Glossary
Delivery fee vs service fee vs menu markup
Three separate charges: the delivery fee pays the courier, the service fee pays the platform (a percentage of subtotal), and the menu markup is the 15-30% the restaurant quietly adds to in-app prices before any fee line appears.
The three charges are not the same thing
Most people budget for "the delivery fee" and are then surprised by the checkout total. There are three distinct charges and only one of them is the delivery fee.
Delivery fee β pays the courier
A flat per-order amount, typically $0-7. It scales with distance and demand, drops to zero on subscription plans, and is the fee everyone knows about. It is also usually the *smallest* of the three.
Service fee β pays the platform
A percentage of the subtotal, usually 10-18%, sometimes with a floor and a cap. It is charged on the marked-up subtotal, not on the restaurant's real menu price, so it compounds the markup below. Small-order surcharges and "regulatory response fees" belong to this family too.
Menu markup β pays for the other two
This is the one nobody sees. Restaurants list higher prices inside delivery apps than on their own menus, to absorb the 15-30% commission the platform takes from them. A burger that is $12 at the counter is commonly $14-15 in the app before a single fee line appears.
How it stacks on a $12 burger
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Counter price | $12.00 |
| In-app menu markup (+20%) | $14.40 |
| Service fee (15%) | $2.16 |
| Delivery fee | $3.99 |
| Taxes (~9%) | $1.85 |
| Tip (15% of subtotal) | $2.16 |
| Total | $24.56 |
The headline "$3.99 delivery" accounted for 16% of the gap. The markup and service fee together accounted for more than double that. And $24.56 is the number to compare against home cooking β not $12.
Why this matters for a cost comparison
Comparing a home-cooked cost per serving against an in-app *menu price* is the most common mistake in every "cooking vs delivery" article. The menu price is not what leaves your account. Always compare against the checkout total divided by portions delivered.
Conversely, comparing against the checkout total when you would have eaten at the restaurant anyway is also wrong β then the honest comparison is the counter price.
When delivery still wins
- Volume orders. Fees are largely fixed per order, so a 4-person order dilutes them. The same $3.99 + $2.16 spread over four meals is $1.54 each.
- Deep promos. A genuine 40%-off promo can beat the markup entirely.
- Ingredients you would have to buy whole. A single portion of a dish needing saffron, five spices and a whole duck is often cheaper delivered.
What we use in the calculator
Our delivery comparison prices are typical *checkout* prices per portion in each country β markup, service fee and delivery fee included, tip excluded β so the verdict you see is against what you would actually pay.
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