sufficient order volume, you may be able to negotiate better terms with UberEats.

When You Can Negotiate:

• 50+ orders per week through UberEats
• Multiple locations on the platform
• Strong ratings and reviews
• Consistent order history

What to Negotiate:

1. Lower Base Commission

• Ask to move from 30% to 25% or lower
• Request 15-18% if you have significant volume
• Multi-location deals can get better rates

2. Marketing Fee Caps

• Request caps on promotional fees
• Get credits for marketing spend
• Ask for free promoted placement

3. Operational Credits

• Request credits for order errors
• Ask for refund protection
• Negotiate tablet fee waivers

How to Approach the Negotiation:

1. Document Your Value

   • Compile your order history
   • Note your positive reviews
   • Calculate your annual revenue on UberEats

2. Get Competing Offers

   • Contact DoorDash and Grubhub
   • Get their best rates in writing
   • Use as leverage with UberEats

3. Contact Your Account Rep

   • If you don't have one, request one
   • Explain you're evaluating options
   • Present your value and ask for better terms

4. Be Willing to Walk

   • You have more leverage if you'll actually reduce presence
   • A credible threat to leave can unlock discounts

Even without negotiating, you can reduce your effective UberEats costs through smart usage:

1. Use the Lite Plan (15% Commission)

• Delivery only, no pickup
• Lower visibility but significantly cheaper
• Best for restaurants with established brands

2. Turn Off Promotions

• Promotions add 10-30% additional cost
• Only use during slow periods if at all
• Calculate true ROI before running promos

3. Optimize Your Menu for UberEats

• Higher-margin items prominently featured
• Remove low-margin items or reprice
• Consider "delivery-only" higher prices

4. Manage Your Hours Strategically

• Turn off during peak times when you're busy anyway
• Use UberEats for slow periods to fill gaps
• Avoid paying commission on orders you'd get directly

5. Set Longer Prep Times

• Reduces kitchen stress
• Allows better order management
• Improves accuracy (fewer refunds)

6. Disable Promotions You Didn't Choose

• Check settings for auto-enrolled promotions
• Opt out of everything you didn't specifically choose

Effective Cost Reduction: A restaurant doing $10,000/month on UberEats at 25% pays $2,500 in commission. By switching to Lite (15%) and stopping promotions: $1,500/month Savings: $1,000/month without losing much volume.

The most effective long-term strategy is building your own ordering system where you keep 100% of revenue.

What You Need:

1. Commission-free online ordering platform
2. Your own website with ordering capability
3. (Optional) Branded mobile app
4. Delivery solution

Platform Options:

RestauNax (Recommended)

• Custom website with built-in ordering
• Your own branded mobile app
• Zero commission on all orders
• Loyalty program included
• Marketing tools (email, SMS)
• Starting at $99/month

Other Options:

• ChowNow: $150-300/month, ordering only
• Square Online: Free tier, 2.9% processing
• BentoBox: $99-199/month

The ROI Math:

• Current UberEats commission: $2,500/month
• RestauNax cost: $99/month
• Net savings potential: $2,400/month

Even if you only transition 50% of orders to direct, you'd save $1,100/month while building a stronger customer relationship.

Most successful restaurants don't completely leave UberEats—they use it strategically alongside direct ordering.

The Hybrid Model:

UberEats = Customer Acquisition

• Keep UberEats at lowest tier (Lite, 15%)
• Accept that you'll break even on UberEats orders
• View commission as "customer acquisition cost"
• Focus on converting to direct ordering

Direct Ordering = Profit Center

• All repeat customers order direct
• Full margin on every order
• Build loyalty and email list
• Higher lifetime customer value

How It Works in Practice:

1. New customer discovers you on UberEats
2. They receive bag insert with direct ordering incentive
3. Next order goes through your website (you keep 100%)
4. They join loyalty program
5. They become a lifelong direct customer

The Math:

• UberEats acquisition cost: ~$7 (one order's commission)
• Customer lifetime value: $500-2,000
• ROI: 70-280x on acquisition cost

Optimization Tips:

1. Use UberEats Lite (15%) to minimize acquisition cost
2. Include compelling inserts in EVERY order
3. Make direct ordering clearly better (faster, rewards, deals)
4. Track conversion from UberEats to direct
5. Invest savings into marketing your direct channel

If you reduce UberEats dependency, how do you handle delivery?

Option 1: In-House Drivers

• Hire your own delivery staff
• Full control over experience
• Most economical at scale (30+ deliveries/day)
• Cost: ~$12-18/hour plus vehicle costs

Option 2: Delivery-as-a-Service

• Use Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive
• Pay flat fee per delivery (~$6-10)
• No commission on order value
• Keep your direct ordering system

Option 3: Pickup Focus

• Emphasize pickup over delivery
• Zero delivery costs
• Faster, hotter food
• Works well for urban/walkable areas

Comparison:

| Method | Cost per Delivery | Best For | |--------|-------------------|----------| | UberEats Full | 25-30% of order | Discovery only | | Uber Direct | $6-10 flat | Variable volume | | In-House | $3-5 (at scale) | High volume | | Pickup | $0 | Urban locations |

Recommendation: Start with Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive for delivery while building volume. Once you're doing 30+ deliveries/day consistently, evaluate hiring in-house drivers.

Here's your step-by-step plan to reduce UberEats fees:

Week 1: Audit and Negotiate

• [ ] Calculate your true UberEats cost (all fees included)
• [ ] Review your contract and current tier
• [ ] If 50+ orders/week, contact UberEats to negotiate
• [ ] Get competing offers from DoorDash/Grubhub

Week 2: Optimize Current Usage

• [ ] Evaluate switching to Lite tier
• [ ] Disable all auto-enrolled promotions
• [ ] Review menu for margin optimization
• [ ] Set up strategic hours

Week 3: Set Up Direct Ordering

• [ ] Sign up for commission-free platform (RestauNax)
• [ ] Build your menu with photos
• [ ] Configure delivery/pickup options
• [ ] Test the ordering flow

Week 4: Launch Transition

• [ ] Print bag inserts for UberEats orders
• [ ] Announce direct ordering on social media
• [ ] Email existing customers
• [ ] Train staff to promote direct ordering

Ongoing:

• [ ] Track direct vs. UberEats order ratio
• [ ] Monitor total commission costs
• [ ] Optimize incentives based on results
• [ ] Consider in-house delivery once volume justifies

Success Metrics:

• Target: 50% reduction in UberEats commission within 6 months
• How: Combination of negotiation, optimization, and direct ordering transition