“No commission” is an attractive phrase, but it is only half the story. Ordering directly removes the middleman who takes a cut of every order. It does not remove every cost. An owner who adds up the full list before starting is not surprised in month three, and knows exactly when direct ordering starts to pay off.
What you will actually pay for
Write these down on a sheet of paper before you sign with any provider. Some are fixed and some grow with your order volume.
- Platform subscription: a recurring fee for the website or app and the management dashboard. Ask whether it is monthly or yearly, what it covers, and what is billed separately.
- Payment processing fees: if you accept cards online, the payment provider takes a fee on each transaction. That money does not go to the platform, but it still leaves your revenue.
- App stores: publishing an iOS and Android app can involve registration or renewal fees charged by each store, separate from the platform subscription.
- Domain name: your web address renews every year. It is small, but it is there.
- Maps and location services: address search and maps can be billed by usage, which grows as your orders grow.
- Delivery itself: your own drivers or a courier you contract. You pay this whether the order came from your site or from a marketplace.
- Your time and your team's: preparing the menu and photos at the start, then keeping prices updated, switching off sold-out items, and answering guests.
The cost that never appears in the quote
The item most people forget is time. The first two weeks of setup need someone to sit down, write item names, define extras, and photograph the dishes. After that, someone on your team needs roughly half an hour a day to check the menu and switch off whatever ran out. If nobody owns that job, updates slip and guests order things you cannot make. That costs more than any subscription.
Promotion is another quiet cost. Your site will not fill with orders just because it exists. You have to tell guests about it on packaging, printed menus, and social accounts. That takes effort even if it needs no paid advertising.
How to compare it with marketplace commissions
Do not compare a subscription with a commission over a single month. That misleads you. A fair comparison takes three short steps.
- Total your direct ordering costs
Add the monthly subscription, the store and domain fees spread across twelve months, and an estimate of payment fees on the orders you expect to be paid online.
- Total what you pay marketplaces today
Open your recent statements and take the commissions and extra fees for a normal month and for a busy one.
- Ask how many direct orders close the gap
You do not need to move all your guests. You only need to know how many direct orders a month cover the cost of the new channel. If that number is realistic given the guests you already have, the decision is easy.
If you look at Ordavya, you will see three plans: Web, Mobile, and 360. From any vendor, ours or someone else's, ask for a written list of what the price includes and what it does not. It is the quickest way to see your real spend.