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Low-commission online ordering for Irish restaurants
Mosey · 23 September 2026 · 5 min read

Commission is the one number on an ordering platform that decides whether an online order makes you money. It is also the one most often quoted in a way that is hard to compare.
This page is about comparing it honestly.
Turn every rate into euro
Percentages hide things. Convert everything to what you keep on a typical order, including every fee.
Take a €30 order:
| Commission | Mosey's share or the platform's | You keep, before card fees |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | €9.00 | €21.00 |
| 25% | €7.50 | €22.50 |
| 15% | €4.50 | €25.50 |
| 6% | €1.80 | €28.20 |
| 1.5% | €0.45 | €29.55 |
On a hundred orders a week, the gap between 25% and 1.5% is €705 a week on the same food, cooked by the same people.
The four places a fee hides
When you compare two platforms, check each of these:
- Commission: the headline percentage
- A per-order fee charged to you on top of the commission
- A monthly subscription, charged whether or not anybody orders
- Card processing, which some providers mark up and some pass through at cost
Also check who pays the customer-facing fee. Some platforms add a service fee to the customer's bill; some take it from you. Both are legitimate, but they are not the same deal.
Why marketplace commission is high
It is worth being fair: the large delivery marketplaces are not charging 20-30% for nothing. That commission typically pays for the delivery rider, for being shown to people who have never heard of you, and for a very large marketing budget.
So the honest comparison is not "marketplace bad, direct good". It is:
- A marketplace is a way of being found by new customers, at a high price per order
- Direct ordering is a way of keeping the customers you already have, at a low price per order
Most venues do best with both, and the mistake is letting the expensive one become the only one.
What a low-commission set-up looks like
For most Irish cafés and restaurants, a sensible set-up is:
- Collection ordering on a low-commission direct system, promoted to your existing customers
- Delivery, if you offer it, on the cheapest route you can do well: your own drivers, a shared pool, or a marketplace used deliberately for reach
- Loyalty on the direct route, so ordering direct is visibly the better deal for the customer
- A card in every marketplace bag telling people how to order direct next time
Mosey's online ordering commission rates
We are one of the direct options, so here are ours in full.
- Collection (Order Ahead): 1.5% of the order
- Delivery: 6% of the order
- No monthly fee on either
- No markup on Stripe's card fee, which is passed through at cost
- 23% VAT on Mosey's commission, reclaimable if you are VAT-registered
The customer pays a booking fee that scales with the order: €0.30 under €10, €0.60 under €30, €0.90 under €50, and €1.29 at €50 or more, inclusive of VAT.
Delivery on Mosey is done by your own drivers, drivers shared with nearby venues, or a contractor. Mosey does not run a rider fleet, which is a large part of why the rate is 6% rather than 25%.
A monthly fee versus commission
Some direct ordering providers charge a flat monthly fee instead of commission. That can be cheaper for a busy venue: at a thousand orders a month, a flat fee may beat any percentage.
For a small or seasonal venue, it usually is not. A subscription is a fixed cost in January as well as in July, and it is charged in the month you took no orders at all. Work it out on your own order volume, in your quietest month, not your busiest.
What does online ordering commission cost a café?
Take a café doing 60 online orders a week at an average of €18, all collection.
- On a 25% marketplace: €270 a week in commission, or roughly €14,000 a year.
- On Mosey at 1.5%: €16.20 a week, or a little over €840 a year, plus Stripe's card fee at cost.
Neither figure includes the customer-facing fee, which the customer pays in both cases. The difference (over €13,000 a year on the same coffee and the same sandwiches) is the whole case for moving regulars to a direct route, and it is why the venues that do it well talk about it at the counter rather than hoping people find it.
The marketplace may still be worth keeping for the customers it finds who would never have found you. The mistake is paying marketplace commission on customers who were already yours.
Getting customers to order direct
A low commission is only worth something if people use it. What works:
- Tell them in person. A card in the bag, a line on the receipt, a sign at the counter.
- Give them a reason. A loyalty reward that only direct orders earn is the most effective one.
- Make it easy. A link in your Instagram bio and on your Google listing, and no app to download.
- Do not hide it. Venues that are embarrassed to mention a cheaper route rarely get anybody to use it.
Related guides on online ordering commission
Questions
Common questions
What is a normal commission on food delivery apps in Ireland?
On the large delivery marketplaces it is commonly reported at 20-30% of the order, sometimes higher with paid placement. Collection-only and direct ordering systems are usually far lower.
What does Mosey charge?
1.5% on collection orders and 6% on delivery, with no monthly fee. The customer pays a booking fee that scales with the order, from €0.30 to €1.29.
Is a monthly fee better than commission?
For a busy venue a flat fee can work out cheaper; for a small or seasonal one it usually does not, because it is charged in your quietest month too. Compare both on your real order volume.
Are card fees included in the commission?
Ask, because it varies. On Mosey, Stripe’s card fee is passed through at cost and is separate from the commission; it is not marked up.
Is VAT charged on the commission?
Yes, 23% VAT applies to Mosey’s commission, and it is reclaimable if you are VAT-registered. Check whether other providers quote their rates with or without VAT.
Should I raise menu prices on delivery apps?
Many venues do, to cover commission. The risk is that regulars notice the difference, so it works best alongside a cheaper direct route you can point them to.
How do I move customers from a marketplace to direct ordering?
Tell them, in the bag. A card with a link to order direct, and a reason to do it (a loyalty reward, a slightly better price) is the most reliable route.
Does low commission mean fewer customers?
Not necessarily. A marketplace brings new customers; a direct system keeps the ones you have. Most venues do best using the first to find people and the second to keep them.
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