What UberEats actually costs a small restaurant
UberEats earns its money by taking a percentage of every order that comes through its platform. The exact rate depends on the plan you chose and the terms in your own agreement, so we won't quote a number here. Pull up your last statement and compare what the customer paid, what you received, and what sat in between.
The percentage isn't the only cost. A marketplace listing has a few other properties worth weighing:
- The customer belongs to the platform. You usually get an order, not a relationship. Repeat business can end up routed through their app, with their recommendations sitting beside your listing.
- Pricing pressure. Many owners raise menu prices on the app to absorb the commission, which means the same dish costs more there than at your counter.
- Rules you don't set. Menu layout, photos, promotions and payout timing follow the platform's terms.
None of this makes marketplaces useless. They put your restaurant in front of people searching for dinner, and that has real value. The question is whether every order should pay that toll, including the ones from customers who were already planning to order from you.
What Shopolo's online ordering does instead
Shopolo's online ordering gives your restaurant its own ordering page at shopolo.app/your-slug. Customers browse your menu, place an order and pay by card. The order comes to you directly.
The money flow is the important part. Payment runs through your own Stripe account. There's no marketplace in the middle holding funds and no per-order commission. Shopolo takes a flat 1.9% platform fee from your Stripe payout on card payments. Customers never see a markup, and it's never a monthly charge.
Three things are worth being exact about:
- Core ordering is free. There's no subscription for ordering, booking, gift cards and the other core features.
- You need an active Stripe account before money can move. Signing up doesn't require one, but you can't take paid orders without it. Stripe's own standard processing charges apply to your Stripe account, as they would with any Stripe setup.
- Plus and Premium are optional. They unlock retention features such as loyalty and email campaigns. They don't change the fee. See pricing for the details.
What you keep control of
A direct page isn't only cheaper per order. It changes who holds the controls.
Your menu. You change an item, a price or a description and it's live on your own page. Sold out of something at 7pm? Take it off yourself without filing a request.
Your prices. Because there's no commission baked into your page's costs, you don't need to inflate the menu to compensate. A customer who orders directly sees the same prices they'd see in your window.
Your customer data. Every direct order adds a person to your customer records. You know who ordered, what they ordered and how often they return. That's the raw material for everything else: a thank-you, a "we're open late Friday" email, a reward for the tenth visit.
That last point is where a direct page compounds. With loyalty stamps, a regular's tenth coffee or tenth lunch order earns them something, and the card lives in the browser rather than a separate app. Loyalty is one of the optional Plus/Premium features, so it's a decision you can make later, once orders are flowing.
What a direct ordering page needs to actually work
Launching a page is the easy half. A page that takes real orders on a busy Friday needs a few things to be right.
A menu structured for ordering, not for reading. A printed menu can be dense and clever. An ordering menu should be scannable on a phone with one thumb. That means:
- Short category names ("Breakfast", "Sandwiches", "Drinks") rather than long ones.
- One clear price per item, with size or add-on choices handled as options, not separate near-duplicate items.
- Descriptions that answer the question people actually ask: what's in it, and is it spicy or vegetarian?
- Only items you can reliably make. An order you can't fulfil is worse than a missing menu entry.
A plan for who sees orders and how fast. Online orders are only as good as your kitchen's response time. Decide who is watching for new orders during service, where that device sits, and what happens when it's quiet and someone steps away. Test this yourself by placing a real order from your phone before you tell anyone the link exists.
A payment flow that matches your Stripe setup. Connect your Stripe account first, place a small test order, and confirm it shows up on your side. Do this before launch, not during your first rush.
Clear pickup expectations. Say plainly on the page how long orders typically take. Customers are far more forgiving of "ready in about 20 minutes" than of silence.
Tip: Place three test orders at different times of day before launch: one simple, one with modifiers, one for a later pickup. Watching how each one lands on your side is the fastest way to find gaps in your menu setup.
If you're not ready for full ordering, a QR code menu is a lighter first step. Customers scan a code at the table and see your current menu with nothing to install.
Running your own ordering alongside delivery apps
Dropping UberEats overnight is rarely the right call, and nobody has to. The delivery apps do two jobs: discovery, where new people find you, and logistics, where drivers get food to customers. A direct page does neither of those on its own.
What it does well is capture the customers who already know you. A practical split looks like this:
- Keep the marketplace for discovery and for delivery, if you rely on its drivers.
- Put your direct link everywhere you control: your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, website, receipts, packaging and counter signage.
- Nudge regulars to the direct link. A small card in the bag works: "Order direct next time at shopolo.app/your-slug."
Over time, each order that moves from the app to your link keeps more of the sale. You don't need a dramatic cutover, just a gradual shift for the customers who would have ordered from you anyway.
One honest limit: a direct page isn't a courier network. If most of your volume is delivery to people who found you through the app, that listing is doing real work and you should keep it.
Getting set up
Shopolo is self-serve. You sign up, build your menu, connect your Stripe account and share your link. There's no project quote, because there's no project: the core features are free, and the fee is the flat 1.9% on card payments described above.
Realistically, the time-consuming part is your menu, not the software. Photos, descriptions, option groups and getting prices right take longer than clicking through setup. Block out an afternoon, not a week, and do your test orders before you announce anything.
If you want to see the whole picture first, read through the online ordering page and the pricing page, then decide whether a direct link fits next to the apps you already use. For most restaurants, it's an addition, not a replacement.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a direct ordering page and UberEats at the same time?
Yes. Most restaurants keep their marketplace listing for discovery and delivery and add a direct link for customers who already know them. Put the direct link on your Google profile, social bios, receipts and in-store signage. Marketplace customers can stay where they are.
Does Shopolo charge a monthly fee for online ordering?
No. Online ordering is part of the free core, with no subscription required. Shopolo takes a flat 1.9% platform fee from your own Stripe payout on card payments. Customers don't pay a markup, and the fee is never a monthly charge.
Do I need a Stripe account to take orders?
You can sign up without one, but an active Stripe account is required before money can move. Payments go through your own Stripe account, which is how orders pay out to you directly.
Does a direct ordering page bring me new customers like UberEats does?
Not by itself. A marketplace sends you strangers; a direct page converts people who already know you, such as regulars, people who find you on Google, and anyone you point to the link. That's why many restaurants run both.
Does Shopolo provide delivery drivers?
No. Shopolo handles the ordering page, payment and customer records. It is not a courier network, so if you rely on a marketplace for drivers, keeping that listing for delivery is a reasonable setup.