The short answer
Just Eat is worth it on orders from new customers, as long as you make more on the order than the commission. It is poor value on orders from your regulars, who could order from you direct with no commission.
So the real question is how many of your Just Eat orders come from people who would never have found you otherwise.
Number 1: what Just Eat takes
When we checked Just Eat’s partner page ↗ on 31 October 2026, it listed 14% plus VAT on orders you deliver yourself and 30% plus VAT when Just Eat delivers. On a £20 order, that is £3.36 or £7.20. Your own agreement is what counts, so check your statements.
Number 2: what you make on an order
Take a normal £20 order. Take away what the food, packaging and staff cost you, and your driver if you deliver. What is left is what you make. Only you know this number.
Example: you make £5 on a £20 order. With your own drivers, Just Eat takes £3.36 of it, leaving you £1.64.
Orders Just Eat delivers cost more, because delivery is included. Compare the £7.20 with what your own driver costs you per order.
Number 3: how many app customers are new
A regular who orders through the app would probably order direct if you asked them to. On those orders, you pay commission for a customer you already had. A new customer who found you on the app is different: without Just Eat, you would not have that order at all.
To estimate your share, look at last month’s app orders and count the names and addresses you already know.
Put the three numbers together
Using the example numbers:
- An app order from a new customer leaves you £1.64 you would not otherwise have had.
- An app order from a regular costs you £3.36 in commission you didn’t need to pay, because they would have ordered direct.
So it takes about two new-customer orders to make up for each regular’s order.
The test: Just Eat only pays for itself if about two in every three of your app orders come from new customers.
This is a rough test with example numbers. It leaves out card fees and any other charges on your statement, so use your own figures.
Keep Just Eat, and move your regulars
You don’t have to choose all or nothing. Keep the app for finding new customers, then ask every app customer to order direct next time:
- a card in every bag with your own web address or QR code;
- your own ordering link on your Google profile;
- the same link on your window, menus and social pages.
A new customer then costs you commission once, not on every order. Check your Just Eat agreement for any rules about this first.
Our guide on how to leave Just Eat without losing your regulars shows how, and the Just Eat fees guide lists the other charges to check. To see how other ways of taking orders compare, visit our comparison page.
Just Eat is a trademark of its owner. tastie. is not affiliated with or endorsed by Just Eat.
