How to Negotiate Delivery App Commissions in Canada

Most independent restaurant owners in Canada signed up for DoorDash, Uber Eats, or SkipTheDishes without negotiating a thing. The rep showed up, the paperwork went through, and suddenly 25% of every delivery order vanished into platform fees.

Here's what those reps didn't mention: commission rates are negotiable. Not always, not for everyone, and not by as much as you'd like. But the gap between what you're paying and what you could be paying might be worth $5,000 to $15,000 a year, depending on your volume.

This is the practical guide to getting there.

What you're actually paying right now

Before you negotiate, you need to know your starting point. Here are the current commission tiers across the three major Canadian platforms as of March 2026:

Platform	Basic/Lite Tier	Mid Tier	Top Tier	Pickup
DoorDash	20% (Basic)	25% (Plus)	29% (Premier)	8-10%
Uber Eats	20% (Lite)	25% (Plus)	30% (Premium)	7%
SkipTheDishes	20-25%	25-30%	30%+	10-15%

A few things to notice. DoorDash's Basic plan at 20% looks reasonable until you realize it comes with minimal marketing support and a smaller delivery radius. Uber Eats bumped its Lite tier from 15% to 20% in March 2026, a move that hit smaller operators hardest. SkipTheDishes doesn't publish fixed tiers the same way, which actually creates more room to negotiate.

On a $35 average delivery order, the difference between 20% and 30% commission is $3.50 per order. At 20 deliveries per day, that's $70 daily or roughly $25,500 per year. That's not a rounding error. That's a full-time employee's wages at minimum wage in Ontario.

The five levers that actually move the needle

Not every negotiation tactic works for a single-location independent. The advice floating around online ("build a strong brand presence" or "negotiate as a large chain") is useless if you're running a 40-seat bistro in Winnipeg. These are the levers that work at your scale.

1. Volume commitments with a real number attached

Platforms care about order volume because their economics improve with density. More orders in one area means lower delivery cost per order for them. If you're doing 15 or more deliveries per day through a single platform, you have something to talk about.

The conversation sounds like this: "We're averaging 18 orders a day through your platform. At our current 25% rate, that's about $4,700 a month in commissions. What can you do on rate if we commit to maintaining that volume for six months?"

Don't ask for a vague "better deal." Ask for a specific percentage point reduction. Two to three points is realistic for a solid performer. Five points is aggressive but not impossible if you're a top-volume restaurant in your postal code.

2. The exclusivity play (and when to avoid it)

Every platform wants you exclusively on their app. It reduces their competition and guarantees them your full delivery volume. In exchange, some will drop your rate by 3% to 5%.

But here's the trade-off most operators don't calculate: if you're on DoorDash and Uber Eats both doing 15 orders each, going exclusive with one platform doesn't mean that platform absorbs all 30 orders. You'll likely keep 20 to 22 of those 30. The rest were customers loyal to the other app, not to your restaurant.

Run the math before you commit. On paper, a 5% rate reduction on 22 orders might net you less than a 0% reduction on 30 orders across two platforms.

Exclusivity works best when one platform clearly dominates your market. In Saskatoon or Regina, that's often SkipTheDishes. In downtown Toronto or Vancouver, you'll have more balanced demand across DoorDash and Uber Eats, making exclusivity a harder sell.

3. Pickup-only or self-delivery tiers

This is the most underused lever for independents. Every platform charges significantly less for pickup orders because they don't have to pay a driver.

Platform	Delivery Commission	Pickup Commission	Savings per $35 Order
DoorDash (Basic)	20%	10%	$3.50
Uber Eats (Lite)	20%	7%	$4.55
SkipTheDishes	~25%	~10-15%	$3.50-$5.25

If you can push even 30% of your delivery orders to pickup, you immediately improve your blended commission rate without negotiating a single contract term. Some restaurants do this with a small pickup discount on the app, a loyalty perk, or simply by setting a faster pickup time than delivery time.

Self-delivery is another option. DoorDash's "self-delivery" plan and Uber Eats' "Webshop" option let you use the platform for orders but handle delivery yourself. DoorDash charges roughly 15% for this, and Uber Eats charges as low as 2.9% for its Webshop product in Canada. If you already have a driver or can deploy staff during off-peak hours, this changes the math entirely.

