How to take online orders for your pizzeria (and what each order costs)
There are three ways for a pizzeria to take orders online: a marketplace app, which brings new customers and keeps 15% to 30% of a delivery order; your own ordering page, which costs roughly the card fee and brings nobody on its own; or both. For most pizzerias the answer is both: the app for discovery, your own page for the regulars who already know your name.
What each route costs on one order
| Route | You keep | Cost of the order |
|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats Premium, Uber delivers (30%) | $21.00 | $9.00 |
| DoorDash Plus, Dasher delivers (25%) | $22.50 | $7.50 |
| Uber Eats self-delivery plan (15%) | $25.50 | $4.50 |
| DoorDash pickup order (6%) | $28.20 | $1.80 |
| Your own page, card at about 2.9% + 30¢ | $28.83 | $1.17 |
| Phone order, cash at pickup | $30.00 | $0 (plus the call) |
DoorDash and Uber Eats US merchant pricing pages. Uber Eats also offers lower rates in some cities. Card fee is a typical online rate for a standard processor; yours may differ.
Start with the regulars
The practical move isn’t leaving the apps. It is giving the people who already order every Friday a cheaper way to do it, and making sure they know it exists:
- Your web address on every box, bag and receipt.
- A flyer in the bag on app deliveries. It is your one chance to talk to a customer the platform considers its own.
- The link in your Instagram bio and on your Google Business Profile.
- An offer that only exists on your own site. It doesn’t need to be big to change a habit: free garlic knots goes a long way.
What your ordering page has to get right
- Options before the price, not after. Size, crust and extra toppings change the total. Showing “$12” and charging $19.50 at checkout is how carts get abandoned.
- A visible order minimum and delivery area, before a customer fills a cart they can’t check out.
- Sales tax shown clearly before payment, at your local rate.
- A realistic ready time. Under-promising by ten minutes costs you nothing; over-promising costs you the review.
- Sold-out that actually works, in one tap, on the busiest night.
- Allergen information per item, before checkout. The FDA’s 2022 model Food Code asks for written notice of the nine major allergens, and many jurisdictions have adopted it.
- A confirmation with an order number, so the phone call that follows has something to refer to.
Where the orders show up
The kitchen problem isn’t taking the order, it’s noticing it. Whatever you use has to make a sound somewhere the cook will hear at the peak of service, and it has to be acknowledged so two people don’t make the same pie. A tablet on silent behind the register is how an order gets found at closing.
Pay online, or pay at pickup?
Card payment up front eliminates no-shows and is what most customers now expect. Cash at pickup costs nothing in fees and suits a neighborhood carryout with steady local trade. Offering both is fine. Decide in advance how tips are handled for online orders, and make sure the tip line goes to the staff the way your state’s rules require.
Whatever you use, the money should land in your bank account on a schedule you understand. Ask how often payouts run before you sign anything.
Don’t delete yourself from the apps
A pizzeria that goes direct-only usually loses more in volume than it saves in commission, especially in the first year and especially in a dense city where the app is where people decide. Keep the shop window. Move the regulars.