Food delivery fees are going up, and everyone is feeling the pinch.

Food from the restaurant of your choice, delivered to your door – at what cost?

Third-party food delivery has become the norm for American consumers, with delivery apps like Grubhub, Doordash And Uber Fast food has become a part of everyday life, and it imposes on customers and restaurants an increasingly complex equation of service fees, delivery costs and worker tips.

Frustration on both sides has taken a toll on services, which have worked to protect (or make) profits and support orders while cash-strapped Americans scan the exit screen — and order volumes that are often larger than expected.

Compared to orders placed directly through restaurant websites, consumers reported higher year-over-year increases in their total checks on third-party apps between 2022 and 2024, according to Technomic. And while Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub are all promoting paid memberships to reduce fees, consumers still claim to pay more on average for third-party orders, according to the food service industry research firm.

The rising costs come as more Americans watch their wallets during a period of persistent inflation.

Zainab Batoul, a San Francisco resident who said she orders delivery through Uber Eats or DoorDash weekly, called the extra charges “crazy.”

“I feel like I remember a time when disease rates weren’t as high as they were maybe four years ago, but it seems like they’re still going up,” Batoul said.

According to Technomic’s 2024 Consumer Trends for Delivery and Takeout Report, the share of consumers choosing third-party delivery services over direct restaurant delivery is on the rise, from 15% in 2020 to 21% in 2024. The research firm found that superior order tracking, access to deals and promotions, and the ability to discover new restaurants kept app customers coming back.

But the cost of the extra fees may put some people off.

Of consumers who reported ordering less food, 41% cited higher delivery fees, while 48% cited higher menu prices, according to the report. According to a study by Gordon Haskett Research Advisors, the surcharges restaurants charge for third-party delivery menus increased between 2022 and 2023 — and have nearly doubled since 2020.

The companies that facilitate the delivery process say they aim to keep fees low — while trying to stay afloat.

GrabHub said in a statement that it aims to keep fees as low as possible, while maintaining its business: “Given the high costs associated with handling deliveries — including managing logistics and paying delivery partners — we have adjusted our fees accordingly,” a GrabHub spokesperson said.

The company is owned by Just Eat Takeaway, an Amsterdam-based online food ordering and delivery company, which has said it is actively looking to sell some or all of Grubhub.

DoorDash said it has cut fees for consumers over the past two years from historical inflation, while also seeing an all-time high in active users and increased order frequency in the past year.

The company, which went public in 2020, has yet to report a full-year profit. The delivery service reported a single quarterly profit — net income of $23 million — for the three months ended June 30, 2020, at the start of the U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns.

On the other hand, ride-hailing giant Uber generated nearly $1.9 billion last year, driven in part by strong gains in its delivery business. Uber’s delivery segment, which includes Uber Eats and Uber Direct, reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.51 billion for 2023, an improvement of more than $955 million from 2022.

Uber Eats users pay for a service that allows them to browse merchants and order food efficiently with on-demand delivery, an Uber spokesperson said.

“Uber Eats order fees help pay delivery workers and cover platform costs — like safety programs, 24/7 support, background checks, product development, and more — so orders can arrive reliably,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

For restaurant goers, doing math across platforms has become more difficult.

On both Uber and DoorDash, order totals may vary by region due to additional fees applied to offset local laws and regulations, according to their respective websites. In California, for example, customers on Uber Eats pay the California Driver Benefits Fee, which was introduced to fund mandatory driver benefits under Prop 22, according to Uber.

Even before local variations, add-ons can be a hassle.

Uber charges a delivery fee that varies based on the order, location and driver availability, according to its website. DoorDash charges a similar delivery fee that it says depends on a variety of factors. Both apps say the fee is paid directly to them to cover the cost of delivery, not to drivers or restaurants. Grubhub also includes a delivery fee on orders that increases with distance, up to a maximum price.

All three apps also charge separate service fees, which aren't the easiest to calculate.

Grubhub and DoorDash say the fees cover the cost of operating their platforms, while Uber says all but 10 cents of its service fees go directly to the delivery driver, though the driver is then expected to pay Uber an undisclosed amount for various support services.

Both DoorDash and Uber say fees can change based on total demand.

After all these differences, and taking into account possible discounts or promotions, many customers will not know the total cost of their order until after they have selected the items and completed the purchase until checkout.

