Grubhub plans to remove delivery and service fees on restaurant orders over $50 starting Feb. 2; Grubhub's US market share fell to ~4% in 2025 from 10% in 2023
Grubhub is removing delivery and service fees on all restaurant orders above $50, the latest move by the newly private food-delivery app …
Context & Ripple Effects
Grubhub's fee waiver follows a long erosion in its competitive position: DoorDash had already moved ahead of Grubhub in US sales and share in 2019, while Grubhub's reported share has since fallen from about 10% in 2023 to roughly 4% in 2025. The offer targets larger baskets, where eliminating visible fees can most directly change the checkout proposition.
The company is making the move after a workforce reduction following Wonder's takeover and a $25 million settlement over restaurant listings, consumer fees, and driver-pay allegations. That makes transparent pricing and demand recovery central operational issues, not just a promotional choice.
First-order effects
- Customers placing restaurant orders above $50 will see delivery and service fees removed beginning Feb. 2, lowering the all-in cost of qualifying orders.
- Grubhub gives up a direct fee revenue stream on those baskets in an effort to improve conversion and order value while its US share is low.
Second-order effects
- DoorDash and Uber may face pressure to defend higher-value orders with comparable membership, fee, or targeted-discount offers, especially where consumers compare final checkout totals.
- Restaurants on Grubhub could see more large-ticket order demand if the offer lifts conversion, but the platform will need to balance that volume against the economics of subsidizing fees.
Third-order effects
- The move reinforces that food-delivery competition is increasingly fought through the consumer's all-in price rather than nominal menu choice alone; sustained discounting would make scale and cross-subsidy capacity more important.
- Fee transparency remains a strategic and regulatory constraint for platforms. If operators rely more on selective fee waivers, the industry may further differentiate pricing by basket size and customer segment rather than apply uniform charges.
The trend: US food-delivery platforms are using targeted fee relief to defend demand and basket size as weaker players seek relevance against scaled rivals under scrutiny of platform take rates.