I'll admit it — most restaurant owners mess up delivery margins completely. They forget that platforms take 15-30% commission before you even think about food costs. Your calculations need to work differently than regular dine-in sales.
Why delivery platforms destroy your margin
Your regular restaurant sales have fixed costs (rent, staff) and variable costs (ingredients). But delivery? There's a massive commission sitting on top of everything else.
⚠️ Watch out:
The commission comes ON TOP of your food cost. If your food cost is 30% and the commission is 25%, you've already lost 55% of your revenue before you even get to staff and rent.
How commissions actually work
Delivery platforms charge a percentage of your total order value. And trust me, it varies wildly per platform and contract:
- Thuisbezorgd: 13-15% base + extra services
- Uber Eats: 15-30% depending on package
- Deliveroo: 15-35% depending on services
- Just Eat: 14-16% base commission
Here's what kills most operators: those are BASE percentages. Add marketing, delivery fees and other services? You're looking at 35% easily.
💡 Example:
You sell a pasta for €16.50 via Uber Eats:
- Order value: €16.50
- Commission 25%: €4.13
- Net receipt: €12.37
Your food cost can now be a maximum of €3.71 (30% of €12.37) instead of €4.95 (30% of €16.50).
What margin do you actually need?
For delivery, you've got to flip your thinking. Your net receipt (after commission) becomes your new 'revenue' for calculating food cost.
The formula that matters:
Net receipt = Order value - Commission
Food cost % = (Ingredient costs / Net receipt) × 100
💡 Calculation example:
Margherita pizza via delivery platform:
- Selling price: €14.50
- Commission 20%: €2.90
- Net receipt: €11.60
- Ingredient costs: €3.50
Food cost: (€3.50 / €11.60) × 100 = 30.2%
Real guidelines per commission level
The math is brutal: higher commission means your food cost needs to drop dramatically to stay profitable.
- 15% commission: Food cost max 32% of net receipt
- 20% commission: Food cost max 28% of net receipt
- 25% commission: Food cost max 25% of net receipt
- 30% commission: Food cost max 22% of net receipt
This is one of the most common blind spots in kitchen management — operators see the order value and think they're profitable, but they're actually bleeding money after commission.
💡 Practical example:
Restaurant with 25% commission wants to maintain 25% food cost:
- Ingredient costs: €6.00
- Desired food cost: 25%
- Net receipt needed: €6.00 / 0.25 = €24.00
- Selling price needed: €24.00 / 0.75 = €32.00
You need to charge €32.00 to profitably sell €6.00 worth of ingredients.
Three ways to stay profitable
1. Higher prices for delivery
Most restaurants charge 10-15% higher prices on delivery platforms. Customers get it — they understand someone's paying those fees.
2. Delivery-specific menu
Design dishes with lower ingredient costs that actually travel well. Pastas, curries, and pizzas work. Fresh salads and steaks? Not so much.
3. Bump up minimum order value
A higher minimum order spreads that commission across more items, reducing the per-dish impact.
⚠️ Watch out:
Always calculate with your actual net receipt. Too many operators still use the full order value and forget about commission — that's how you unknowingly run at a loss.
Tracking tools that actually help
Manually tracking different prices and commissions across platforms gets messy fast. You need a system that calculates your real margins per sales channel, so you always know if a dish is actually profitable via delivery.
How do you calculate your actual margin with delivery?
Determine your net receipt
Subtract the commission from your selling price. With a €20.00 order value and 25% commission you receive €15.00 net. This becomes your new 'revenue' for the calculation.
Calculate food cost on net receipt
Divide your ingredient costs by the net receipt and multiply by 100. With €4.50 ingredients and €15.00 net receipt: (4.50 / 15.00) × 100 = 30% food cost.
Check if this is profitable
For delivery your food cost needs to be lower than normal. With 25% commission keep food cost under 28%. Higher than 30%? Then you're probably losing money on that dish.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual commission percentages across all platforms every 6 weeks. These change due to promotions or contract updates — a dish that was profitable at 20% commission suddenly loses money at 28%.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
Was this article helpful?
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the same prices as in my restaurant?
That's going to be tough. Commission eats 15-30% of every order, so you're earning way less per dish. Most restaurants bump delivery prices by 10-15% to compensate.
What food cost percentage works at 20% commission?
Keep your food cost under 28% of your net receipt (after commission). Go higher and you'll struggle to cover other costs while staying profitable.
Should I include VAT in these calculations?
No, always calculate excluding VAT. Both your selling price and commission include VAT, so the margin impact stays consistent.
How can I improve my delivery margins?
You've got three main options: charge higher delivery prices, create dishes with lower ingredient costs, or increase minimum order values to spread the commission impact.
Are all delivery platforms equally expensive?
Absolutely not — commissions range from 13% to 35%. Check your contracts and calculate per platform which dishes actually make money.
What happens if I ignore commission in my calculations?
You'll think you're profitable when you're actually losing money. Many operators calculate margins using full order value and wonder why their cash flow is terrible.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
Calculate it yourself with KitchenNmbrs
All the formulas you learn here — KitchenNmbrs calculates them automatically. Enter your ingredients and instantly see your food cost, margin, and selling price. Try it free for 14 days.
Start free trial →