First-party vs third-party ordering: the real per-order math
6 min read
Everyone tells you to "get off the delivery apps." That's lazy advice. Here's the honest version.
**A $30 order on DoorDash — what you actually keep:** - Ticket: $30.00 - Commission (25% avg): −$7.50 - Marketing tier (10%): −$3.00 - Payment processing: baked in - **Your take: ~$19.50**
**The same $30 order on your own ordering page:** - Ticket: $30.00 - Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30): −$1.17 - Delivery (you use a dispatch service like DoorDash Drive at $8 flat): −$8.00 - **Your take: ~$20.80 with delivery. ~$28.53 pickup.**
If it's pickup, first-party is a no-brainer — you keep $9 more per order.
If it's delivery, the margin gap is smaller than people admit. The real win of first-party is: 1. **You own the customer** — email, phone, order history. You can text them next Tuesday. 2. **You control the menu** — pricing, item names, photos, promos. 3. **You control the experience** — no marketplace fee at checkout, no cross-promotion of your competitor at the top of the receipt.
**The right play for most independents:** - Keep the marketplaces on. They are a paid customer acquisition channel — you're renting reach. - Fight to make first-party your default for repeat customers. Every DoorDash order should trigger a "next time, order direct and get 10% off" text. - Track the split. If you're under 25% first-party by month 6, something is broken in your funnel.