If the delivery apps feel like a second landlord, you are not imagining it. Irish owners now call aggregator commission "the new rent" — and the numbers back them up. The best online ordering systems for Irish restaurants in 2026 let you take orders through your own website or app and keep that commission: Flipdish (Irish-founded, white-label, subscription), Storekit (free to start, no commission), GloriaFood (free core system, no commission) and Square Online (free site, pay only per transaction). All four cut the marketplace out of your margin. The trade-off is who brings the customers.
Key takeaways
- Aggregators take 25–35% of order value in Ireland; a direct ordering system charges a flat subscription, a small card fee, or nothing at all (RTÉ Brainstorm, 2025).
- Flipdish is the Irish-built option: white-label ordering from €49/month for a website, €79/month with a branded app (Flipdish, 2026).
- Storekit and GloriaFood both start free with no commission on orders, so you only pay for card processing and optional extras.
- Square Online gives you a free store and charges 1.4% + 25c + VAT per online sale on EU/EEA cards (Square, 2026).
- The real prize is not the saved commission. It is owning the customer data: their email, their order history, the ability to bring them back without paying a finder's fee every time.
Why direct ordering matters now
Being on Deliveroo and Just Eat is not free marketing. It is a margin transfer. Delivery platforms in Ireland charge "commission payments of 25 to 35% per order," and Irish consumers now spend "€2.2 billion a year on food delivery" (RTÉ Brainstorm, 2025). On a €30 order, that is up to €10.50 gone before you have paid for ingredients, wages or the VAT.
That squeeze lands in a sector already under pressure: 150 restaurants closed in the first quarter of 2025 alone, part of more than 600 food-led hospitality closures in a single year, at "a rate of more than ten per week" (RTÉ Brainstorm, 2025). When that many places are shutting, a third of every delivery sale is not a cost you can absorb forever.
The case for going direct is no longer fringe. In a survey of 2,500 Restaurant Association of Ireland members, 98% said the fees of up to 33% commission charged by third-party aggregators are "not a sustainable long-term business plan" (Flipdish/RAI survey). Customers feel it too: 70% said the level of commission means "they would now prefer to order direct if it helps save their favourite independent restaurant" (Flipdish). For the full breakdown of what the apps actually cost, see our teardown of Deliveroo and Just Eat fees for Irish restaurants.
What to look for in an online ordering system
Before comparing platforms, decide what matters for your operation:
- Cost model. A flat monthly subscription, a per-transaction card fee, or free with paid add-ons. Predictable beats percentage-of-sales when your volume grows.
- Who owns the customer. With aggregators, the diner is the platform's customer, not yours. A direct system gives you the email, phone number and order history, so you can bring them back.
- White-label branding. Does the order page look like your restaurant, or like a generic checkout? Your brand should carry through to the confirmation screen.
- Contract lock-in. Month-to-month flexibility versus a 12- or 24-month commitment that is cheaper but harder to leave.
- Delivery. Will you deliver yourself, use a third-party fleet, or stick to collection? Some systems plug into delivery; others are collection-first.
- POS and menu sync. If orders print straight to the kitchen and update your till, you avoid double-entry on a busy Friday.
- Card fees and VAT. Every card payment carries a processing fee, usually plus VAT. Read that line carefully: it is the cost that hides behind "commission-free."
The systems compared
| System | Model | Commission on direct orders | What you pay | Owns customer data | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregators (Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats) | Marketplace | 25–35% per order | Commission + fees | No — the platform does | Nationwide |
| Flipdish | Subscription (white-label) | None | From €49/mo + card processing | Yes | Irish-founded, nationwide |
| Storekit | Freemium | None | £0 to start; storekit+ from £99/mo | Yes | UK & Ireland |
| GloriaFood | Free + add-ons | None | Free; add-ons from US$29/mo | Yes | Global |
| Square Online | Free + per-transaction | None | Free site; 1.4% + 25c + VAT per online sale | Yes | Ireland supported |
Flipdish — the Irish-built option
Flipdish was founded in Dublin in 2015 and raised €40m from Tiger Global as "an alternative to Deliveroo and Just Eat," built so restaurants could "avoid the high commissions of delivery apps" (Sifted, 2021). It is white-label: the website and app carry your branding, and you keep the customer relationship and data.
Pricing is a flat subscription rather than a cut of every sale — from €49/month for a branded ordering website, from €79/month for a website plus a mobile app, with card processing handled by Flipdish (Flipdish, 2026). For a venue doing real delivery volume, a fixed monthly fee almost always beats handing over a third of each order. The trade-off versus the free tools below is cost certainty and Irish support against a higher entry price, which is fair if you want a managed, branded system rather than a DIY setup.
Best for: established takeaways and restaurants with steady delivery volume that want a branded, supported, Irish system.
Storekit — free to start, no commission
Storekit is a UK-and-Ireland online ordering and order-and-pay platform built around a no-commission promise. The pay-as-you-go tier is £0 to start, giving you takeaway ordering on one channel for free. The premium storekit+ plan runs from £99/month (rolling) or £149/month on a 12-month term billed monthly, adding dine-in, catering, custom branding and third-party delivery integration (Storekit, 2026).
