A Dubai restaurant website that takes orders directly, by WhatsApp or online checkout, lets you keep the commission a delivery app would take, in exchange for handling delivery and payment yourself. With an example 25% commission on an AED 120 order, a direct order can leave you around AED 14 better off after your own delivery cost, so a simple ordering website can pay for itself within months if your regulars switch, and never if they do not. The deciding number is how many direct orders you can realistically win, not the commission rate.
How much do delivery apps cost a Dubai restaurant?
There is no official published rate. Commission is set in each restaurant’s contract and can differ by platform, by whether the app’s riders deliver, and by the marketing package you have signed up to. Promotional fees, discount funding and payment charges can sit on top. That is why two restaurants on the same street can pay very different effective rates.
Dubai has made this easier to check. Guidelines issued by the Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade under Circular No. 2 of 2025, reported in September 2025, call for platforms to give restaurants monthly itemised statements of sales, commissions, refunds and deductions, to make advertising fees optional and clearly disclosed, and to give 30 days’ notice before changing terms.
💡 Take last month’s statement, add up every deduction and divide by gross sales. That single percentage is your true cost of an app order, and it is the only number that matters for the maths below.
What does a direct order really cost you?
Direct orders are not free. You pay for delivery, and for card payments if you take them. Here is one order worked three ways for an example restaurant, a 30-cover Levantine grill in Al Barsha whose average delivery order is AED 120. Replace every figure marked “example” with your own.
| Per AED 120 order | Through a delivery app | Direct by WhatsApp, cash or card on delivery | Direct through a website checkout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform commission | AED 30 (example 25%) | AED 0 | AED 0 |
| Payment fee | Check your contract | About AED 3 if paid by card machine (example) | About AED 3.60 (example 3% card fee) |
| Delivery cost | App rider, if included in your rate | AED 12 own rider or courier (example) | AED 12 own rider or courier (example) |
| What you keep before food costs | About AED 90 | About AED 105 | About AED 104 |
| Extra work for you | None | Taking the order in chat, dispatching | Dispatching only; order arrives complete |
Work out your own rider cost honestly. A rider on staff has salary, visa, insurance, fuel and bike costs; divide the monthly total by the deliveries they make. If you use a courier service, use its price per drop. And remember a WhatsApp order takes staff time to read, confirm and enter, which an app order does not.
How many direct orders does a website need to pay for itself?
Using the example above, each order that moves from the app to a direct channel saves roughly AED 14. Three scenarios show why the volume matters far more than the website price:
- 110 direct orders a day, about 300 a month: roughly AED 4,300 a month kept. A website with WhatsApp ordering (AED 3,499 setup plus AED 199 a month with Adyft Sites) pays back its setup within the first month. Even a full online shop (Shop Starter, AED 12,999 plus AED 449 a month) pays back in about three to four months.
- 22 direct orders a day, about 60 a month: roughly AED 860 a month kept. The WhatsApp-ordering site pays back in about five months. A full shop would take more than two and a half years, so it is not worth it yet.
- 3Almost no direct orders: no website pays for itself through commission savings alone. It may still earn its keep through table bookings, catering enquiries and being found on Google, but be honest with yourself about that.
The sensible path for most restaurants is to start with the cheaper option, a menu website with WhatsApp ordering, measure how many direct orders arrive for three months, and only then decide whether a full checkout is worth it.
Should a Dubai restaurant leave the delivery apps?
Usually not. Apps are very good at one thing a website is not: putting you in front of hungry people who have never heard of you. Think of the two channels as having different jobs. The app finds new customers. Your website and WhatsApp keep the ones who already like you, at a lower cost per order.
Encourage regulars to order direct in fair ways: a note on your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio link, a printed card handed over at the counter for dine-in and pickup customers, and a small direct-order benefit such as free delivery within a short radius. Before you put anything inside app deliveries, read your platform contract, as some restrict marketing to app customers.
What are the ways to take direct orders?
- 1WhatsApp from the menu page. Each dish or section has an order button that opens a chat with your number and a pre-filled message. It is the cheapest option and customers already know how to use it; the cost is staff time.
- 2An online ordering shop. The customer builds a basket, picks delivery or pickup, and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The order reaches you complete, with an alert on WhatsApp and email. Better at higher volumes.
- 3Phone and pickup. Still worth a clear tap-to-call button, especially for older customers and large family orders.
What should a restaurant menu page show in Dubai?
