Vendor pricing · verified September 2026
How to move DoorDash customers to direct ordering
The marketplace is good at one thing you cannot easily do yourself: putting your restaurant in front of someone who has never heard of it. It is expensive at the other thing: taking the same guest's second, fifth and twentieth order. DoorDash's published Plus plan charges 25% of the subtotal on every order, whether the guest found you through the app or already had your menu on the fridge. The goal is not to leave the marketplace. It is to make sure the repeat order happens on your own site, where the same $40 costs you under a dollar in card processing instead of ten.
Marketplace rates are DoorDash's published US plans (Basic 15%, Plus 25%, Premier 30%, pickup 6%) and Online Ordering by DoorDash (0% commission, 2.9% + 30¢), read September 2026. Direct-ordering costs are Ginger Direct's published pricing.
The math on one $40 order
| Channel | Rate | Restaurant's cost on $40 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoorDash Basic | 15% of subtotal | $6.00 | smallest delivery radius |
| DoorDash Plus | 25% | $10.00 | adds DashPass and a larger radius |
| DoorDash Premier | 30% | $12.00 | largest radius, Growth Guarantee |
| DoorDash pickup | 6% | $2.40 | guest collects |
| Online Ordering by DoorDash | 0% + 2.9% + 30¢ | $1.46 | DoorDash's own direct product |
| Ginger Direct | processing as low as 2% + 5¢; $1 order fee paid by the guest | about $0.85 | no monthly fee; prints to your existing printers |
Between Plus and direct there is about $9 of room on a $40 order. That is the budget for everything below, and it is why even DoorDash sells a 0% product for your own site.
Five tactics, in the order to try them
| Tactic | What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Put the link in the bag | A card or sticker with a QR code to your ordering page in every marketplace order, with a first-direct-order offer on it. | The marketplace guest is holding your food and liking it. No ad reaches them at a better moment, and the marketplace already paid to bring them. |
| 2. Own the Google result | Add your own ordering URL to your Google Business Profile and your website's header. A guest who searches your name should land on you, not on a marketplace listing. | Searching the restaurant by name is the strongest signal a guest is already yours. Every one of those orders that lands on a marketplace pays commission for a customer you did not need to buy. |
| 3. Give the direct order a reason | A free side, a drink or a few dollars off for orders placed on your site. Keep it under the $9 gap and you still net more than the marketplace order. | Guests reorder where it is easiest. A visible, repeatable incentive is what makes your site the habit instead of the app. |
| 4. Answer the phone with an order, not a hold | Every phone order is already a direct order. If the line is busy at dinner, an AI phone line that takes the order or texts the ordering link keeps it direct. | A guest who cannot get through opens the app. Ginger's voice AI reads the live menu, takes the order and prints it in the kitchen for $250 a month. |
| 5. Keep the marketplace for discovery | Stay listed. Watch one number monthly: the share of your online orders that came direct. | The listing is the ad. When the second order comes direct, the 25% bought you a customer once instead of taxing them forever. |
Do the first two this week; they cost printing and ten minutes. The incentive comes third because it only pays once guests can find the site.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just leave DoorDash?
Because the marketplace still does the one job you cannot: reaching people who have never heard of you. The cost problem is the repeat order at 25%. Keep the listing for discovery and move the second order to your own site.
How much does a restaurant save per order by going direct?
On a $40 order, DoorDash Plus at 25% costs $10.00; Ginger Direct's card processing as low as 2% + 5¢ costs about $0.85, with a $1 order fee paid by the guest. That is roughly $9 per order, before any incentive you choose to offer.
Can I put my own ordering link in DoorDash orders?
Your packaging is yours. A card or sticker with a QR code to your ordering page travels with every order regardless of the channel it was placed on. Check your current marketplace agreement for any terms on inserts before printing.
Does DoorDash offer a commission-free option?
Yes. Online Ordering by DoorDash charges 0% commission on orders from your own site, with 2.9% + 30¢ processing and no monthly fee: $1.46 on a $40 order. Ginger Direct is about $0.85 on the same order with a $1 fee paid by the guest, no monthly fee, and orders printing to the printers you already own beside any POS.
How do I know if it is working?
Track one number each month: direct orders as a share of all online orders. If the bag insert and the Google link are in place, the share should climb month over month as marketplace first-timers become direct regulars.
Compare it against a system with no monthly fee
Ginger is $0 a month with online ordering, no contract, interchange-plus processing as low as 2% + 5¢, and the Box, up to two printers and a card terminal included for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume. The live demo opens in your browser with no signup.