Food Delivery App Commission in Thailand: A Restaurant Cost Guide

Food-delivery platforms can be valuable. They put a restaurant in front of customers, process orders and may coordinate delivery. But the percentage deducted from each order can also become one of the largest variable costs in the business.

The useful question is not simply, “Are delivery apps expensive?”

It is:

What does our current agreement cost per order, per month and per year—and what do we receive in return?

This guide gives restaurant, café and pizza-shop owners in Thailand a clear way to answer that question. The examples use Thai baht and hypothetical rates. Your actual cost depends on your merchant agreement, campaign participation, taxes, advertising, promotions and payment terms.

What commission rate should a Thai restaurant use in its calculation?

There is no single rate that applies to every restaurant or every platform.

In a 2021 explanation, Grab Thailand said its merchant commission generally ranged from 15% to 30%, with an average order value at the time of roughly THB 150–200. In 2026, Grab also announced a temporary 9% promotional rate for eligible merchants participating in a specific government programme. These two official examples show why owners should not rely on a number copied from another restaurant or an old social-media post.

Use the effective rate shown in your own merchant contract and settlement statement.

When reviewing a statement, separate:

The base platform or gross-profit commission
VAT or tax applied to platform fees
Merchant-funded discounts and vouchers
Advertising or sponsored-placement spending
Payment-processing charges
Refunds, adjustments and cancellation costs
Delivery charges paid by the restaurant, where applicable

A headline commission rate alone may not equal the full cost of acquiring and fulfilling the order.

Sources: Grab Thailand’s merchant commission explanation and Grab Thailand’s 2026 special merchant programme.

The basic commission formula

Start with three numbers:

Average order value
Number of third-party orders per month
Effective commission rate per order

Then calculate:

Commission per order = average order value × commission rate

Monthly commission = commission per order × monthly platform orders

Annual commission = monthly commission × 12

This calculates the platform commission only. It does not automatically include advertising, merchant-funded offers, payment fees, packaging, refunds or delivery labour.

You can run the same calculation using the MehmoodTech Thailand commission calculator.

Example: THB 400 average order and 500 monthly orders

Consider a restaurant with:

Average order value: THB 400
Platform orders per month: 500
Monthly platform sales: THB 200,000

At a 20% commission:

Commission per order: THB 80
Monthly commission: THB 40,000
Annual commission: THB 480,000

At a 30% commission:

Commission per order: THB 120
Monthly commission: THB 60,000
Annual commission: THB 720,000

At a 35% commission:

Commission per order: THB 140
Monthly commission: THB 70,000
Annual commission: THB 840,000

The difference between 20% and 30% in this example is THB 240,000 per year. That is why even a small contract change can matter at scale.

But these figures should not be described automatically as “lost profit.” A platform may be generating demand, handling discovery, providing software and coordinating delivery. The correct business question is whether the value produced by that channel justifies its total cost.

Measure contribution margin, not revenue alone

Revenue can make a delivery channel look healthier than it is.

Suppose an order is worth THB 400. Before platform costs, the restaurant still has to pay for ingredients, packaging and kitchen labour. If food and packaging cost THB 150 and platform commission is THB 120, only THB 130 remains before rent, salaries, utilities, tax, refunds and other overhead.

A simplified calculation is:

Contribution after platform commission = order value − food cost − packaging − platform commission − other variable order costs

This is more useful than comparing gross sales.

For each channel—dine-in, pickup, marketplace delivery and direct delivery—track:

Average order value
Food and packaging cost
Discounts funded by the restaurant
Platform and payment fees
Delivery cost paid by the restaurant
Refund and cancellation rate
Repeat-order rate
Contribution left after variable costs

A channel with lower order volume can still be more valuable if it produces stronger repeat business and a healthier contribution per order.

Check your effective rate from a real settlement

The most reliable number is calculated from money actually deducted.

Choose a normal settlement period and record:

Gross food sales before platform deductions
Platform commission
Tax charged on the commission
Merchant-funded promotions
Advertising deductions
Payment fees
Other adjustments

Then calculate:

Effective platform cost rate = total platform-related deductions ÷ gross food sales × 100

For example, if gross sales were THB 200,000 and total relevant deductions were THB 64,000, the effective cost rate was 32%, even if the base commission shown in the contract was lower.

Do not include costs that would exist in every channel, such as ingredients, when calculating the platform rate. Track those separately when calculating contribution margin.

Repeat this review for at least three representative months. One month may be distorted by a major promotion, seasonal traffic or an unusual refund.

Platform orders and direct orders do different jobs

A marketplace and a direct ordering system should not be treated as identical products.

A delivery marketplace can offer:

Customer discovery
Existing app traffic
Search and category placement
Promotional tools
Delivery-network access
Familiar checkout for customers

A direct ordering channel can offer:

Your own brand and menu experience
A direct relationship with returning customers
More control over product presentation and availability
Connection between customer ordering, kitchen, riders and administration
No percentage commission charged by MehmoodTech on each order

Direct ordering still has costs. Depending on the setup, these can include:

Card or payment-gateway fees
Hosting and software support
Initial development or setup
Marketing
Customer support
Your own delivery team or third-party delivery arrangement
App-store accounts and other third-party services

A credible comparison includes all of these costs. “No marketplace commission” does not mean “no cost.”

