Delivery take rate is the percentage of each order that the platform or sales channel keeps in the form of commission, service fees, logistics costs or marketing charges.
Delivery take rate is a metric that measures how much of an order's gross value never actually reaches the restaurant because the intermediary or sales channel keeps it. In hospitality it is used mainly to analyse delivery platforms, marketplaces, booking aggregators that take payment, external loyalty schemes and any channel that charges commission on sales. Although many platforms talk about a headline commission, the real take rate can be higher because it includes several items: commission on the order, delivery cost, service fees, promotions funded by the restaurant, mandatory discounts, packaging required by the channel, penalties, adjustments, non-recoverable VAT on certain charges, or differences between the listed price and the net price received. So it is not enough to know that a platform charges 25%.
You need to calculate how much net money remains after all charges and compare it with the variable cost of the order. Take rate is especially important because delivery can increase turnover while reducing margin. A restaurant can sell a lot through platforms and still earn little if food cost, packaging, commission, prep staff and order issues swallow the contribution margin. The right question is not simply whether the channel sells, but whether each order leaves enough money to cover variable costs and contribute to profit.
It is also worth breaking take rate down by channel, campaign, time slot, product family and customer type. An aggressive discount may make sense to win demand during quiet hours, but be destructive if applied to low-margin dishes at peak times.
Take rate (%) = (Channel costs / Gross order value) × 100
To calculate it, add up all the costs associated with the channel over a period: commissions, delivery, promotions absorbed by the restaurant, subscription fees, service charges, channel-specific packaging and negative adjustments. Then divide that figure by the gross value of orders in the same period and multiply by 100. If a platform generates €12,000 in orders and deducts €2,400 in commission, €600 in promotions, €300 in extra packaging and €180 in adjustments, the total channel cost is €3,480. The real take rate is 3,480 / 12,000 × 100 = 29%.
To assess profitability, it must be compared with the order's contribution margin: net sales minus food cost, packaging, commission and other variable costs.
A burger restaurant sells 1,000 orders a month through a delivery app, with a gross average order value of €18. Gross channel revenue is €18,000. The platform charges 24% commission (€4,320), the restaurant funds €900 of promotions, uses special packaging at €0.65 per order (€650) and absorbs €230 in refunds for order issues. The total channel cost is €6,100, so the real take rate climbs to 33.9%.
Reviewing dish by dish, the team finds that the premium burgers can carry the channel thanks to their higher ticket and margin, but the promoted meal deals barely contribute anything. It decides to set specific delivery prices, drop discounts on low-margin items, create combos designed to travel well and limit promotions to Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the kitchen has spare capacity.
Take rate matters because it reveals whether delivery is generating profitable growth or just apparent volume. Gross turnover can be misleading: a channel may account for 30% of sales and contribute very little profit if its commissions and promotions absorb the margin. Tracking this metric helps you negotiate terms with platforms, design a delivery-specific menu, set prices by channel, decide which products to exclude, measure campaigns and avoid dependence on intermediaries. It also protects operations: if the channel floods the kitchen at peak times with low-profit orders, it can worsen dine-in service, increase waiting times and damage the experience of your most profitable guests.
A professional restaurant does not necessarily drop delivery, but it manages it by the numbers.
Zindra helps you analyse take rate by linking sales by channel, commissions, discounts, packaging, food cost, average spend and contribution margin. You can see which platforms, campaigns and products leave real profit, adjust delivery prices, spot orders that destroy margin and compare the channel's performance against dine-in, terrace, takeaway or direct sales.
Tools and content to go deeper into this concept.
Food cost is the percentage of a dish's selling price that goes on the cost of its ingredients. It is the single most important indicator of how profitable your menu is.
Average spend (the average ticket) is the average amount each customer (or table) spends in your restaurant. It is a key indicator of commercial performance and of how well your menu works.
Cash flow in a restaurant is the movement of money in and out of the business. Managing cash well is vital for the restaurant's survival, even if it is profitable on paper.
Contribution margin is the difference between a dish's selling price and its variable cost (mainly ingredients). It shows how much each dish contributes towards fixed costs and profit.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) measures how much you spend on marketing and promotion to win a new customer. It is key to judging whether your marketing actually pays off.
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are the key metrics that measure a restaurant's performance in its critical areas: sales, costs, productivity, guest satisfaction and profitability.
Sales mix is the actual breakdown of what a restaurant sells, by dish, category, channel or time of day. Analysing it shows not just how much you sell, but exactly what you sell and how it affects your margin.
A restaurant's variable costs are the expenses that change directly or proportionally with the level of sales or production, such as ingredients, drinks, delivery commissions or consumables used per service.
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