Every order that comes through Uber Eats leaves a chunk of your takings behind. For a lot of New Zealand owners, that chunk has quietly become the second-biggest bill after wages - the commission owners now call "the new rent". This guide is about the other option: commission-free online ordering through a channel you own, so the money you make on a $40 order is actually the money you keep.
It is not an argument to switch off the aggregators tomorrow. It is a plain look at what the apps take in 2026, what "going direct" really costs once you count card fees, and how to move even a slice of your online orders onto your own page. If you have ever looked at an Uber Eats payout and thought "where did it all go", start here.
Key takeaways
- Uber Eats charges up to 30% on Marketplace delivery orders in New Zealand (16% self-delivery, 6% pick-up), plus a one-off activation fee of $700 excluding GST (Uber Eats NZ pricing, 2026).
- Going direct costs a flat fee, not a percentage. Card processing through Stripe is 2.65% + NZ$0.30 per online transaction (Stripe NZ pricing, 2026) - a fraction of app commission.
- On a $100 order you keep about $97 direct versus about $70 on a Marketplace delivery order (illustrative, based on the verified rates above).
- You do not have to leave the apps to start. Use them for reach, then move repeat and pick-up customers onto your own ordering page where the margin lives.
- Commission-free platforms replace the percentage cut with a monthly SaaS fee - worth it once your direct volume clears the break-even, which many single-site takeaways hit quickly.
What is commission-free online ordering, and why does it matter?
Commission-free online ordering means customers place and pay for orders through a channel you control - your own website, a branded ordering page, or an app in your name - and no one takes a percentage of each sale. You pay a fixed cost (a monthly fee and standard card processing) instead of a variable cut that rises with every dollar you sell.
That distinction is the whole game. On an aggregator, the more you sell, the more they take. On a direct channel, your cost per order barely moves as volume grows. For a busy takeaway, the difference over a year can be tens of thousands of dollars staying on your side of the counter.
It matters more in New Zealand than owners often realise, because delivery is only one part of online ordering. A huge share of orders are pick-up and click-and-collect - the customer orders on their phone and comes in to collect. There is no courier, no delivery zone, and no reason to hand a marketplace 30% for a sale you fulfilled yourself.
How much are the delivery apps really taking?
More than the headline number, and here are the verified 2026 figures.
Uber Eats in New Zealand charges three Marketplace rates: 30% for Uber-delivered orders, 16% for self-delivery, and 6% for pick-up. Its Webshop product (ordering on your own site, delivered by Uber) is 25% / 6% / 6%. There is also a one-off activation fee of $700 excluding GST for a new location ($350 for later sites) and a $200 excluding GST device damage fee (Uber Eats NZ pricing, 2026).
Delivereasy, the Wellington-based, New Zealand-owned aggregator, has "usually charge[d] commission from 20 per cent" (NZ Herald, 2020) - lower than Uber Eats, but still a fifth of the order. That figure is a few years old and Delivereasy does not publish a current public rate, so confirm it before you sign. DoorDash has operated here since launching in Wellington (DoorDash NZ, 2022) but does not publish a New Zealand merchant commission, so treat any quoted figure with caution.
Here is how the main channels compare on what they take and what you keep:
| Channel | What they take | You keep on a $100 order* |
|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats Marketplace (Uber delivers) | 30% | ~$70 |
| Uber Eats Webshop (your site, Uber delivers) | 25% | ~$75 |
| Delivereasy | from ~20% (2020 figure) | ~$80 |
| Pick-up (Uber Eats) | 6% | ~$94 |
| Your own direct page | 2.65% + NZ$0.30 card fee | ~$97 |
*Illustrative, from the verified rates above; before GST nuance and before any fixed monthly platform fee on a direct channel. Uber Eats rates: Uber Eats NZ pricing, 2026; card fee: Stripe NZ pricing, 2026.
The percentages also understate the pain, because commissions are charged before GST and before advertising or promotion costs. One West Auckland restaurant, Lixiri's Kitchen in Glen Eden, put real numbers on it: "From a week of Uber Eats orders totalling $300, the restaurant got a measly payout of $85.36" - about 28% of the order value (NZ Herald, 2023). In Christchurch, Thai Box manager Jazzy Seng described the maths bluntly: "Uber Eats takes a 30 percent cut... it doesn't really translate much for profit" (RNZ, 2024).
For a full teardown of the numbers, see what Uber Eats really costs New Zealand restaurants.
What does "going direct" actually cost?
The headline is that direct ordering swaps a percentage for a flat fee - so your cost stops scaling with your sales.
The unavoidable cost is card processing. Through Stripe, online card payments in New Zealand are 2.65% + NZ$0.30 per transaction (Stripe NZ pricing, 2026). That is the same whether you sell one order or a thousand, and it is a fraction of app commission. On top of that, most owners pay a monthly software fee for the ordering platform itself - a fixed cost, not a cut.
Here is the difference in plain arithmetic. On a $100 order (illustrative, using the verified rates):
- Direct (your own page): 2.65% + $0.30 = $2.95 in card fees. You keep about $97.
- Uber Eats pick-up (6%): you keep about $94.
- Uber Eats Marketplace delivery (30%): you keep about $70 - before GST and any promo costs.
Remember GST is 15% and prices in New Zealand are quoted inclusive (Inland Revenue), so both your menu price and the app's commission carry it - the gap above is real margin, not a rounding quirk. Even after a monthly platform fee, the direct channel leaves roughly $27 more per $100 of delivery orders in your till than a Marketplace order does.
What are your online ordering options in New Zealand?
There are three realistic routes, and most owners end up running a mix.
