Pricing and margins

Delivery app commission: how to price your Grab and foodpanda menu

Desk Axes · September 28, 2026 · 5 min read

A burger and fries on a wooden restaurant table

Delivery app commission is set in each restaurant’s contract, and neither GrabFood nor foodpanda publishes a rate for the Philippines. Third-party estimates put it at roughly 20% to 33% of each order. To keep the same peso profit you make on a dine-in sale, price the item at your dine-in price plus packaging, divided by one minus the commission. At 25%, a ₱150 item with ₱10 of packaging should sell for about ₱215 on the app.

What the apps charge

Grab calls it a service fee, charged at the rate in your e-commerce service agreement. foodpanda says it has several commission packages, that the rate is shown when you sign up, and that it varies by location and by restaurant size. What the commission pays for, in Grab’s own explanation for Thailand, is mostly rider pay, plus rider insurance, card processing, operations and customer service.

The figures you’ll see online come from third parties: one 2026 guide puts GrabFood at about 22% to 33% and foodpanda at 20% to 32% depending on the package. It is written by a company that sells direct ordering, so treat it as a rough range and use the rate in your own contract. Ask as well whether that rate includes VAT.

One new name: ShopeeFood soft-launched inside the Shopee app on 16 September 2026, for selected users in Metro Manila. Its merchant rates aren’t published.

Can you charge more on the app?

Yes, as far as the platforms’ own terms go. foodpanda’s terms say prices on the platform may differ from prices at the outlet, and Grab’s say prices are set by the restaurant. What you must do is show the price clearly: the Consumer Act requires prices to be displayed, and DTI applies that to online selling. Many restaurants keep a separate delivery price list for exactly this reason.

The price that keeps your profit

On a dine-in sale you keep the price minus the food cost. On the app, the commission comes off the price first, and you also pay for the packaging. Setting the two equal gives:

App price = (dine-in price + packaging) ÷ (1 − commission)

The food cost cancels out, so you don’t need it to find the price, only to see your profit. Here is what that looks like for a ₱150 item with ₱10 packaging as the commission rises:

App price that keeps your dine-in profit, ₱150 item

With ₱10 of packaging per order. The gap between the lines is what the app has to add.

App price needed
Dine-in price

Worked example.

Now try it with an item from your own menu:

Price one item for delivery

Enter one item from your menu. The calculator finds the app price that leaves you the same peso profit as a dine-in sale.

Dine-in menu price₱Food cost of the item₱Ingredients only.Packaging per order₱Container, bag, cutlery, sticker.Commission%Use the rate in your contract. Neither Grab nor foodpanda publishes one.Promos you help pay for%Your share of app discounts, as a % of price.

Price it on the app at₱215

Profit per order at that price₱101.25

Dine-in: price less food cost₱100.00

Same price on the app: you receive₱112.50

…less food and packaging, you keep₱52.50

Price that keeps your dine-in profit₱213.33 → ₱215

Commission is taken on the price the guest pays in the app. Withholding tax on platform payouts (1% on half the gross) is credited against your income tax, so it is left out here. Ask your platform whether its commission rate includes VAT.

Other costs to count

Promos you help pay for. App discounts are often shared between the platform and the restaurant. Add your share to the commission in the calculator.
Withholding tax. Since 2024, platforms withhold 1% on half of what they remit to you (BIR RR 16-2023). It is a credit against your income tax, not an extra cost. If your total platform sales are ₱500,000 a year or less, you can file a sworn declaration and not be withheld.
Senior and PWD orders. The 20% discount and VAT exemption apply to online orders too. The customer declares it and uploads their ID before ordering, and shows the original card on delivery (BIR RMC 71-2022). For how the discount itself is worked out, see our senior citizen discount computation guide.

Take some orders yourself

Delivery apps bring guests you wouldn’t reach alone, and the commission pays for the rider. But pickup and dine-in orders don’t need either. A code at your counter lets regulars order ahead and collect with no commission at all. Desk Axes does that, never takes a cut of your sales, and the first month is free. See the plans.

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 28 Sep 2026. Rates and terms change and differ by contract; use your own. This is general information, not tax advice.