The short version
Every time someone says "DoorDash is worth it because of customer discovery," I want to pull out a calculator and run the numbers with them. Because the math doesn't support the story. Third-party delivery apps don't bring you customers who become regulars. They bring you one-time transactions that cost 30% of the ticket, and those customers belong to the app, not to you.
The "discovery" argument falls apart under scrutiny
Here's the pitch you've heard a hundred times: "Sure, the commission is high, but think of all the new customers finding your restaurant! Once they try you on DoorDash, they'll come back and order direct."
Let's test that claim with real numbers.
Say you do $12,000 in DoorDash sales this month. At 30% commission, that's $3,600 going to the platform. In exchange, you're supposedly getting "exposure" and "discovery."
Now ask yourself: How many of those DoorDash customers called you directly the next time they wanted food? How many walked in? How many became regulars?
If you're honest, the answer is almost none. Maybe 2%. Maybe 5% if you're lucky. The rest? They're not your customers. They're DoorDash's customers who happened to eat your food.
Why the conversion rate is terrible
The DoorDash customer isn't shopping for restaurants. They're shopping for food. The app trains them to think in terms of cuisine, price, and delivery time—not brand loyalty.
When they open the app next week, they're seeing whatever the algorithm pushes to the top. Maybe it's you. Probably it's not. Either way, they have zero incentive to remember your name, save your number, or visit your website.
The interface is designed to keep them inside the DoorDash ecosystem. No phone number on the receipt. No direct link to your site. Just a generic "reorder" button that keeps them locked in.
So when operators say "it's a marketing expense," they're paying $3,600 a month for exposure that converts at maybe 3%. That's $120 in actual future direct orders, and you just spent $3,600 to get it.
That's not marketing. That's a bad trade.
The real cost of third-party delivery
Let's break down what you're actually paying for when you sign up with DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub:
1. Commission (the obvious cost)
Standard commission is 30%. Some operators negotiate down to 20–25% by giving up marketing features or accepting lower placement in search results. Either way, you're giving up at least one-fifth of every ticket.
On a $45 order, that's $9–13.50 gone before you touch the food cost or labor.
2. Tablet fees and integration costs
Most operators don't realize there are monthly fees just to receive orders. Tablet rentals, POS integrations, and "marketing" packages all come with recurring charges. That's another $50–200/month depending on your setup.
3. Menu price inflation (the hidden cost)
To offset the commission hit, most restaurants raise their delivery menu prices by 20–30%. Now your $12 burger is $15 on DoorDash.
This solves one problem and creates two new ones. First, your food looks overpriced compared to competitors who are eating the commission. Second, if a customer ever does visit your restaurant in person, they'll think you ripped them off on the app.
4. Lost customer data
You don't get the customer's email, phone number, or order history. The platform owns all of it. You can't retarget them. You can't send them a birthday offer. You can't build a relationship.
Every order that goes through DoorDash is a transaction you'll never be able to repeat on your terms.
5. Chargebacks and refund abuse
Customers can claim "wrong order" or "food quality issue" and DoorDash will refund them without asking you. Sometimes you keep the food cost. Sometimes you don't. Either way, there's no appeals process and no way to fight back.
That's pure margin bleed with zero recourse.
The alternatives nobody talks about
The real tragedy is that better options exist, but operators treat DoorDash like it's the only game in town. It's not.
Build your own direct ordering system
Owner.com charges 1.5–2.5% for online ordering with your own branded site and app. You keep the customer data. You control the prices. You set the terms.
Yes, you have to handle your own delivery logistics. But if you're already using DoorDash Drive (their white-label delivery service), you can plug that into Owner.com and pay only for the driver, not the customer acquisition.
Net result: You're paying 8–10% total instead of 30%. And the customer is yours.
Use the apps as paid advertising, not infrastructure
If you absolutely must stay on DoorDash, treat it like a Facebook ad campaign, not a sales channel. Turn off DashPass promotions. Stop discounting. Use the platform to get one order, then spend money on keeping that customer direct.
Print a flyer in every DoorDash bag: "Order direct and save 15%. Call us or visit our site." Track how many people convert. If the conversion rate is below 10%, kill the DoorDash contract and put that marketing budget somewhere else.
Invest in loyalty instead of discovery
You know what actually drives repeat orders? A loyalty program. A birthday text. A "we miss you" email with a 10% off code. These cost almost nothing to run and they convert at 20–40% depending on execution.
But most operators don't bother because they're too busy chasing new customers on DoorDash who'll never come back.
Here's the brutal truth: Keeping one customer is easier and cheaper than finding ten new ones. But third-party apps have convinced operators that customer acquisition is more important than customer retention. It's not.
When (and only when) DoorDash makes sense
I'm not saying you should never use third-party delivery. But you should use it strategically, not as a crutch.
DoorDash makes sense if:
- You're a brand-new restaurant with zero awareness and you need quick cashflow while you build a direct customer base.
- You're running a ghost kitchen or virtual brand where you have no physical storefront and DoorDash is literally the only distribution channel.
- You've run the numbers and confirmed that 10%+ of DoorDash orders convert to direct orders within 60 days. (Most operators can't prove this because they don't track it.)
If none of those apply, you're probably better off spending that 30% commission on Google Ads, Instagram, or a local street team handing out flyers with QR codes for direct orders.
What to do this week
If you're on DoorDash right now, don't cancel the contract tomorrow. But do this:
Step 1: Run the delivery margin calculator
Grab last month's DoorDash statement. Add up total sales and total fees. Then run it through the Delivery Margin Calculator to see what you're actually netting after commission, packaging, and food cost.
If you're making less than $3 per order after all costs, you're subsidizing DoorDash's business model with your own margin.
Step 2: Test a direct ordering offer
Print 100 inserts for your DoorDash orders: "Save 15% next time—order direct at [your site]." Track how many people use it over the next 30 days. If fewer than 10 people convert, DoorDash isn't driving discovery. It's driving one-time transactions.
Step 3: Price out an alternative
Get a quote from Owner.com or another direct ordering platform. Compare the total cost (platform fee + delivery logistics) to what you're paying DoorDash. If the gap is $500+ per month, you have a decision to make.
The bottom line
DoorDash works for DoorDash. It doesn't work for you unless you make it work by treating it as a temporary customer acquisition tool, not a permanent sales channel.
The "it's marketing" excuse only holds up if you can prove the customers you acquire actually come back. And in most cases, they don't.
So stop pretending the 30% commission is an investment in growth. It's a tax on not having your own system. The sooner you build one, the sooner you stop bleeding margin to a middleman.