Delivery apps brought you customers you'd never have reached. They also quietly became one of your biggest cost lines — plenty of New Zealand owners now call commission "the new rent". So the real question in 2026 isn't whether to offer delivery. It's which channel to run, and how much of each order you're prepared to hand over to get it.
This is a straight comparison of the three options in front of most Kiwi restaurants and takeaways today: Uber Eats, Delivereasy, and going direct through your own ordering page. We'll use each platform's published rates, show what actually lands in your account on a NZ$100 order, and give you a way to decide based on your own numbers — not a sales pitch.
Key takeaways
- Uber Eats charges up to 30% commission on a standard Marketplace delivery order in New Zealand, dropping to 16% for self-delivery and 6% for pick-up (Uber Eats New Zealand, 2026).
- Delivereasy, a Wellington-based NZ-owned app, charges "commission from 20 per cent" — lower than Uber Eats, but with a smaller delivery network (NZ Herald, 2024).
- DoorDash now operates across New Zealand (24 towns, 77%+ of the population), but does not publish its NZ restaurant commission — so treat any quoted rate with caution (Restaurant & Café, 2025).
- Going direct is by far the cheapest per order — you pay only card processing, about 2.65% + NZ$0.30 through Stripe — but you have to drive your own traffic (Stripe, 2026).
- On a NZ$100 order you keep roughly NZ$70 through full Uber Eats delivery, about NZ$80 via Delivereasy, and around NZ$97 through your own site. The gap compounds fast across a busy week.
Which delivery option keeps the most of each order?
Short answer: going direct keeps the most, pick-up and self-delivery beat full delivery on every app, and full-service Uber Eats delivery keeps the least. Here's what a NZ$100 order looks like at the commission level (before GST on the fees, and before packaging or promo costs):
| Channel | Commission | You keep on NZ$100 |
|---|---|---|
| Your own ordering page (direct) | ~2.65% + 30c card fee | ~NZ$97 |
| Uber Eats — pick-up | 6% | ~NZ$94 |
| Uber Eats — self-delivery | 16% | ~NZ$84 |
| Delivereasy | from ~20% | ~NZ$80 |
| Uber Eats Webshop (your site, Uber delivers) | 25% | ~NZ$75 |
| Uber Eats Marketplace — full delivery | 30% | ~NZ$70 |
| DoorDash | not published for NZ | — |
The takeaway isn't "delivery apps are evil". It's that the channel you steer a customer towards matters as much as the app you're on. A customer who orders for pick-up on Uber Eats is worth roughly a third more to you than the same customer paying for full delivery — and one who orders on your own site is worth more again.
How much does Uber Eats really cost in New Zealand?
Uber Eats publishes its New Zealand rates, and there are more of them than most owners realise. On the Marketplace (the main app most customers use), the commission is:
- 30% for Uber delivery (Uber's couriers)
- 16% for self-delivery (you deliver, Uber takes the order)
- 6% for pick-up (Uber Eats New Zealand, 2026)
If Uber Eats powers ordering on your own website (its "Webshop" product), the rates are lower — 25% for Uber delivery and 6% for both self-delivery and pick-up. On top of commission, a new restaurant pays a one-off activation fee of NZ$700 (excl. GST), with NZ$350 (excl. GST) for each additional location and a NZ$200 (excl. GST) device damage fee if a supplied tablet is broken (Uber Eats New Zealand, 2026).
The headline 30% is only half the story, because promotions and fees stack on top. One West Auckland kitchen, Lixiri's Kitchen in Glen Eden, reported that NZ$300 of Uber Eats orders returned a payout of just NZ$85.36 — about 28% kept. Manager Zoe Do said Uber Eats does not reduce its commission on "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" deals, charging a fee on the full menu price despite the halved revenue (NZ Herald, 2025).
For the full per-order teardown of Uber Eats in NZ$ — including how GST and the customer-side fees work — see our companion piece, how much Uber Eats really costs New Zealand restaurants. This comparison assumes you've already decided delivery is worth doing; that guide helps you check the maths order by order.
Is Delivereasy cheaper than Uber Eats?
On commission, yes. Delivereasy is a Wellington-based, New Zealand-owned app that has positioned itself as the lower-commission alternative, charging "commission from 20 per cent" against Uber Eats' "30 to 35 per cent" (NZ Herald, 2024). Delivereasy doesn't publish a public rate card, so that ~20% figure is media-reported, not an official quote — confirm your exact rate directly with them before you switch.
The trade-off is reach. Delivereasy operates across a dozen-plus centres with a smaller courier fleet than Uber Eats, so in some areas its delivery radius, driver availability and order volume are thinner. For a restaurant in a Delivereasy-strong city like Wellington, the lower commission can be a genuine saving with little downside. In a suburb where few customers have the app installed, a lower rate on a handful of orders may not beat a higher rate on many.
How to decide between them: don't choose on commission alone. Ask which app your actual customers use, run a month on each if you can, and compare the total dollars banked — not just the percentage — because ten Delivereasy orders at 20% still lose to forty Uber Eats orders at 30% in raw cash. The right answer is often "both, and watch which one earns its place."
What about DoorDash in New Zealand?
DoorDash is now a real third option. After launching in Wellington in 2022, it has expanded to 24 towns and cities covering more than 77% of the New Zealand population, with over 5,000 merchants (Restaurant & Café, 2025). So if you write off delivery as a two-horse race, you're out of date.
The catch: DoorDash does not publish its restaurant commission for New Zealand. In the United States its plans run at 15%, 25% and 30% depending on tier — but those are US figures and there's no basis for assuming NZ matches them. Treat any specific "DoorDash NZ takes X%" claim you see online as unverified until you have a signed rate in front of you. If a DoorDash rep approaches you, get the commission, the delivery-fee structure and any activation cost in writing, and run it through the same NZ$100 test as the others before committing.
