A $40 order is not $40 in your pocket. But replacing a delivery app with a direct ordering page does not automatically turn every platform fee into profit, either.
The useful question is simpler: after fulfilling the same order, how much does each channel leave towards wages, rent and profit? Start there before deciding which channel deserves more attention.
Compare the same service, not just the headline fee
On the Australian Uber Eats pricing page, checked on 16 October 2026, the listed marketplace rates are 30% for Uber Delivery, 16% for self-delivery and 8% for marketplace pick-up. Your agreement, applicable taxes and additional charges still need checking.
The same page separately lists Webshop fees; its 6% pick-up figure is not the Marketplace pick-up rate. Keep the product and fulfilment method attached to every number.
Those are three different services. Comparing a marketplace-delivered meal with a direct collection order ignores the cost of getting food to someone's door.
For a fair comparison, hold the basket, fulfilment method and tax treatment constant. Then include the fees that genuinely apply: payment processing, delivery, packaging, software, merchant-funded offers and acquisition costs. Avoid adding a payment fee twice when it is already included in a channel's charge.
A worked example: the same $40 collection order
The following is an illustration, not a provider quote or a forecast. All amounts are A$, excluding tax. Assume $20 of food, packaging and incremental labour costs. The marketplace fee is assumed to be 8%; the direct channel is assumed to charge 2% plus $0.30 for processing and $120 a month for software.
| Per order | Marketplace collection | Direct collection |
|---|---|---|
| Order revenue | $40.00 | $40.00 |
| Direct fulfilment costs | −$20.00 | −$20.00 |
| Transaction/channel fee | −$3.20 | −$1.10 |
| Monthly software allocation at 120 orders | $0.00 | −$1.00 |
| Contribution after the listed costs | $16.80 | $17.90 |
In this example, direct ordering leaves $1.10 more per order after allocating the subscription. That is a much smaller difference than comparing a delivery commission with zero.
At just 60 direct orders a month, the software allocation rises to $2 per order. At 240 orders, it falls to $0.50. Volume changes the answer.
These figures exclude setup, advertising, refunds, shared overheads and any other channel charges. Add yours before making a decision.
Find your break-even point
Before the monthly software cost, the direct channel saves $2.10 on each identical collection order in this example.
$120 monthly cost ÷ $2.10 saving = approximately 58 orders a month (rounded up).
That is the number needed to cover the assumed subscription through fee savings alone. A setup fee or additional marketing spend raises the threshold. Better repeat purchasing might improve the result, but do not count it before it happens.
For delivery, do a separate calculation using the actual courier charge, delivery subsidy and failed-delivery costs. Do not reuse the collection result.
Give each channel a job
A sensible test is to use marketplace discovery and your direct channel for different purposes, rather than treating them as enemies.
Measure whether marketplace orders introduce genuinely new customers. Separately, make your own website easy for people who already know your business to find. Use your own permitted touchpoints and respect platform agreements and customer-consent rules; do not reuse marketplace customer details for unrelated marketing.
Run the comparison over a complete operating cycle, including quiet days. Record completed orders, refunds, total fees and the staff time needed to manage each channel. An extra admin step belongs in the calculation too.
Try this next: take last month's actual statements and calculate one collection basket and one delivery basket. Keep the two comparisons separate. The best channel mix is the one your numbers support, not the one with the most attractive headline.
Get your own branded ordering channel
If the comparison supports a direct channel, review BizAppMaker’s plans and pricing. Bring your own order volumes and fulfilment costs to the discussion. The A$120 subscription and processing assumptions above are teaching examples, not BizAppMaker prices.
Take a look at how BizAppMaker works for cafes and restaurants, or try the live app demo.