1. The aggregator's own "webshop"
Uber Eats and others will let you take orders on your own branded page while they handle delivery - but you are still inside their pricing (Uber's Webshop is 25% / 6% / 6%). It is convenient and lowers the delivery cut versus Marketplace, but it is not commission-free, and the customer relationship still runs through them.
2. A dedicated commission-free ordering platform
These replace the percentage with a subscription. As one New Zealand example, Easy Eats advertises 0% commission on direct food orders with a Growth plan of "$99/month + 40c per order + 1.95% online payment fee" and a branded website included (Easy Eats, 2026, vendor-published). Others sit in a low-commission middle ground. Compare the total cost at your volume, not the sticker price - a per-order fee plus payment fee can still beat 30% comfortably once you are busy. For a head-to-head, see Uber Eats vs Delivereasy vs going direct.
3. Your own website with ordering built in
If you already have (or need) a website, adding online ordering to it keeps everything under one roof: menu, hours, photos, and the order button on the same page customers find on Google. This is where a modern website builder for restaurants earns its keep - you upload a menu, get a site with an ordering page in about ten minutes, and every direct order keeps its commission instead of feeding it to an app. That is the one place a tool like DineHere fits in this picture: as the direct channel that sits behind your own name, not another middleman.
How do you move customers off the app and onto your own page?
The apps are a discovery channel; your job is to convert first-time app customers into direct regulars.
- Put your ordering link everywhere you already own. Your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, and website should all lead to your own "Order now" button, not to Uber Eats.
- Insert a card in every takeaway bag. A small flyer - "Order direct next time and skip the app fees" with a QR code - costs cents and reaches exactly the people already buying from you.
- Reward direct orders. A free side or a small discount for ordering on your page is affordable when you are saving 20-30% on commission. You are simply sharing part of the saving with the customer instead of the app.
- Push pick-up hard. Pick-up and click-and-collect are the easiest wins: no courier, no delivery zone, and the lowest fees on any channel.
Is commission-free ordering worth it for a small takeaway?
It comes down to a break-even you can work out on the back of a docket. A commission-free platform costs a fixed monthly fee. An aggregator costs a percentage of everything. Find the monthly direct sales at which the flat fee is cheaper than the commission you would have paid, and every dollar past that point is margin you keep.
For most single-site takeaways doing steady online volume, that break-even arrives fast - often within the first few hundred dollars of direct orders a month, because the percentage cut is so much larger than a flat fee plus card processing. The honest caveat: if nearly all your orders come from app users who would never order direct, the reach the apps buy you still has value. The winning move for most owners is not either/or - it is keeping the apps for discovery while steadily shifting repeat and pick-up business to the channel you own.
How to set up direct online ordering
A practical starting sequence:
- Pick your channel. A dedicated ordering platform or a website with ordering built in. Price it at your real monthly volume.
- Get your menu online cleanly. Accurate items, prices (GST-inclusive), photos, and options. This is where a menu-to-site tool saves the most time.
- Connect a payment provider (for example Stripe at 2.65% + NZ$0.30) so customers can pay when they order.
- Set your fulfilment. Turn on pick-up first; add delivery only if you can courier at-cost or run your own driver.
- Point every owned channel at it - Google Business Profile, socials, website, and bag inserts.
- Watch two numbers: direct orders per week, and your blended commission across all channels. The goal is the second number falling every month.
Frequently asked questions
What does "commission-free online ordering" actually mean?
Customers order and pay through a channel you control, and no one takes a percentage of each sale. You pay a fixed monthly fee plus standard card processing instead of a variable cut.
How much commission does Uber Eats charge New Zealand restaurants?
Up to 30% for Marketplace delivery, 16% for self-delivery, and 6% for pick-up, plus a $700 excluding GST activation fee for a new location (Uber Eats NZ pricing, 2026).
Is Delivereasy cheaper than Uber Eats?
Delivereasy is New Zealand-owned and has charged "commission from 20 per cent" (NZ Herald, 2020), lower than Uber Eats' 30% delivery rate - but still a fifth of the order versus a flat fee on a direct channel.
What does it cost to take payments on my own ordering page?
Card processing through Stripe is 2.65% + NZ$0.30 per online transaction in New Zealand (Stripe NZ pricing, 2026), the same at any volume.
How much do I actually save going direct?
On a $100 delivery order you keep roughly $97 direct versus about $70 on Uber Eats Marketplace - around $27 more per $100 (illustrative, based on the verified rates), before any monthly platform fee.
Do I have to leave the delivery apps to offer direct ordering?
No. Most owners keep the apps for reach and run a direct channel alongside them, then steadily move repeat and pick-up customers onto their own page.
Is online ordering worth it for a small pick-up-only takeaway?
Often yes - pick-up carries the lowest fees on every channel, so a commission-free page with pick-up is usually the cheapest way to take orders at all.
How do I get app customers to order from me directly?
Put your order link on your Google Business Profile and socials, add a QR-code insert to every takeaway bag, and offer a small reward for ordering direct.
Does GST change the maths?
GST is 15% and New Zealand prices are quoted inclusive (Inland Revenue). Both your menu price and the app's commission carry it, so the margin gap between direct and aggregator orders is real.
What is the fastest way to get a direct ordering page live?
Use a platform or website builder that turns your menu into an ordering page in one step, connect a payment provider, and switch on pick-up before delivery.
The bottom line
Online ordering in New Zealand is not a choice between "apps" and "no delivery". It is a choice about where each order lives - and how much of it you keep. The apps are worth using for what they do well: reach. But every repeat customer and every pick-up order you can move onto a channel you own is money that stops going out as commission. Start with pick-up, put your own order link everywhere, and watch your blended commission fall.
