Who pays? How to read a promo offer from a delivery app

What the apps' pages say, and don't

We read DoorDash's, Uber Eats' and Grubhub's own pricing and marketing pages in Nov 2026. None of them says who funds a customer discount, or whether your commission is taken on the full price or the discounted one. What they do say:

• DoorDash takes a percentage of each order's subtotal, set by your plan. For its Sponsored Listings ads, it says you pay when an ad results in an order, not for clicks or views.
• Uber Eats charges a marketplace fee set by your plan. On the Plus plan, Uber One orders cost an additional 5%; on Premium they're included, and Lite stores can't join Uber One.
• Grubhub sells promotions with a monthly budget you set, ads you pay for when a diner clicks, and Grubhub-backed promotions you can opt into, without saying how the cost of those is split.

So the answer is in your contract, your plan, or your rep's mouth. Get it before you say yes.

Seven questions for your rep

Each one has a yes, a no or a number for an answer. Write the answers down.

1. Who pays for the discount: me, you, or split? If split, what share is mine?
2. Is my commission taken on the full price or the discounted price?
3. Is there a fee on top, per order, per redemption or per click?
4. Is there a budget cap, and what happens when it's hit?
5. Which orders get it: new customers only, members only, or everyone?
6. When does it end, and does it renew on its own?
7. Where will each promo order, and what it cost me, show up in my report?

Run one order through it

Take your average order and put the answers in. A made-up example: a $40 order, $8 off, you fund the discount, 25% commission.

• Commission on the full price: 25% of $40 is $10, plus the $8 discount, so $18 of the $40 goes to the promo and the app.
• Commission on the discounted price: 25% of $32 is $8, plus the $8, so $16.

Either way, put that next to your plate cost, packaging and labor before you decide. A promo that brings new customers can be worth it; you just want to know the price first. The numbers are an example only; your plan and the offer set the real ones.

Every week in the newsletter

Every promo, fee or program in unComped News gets a "Who pays?" box: who funds it, as far as the announcement says, and the one question to ask your rep.

Sources

Each app's own pages, checked Nov 2026. If a page now says something different, the app's page wins; tell us at hello@getuncomped.com and we'll fix the guide.

• DoorDash: Pricing
• DoorDash: Attract new customers
• DoorDash: Marketing
• Uber Eats: Pricing
• Grubhub: Marketing tools