What does "going direct" actually cost?
This is where the numbers change shape. When a customer orders through your own website or ordering page, there's no per-order commission — you pay only to process the card. In New Zealand, Stripe charges 2.65% + NZ$0.30 per successful domestic card transaction (Stripe, 2026). On a NZ$100 order that's NZ$2.95 in fees, leaving you about NZ$97 — versus roughly NZ$70 through full Uber Eats delivery.
You'll usually also pay a monthly fee for the ordering software itself. Industry pricing for a restaurant online-ordering system typically lands somewhere around NZ$50–300/month plus a small per-order percentage, depending on features — treat that as a ballpark from vendor pricing rather than a fixed rule, and get quotes for your situation. Even at the top of that range, a single busy week of direct orders usually covers it several times over, because you're saving 25–30 points on every transaction.
The honest catch with going direct is that the app's discovery isn't yours — you have to bring the customers. That means getting found and giving repeat customers a reason to skip the app: a clean Google Business Profile that ranks in local search, a QR code on the counter and on takeaway bags, and a website that takes an order in a couple of taps. Running your own ordering page can cost less than one week of Uber Eats commission — a service like DineHere turns a menu photo into an ordering-ready site — but the same result comes from any tool that lets a regular reorder without paying the 30% toll.
It's also worth knowing the regulatory backdrop. Consumer NZ has warned that when delivery apps mark up menu prices without disclosure, the companies "risk breaching the [Fair Trading] Act", with chief executive Jon Duffy calling for upfront pricing (Consumer NZ, 2022). Your own channel sidesteps that mess entirely — the price the customer sees is the price you set.
So which should a New Zealand restaurant use in 2026?
There's no single winner, because the apps and your own site do different jobs. The blended approach most profitable operators land on looks like this:
- Use the apps for discovery. Uber Eats (and DoorDash where it's strong) put you in front of people who'd never find you otherwise. Treat that reach as a paid marketing cost, not a core channel.
- Steer margin-sensitive orders to cheaper routes. Push pick-up (6% on Uber Eats) and self-delivery (16%) wherever you can, and consider Delivereasy if it has real coverage in your area.
- Own your repeat customers. Every regular who reorders on your own site instead of the app keeps 25–30 points in your pocket. Print the QR code, mention it on every app order, and make direct ordering effortless.
- Recheck the maths quarterly. Rates, promos and fees move — the NZ$700 activation fee alone rose from NZ$500 recently. Rerun the NZ$100 test on your real order mix a few times a year.
Delivery commission sits alongside food and labour as one of the three costs that decide whether a NZ venue survives. If it's eating your margin, tightening it is one of the fastest wins available — the same discipline you'd apply to cutting food costs. You don't have to leave the apps. You just have to stop letting them own every order.
Frequently asked questions
What commission does Uber Eats charge restaurants in New Zealand?
On the Marketplace, Uber Eats charges 30% for Uber-delivered orders, 16% for self-delivery and 6% for pick-up. Through its Webshop product on your own site, the rates are 25% for Uber delivery and 6% for self-delivery and pick-up (Uber Eats New Zealand, 2026).
Is Delivereasy really cheaper than Uber Eats?
Delivereasy charges commission "from 20 per cent" — lower than Uber Eats' 30% — and is New Zealand-owned (NZ Herald, 2024). Whether it's cheaper for you depends on order volume: a lower rate on fewer orders can bank less than a higher rate on many. Compare total dollars, not just the percentage.
How much does Uber Eats cost to join in New Zealand?
New restaurants pay a one-off activation fee of NZ$700 (excl. GST), with NZ$350 (excl. GST) for each additional location and a NZ$200 (excl. GST) device damage fee (Uber Eats New Zealand, 2026).
Does DoorDash operate in New Zealand?
Yes. DoorDash launched in Wellington in 2022 and now covers 24 towns and cities and more than 77% of the population, with over 5,000 merchants (Restaurant & Café, 2025).
What commission does DoorDash charge NZ restaurants?
DoorDash does not publish its New Zealand restaurant commission. Its US plans run at 15%, 25% and 30%, but there's no basis for assuming NZ matches those. Get a written rate before signing up.
How much does it cost to take orders on my own website?
You pay card processing — about 2.65% + NZ$0.30 per transaction through Stripe in New Zealand (Stripe, 2026) — plus a monthly fee for the ordering software, typically in the region of NZ$50–300/month depending on features. There's no per-order commission.
How much do I actually keep on a NZ$100 order?
Roughly NZ$70 through full Uber Eats delivery, about NZ$84 via Uber Eats self-delivery, around NZ$80 via Delivereasy, and about NZ$97 through your own ordering page after card fees. These are commission-level figures before GST on fees, packaging and promos.
Should I leave the delivery apps altogether?
Usually not. The apps deliver discovery you can't easily replace. The profitable move is to keep them for reach while steering repeat customers to cheaper routes — pick-up, self-delivery, or your own site.
Is it legal for delivery apps to charge customers more than my in-store price?
Consumer NZ has warned that marking up menu prices without clear disclosure risks breaching the Fair Trading Act (Consumer NZ, 2022). Pricing on your own channel avoids the issue because you set the price the customer sees.
How do I get customers to order directly instead of through an app?
Make direct ordering visible and easy: a QR code on the counter and takeaway bags, a Google Business Profile that ranks locally, and a website that takes an order in a couple of taps. Every regular who reorders directly saves you 25–30% in commission.
