restaurant online ordering system

DoorDash for Merchants vs Grubhub for Restaurants

DoorDash and Grubhub are both third-party delivery marketplaces, but they are no longer the same size of bet. DoorDash is the largest US marketplace and, for most independents, the bigger source of incremental orders. Grubhub is the smaller of the national players, with its deepest roots in the Northeast and dense urban markets like New York, where its diner base still matters. If discovery is the job, the two are not interchangeable: they put you in front of different crowds in different places.

Both charge a per-order commission for that reach (15% to 30% tiers plus 6% on pickup on DoorDash, a negotiable 15% to 30% plus processing on Grubhub), and on a thin restaurant margin the all-in cost of a third-party order lands near a third of revenue. Where they diverge most is the escape hatch each offers from that commission: DoorDash sells a white-label 'Online Ordering by DoorDash' storefront, while Grubhub Direct lets you run your own ordering site commission-free with Grubhub handling processing at around 3%. Both are trying to sell you the marketplace and, quietly, a way off it.

DoorDash for Merchants compared with Grubhub for Restaurants, dimension by dimension
	DoorDash for Merchants	Grubhub for Restaurants
Marketplace reach	DoorDash for MerchantsThe largest US delivery marketplace and, for most independents, the bigger volume engine nationally, especially in the suburbs. If you can only feed one app well, this is usually where the orders are.	Grubhub for RestaurantsThe smaller national player, strongest in the Northeast and dense cities (New York above all). In its home markets its diner base is real; outside them, its incremental volume is typically thinner than DoorDash's.
Commission and pricing	DoorDash for MerchantsA tiered delivery commission: 15% Basic, 25% Plus, 30% Premier, plus 6% on pickup. Higher tiers buy more placement and a wider radius, so cost tracks how aggressively you want it to push orders.	Grubhub for RestaurantsRoughly 15% to 30% per order, often negotiable, plus payment processing. A similar band to DoorDash, but the negotiability can matter for a busy restaurant with leverage, so ask rather than taking the rate card.
Commission-free direct option	DoorDash for MerchantsOffers a white-label 'Online Ordering by DoorDash' first-party storefront on your own site (confirm current fees), so you can take direct orders while still using its delivery drivers.	Grubhub for RestaurantsGrubhub Direct is the clearer commission-free pitch: your own ordering website with no marketplace commission and Grubhub handling processing at about 3%. For keeping margin on repeat orders, that is Grubhub's strongest card here.
AI and merchant tools	DoorDash for MerchantsAlgorithmic ranking, promotions, and demand prediction run under the hood, plus ads and promo tools to buy visibility. The intelligence is pointed at moving more orders through the marketplace.	Grubhub for RestaurantsThe diner marketplace ranks and recommends algorithmically, but the restaurant tooling is largely operational (order routing, promotions, delivery dispatch) with no prominent merchant AI marketed. Solid dashboards, lighter on an AI story.
Delivery logistics	DoorDash for MerchantsIts own last-mile driver network, and its Drive product can deliver orders you take on your own channels, so you can separate finding the guest from driving the food.	Grubhub for RestaurantsDelivery through Grubhub's own driver fleet on marketplace orders, with the option to use your own delivery on Grubhub Direct. Coverage and driver density are strongest in its core urban markets.
The catch (both)	DoorDash for MerchantsA marketplace order is rented demand: you pay per ticket and DoorDash keeps the discovery relationship and most of the guest data.	Grubhub for RestaurantsThe same on the marketplace side, though Grubhub Direct is a genuine step toward owning the guest. Even so, loyalty attaches far better on a true direct channel (41% vs 3%).

DoorDash for Merchants profile Grubhub for Restaurants profile Online ordering buyer guide

The verdict

Which one, and the catch either way.

Bottom line

The honest read is a reach-and-margin call, not a winner. Choose DoorDash as your primary marketplace almost everywhere for its larger US order volume, especially in the suburbs. Keep or lead with Grubhub where you trade in its strong markets (the Northeast and dense cities), and take a hard look at Grubhub Direct, the cleaner commission-free ordering site of the two. Whichever you emphasize, price both against the 30% to 40% effective cost of a delivery order before you commit menu and promo budget.

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Questions

What buyers ask.

Is DoorDash or Grubhub better for a restaurant?

For most independents DoorDash is the larger US marketplace and the bigger source of incremental orders, especially outside major cities. Grubhub is the smaller national player but can out-pull DoorDash in its core Northeast and dense-urban markets, where its diner base is strong. Decide by where your delivery customers actually are, and compare the all-in effective cost, not just the commission rate.

What is the difference between DoorDash's direct ordering and Grubhub Direct?

Both let you take orders off the marketplace and keep more margin. DoorDash offers a white-label 'Online Ordering by DoorDash' storefront (confirm current fees) that still uses its drivers. Grubhub Direct is the more clearly commission-free version: your own ordering site with no marketplace commission and Grubhub handling processing at around 3%. Either way, a direct channel is where first-party data and loyalty finally attach to you instead of the app.

Do I need anything beyond DoorDash or Grubhub?

Only add another tool when a specific job is missing from your current setup. Check the exact plan, add-ons, and supported connections for the products compared here; features can overlap. Walk through one real booking, order, or guest follow-up before committing, and compare the full recurring cost. More software is not automatically a better operation.

Keep comparing

Other online ordering matchups.

ChowNow vs Owner.com DoorDash for Merchants vs Uber Eats for Merchants Uber Eats for Merchants vs Grubhub for Restaurants ChowNow vs Slice Owner.com vs Slice ChowNow vs BentoBox Owner.com vs BentoBox Owner.com vs Flipdish ChowNow vs Flipdish GloriaFood vs Menufy Otter vs Deliverect Olo vs Checkmate Owner.com vs UpMenu

References

Every figure on this page drills down.

4 sourced statistics cited here across 4 publications. Each number links to the research hub, and each entry there links out to its primary source.

Term Third-party delivery Term First-party data Tool DoorDash for Merchants Tool Grubhub for Restaurants

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