Cost & Pricing
Just Eat vs Your Own App: The 2026 Comparison for UK Restaurants
Just Eat sits in an awkward middle ground. Its 14% to 16% marketplace commission looks cheap next to Deliveroo at 35%, and it is the default for huge swathes of UK takeaways. But the comparison most owners do not run is Just Eat versus their own app. This article runs that comparison properly, with order-volume break-even points and the customer-ownership picture that pure cost ignores.
What Just Eat charges in 2026
Just Eat operates two tiers. Marketplace (you handle delivery using your own drivers, or collection) is 14% commission plus payment processing at around 2.9% + 25p per order. Full service (Just Eat couriers) lands around 23% all-in, payment included. Most independent UK takeaways are on marketplace.
| Tier | Who delivers | Commission | Card processing | Total per order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | Your driver / collection | 14% to 16% | ~2.9% + 25p | 17% to 19% |
| Full service | Just Eat courier | ~23% | Bundled | ~23% |
| Your own app | Your driver / collection | 0% | ~1.5% + 20p (Stripe) | ~1.5% + 30p |
Side by side: a £20 order
On a £20 marketplace order on Just Eat: Just Eat takes £3.20 (16%), Stripe-equivalent processing takes around £0.83. You receive £15.97. On your own app: Stripe takes £0.50, Aexir takes 10p. You receive £19.40.
| Channel | Restaurant receives per £20 order | Lost vs own app |
|---|---|---|
| Just Eat marketplace (16%) | £15.97 | £3.43 less |
| Just Eat full service (23%) | £15.40 | £4.00 less |
| Deliveroo (30%) | £14.00 | £5.40 less |
| Uber Eats (30%) | £14.00 | £5.40 less |
| Your own Aexir app | £19.40 | baseline |
The break-even calculation
Aexir costs £31 per month subscription plus 10p per order plus standard Stripe processing. The fixed cost is the subscription. Just Eat has no subscription, only the percentage. So at what order volume does your own app pay for itself?
On a £15 average order, Just Eat marketplace at 16% costs you roughly £2.40 per order more than your own app (1.5% Stripe + 10p Aexir vs 16% Just Eat). The £31 monthly Aexir subscription is offset by 13 orders per month. Annualized that is 156 orders a year, or less than half an order per day.
Plain English: if your restaurant takes more than one Just Eat order every other day, your own app already saves you money even before counting customer ownership.
What Just Eat gives you that your own app does not
- Customer discovery. Just Eat is the default search engine for UK takeaway. Customers who do not know your name use it to find food in their postcode.
- Marketing reach. Promoted listings, search-result boosts, push notifications about offers. Your own app needs you to do this work; Just Eat does it for you.
- Familiar interface. Customers do not have to download a new app or trust a brand they have never heard of. The trust transfers from the Just Eat brand to you.
What your own app gives you that Just Eat does not
- Customer data. Every order, every loyalty stamp, every contactable address. You can text a customer who has not ordered in two weeks. You cannot do that on Just Eat.
- Brand equity. The app on the customer phone says your name, not Just Eat. That changes how customers think of their order.
- Pricing control. You set the delivery fee, the minimum order, the loyalty rewards. No platform algorithm changes your margins overnight.
- No competitive pressure. On Just Eat, your customer can switch to the takeaway next door with one tap. On your app, the only menu is yours.
The hybrid strategy most restaurants land on
The right answer for most UK takeaways is not Just Eat or own app. It is both, with the balance tilted toward your own app over time. Use Just Eat as a customer acquisition channel: pay the commission on new-customer orders as the price of bringing them in the door. Then convert them to your own app for repeat orders using loyalty, faster service, and a small price difference.
- Month 0: Stay on Just Eat. Launch your own app. Do not change anything else.
- Month 1 to 2: Push the app to existing customers (receipt inserts, sticker on Just Eat orders, QR code on the wall). Aim for 30% own-app share.
- Month 3 to 6: Reach 60% own-app share. New customers from Just Eat get a leaflet in their order pointing them at the app for next time.
- Year 1 onwards: Most successful restaurants run 70% to 85% own-app share, with Just Eat as paid acquisition for genuinely new customers only.
Move your repeat orders off Just Eat without losing the new-customer flow.
Aexir builds your own branded ordering app in 30 days. £399 setup, £31/month, zero commission.
Get pricing for your restaurantCommon questions answered.
Yes, Just Eat marketplace at 14% to 16% is materially cheaper than Deliveroo and Uber Eats at 30% to 35%. But it is still significantly more expensive than running your own app at roughly 1.5% + 30p per order. Just Eat full service at around 23% sits between the two.
Yes, and most UK restaurants should. The smart strategy is to keep Just Eat for new-customer discovery and run your own app for repeat orders. Customers who already know your name get the cheaper, faster experience on your own app, while you keep paying Just Eat only for genuinely new orders.
On a £15 average order against Just Eat marketplace at 16%, your own app via Aexir saves you money from roughly 1 order every 2 days onward. The subscription is £31 per month; the saving per order is around £2.40. Break-even is roughly 13 orders per month.
A meaningful portion, yes. Most Aexir restaurants see 30% to 50% of regulars install the branded app within 60 days of launch. The conversion happens because the app is faster (no list of 200 competitors to scroll past), the customer gets loyalty rewards, and there is usually a small in-app discount.
No. Just Eat does not contractually prevent you running your own ordering channel. They will not promote you to new customers based on your loyalty to the platform, but they cannot stop you. Many of the largest UK takeaway brands run heavy own-app strategies alongside Just Eat.
Build your own restaurant app.
Aexir launches branded ordering apps for UK restaurants in under 30 days. Zero commission. From £1/day.