What to charge on the apps to keep your margin.
Work out what a plate really costs, what your menu price earns, and what the same dish has to sell for on Uber Eats, DoorDash or Skip to leave you the same dollars. Below the calculator: the apps' own rules on charging more, and what customers will put up with.
Checked against Uber's and DoorDash's Canadian terms and Statistics Canada on 25 September 2026 · Shawn Mann, Glass Floor Studio
Your plate, your price, your app price
Cost one dish from your invoices, see its food cost at your menu price, then see what it has to sell for on the app to leave you the same dollars. The example rows are made up. Replace them with your own numbers. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
1. What the plate costs you
Use the same unit for pack size and amount used: grams and grams, or pieces and pieces. A 2 kg bag used 150 g at a time is pack size 2000, amount 150.
2. Your menu price
3. The app
A 25% cut needs a 33% markup
The commission comes off the app price, not your menu price, so matching it takes more than the commission itself. The markup that leaves you exactly the same dollars is 1 ÷ (1 − the commission), less one.
| Commission | Plan | Markup needed | A $15.99 dish becomes | The app keeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | Uber Eats self-delivery | 17.6% | $18.81 | $2.82 |
| 20% | Uber Eats Lite, DoorDash Basic | 25.0% | $19.99 | $4.00 |
| 25% | Uber Eats Plus, DoorDash Plus | 33.3% | $21.32 | $5.33 |
| 27% | DoorDash Plus, on a DashPass order | 37.0% | $21.90 | $5.91 |
| 29% | DoorDash Premier | 40.8% | $22.52 | $6.53 |
| 30% | Uber Eats Premium, or Plus on an Uber One order | 42.9% | $22.84 | $6.85 |
In every row you keep $15.99, the same as at your counter. Plan rates are from Uber's and DoorDash's Canadian pricing pages. Every plan, compared.
Why you can't keep the same percentage
A plate that costs $4.80 and sells for $15.99 runs at 30% food cost, so 70% of the price is left after food. To keep that same 70% on a 25% commission, the app price would have to be about $95.64. The commission and the food would still leave 70% of $95.64 behind, but nobody pays $95.64 for a burger.
The maths only works when your food cost percentage is bigger than the commission, and even then the price is usually silly. So the useful target is the same dollars per plate, which is what the calculator above works out.
The same plate, three ways
- At your counter, $15.99: you keep $11.19 after food
- On the app at $15.99, 25%: you keep $7.19
- On the app at $21.32, 25%: you keep $11.19 again
Can you charge more on the app?
For delivery, yes. For pickup, the apps want your in-store price. From each company's Canadian terms and help pages.
| App | Higher delivery prices | Pickup prices | What else to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats | Allowed. You set each item's price, and Uber only encourages matching your in-store prices. | 10% commission only with validated in-store pricing. Without it, 15%. | Pickup and delivery can be priced separately. Uber says it may take your prices into account when deciding how prominently your store appears. |
| DoorDash | Allowed. DoorDash says your in-store and DoorDash prices don't have to match. | No higher than in-store, or than on any other app. If they are, DoorDash can charge a higher commission, make you refund the difference, or change the prices. | Dual pricing lets you set pickup and delivery separately. DoorDash says pricing affects your visibility. |
| SkipTheDishes | Skip's customer terms say app prices can differ from the restaurant's. | Not published | The restaurant agreement isn't public, so check yours. |
What customers will accept. Uber's own help page cites an Uber survey in which the average customer saw a markup of about 10% as reasonable. That's under a third of the 33% a 25% commission calls for, which is why a full markup on every dish can cost you orders. A middle path is a mix: a partial markup, a shorter app menu, and your regulars ordering on your own site.
HST on the commission. Uber and DoorDash both charge HST on their fees. A restaurant registered for HST can claim it back as an input tax credit, so the commission before tax is the real cost, and it's what the calculator uses.
Why a 25% cut hurts so much
Statistics Canada's figures for 2024, the latest published, show Ontario full-service restaurants kept an operating margin of 2.6% of revenue. Limited-service places kept 3.0%. Cost of goods sold was about 35–36% of revenue.
So the average Ontario restaurant turns about 3 cents of every sales dollar into operating profit, and a 25% commission is eight times that. An app order sold at your menu price still has to cover its share of rent, labour and everything else, and a quarter of it has already gone to the app. That's why the price has to move, the app menu has to shrink, or the order has to come to your own site.
Ontario restaurants, 2024
- Full-service operating margin: 2.6%
- Limited-service operating margin: 3.0%
- Cost of goods sold, share of revenue: 35–36%
Statistics Canada tables 21-10-0171-01 and 21-10-0172-01, released 9 March 2026. The 2024 figures are preliminary. The share of revenue is worked out from the two tables.
Raising prices isn't the only move
Mark up the thin plates only
Run every dish through the calculator. A plate with a low food cost can take the commission without a price change. A plate that barely made money at the counter loses money on the app at the same price.
A shorter app menu
Nothing says your app menu has to match your whole menu. Leave off the dishes that travel badly or run at a high food cost, and keep the ones that still pay after the commission.
Drop a plan
Going from 25% to 20% cuts the markup you need from 33% to 25%. You show up less in the app, which matters less if your app orders come from people who already know you.
Bring the regulars to your own site
An order on your own website costs card processing, not commission, so your menu price works as it is. That matters most for regulars and pickup orders. Ordering on your own site.
Questions people ask
How much should I mark up my menu on Uber Eats?
To keep the same dollars per plate, divide your menu price by one minus the commission. On Uber Eats Plus at 25%, that's a 33.3% markup: a $15.99 dish becomes $21.32, the app keeps $5.33 and you keep $15.99. On Lite at 20% it's 25%, and on Premium at 30% it's 42.9%.
Is it legal to charge more on Uber Eats than in my restaurant?
Uber's Canadian terms let you set your own app prices and only encourage matching in-store. No federal or Ontario rule was found requiring the same price, but you can't claim your app prices match the store if they don't. Pickup is different: Uber charges 15% instead of 10% on pickup without validated in-store pricing.
Can I charge more on DoorDash than in store?
For delivery, yes. DoorDash says in-store and DoorDash prices don't have to match. Pickup prices can't be higher than in-store or on other apps, and if they are, DoorDash can charge a higher commission, make you refund the difference, or change the prices.
Why isn't a 25% markup enough to cover a 25% commission?
Because the commission is taken from the higher app price. A 25% markup on $16.00 gives $20.00, and 25% of $20.00 is $5.00, which leaves $15.00. You need 33.3% to end up with the full $16.00.
What is a normal food cost percentage for an Ontario restaurant?
Statistics Canada's 2024 figures put cost of goods sold at about 35% of revenue for Ontario full-service restaurants and 36% for limited-service ones, worked out from its tables. Your own target depends on your menu. The calculator shows your food cost at your price and the price for the target you set.
Do I pay HST on Uber Eats and DoorDash commissions?
Yes. Both charge HST on their fees to the restaurant. If your restaurant is registered for HST, you can claim that back as an input tax credit, so the commission before tax is the real cost.
Send me your app numbers
Tell me which apps you're on and what they take. You'll get a straight answer on whether your own ordering would pay for itself, including if it wouldn't.