4. Playing platforms against each other

This works better than most operators realize, especially in competitive markets. When DoorDash's sales rep emails you about upgrading to their Plus plan, mention that Uber Eats offered you a promotional rate. When SkipTheDishes reaches out for a renewal, tell them what DoorDash quoted you.

You're not lying. You're doing what every vendor in every industry expects: testing the market.

The best time to negotiate is during platform "onboarding pushes," which typically happen in January, after summer, and before the holiday season. Reps have targets. Toward the end of a quarter, those targets create leverage for you.

One more thing: if a platform contacts you first, you're in a stronger position than if you're reaching out to them. If they're courting you, they've already decided you're valuable enough to pursue.

5. Provincial fee caps as your negotiating floor

Two Canadian provinces have legislated delivery commission caps, and knowing these gives you a floor in negotiations regardless of where you operate.

British Columbia has a permanent cap of 20% on total delivery fees (15% on food + 5% on additional services). This is Canadian law, not a temporary pandemic measure. It applies to all delivery platforms operating in BC.

Nova Scotia capped commissions at 15% for delivery orders and 10% for pickup orders. While the permanence of this cap has been debated, it was enforced during and beyond the pandemic period.

Quebec passed Loi 87 during the pandemic, capping fees at 20% (15% delivery + 5% technology), but the law expired when the health emergency ended. Quebec hasn't passed permanent legislation yet, though advocacy groups continue pushing for it.

Even if you're in Alberta or Ontario where no caps exist, these provincial numbers give you a benchmark. When your DoorDash rep tells you 25% is their "standard rate," you can point out that restaurants in BC are legally guaranteed 20% or less. The standard isn't as standard as they'd like you to believe.

The conversation your account manager doesn't want you to have

Here's a script that's worked for independent operators:

"I've been on your platform for [X months]. I'm averaging [Y orders per day] and my ratings are [Z stars]. I'd like to talk about my commission rate. I've been looking at what other platforms are offering, and I want to make sure we're in the right range. Can we do a rate review?"

Three rules for this conversation. First, have your numbers ready. Log into your merchant dashboard and know your monthly order count, average order value, completion rate, and rating. These are the metrics they care about. Second, be willing to walk. If you're on three platforms and one won't budge, reducing your effort on that platform (slower menu updates, fewer promotions) is a legitimate response. Third, ask for a trial period. "Can we try 22% for three months and see if my volume holds?" is easier for a rep to approve than a permanent rate cut.

What a realistic outcome looks like

Let's be honest about what you can expect. A single-location independent doing 15 to 25 delivery orders per day can typically negotiate 2 to 3 percentage points off their commission rate. A busy location doing 40 or more orders per day might get 3 to 5 points.

Here's what that looks like on paper:

Daily Orders	Avg Order Value	Current Rate	Negotiated Rate	Annual Savings
15	$35	25%	22%	$5,748
25	$35	25%	22%	$9,581
40	$40	25%	22%	$17,520

Those numbers assume 365 days of operation. Adjust for your actual operating days, but the point stands: even a modest rate reduction compounds into real money over a year.

When negotiation isn't enough

Sometimes the honest answer is that negotiation gets you from "terrible" to "slightly less terrible." If your food cost is 32%, your labour is 30%, and your delivery commission is 25%, that's 87 cents of every dollar spoken for before rent, utilities, insurance, or your own salary.

At that point, the conversation isn't about shaving 2% off your commission. It's about whether delivery makes sense for your restaurant at all, or whether your delivery menu needs a complete rethink: higher-margin items only, larger minimum orders, bundle pricing that pushes your average order above $45.

We've written about the real math on delivery commissions and whether delivery is making your restaurant less profitable. Both are worth reading alongside this piece.

The hybrid approach works for most independents: keep platforms for customer discovery, build a direct ordering channel for repeat customers, and negotiate the best possible rate on what goes through the apps. That's not a compromise. It's the strategy that matches how delivery actually works for a restaurant your size.

Sources: DoorDash Canada Merchant Pricing, Uber Eats Canada Pricing, BC Food Delivery Service Fee Act, Restaurants Canada.

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