FOLOS vs. DoorDash Storefront
Both offer commission-free ordering on your restaurant's website. Here's how they differ on pricing, data, and flexibility.
Summary
DoorDash Storefront lets restaurants accept orders on their own website using DoorDash's infrastructure, publicly marketed with no commission fees. FOLOS is a flat-fee direct ordering platform that works independently of any marketplace. The key differences are payment processing flexibility, customer data access, and how deeply each solution ties your restaurant to DoorDash's ecosystem.
What Is DoorDash Storefront?
DoorDash Storefront is an online ordering product that allows restaurants to accept orders through their own website or app, powered by DoorDash's ordering infrastructure. DoorDash publicly describes it as a commission-free product — meaning DoorDash does not charge a percentage of each order as a marketplace commission.
However, payment processing fees apply. Storefront processes payments through DoorDash's integrated payment system, and those fees are separate from the commission question.
What Is FOLOS?
FOLOS — Food Online Ordering Systems — is a branded direct ordering platform built for restaurants. It operates on a flat monthly fee model and is not affiliated with any third-party marketplace. Restaurants accept orders through their own branded ordering page, with flexibility to connect existing POS systems, payment processors, and delivery workflows.
How the Pricing Structures Compare
DoorDash Storefront's public positioning is no commission on direct orders, with payment processing fees charged per transaction. The exact payment processing rate is set by DoorDash's processor integration.
FOLOS charges a flat monthly fee. There are no per-order commissions or percentage-based FOLOS fees. Standard payment processing fees may still apply depending on your restaurant's payment setup — this is separate from FOLOS's platform cost.
For a restaurant doing high order volume, even small per-transaction payment processing differences can add up. The break-even point between percentage-based processing fees and a flat monthly platform fee depends on your monthly volume.
Customer Data and the Ecosystem Question
One of the more nuanced differences is how each platform handles customer data and ecosystem dependency.
With DoorDash Storefront, orders are processed through DoorDash's infrastructure. Your restaurant receives customer order data, but DoorDash also has access to that data as the platform operator, consistent with their publicly available terms of service. Additionally, your restaurant's ordering channel becomes partially dependent on maintaining a relationship with DoorDash.
With FOLOS, orders are placed through your restaurant's own branded channel using FOLOS's platform. Your restaurant retains direct access to customer and order data generated through your FOLOS ordering channel. FOLOS does not operate a competing marketplace that would use that data to market other restaurants to your customers.
Payment and POS Flexibility
FOLOS is built to work alongside a restaurant's existing payment processor and POS setup. This flexibility matters for restaurants that have existing processor relationships, POS contracts, or preferred payment solutions.
DoorDash Storefront connects through DoorDash's payment infrastructure. POS integrations are available for DoorDash-supported systems, but the range of supported integrations is determined by DoorDash's partnership list.
When Each Might Make Sense
DoorDash Storefront may appeal to restaurants that already have a DoorDash relationship and want a quick way to enable commission-free ordering from their existing website without changing their setup. The integration with DoorDash's ecosystem (including potential access to DoorDash's driver network for delivery) can be a consideration.
FOLOS may appeal to restaurants that want a direct ordering channel without any marketplace dependency — full flexibility over payment processing, POS connection, and the ability to build customer relationships completely outside a third-party ecosystem.
| Feature | FOLOS | DoorDash Storefront |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly fee | No commission; payment processing fees apply |
| Payment processing | Your choice of processor | DoorDash-integrated processor |
| Branded ordering experience | ✅ | Partially — DoorDash infrastructure visible in checkout |
| Restaurant keeps customer data | ✅ | Partial — DoorDash also retains data per their terms |
| POS integration flexibility | ✅ | DoorDash-supported integrations only |
| Pickup and delivery support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Works without DoorDash account | ✅ | ❌ |
| Multi-location support | ✅ | ✅ |
Use Marketplaces for Discovery — Your Own Channel for Loyalty
It's worth noting that DoorDash Storefront and FOLOS are not necessarily in direct competition for every use case. Many restaurants use DoorDash's marketplace for discovery — attracting new customers who search for restaurants on the DoorDash app — while using a platform like FOLOS as the direct ordering channel for repeat and loyal customers.
The strategic goal is to build a direct ordering channel your restaurant controls, so that customers who already know you have a path back to you that doesn't go through a marketplace every time.
See How FOLOS Works for Your Restaurant
Book a demo and we'll walk through how direct ordering fits your current setup, payment workflow, and POS.