How to pay delivery apps less without leaving them

Published by Qaema. General guidance, not legal advice. Commission and ad terms differ by app and contract, so check yours.

The short answer

Most restaurants pay delivery apps in three ways:

1. Commission on every order. Public figures range from about 12% to 30% (Menuviel, Rank Rush).
2. Paid visibility: promoted listings, banners and top-of-search slots (Miracuves).
3. Promotions such as discounts or free-delivery campaigns, where part of the cost can fall on you, depending on the campaign terms.

You don't need to leave the apps. Most of the extra cost comes from paying all three for guests who already know you. Keep the apps for people who don't know you yet, and give everyone else a direct way to order.

Who are you actually paying for?

Only the first guest is worth paying for visibility. The others already chose you. When they open the app and search, though, they see your competitors' paid slots first, and sometimes they order from one of them.

1. Send your own audience to your app page, not to the search box

When you say "find us on HungerStation", guests open the app and search, and paid placement decides what they see. Instead, share the direct link to your restaurant's page in each app:

• in your Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok bios;
• on your Google Maps profile;
• on your printed menu and receipts;
• in your WhatsApp status.

They land on your page straight away, with no ranking or competitors' banners in between. You still pay the commission, but you skip the competition for attention and the need to buy it.

2. One menu page with every app on it

Many guests have a favourite app. One uses Jahez, another HungerStation, another Keeta. A single menu page that lists all of your apps lets each guest tap the one they already use. They read your full menu, prices and photos first, then choose how to order.

On a Qaema menu, the delivery list holds up to eight apps: HungerStation, Jahez, Keeta, ToYou, Marsool or your own link. The list is hidden automatically when a guest scans a table code, so dine-in guests aren't pushed to delivery. It's your page, so nobody else can buy a spot on it.

3. Make pickup the easy choice

Pickup is where you keep the most of each order. A guest who lives five minutes away will often collect the order if it's easy to place:

• A pickup button on your menu with your prep time and pickup hours.
• The order arrives in writing, in a WhatsApp message or straight into your orders screen, so nobody has to take dictation over the phone.
• The guest pays at the counter, so there's no commission on the order.

With Qaema's pickup orders, guests choose items, leave a name and number, and get a status page. You see the order on your phone, accept it, then mark it ready.

A small, honest incentive works better than a large discount. Try "free extra sauce for pickup" or "ready in 15 minutes, no delivery wait".

4. Be found without buying the top spot

The cheapest visibility is the kind that doesn't come from inside the delivery app.

• Google Maps. Keep your hours, photos and menu link up to date. "Restaurants near me" sends people to Maps, not to an app's search box.
• Google search. A menu page that search engines can index brings searches like "breakfast in Al Malqa" to your own page. In Qaema, switch on "Show my menu in Google search" in your links settings.
• Qaema Find. Published Qaema menus can appear in Qaema's own guide, where people browse menus by city, dish and dietary needs. There are no paid positions.
• AI assistants. More guests ask ChatGPT or Claude where to eat. A published Qaema menu can be read by a guest's AI assistant, so the answer can include your real dishes and prices.

5. Be careful with "free delivery" and discount campaigns

Promotions can bring a burst of new guests. Before you join one, check two things in the campaign terms:

• Who pays for the discount or the delivery fee, you, the app or both.
• Whether the commission is worked out before or after the discount.

Then do the sums for one order at your average basket. For example, a 50-riyal order at 20% commission leaves you 40 riyals. If you also fund a 10-riyal promotion, you're left with 30 riyals before food cost.

Use campaigns to bring in new guests. Then turn those new guests into regulars through pickup and your own page, so you don't pay for the same guest twice.

6. Turn delivery guests into direct guests, fairly

• Guests who come in person (dine-in, pickup, walk-ins) are yours to market to. Put a QR code on the table and at the counter, with "save our menu for next time".
• Delivery-app guests: check your contract before adding inserts to delivery bags. Some partners restrict marketing that steers their customers off the app. When in doubt, put your Instagram on the packaging and let guests find your menu link there.
• Returning guests can install your menu. Guests who come back to your pickup or delivery menu are offered "add to home screen", so your menu sits on their phone next to the apps.

What a healthy mix looks like

There's no perfect ratio, but watch one number each month: what share of app orders came from guests who already knew you? If it's high, move them to pickup and your app page. If new-guest orders are low, that's when paid placement inside the app may be worth testing.

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Pickup orders and the delivery list are part of Qaema Pro: SAR 19 a month, billed yearly. Qaema Find, Google indexing and AI-assistant access work on every published menu. See pricing, or read how to run a restaurant with a tiny team.

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