When does a direct ordering system break even?

Use this framework:

Avoided platform cost per migrated order = platform cost per order − direct variable cost per order

Then:

Break-even orders = fixed direct-system investment ÷ avoided platform cost per migrated order

Illustrative example:

Average order: THB 400
Platform rate: 30%, or THB 120 per order
Assumed direct payment and variable technology cost: 3%, or THB 12 per order
Avoided variable cost: THB 108 per migrated order

If a direct system required a hypothetical THB 180,000 fixed investment, the simple break-even point would be approximately 1,667 successfully migrated orders.

This example excludes delivery labour, marketing, tax and ongoing support. Add those costs before making an investment decision. The goal is not to produce an impressive number; it is to create a model your accountant or operations manager can challenge and verify.

A hybrid strategy is usually more realistic

Most restaurants should not delete every marketplace listing the day a direct channel launches.

A lower-risk approach is:

Keep marketplaces for discovery

Use them where they reliably bring new customers or provide delivery coverage that would be difficult to reproduce.

Build a strong direct experience

Give existing customers a clear way to order from your website or branded app. Make the menu easy to browse, keep availability accurate and provide dependable order updates.

Promote the channel compliantly

Place the direct-ordering link on your website, social profiles, receipts, packaging, in-store QR codes and customer communications where consent and platform terms allow.

Give customers a reason to return

The direct option must be convenient. Better menu clarity, reliable pickup, transparent delivery areas and consistent service are more sustainable than permanent deep discounts.

Measure migration rather than guessing

Track how many orders come from returning customers, how much each channel costs and whether direct-order customers order again.

The objective is not “platform versus direct.” It is a healthier mix of acquisition channels and owned customer relationships.

What a connected restaurant ordering system should include

A direct-ordering website alone may create more work if staff still copy orders manually into the kitchen.

A complete workflow can connect:

Customer ordering — menu, modifiers, checkout and live order status
Kitchen display — new-order alerts, preparation timers and status updates
Rider dispatch — delivery details, navigation and completion confirmation
Administration — menu, prices, opening hours, availability and order management

For a restaurant in Thailand, the customer experience may also need:

Thai and English content
Thai-baht pricing
Clear delivery zones
Store-specific opening hours
Pickup and delivery options
Payment methods agreed for the project
Mobile-first design for links shared through social profiles and Google

See the connected workflow in the Sugar Goat Cafe case study, then review our restaurant ordering system page for Thailand or the Phuket restaurant delivery system guide.

A practical 30-day evaluation plan

Before investing in a new channel, run a short audit.

Week 1: Establish the baseline

Export three months of marketplace settlements. Calculate gross sales, deductions, effective cost rate, order count and average order value for each platform.

Week 2: Understand the customer journey

Identify where customers currently discover the restaurant, how many are new versus returning and which locations generate viable deliveries.

Week 3: Model a direct channel

Estimate setup, payment, hosting, support, delivery and marketing costs. Create conservative, expected and optimistic migration scenarios.

Week 4: Define the first release

Prioritise the minimum complete workflow: customer ordering, kitchen receipt, delivery or pickup handling and administration. Avoid adding loyalty, complex CRM or multiple integrations before the core order flow is reliable.

At the end of 30 days, you should know:

Your real platform cost rate
Your contribution per platform order
The number of repeat customers available to migrate
The direct channel’s estimated break-even point
The operational changes your team would need

Questions restaurant owners often ask

Is 30% the standard delivery-app commission in Thailand?

Not universally. Published examples and promotional programmes show that rates can vary. Your contract and actual merchant settlement are the correct sources for your restaurant.

Should menu prices be higher on delivery platforms?

That is a commercial, contractual and tax decision. Review platform terms, customer expectations, food cost and applicable Thai rules before using channel-specific pricing.

Does direct ordering eliminate every fee?

No. It can remove a marketplace percentage from direct orders, but payment processing, hosting, maintenance, marketing and delivery still cost money.

Do we need our own riders?

Not necessarily. A system can support restaurant-employed riders, pickup-only ordering or a separately agreed delivery workflow. The operating model should be decided before development.

Can a restaurant begin with web ordering?

Yes. A mobile-friendly web app can be linked from the restaurant’s website and social profiles while iOS and Android publication is prepared.

What happened to foodpanda in Thailand?

Delivery Hero announced that foodpanda would stop its Thailand platform operations on 23 May 2025. This is a useful reminder not to build the restaurant’s entire customer relationship around a single external channel. See Reuters’ report on the Thailand exit.

The decision in one sentence

Use delivery platforms when the demand and operational value justify their total cost, while building a direct channel for the customers and orders your restaurant can serve more efficiently itself.

If you want to evaluate the numbers first, use the Thai commission calculator. If the model makes sense, review the direct ordering workflow for restaurants in Thailand.