Because Storekit prices in pounds, factor the exchange rate into your monthly cost. But the model is clean: no slice of your order value goes to the platform, so the more you sell, the better it looks against an aggregator.
Best for: owners who want QR order-and-pay at the table plus takeaway, and who will grow into the paid tier.
GloriaFood — the genuinely free starting point
GloriaFood offers a free online ordering system with "no commission per order" and "no monthly fee" on the core product (GloriaFood, 2026). You add a menu, get an ordering button for your site and social pages, and take unlimited orders without paying per sale. Payments flow through your own gateway, so the money does not pass through GloriaFood.
You pay only for optional add-ons: card payment acceptance at US$29/month and promotional marketing tools at US$19/month (GloriaFood, 2026). Note the dollar pricing: it is a global product, not Irish-built, so support and currency are not local. For a small café testing direct ordering with the least possible upfront cost, it is hard to beat free.
Best for: smaller or first-time operators who want to trial direct ordering with zero monthly outlay.
Square Online — pay only when you sell
Square Online lets you build and launch a store for free with no monthly fee on the basic plan, and you pay only when a sale happens. For online card payments in Ireland, the fee is 1.4% + 25c + VAT for EU and EEA cards, or 2.9% + 25c + VAT for UK and non-EEA cards (Square, 2026). Remember that processing fee carries VAT on top, so build it into your pricing, the same way you would with any card transaction (see our guide to the hospitality VAT rate in Ireland).
Square's strength is that the online store, the in-person till and the payments all sit in one system, so orders and stock stay in sync. At 1.4% + 25c, a €30 order costs you roughly 67c plus VAT to process, a world away from €7.50–€10.50 in aggregator commission on the same ticket.
Best for: restaurants already using, or open to, Square's POS who want online and in-person under one roof.
The aggregator baseline — what you are escaping
Deliveroo, Just Eat and (in Dublin and Cork) Uber Eats are not the enemy: they bring discovery and casual demand you may not win on your own. But at 25–35% per order (RTÉ Brainstorm, 2025), they are the most expensive sales channel you have, and the customer never becomes yours. The smart play for most Irish operators is not to quit the apps overnight. It is to stand up a direct channel, then nudge your regulars onto it.
How to choose
- Lowest possible upfront cost: start with GloriaFood or Square Online — both free to launch, both no commission on the sale.
- A branded, managed, Irish system with support: Flipdish — pay the subscription, keep the brand and the data.
- Order-and-pay at the table plus takeaway: Storekit — free to begin, scale into the paid plan.
- Already on Square's till: Square Online, one system, online and in-person in sync.
Whatever you pick, the move that matters is the same: get a direct channel live, put the link on your Google profile, your social pages and every takeaway bag, and give regulars a reason to use it. Owning your own ordering page keeps the commission and the customer, for less than one aggregator commission a week, and without ever logging into someone else's dashboard. (If you want the order page built for you from a menu photo rather than set up yourself, that is the gap DineHere fills.)
For the wider cost picture — energy, rent, insurance and the rest of the fixed-cost stack — see 9 ways Irish restaurants are cutting overheads in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best online ordering system for an Irish restaurant in 2026?
There is no single best — it depends on volume and budget. Flipdish suits established venues wanting a branded, Irish-supported system; GloriaFood and Square Online suit smaller operators starting free; Storekit suits those wanting order-and-pay plus takeaway.
How much commission do Deliveroo and Just Eat charge in Ireland?
Delivery platforms in Ireland charge "commission payments of 25 to 35% per order" (RTÉ Brainstorm, 2025). On a €30 order that is roughly €7.50 to €10.50.
Is there a commission-free online ordering system?
Yes. GloriaFood and Storekit charge no commission on orders, and Flipdish uses a flat subscription instead of a per-order cut. You still pay card-processing fees on each transaction.
What does Flipdish cost?
Flipdish is subscription-based: from €49/month for a branded ordering website and from €79/month for a website plus a mobile app, with card processing handled by Flipdish (Flipdish, 2026).
Is GloriaFood really free?
The core ordering system is free with "no commission per order" and "no monthly fee" (GloriaFood, 2026). You pay only for optional add-ons such as integrated card payments (US$29/month).
How much does Square charge for online orders in Ireland?
Square Online's basic plan is free; online card payments cost 1.4% + 25c + VAT for EU/EEA cards and 2.9% + 25c + VAT for UK/non-EEA cards (Square, 2026).
Will I lose customers if I leave the delivery apps?
You do not have to leave. Most Irish operators keep the apps for discovery while building a direct channel for repeat orders, then shift loyal customers across. In one survey, 70% of consumers said they would prefer to order direct to help save a favourite restaurant (Flipdish).
Do I still pay card fees with a direct ordering system?
Yes. "Commission-free" refers to the order value; every card payment still carries a processing fee, typically a small percentage plus a few cents and VAT. That fee is far smaller than aggregator commission.
Can I do delivery without an aggregator?
Yes. Several systems plug into third-party delivery fleets, or you can offer collection and your own drivers. You keep the order, the customer data and most of the margin.
How do I get customers to use my own ordering page?
Put the link everywhere: your Google Business Profile, social pages, email, and a sticker or QR code on every takeaway bag and table. Offer a small first-order incentive, and remind regulars that ordering direct keeps their local open.
