Flat-Fee vs. Commission Online Ordering
What restaurant owners actually pay — and what they give up — under each model.
Summary
Commission-based online ordering platforms charge restaurants 15–30% of every order. A restaurant doing $10,000/month in online orders pays $1,500–$3,000 monthly in commissions — $18,000–$36,000 per year. Flat-fee platforms like FOLOS charge a predictable monthly subscription regardless of order volume, typically saving restaurants thousands of dollars annually.
How Commission-Based Pricing Works
Third-party marketplaces and some ordering platforms charge a percentage of each order's subtotal as their fee. This means:
- Your cost increases as your sales grow
- You have no cost ceiling or predictability
- A successful month directly increases your technology bill
- The platform profits from your marketing and operational improvements
How Flat-Fee Pricing Works
Flat-fee platforms like FOLOS charge a fixed monthly amount regardless of order volume. Your ordering technology cost stays the same whether you process $3,000 or $30,000 in orders that month. This makes your cost structure predictable and allows you to benefit fully from growth.
Real Cost Comparison by Volume
| Monthly Online Sales | Commission (20%) | Annual Commission | FOLOS (flat fee) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | $600/mo | $7,200/yr | Contact for quote |
| $5,000 | $1,000/mo | $12,000/yr | Contact for quote |
| $10,000 | $2,000/mo | $24,000/yr | Contact for quote |
| $15,000 | $3,000/mo | $36,000/yr | Contact for quote |
| $25,000 | $5,000/mo | $60,000/yr | Contact for quote |
Beyond Pricing: What Else You Give Up with Commissions
The commission cost is the most visible difference, but not the only one. Commission-based platforms also typically:
- Retain your customer data. They keep the email address, order history, and contact info of every person who orders from your restaurant through their platform.
- Advertise your competitors on your page. When a customer views your restaurant on a marketplace, competing restaurants are just a click away.
- Own your customer relationship. If the platform disappears or changes its terms, your access to those customers disappears with it.
- Control your brand experience. Your restaurant is presented in the platform's visual style, not yours.
| Feature | FOLOS | Commission Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly fee | 15–30% of every order |
| Monthly cost on $5,000 in orders | Fixed flat fee | $750–$1,500 |
| Monthly cost on $20,000 in orders | Same fixed flat fee | $3,000–$6,000 |
| Cost predictability | ✅ | ❌ |
| Restaurant owns customer data | ✅ | ❌ |
| Branded ordering experience | ✅ | ❌ |
| Direct traffic to restaurant site | ✅ | ❌ |
| Competitors shown on ordering page | ❌ | ✅ |
| POS integration available | ✅ | Varies |
| Pickup and delivery support | ✅ | ✅ |
When Commission-Based Platforms Make Sense
Commission-based marketplaces do serve a purpose: discovery. If your restaurant has no existing online presence and needs new customers to find you, a marketplace listing can drive initial traffic. The problem is that this comes at a very high long-term cost, and the customers you acquire belong to the marketplace, not to you.
Many restaurants use both — marketplace listings for discovery, combined with a FOLOS-powered branded ordering page for their existing and repeat customers who don't need to discover you on a marketplace.
See Your Exact Savings
Use our calculator to estimate what you're currently paying in commissions, then book a demo to get a custom FOLOS quote.