“You see something listed for $15 and then you go to checkout and it says $25, but you’ve already decided in your mind to get that thing or you’re looking forward to it,” said app user Batoul. “That adds extra friction between backing out of the order.”

Both Uber and Grubhub said their fees are clearly disclosed before checkout, while DoorDash said the total fees applied are always available to view in the shopping cart.

For restaurants, part of the value proposition of third-party delivery services is the potential to get more exposure and customers, according to Shel Santana, an assistant professor of marketing at Bentley University.

According to the companies, more than 1 million merchants partner with Uber Eats, and more than 375,000 work with Grubhub. DoorDash said in 2023 it added more than 100,000 new merchants to its marketplace, generating nearly $50 billion in sales for businesses. Uber Eats merchants in the U.S. and Canada generated more than $15 billion in sales last year through the app, according to Uber.

For restaurants that list on their own marketplaces, both Uber Eats and DoorDash offer a tiered pricing structure with commission fees ranging from 15% to 30% of the total order, according to their websites. Restaurants that join Grubhub Marketplace pay a “marketing commission” of 5% to 10% of each order, plus a processing fee and a 10% delivery fee, according to their websites.

The three platforms say restaurants can choose from a variety of pricing plans, based on the rate and level of marketing support they want, including commission-free online ordering services.

Tony Scardino, owner of Professor Pizza in Illinois, said he uses multiple third-party delivery services at his two Chicago locations, including Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats. He has used the services for about four years and said the apps’ prices are “excessive” and “very high.”

But using their own delivery services instead of paying for in-house delivery is worth it for small businesses, he said. And it all leads to what he called a “difficult balance.”

“You struggle with whether or not you should be riding these bikes in the first place, but you're in front of a huge crowd of people, so it's hard not to,” Scardino said.

In turn, the cost can force restaurants to raise their menu prices.

In a study of menu price premiums for 25 popular restaurants on third-party delivery services, the average cost was 20% higher than eating in, according to Gordon Haskett Research Advisors.

“Restaurants have said, ‘We’re not going to pay for DoorDash, Uber, GrabHub. If a consumer values ​​that convenience and wants to use that service, they can afford that,’” said Meredith Sandland, CEO of Empower Delivery.

Empower Delivery aims to compete with major delivery services by connecting restaurants with a pool of delivery workers at a lower cost to the business, according to its website.

Phyllis Engelbert, a restaurant owner in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has resisted DoorDash and other third-party delivery services since before the pandemic. Her Detroit Street gas station relies on dine-in orders and a limited delivery option for a flat fee of $7, she said.

Engelbert says she's not convinced that third-party delivery apps will improve her bottom line or benefit her employees, even if they do increase sales.

“It seems like another way for companies to come in and take a piece of the fruits of our labor,” Engelbert said.

As more restaurant owners pass on the costs of delivery apps to consumers, all of the third-party services have ramped up monthly membership options to help ease some of the pressure.

The big three services offer free delivery on every order with their premium memberships — Grubhub+, DashPass and Uber One — for $9.99 a month, according to their websites.

In May, Grubhub partnered with Amazon To include Grubhub+ in the e-commerce giant's Prime subscription, DoorDash is offering a free one-year membership to users with a DoorDash Rewards membership. Master Card Credit CardUber offers membership benefits to some customers. Capital One For credit card holders for a limited time.

All of these companies also offer incentives for students: DashPass and Uber One are cut in half, and Grubhub+ is free for students at partner universities, according to their own websites.

The benefit of subscriptions is twofold: With the promise of lower costs for all-inclusive orders, more customers may be able to complete a purchase, and more often; and with a select list of premium users, services can tailor future discounts to their most loyal customers, according to Steve Tadelis, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

While all subscriptions do not include delivery fees, service fees — and any local variations — still apply. According to the company, service fees are reduced for DashPass members.

And if you reach that limit, you'll only have one cost left: a tip for the delivery driver.

When consumers are surprised by the total price, tips may be “the only tool they have left” to manage their budget, according to Empower’s Sandland.

Batoul said she always tips, but that doesn’t mean she feels comfortable doing so given the other fees involved. She said that since she can’t be sure that service fees and other charges actually go to drivers, tips are necessary to make sure they get compensated.

“It makes me angry, because I feel like the service fees should go to the people who provide services to us,” she said. “But it doesn’t seem like that.”