Online ordering platforms bring restaurants reach they could never build alone. Their service comes with a commission, usually 15 to 25%, plus 18% GST on it, a payment fee and any offers you choose to fund: together often 30 to 40% of the order value. Knowing this per order lets you price online dishes so that every order earns well.
What a ₹500 online order really earns
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Order value, menu price | ₹500 |
| Commission at 20% | − ₹100 |
| GST on commission at 18% | − ₹18 |
| Payment fee at 2% | − ₹10 |
| Offer funded by the restaurant | − ₹40 |
| Paid out to the restaurant | ₹332 |
| Food cost at 30% of menu price | − ₹150 |
| Packaging | − ₹20 |
| Left for staff, rent and profit | ₹162 |
The same dishes eaten in the restaurant leave about ₹350 after food cost. Online orders bring guests you would not otherwise reach, so the aim is not fewer online orders but online prices and offers planned for them.
Example rates. Your own commission, fees and offers are in your agreement with each online platform, such as Swiggy or Zomato, and in their payout reports.
Price online dishes separately
Most restaurants keep a separate online price list. Pricing the same dishes 10% higher online, ₹550 instead of ₹500, changes the order like this:
| Same price | 10% higher online | |
|---|---|---|
| Order value | ₹500 | ₹550 |
| Commission, GST, payment fee, offer | − ₹168 | − ₹180.80 |
| Food and packaging | − ₹170 | − ₹170 |
| Left per order | ₹162 | ₹199.20 |
That is ₹37 more on every order: about ₹22,000 a month on 600 online orders.
Six ways to make every online order earn well
- Keep an online price list, reviewed whenever commission or food costs change.
- Match every payout with your own orders, so any difference is spotted and settled early.
- Plan offers with numbers. Join the offers whose extra orders cover what they cost you.
- Measure ads by profit, not only by orders: what each rupee of ads brought back after costs.
- Build a delivery menu of dishes that travel well and earn well, and drop the ones that do neither.
- Balance your channels: dine-in, takeaway and online together, each priced for what it costs to serve.
Count online costs in each outlet's profit
Commission, GST on commission, ads and offers are real costs of each outlet. Counted in each outlet's P & L Account, they show which outlet's online business earns best, and where prices need a look.
Online orders, counted in your profit
Peasily keeps a separate online price list for each platform with a suggested price for every dish, records each platform's terms and payouts, and counts commissions, ads and offers in each outlet's profit.
Online business and payouts are in both Peasily packages. Screens from the Peasily demo brand.
Questions
How much commission do online food ordering platforms charge?
Online platforms in India, such as Swiggy and Zomato, usually charge 15 to 25% of the order value, plus 18% GST on the commission, a payment fee and any offers the restaurant funds. The exact terms are in each restaurant's own agreement.
Should online menu prices be higher than dine-in prices?
Many restaurants keep a separate online price list, often 10 to 15% higher, to cover commission. Review it whenever commission rates or food costs change.
How do I check my online order payouts?
Match every payout line with your own order list: order value, commission rate, GST, offers and other deductions. Peasily records each platform's payouts and terms, and counts them in each outlet's profit.
See your own numbers in Peasily
We'll walk you through it with your real menu and outlets.