Get our free one-page cheat sheet of pizzeria cost benchmarks: food, labor, rent and delivery, with a blank for your own numbers.
Pizza delivery fees change online because on the apps, the platform sets them, and they move with distance, order size and how many couriers are free. DoorDash says its service fee varies with factors like distance and order size in its new fee markets and a small-order fee can apply if the subtotal is below a certain amount. Uber says its delivery fee runs higher when there are more orders in an area than delivery people to carry them. Then there’s the menu. When Restaurant Business priced the same orders at 13 restaurants, all but two charged more on the apps, with an average markup over 20%.
We priced the merchant side, what you pay the apps, in what changed in 2026. This is the customer’s side: which charges are yours, which rules reach them, and how to label yours.
Four charges, and usually only one of them is yours
On a marketplace order, four things can move the customer’s total. The delivery fee is set by the app; DoorDash says it “varies by merchant.” The service fee is the app’s, too. Outside its new fee markets, DoorDash says it’s 15% of the subtotal for most orders. The small-order fee is the app’s. The menu price is the only one that’s yours, and it’s the one customers blame you for.
There’s a fifth line some customers see. DoorDash charges a flat regulatory response fee “when a local or state regulation leads to increased operating costs.”
The federal junk-fee rule doesn’t reach your counter
The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, which took effect May 12, 2025, requires up-front total prices from the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries. Barnes & Thornburg’s summary puts it plainly: the final rule applies exclusively to those two businesses. Restaurants aren’t on the list.
Delivery apps might be next. In April, the FTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (an early request for input, before any rule is drafted) on delivery-platform fees. Its questions include whether app prices differ from in-store or restaurant prices. It doesn’t address restaurants’ own fees. If you mark up your app menu, though, that question is about you.
California and Washington are where the label is the law
California’s SB 478, the “Honest Pricing Law,” bans advertising or displaying a price that leaves out mandatory fees, with exceptions for taxes and reasonable shipping. The Attorney General’s FAQ says a delivery fee on food ordered directly from a restaurant doesn’t have to be in the food price, but “the price of delivery must be the full, all-in price of the delivery service.” Adding a variable service fee late in checkout is prohibited.
Then came the carve-out. SB 1524, signed June 29, 2024, lets restaurants keep a separate mandatory fee if it is “clearly and conspicuously displayed, with an explanation of its purpose” wherever the price appears. The exemption doesn’t extend to third-party delivery platforms. Greenberg Traurig notes the law never defines that explanation.
Washington goes further on the driver question. Its statute counts a “delivery charge” as a service charge, and employers must show “in an itemized receipt and in any menu” what percentage goes to the employee. In 2022, Seattle chain Zeeks Pizza agreed to pay about $409,000 to 224 drivers after the city alleged it hadn’t disclosed how much of its delivery charge drivers got. Zeeks disputed the allegation.
City caps limit what the apps charge you, not your customer
New York City caps what delivery apps charge restaurants at 15% for delivery, 5% for a basic listing and 3% for payment processing, with a 20% enhanced tier allowed only if the 5% option exists. San Francisco’s ordinance caps core delivery service at 15% of the purchase price. Both limit charges to restaurants. San Francisco’s ordinance contains no rule about fees charged to customers.
A cap protects your payout, not your customer’s total. That’s where a regulatory response fee can show up.
The apps can make a fee feel like weather. On your own site, every charge has your name on it.
Label your own delivery charge like you mean it
One name, one number, before checkout. Call it a delivery fee, show it on the menu page by zone or flat, and keep it the same at checkout. In California, that’s close to the letter of the law.
Say who gets it. Technomic found over a quarter of diners would assume a service fee was the tip and wouldn’t tip on top. If your driver gets none of the fee, say so and ask for the tip. In Washington, the percentage is required.
Don’t stack a service fee on delivery. If you need the money, put it in item prices. In California, a separate fee has to carry its purpose everywhere the price shows.
Sell the gap. If your app menu runs higher than your counter, tell customers your own site is cheaper. That’s the case for moving regulars to first-party ordering. To set the fee itself, start from what a delivery actually costs you.
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The limitation: the consumer data here is about service fees on restaurant bills, not delivery charges, and the markup test is undated online. Treat both as directional. Nobody has published how a clearly labeled delivery fee changes conversion for an independent. The ground is also moving. The FTC’s delivery-platform inquiry could end in a rule, or in nothing, and New York City’s own flyer asked restaurants for comment by May 6, 2026 for a report on its caps. Your state may not be California or Washington today. Check again next year.
Common questions
Why do pizza delivery fees change online?
On the apps, the platform sets them. DoorDash says its service fee can vary with distance and order size and a small-order fee can apply under a minimum subtotal. Uber says the delivery fee runs higher when orders outnumber couriers. The menu price can also be higher than in the shop.
Does the FTC junk fee rule apply to pizza restaurants?
No. The FTC's fee rule, in effect since May 12, 2025, covers only live-event tickets and short-term lodging. The FTC opened a separate look at delivery-platform fees in April 2026, but that's an early step, not a rule. State law can still apply.
Can a California pizzeria charge a delivery fee?
Yes. The California Attorney General's guidance says a delivery fee on food ordered directly from a restaurant doesn't have to be in the food price, but it has to be the full, all-in price of delivery. Other mandatory fees have to be in the menu price or shown clearly with their purpose.
Do I have to tell customers if the driver gets the delivery fee?
In Washington, yes. State law treats a delivery charge as a service charge and requires the menu and receipt to show what percentage goes to the employee. Elsewhere it isn't always required, but a Technomic survey found over a quarter of diners assume a fee is the tip.
