If you're a restaurant owner in South Africa trying to figure out whether third-party delivery apps are worth it, one of the first questions you'll ask is: what's the commission?
It's a surprisingly hard question to get a straight answer to. Delivery platforms don't publicly publish their exact fee structures, and the rates reportedly vary by restaurant, volume, city, and agreement. What we know is mostly pieced together from conversations with restaurant owners, industry forums, and the occasional report.
This article isn't an exposé. We're not here to bash anyone. We just want to give South African food business owners a realistic picture of what to expect — so you can make an informed decision about where you list your restaurant and how to price your menu accordingly.
The fee figures in this article are based on what we've heard from restaurant owners and industry commentary. We don't have access to official contracts, and Uber Eats does not publicly disclose their exact South African commission structure. Treat these as estimates and directional guidance — not precise quotes.
What We've Heard About Uber Eats Commission in South Africa
The most commonly cited figure among South African restaurant owners is somewhere between 25% and 35% commission per order. Some operators report being quoted at the higher end of this range, particularly when they're new to the platform or operating in a competitive category.
To give you a sense of what that means in practice: on a R200 order, a 30% commission means R60 leaves your business before you've even plated the food. If that order cost you R100 to produce, you just made R40. If it cost you R120, you're in the red.
A few nuances worth noting:
- Rates are reportedly negotiable — larger chains and high-volume restaurants are believed to negotiate better rates. If you're a small independent, you're less likely to have leverage.
- There are often additional fees on top of commission — these can include activation fees, bag fees, or a separate payment processing deduction, though again this varies by contract.
- Promoted placement costs more — if you want to appear higher in search results or run promotions through the platform, you typically pay extra on top of the base commission.
Let's Do the Maths on a Typical Month
To make this tangible, let's walk through a worked example for a typical small restaurant doing modest online order volumes exclusively through a third-party platform.
📊 Scenario: 100 orders/month · R180 average order value
That's R5,940 off the top — before you've paid a single ingredient, salary, or utility. At 100 orders per month, you're effectively working one-third of the month for free, just to cover the platform's cut.
Now, platforms do provide real value: customer acquisition, delivery logistics, payment processing, and the trust that comes with a well-known brand. We're not dismissing that. The question is whether that value is worth the cost at your specific order volume and margin profile.
"We were excited to launch on delivery apps — the orders came in. But when I sat down to actually look at what we kept, I nearly fell off my chair. Between commission and the delivery cut, it was basically marketing we were paying for at a loss."
What Else Do Platforms Typically Charge?
Commission isn't the only line item. Depending on the platform and your agreement, there may be other fees woven into the structure:
| Fee Type | What It Is | Who Pays? |
|---|---|---|
| Platform commission | A percentage of each order's subtotal | Restaurant |
| Payment processing | Card transaction fee (typically 2–3%) | Restaurant (often deducted) |
| Delivery fee | Charged to customer, but platform takes a cut | Customer pays, platform keeps portion |
| Promotional placements | Paying for higher visibility in search | Restaurant (optional) |
| Activation / onboarding fee | Some platforms charge upfront to set you up | Restaurant (varies) |
The delivery fee is a slightly misunderstood one. Customers do pay a delivery fee — but on most platforms, the platform retains a portion of it as well. This means the delivery cost isn't just passed through to the customer cleanly; the platform takes a margin on it too.
The Hidden Cost: Menu Price Inflation
Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough. Many restaurants on third-party platforms charge higher menu prices on the app than they do in-store, precisely to offset commission. This is a common and understandable practice — but it creates a real problem.
When customers discover they're paying more through the app than walking into your restaurant, trust erodes. And when they can't tell why the prices are different, it reflects on you, not the platform.
There's also a compounding effect: if you inflate prices to protect margin, you become less competitive on the app, which means fewer orders, which means less coverage for your fixed costs, which means you inflate prices further. It's a spiral some restaurants never escape.
Third-party platforms put you in a position where you're paying for customer acquisition on every single order, forever — even for customers who've been ordering from you for years. There's no path to "owning" that customer relationship. You rent it, permanently, at 25–35% commission.
So — Is It Worth It?
For some restaurants, yes — at least at first. If you're brand new, have no existing customer base, and need orders flowing immediately, the customer acquisition benefit of a large platform is real. You're paying for visibility and logistics that you don't yet have.
The problem is the long-term economics. Platforms are designed to keep you dependent. Every order a customer places through them reinforces their relationship with the platform, not with you. You don't get their contact details. You can't market to them directly. You can't offer them a loyalty reward. You can't message them when you launch a new dish.
Over time, you're building the platform's customer base, not your own.
The question isn't just "what does the platform charge?" — it's "what am I building?" If every order you receive is one you'll have to pay commission on forever, you're not growing a business. You're growing someone else's.
What's the Alternative?
The alternative is to have your own direct ordering channel — a system where customers order from you, pay you, and build a relationship with your brand. You own the customer data, you control the experience, and the fees are predictable.
This doesn't mean abandoning third-party platforms entirely. Many successful restaurants use them for discovery — treating them as a paid acquisition channel — and then migrate regular customers to direct ordering over time. The goal is to reduce your dependency on platforms as you grow, not to be on them exclusively forever.
See exactly what you'd keep with Wangu
Wangu charges 18% commission (with no monthly fee) or flat plans from R1,500/month — and platform fees are paid by your customer, not you. Use our revenue calculator to compare what you'd keep at your actual order volume.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign With Any Platform
If you're evaluating a delivery platform — or renegotiating your current arrangement — here are the questions worth asking before you sign anything:
- What is the exact commission percentage, and is it negotiable based on volume?
- Are there any other fees deducted from my payout? (Payment processing, bag fees, service fees, etc.)
- What portion of the delivery fee do I receive, if any?
- What does the contract look like? Is there a minimum term? An exclusivity clause?
- Do I get access to customer data (emails, order history) or does the platform retain it?
- Can I run promotions without being penalised or pushed down in search rankings?
These questions feel obvious, but in the excitement of getting set up and seeing orders come in, many restaurant owners sign without thinking through the long-term implications.
The Bottom Line
We don't know exactly what Uber Eats charges South African restaurants — and frankly, neither does anyone outside of those private contracts. What we do know, from the restaurant owners we've spoken to and the industry commentary available, is that third-party commission rates in South Africa sit in the 25–35% range and can represent a significant chunk of your revenue on every order.
Whether that's worth it depends on your business model, your margins, and your stage of growth. But it's worth knowing the numbers clearly — and building a strategy that doesn't leave your entire online revenue dependent on a platform you don't control.
If you want to understand what a lower-commission or commission-free direct ordering model could look like for your specific business, our revenue calculator runs the numbers in seconds. No email required.
This article reflects publicly available information and conversations with restaurant owners. Fee figures are estimates based on reported industry ranges and should not be treated as official Uber Eats pricing. For accurate figures, contact Uber Eats directly or consult your restaurant agreement.