Delivery & Growth

How Much to Raise Delivery App Prices Without Losing Orders

Most restaurants should raise delivery app menu prices by 15% to 35% above dine-in, depending on the app's commission (usually 20–30%). The goal is to recover the commission and packaging without pushing your top items past the price point where orders drop. Raise the full markup on high-margin, low-visibility items, and go lighter on your hero dishes that drive discovery.

By Pimentón · 2026-08-09 · 4 min read

Raising prices on delivery apps is not greed — it's survival math. When Rappi, Uber Eats, DoorDash or PedidosYa take 20–30% of every order, your dine-in prices simply don't work on the app. The real question isn't whether to raise prices, it's how much you can raise them before conversion drops and you lose the orders you were trying to make profitable in the first place.

Why delivery prices have to be different

Delivery pricing is different from dine-in pricing because the cost structure is different. On the app you pay a commission (typically 20–30%), plus packaging, plus a share of promos and in-app ads. If you keep dine-in prices on the app, that commission eats straight into your food margin — often the entire margin.

The markup exists to protect contribution margin, not to inflate profit. You're pricing to arrive at roughly the same net per order that you'd get in the dining room, after the marketplace takes its cut.

How much markup actually covers the commission

Here's the mistake most operators make: they think a 30% commission means a 30% markup. It doesn't. Markup is applied to your menu price, but commission is charged on the final (higher) price. You have to gross up.

The quick formula to fully offset commission is:

• New price = dine-in price ÷ (1 − commission rate)

Examples:

• 20% commission → divide by 0.80 → about +25% markup
• 25% commission → divide by 0.75 → about +33% markup
• 30% commission → divide by 0.70 → about +43% markup

A full gross-up is often too aggressive on hero items. In practice most restaurants land at a 15–35% markup, partially absorbing the commission on discovery items and fully passing it through on the rest. The right number depends on your food cost and how price-sensitive each item is.

How to decide the markup item by item

A flat markup across the whole menu is lazy and leaves money on the table. Segment your menu instead:

1. Hero / discovery items: the dishes people search for and that drive your ranking. Keep these closer to dine-in (lighter markup, 10–15%) so you stay competitive and visible.
2. High-margin, low-visibility items: sides, drinks, desserts, add-ons. Apply the full markup here — customers rarely price-compare a soda or a dip.
3. Combos and bundles: raise the effective ticket without raising the per-item sticker shock. Bundles hide markup and lift average order value at the same time.

This mix lets you protect conversion on the items that bring people in, while recovering commission on everything else in the cart.

How to test a price increase without losing orders

Never raise everything overnight and hope. Treat it like an experiment:

• Move in steps. Raise 8–10% first, hold for 2–3 weeks, and watch order volume and conversion in the app dashboard.
• Watch the right metric. A small drop in order count with higher net contribution per order is a win. Track contribution, not just volume.
• Isolate variables. Don't launch a big promo the same week you raise prices — you won't know what moved the number.
• Check menu-item drop-off. If a specific dish's conversion collapses, you crossed its price ceiling. Pull that one back; keep the rest.

Most markets absorb a well-placed increase far better than operators fear — because on delivery, convenience often beats a few dollars of price sensitivity.

Common mistakes that cost you orders (or margin)

• Keeping dine-in prices on the app. You're paying to lose money on every order.
• One flat markup everywhere. You over-price your hero items and under-price your add-ons.
• Copying the same markup across every app. A 30% DoorDash and a 20% partner tier don't deserve the same price.
• Raising prices but not the packaging line. Packaging is a real per-order cost — bake it into the markup.
• Ignoring the price ceiling. Every hero item has a number above which orders fall off a cliff. Find it by testing, not guessing.

The bottom line

The right delivery markup isn't a single number — it's a system: gross up for commission, segment the menu, and test increases in steps while tracking contribution per order. Do that and you can raise prices meaningfully without watching your order count collapse.

Frequently asked questions