How Much Commission Does Deliveroo Actually Take from UK Restaurants?
If you run a UK restaurant on Deliveroo, you already know the headline commission rate. What you probably do not know is exactly how much of each order you actually keep after commissions, service fees, VAT on those commissions, marketing deductions, and refund clawbacks.
This guide breaks down every fee Deliveroo charges UK restaurants, with worked examples showing your real take-home on a typical order.
Deliveroo's commission structure for UK restaurants
Deliveroo charges UK restaurants a commission on each order, typically between 15% and 35% of the order value (excluding delivery charges paid by the customer). The exact rate depends on your agreement, your location, your order volume, and whether you have opted into promotional programmes.
Most independent restaurants pay between 25% and 30% on standard orders. Here is what that looks like on a real order:
Example: a £40 order at 25% commission| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Order value (food items) | £40.00 |
| Deliveroo commission (25%) | -£10.00 |
| VAT on commission (20% of £10) | -£2.00 |
| Your gross take-home | £28.00 |
The fees beyond the headline commission
The commission percentage is not the only deduction. Deliveroo applies several additional fees that reduce your take-home further:
Service fees
Deliveroo charges a payment processing fee on each order. This is typically around 2.5% but varies by agreement. On a £40 order, that is an additional £1.00 deduction.
Marketing and promotion opt-ins
If you have opted into Deliveroo's marketing programmes (Marketer Plus, promoted listings), those costs are deducted from your payouts. These can range from a few pounds per day to significant sums depending on your promotional activity.
Refund clawbacks
When a customer claims a refund -- for missing items, quality issues, or late delivery -- Deliveroo deducts the refund amount from your next payout. The restaurant bears the cost even when the issue was caused by the delivery rider.
Restaurants across the UK estimate that roughly one in three refund claims are unjustified. A missing item that your POS records show was packed and confirmed. A quality complaint on a sealed container. A duplicate claim for the same order. These add up: a restaurant doing 300 orders per week on Deliveroo might see 5-10 refunds, of which 2-3 are questionable.
Tablet rental
If you use a Deliveroo-supplied tablet rather than integrating through your own POS system, there is a weekly rental fee (typically £5-7 per week).
Your real take-home: a worked example
Here is the full picture on a typical week for a UK restaurant doing £4,000 in Deliveroo orders:
| Fee type | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gross order value | — | £4,000.00 |
| Commission (25%) | 25% | -£1,000.00 |
| VAT on commission | 20% of commission | -£200.00 |
| Payment processing | ~2.5% | -£100.00 |
| Refunds (7 orders avg £15) | — | -£105.00 |
| Tablet rental | £6/week | -£6.00 |
| Net payout | — | £2,589.00 |
| Effective deduction rate | — | 35.3% |
VAT on commissions: the detail most restaurants get wrong
Deliveroo's commission is a service, and services in the UK are subject to VAT at the standard 20% rate. This means:
- On a £10 commission, Deliveroo charges you £12 (£10 + £2 VAT)
- The £2 VAT is input tax -- you can reclaim it on your VAT return if you are VAT-registered
- But you need to account for it separately in your books
This is technical enough that many generalist accountants get it wrong. The result is either overclaiming (HMRC risk) or underclaiming (you lose money).
How Deliveroo pays you
Deliveroo pays UK restaurants on a weekly cycle. The payout arrives as a single net lump sum -- not broken down by order. This is the fundamental reconciliation challenge: you receive one payment that represents hundreds of individual orders, each with different commission rates, refund deductions, and promotional costs.
To verify the payout is correct, you need to:
- Download the payout report from Deliveroo Partner Hub
- Match individual orders against your POS records
- Verify the commission rate applied to each order
- Check refund deductions against actual complaints
- Calculate VAT on commissions correctly
- Enter the categorised journal entries into your accounting software
HMRC is watching: Digital Platform Reporting Rules
Since January 2024, Deliveroo (along with Uber Eats and Just Eat) is required to report your revenue directly to HMRC under the Digital Platform Reporting Rules. HMRC now has order-level data on your sales.
If your accounting records show a lump-sum entry that does not match what HMRC has received from the platform, that is a red flag. According to HMRC's published enforcement data, over 4,000 traders have been flagged for discrepancies, with penalties totalling millions of pounds.
Accurate reconciliation is no longer optional -- it is a compliance requirement.
What you can do about commission costs
You cannot avoid commission fees if you want to be on Deliveroo. But you can:
- Reconcile weekly -- catch errors early, before they compound over months
- Track your effective rate -- know your actual deduction rate, not just the headline
- Challenge unjustified refunds -- check every refund against your POS records within the platform's dispute window
- Review your commission agreement annually -- if your order volume has increased, you may have leverage to negotiate
- Account for VAT correctly -- ensure your accountant understands mixed-rate VAT treatment on delivery commissions
Calculate your actual take-home
Use our free commission calculator to see exactly how much you keep from each delivery platform -- after all fees, commissions, and VAT.
Enter your weekly order values and see the real numbers for Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat side by side.
This guide covers Deliveroo commission structures for UK restaurants as of March 2026. Commission rates are subject to change -- check your Deliveroo Partner Hub agreement for your specific rate. This is not financial or tax advice. For VAT treatment queries, consult a qualified accountant.