How Much Does DoorDash Cost Restaurants in Australia? (2026)
The headline: 30% on delivery, 15% on pickup
DoorDash prices its Australian restaurant partners by who fulfils the order. According to the DoorDash merchant pricing page, checked in September 2026, marketplace orders delivered by DoorDash cost 30%, pickup orders cost 15%, and orders you deliver with your own drivers cost 15% (12% for DashPass orders). DoorDash lists no activation, subscription or tablet fee in Australia.
Pricing changes, and the only figure that matters for your venue is the one in your own merchant agreement. DoorDash also sells a separate commission-free Online Ordering product for a restaurant's own website, priced at 1.75% plus 30c per transaction for payment processing.
On a $30 order, that is $9 to DoorDash if it delivers the order, or $4.50 if the customer picks it up. That is before you have paid for ingredients, staff, rent, or power.
How DoorDash's pricing is structured
Who delivers the order
The defining feature of DoorDash pricing is fulfilment. When DoorDash supplies the driver, you pay 30%. When the customer collects, or your own staff deliver, you pay 15%. The 15 percentage point gap is the price of the driver network, so it is worth knowing how many of your DoorDash orders could have been pickup.
Promotions and advertising
On top of the plan commission, DoorDash typically offers promotions and in-app advertising as additional paid options. These stack on top of the commission, so a venue running ads can end up with an effective rate well above the headline 30%.
Refunds and cancellations
When an order is wrong, missing, or cancelled, restaurants often absorb part or all of the cost. The detail depends on your agreement, but it is a genuine expense that the headline commission figure does not capture.
The customer relationship
Like every marketplace, DoorDash largely owns the customer. You generally do not get customer contact details or full ordering history, which makes repeat marketing and loyalty difficult. That lost relationship is a strategic cost on top of the commission.
Want the figure for your own venue? Run it through the profit calculator, it takes a minute.
Real dollar impact on an average Australian restaurant
Here is an illustrative example. These figures are assumptions to show the shape of the maths, not a quote for your venue. Say a restaurant does $5,000 per week through DoorDash. We will use the published 30% marketplace delivery rate, and illustrative figures for ads and refunds.
| Cost item (illustrative) | Weekly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace delivery commission (30%) | $1,500 | $78,000 |
| Promotions and ads (~4%, if used) | $200 | $10,400 |
| Refund deductions (~2%, illustrative) | $100 | $5,200 |
| Total cost to DoorDash | $1,800 | $93,600 |
In this illustrative scenario, that is around 36% of DoorDash revenue once you add promotion and refunds on top of the 30% commission. On the 5 to 10% net margins typical in hospitality, that can wipe out the profit on every order. Shift more of those orders to pickup and the commission halves, but it is still 15%. Run these numbers with the actual rate in your agreement.
The margin maths that matters
On a $30 order at an 8% net margin, your profit is about $2.40 before any platform takes a cut. DoorDash's 30% marketplace delivery commission is $9 on that order, several times your entire margin. Even the 15% pickup rate, at $4.50, exceeds the profit on that order.
This is the same trap as every delivery marketplace: the commission comes off the top of revenue while your profit is a thin sliver at the bottom. The platform only pays off if it brings you genuinely additional orders you would not otherwise have won, and for many independent venues, much of the volume is demand that would have come direct anyway.
The alternative: a direct ordering channel
The smart structure for most independent venues is to use DoorDash for delivery only, where you actually need its driver network, and move dine-in and pickup orders to a channel you own.
A customer at your table or collecting at your counter does not need a delivery driver, so there is little reason to pay a 15% pickup commission on those orders. A direct ordering page like Windsor Digital costs 2% per transaction plus the card fee, with no monthly fee. On $5,000 per week, the 2% is about $100 and card fees add roughly $115 on $50 orders, compared with $1,500 at the 30% delivery rate or $750 at the 15% pickup rate.
A side-by-side comparison
| DoorDash (reported) | Windsor Digital | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 30% delivery, 15% pickup or self-delivery | 2% plus Stripe processing |
| Monthly fee | Varies by plan | $0 |
| Setup fee | $0 | $0 |
| Customer data | Platform owns it | You own it |
| Your branding | Minimal | Your name, your logo |
| Delivery included | Yes | No (dine-in + pickup) |
DoorDash earns its place when you need delivery logistics and the reach of a large app. For dine-in and pickup, a direct channel keeps far more of each dollar with you, and you can put your own numbers into the delivery commission calculator to see the difference. For more on how the marketplaces stack up, see what UberEats really costs and how to reduce delivery commission.
The bottom line
DoorDash lists 30% for marketplace delivery and 15% for pickup or self-delivery in Australia, plus optional promotions and absorbed refunds. The figure that matters is the one in your own merchant agreement, and even 15% is heavy on thin hospitality margins.
For delivery, it may be worth it. For dine-in and pickup, a direct ordering channel at around 2% keeps the revenue with your restaurant, where it belongs.
Run the numbers for your venue
Put in what you take through the apps each week and see what the same orders cost on your own page. Two percent to us, card processing to Stripe, nothing else.
Open the profit calculator →Frequently asked questions
DoorDash lists 30% commission on marketplace orders it delivers, 15% on pickup orders and 15% when the restaurant delivers with its own drivers (12% for DashPass orders). It lists no activation, subscription or tablet fee in Australia. These are the published rates as of September 2026, so check your own merchant agreement for the rate that applies to your venue.
The rate depends on who gets the food to the customer. Marketplace delivery costs the most because the commission pays for the DoorDash driver network. Pickup and self-delivery cost half as much because there is no DoorDash driver involved.
Beyond commission, there can be costs for promotions and advertising, payment processing, and refunds or cancellations that the restaurant absorbs. These vary by plan and situation, so read your merchant agreement rather than relying on the headline rate.
The biggest saving comes from using delivery apps for delivery only and moving dine-in and pickup orders to a direct ordering page. A direct channel like Windsor Digital costs 2% per transaction plus the card fee (about 1.7% + 30c), with no monthly fee, compared with 30% on DoorDash marketplace delivery or 15% on pickup.