Your menu page is the page people visit most, and it is the one search engines and AI assistants read when someone asks where to eat. Make it work hard:
- 1Prices in AED that include VAT. The Federal Tax Authority has said businesses registered for VAT must display prices inclusive of tax.
- 2The menu as real text, not a PDF or a photo of the printed menu. Text loads faster, can be read by search engines and can be enlarged on a phone.
- 3Dish names in English and Arabic if your customers use both, with a short plain description of each.
- 4Dietary and allergen notes, such as vegetarian, nuts or gluten. Check the food rules that apply to your premises with your municipality.
- 5Opening hours, including Ramadan and public holiday hours, which change and are often wrong online.
- 6Delivery areas, minimum order, delivery fee and pickup option, so customers do not have to ask.
- 7Photos of your actual dishes, not stock images.
How do you get direct orders from Google Maps?
Most people decide where to eat from a map, not a website. Your free Google Business Profile is the shop window, and your website is where the order happens. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence, that more reviews and better ratings can help, and that you cannot pay for a better local ranking.
- 1Add your website’s menu link and your direct order link to the profile, so the first ordering option a customer sees is yours.
- 2Keep hours, phone number and photos current. Update them before Ramadan and public holidays.
- 3Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely.
- 4Make sure the restaurant name, address and phone number on your website match the profile exactly.
What does a restaurant website with ordering cost, and when is Adyft not the right fit?
Published UAE price guides (2026) put business websites at about AED 999 with a freelancer and AED 8,000–25,000 with an agency, before any ordering features. With Adyft Sites, the Starter plan (AED 3,499 plus AED 199 a month, live in under 7 days) gives you a five-page site with a text menu and a WhatsApp button customers can use to order. Shop Starter (AED 12,999 plus AED 449 a month) adds a full order-taking shop for up to 50 items, customer login and order history, card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and order alerts on WhatsApp and email. Shop Growth adds delivery areas and discount codes for larger menus. Every plan includes hosting, SSL, security, Google and AI search set-up, small changes by WhatsApp, a monthly visitor report, and a domain in your own name.
We are not the right fit for a multi-branch group that needs ordering connected to its point-of-sale and kitchen screens across every outlet. That is a specialist system. For a single restaurant, café or cloud kitchen that wants its regulars to order direct, a simple site is usually enough.
Questions about restaurant websites and direct orders in Dubai
What commission do delivery apps charge restaurants in Dubai?
There is no official published rate; it is set in each contract and can include marketing and payment charges. Under Dubai’s 2025 delivery platform guidelines, platforms should send monthly itemised statements, so divide total deductions by gross sales to find your real rate.
Can I take restaurant orders on WhatsApp instead of an app?
Yes. A menu page with WhatsApp order buttons is the cheapest way to take direct orders. You handle delivery and payment yourself, and staff time goes into confirming each order, so it suits restaurants with moderate volumes.
Do menu prices on my website have to include VAT?
The UAE Federal Tax Authority has said VAT-registered businesses must display prices inclusive of tax. Show the price customers will actually pay, and check any exceptions with your accountant.
Should I put my menu on my website as a PDF?
It is better as text. A PDF or image menu is slow on phones, hard to read, and harder for search engines and AI assistants to understand. Text menus are also easier to update when a price changes.
Will a website replace delivery apps for my restaurant?
For most restaurants, no. Apps are good at bringing new customers. A website works best for keeping regulars, taking direct orders at lower cost, and handling bookings and catering enquiries.
How fast can a restaurant website with WhatsApp ordering go live?
An Adyft Sites Starter site goes live in under 7 days once you have answered our questions and sent your menu and photos. A full online ordering shop takes longer because every dish and option has to be set up.
Sources: Gulf News, Dubai cracks down on food delivery apps with new rules for fairness and transparency (September 2025) — https://gulfnews.com/business/retail/dubai-cracks-down-on-food-delivery-apps-with-new-rules-for-fairness-transparency-1.500253963 · Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai online food delivery platforms circular — https://www.dubaidet.gov.ae/en/legislative-news/dubai-online-food-delivery-platforms-circular · WAM, FTA: businesses must display VAT-inclusive prices — https://www.wam.ae/en/article/hszr6ptm-fta-businesses-must-display-vat-inclusive-prices · Google Business Profile Help, How to improve your local ranking — https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en
Let your regulars order direct
Send us your menu on WhatsApp. We build a menu website with a WhatsApp button for orders, host it, and update prices when you message us. From AED 3,499 plus AED 199 a month.