Zayos vs DoorDash
DoorDash brings you the diner and charges a commission on every order it brings. Zayos is a restaurant operating system and commission-free direct online ordering platform that lets you keep DoorDash, pull every order into one tablet, and win repeat diners back to a site you actually own.
DoorDash vs Zayos, line by line
| DoorDash | Zayos | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A delivery marketplace: diners find you in its app, next to other restaurants | Your own ordering site on your own domain, plus one kitchen tablet for every order |
| What the restaurant pays | 15%, 25% or 30% commission on delivery orders, depending on the plan, and 6% on pickup | $399, $499 or $599 per location per month. No commission on food. About 3% card processing; the diner pays a flat $0.99 service fee |
| Who owns the customer | The order sits in the diner's DoorDash account | You own the customer, list, and order history |
| Best for | Reaching diners who have not ordered from you yet | Owning repeat customers + escaping commission |
Source: DoorDash for Merchants pricing, https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. DoorDash can change its rates; check that page for the current ones. You can run DoorDash and Zayos together.
Also part of Zayos
- Direct ordering site: Branded commission-free direct-ordering site
- Marketplace ingestion: Uber Eats + DoorDash + Grubhub into one tablet (Otter)
- Customer list: Full customer records: LTV, last visit, phone, email, favorites
- Sales tax report: Sales tax report by day, with CSV export
- Kitchen tablet: One KDS tablet for direct + all marketplaces
- Setup: We build it for you, no setup fee
- Monthly cost: $399–$599/mo flat per location
The core difference: a marketplace vs a restaurant operating system
DoorDash is a marketplace. It is very good at one job: putting your restaurant in front of new diners who are browsing the app. The price of that reach is a commission on every order: 15%, 25% or 30% on delivery, depending on your plan (DoorDash for Merchants pricing, read 4 Oct 2026). The order also sits in the diner's DoorDash account, so bringing that diner back means paying the commission again.
Zayos is a restaurant operating system with a built-in direct online ordering platform. Instead of renting customers, you own them. Every order through your branded direct-ordering site attaches a real customer record (lifetime value, last visit, favorite plate, phone, email) and costs about 3% card processing instead of 30% commission. The per-order fee ($0.99 pickup, $0.99 delivery) is paid by the diner at checkout, so you keep 100% of food revenue.
The smart play is both. Keep DoorDash for discovery, let Zayos ingest those orders into one kitchen tablet alongside Uber Eats and Grubhub, then use printable QR codes, SMS, and direct-only specials to move repeat diners to your own online ordering platform. Built for independent restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and across South Florida. See the full Zayos overview for how the direct-sales engine works.
$48k to $300k+ per location/year, modeled at 3,000 to 12,000 orders a month
Savings come from moving ~25% of marketplace orders to commission-free direct ordering (cutting ~30% commission to ~3% processing).
DoorDash vs Zayos: frequently asked
Is Zayos cheaper than DoorDash?
For repeat customers, usually. DoorDash lists a commission of 15%, 25% or 30% on delivery orders, depending on your plan, and 6% on pickup (Source: DoorDash for Merchants pricing, https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026). On a direct Zayos order there is no commission: you pay about 3% card processing, and a flat $0.99 service fee is paid by the diner at checkout, so the restaurant keeps 100% of food revenue, and 100% of tips on pickup and dine-in. Zayos is a flat $399, $499 or $599 per location per month. On our model an independent restaurant saves $48,000 to $300,000+ per location per year at 3,000 to 12,000 orders a month versus running everything on marketplace commissions.
Can I keep DoorDash and use Zayos?
Yes. Zayos is not a rip-and-replace. You keep DoorDash for discovery and new-customer reach, and Zayos ingests your DoorDash orders (plus Uber Eats and Grubhub) via Otter into one kitchen tablet. At the same time, Zayos gives you a commission-free direct-ordering site so you can win repeat customers back to direct. How many orders move depends on how many regulars you have; the free report at grader.zay-os.com runs the commission math on your own order volume.
How does Zayos reduce DoorDash commission?
It does not lower DoorDash's rate. It shrinks how many of your orders pay that rate. Zayos steers diners to your own direct-ordering site with printable QR codes, SMS and email to your customer list, one-tap reorder, and direct-only specials. Every order that moves to your own site stops paying a marketplace commission and pays about 3% card processing instead.
Does Zayos replace my POS?
No. Zayos sits above the POS and integrates it. Orders go into Clover, Square or Shift4 at no extra cost, and Toast works too (Toast bills its own $50 a month). Zayos owns the customer relationship, the direct-ordering site, marketplace ingestion, a sales tax report, and dispatch. Your POS keeps doing what it does best.
What is Zayos?
Zayos is a restaurant operating system and direct online ordering platform built by Zay Revenue Group in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It combines a branded commission-free ordering site, a kitchen tablet (KDS), marketplace ingestion of Uber Eats / DoorDash / Grubhub via Otter, a customer list, a sales tax report, an AI shift briefing, and courier dispatch for delivery orders. Naya Grill was customer #1, and Yummy Grill, Tacos Arabes and Vinny's are live and taking orders on Zayos too, with more onboarding now.
How much can a restaurant save switching orders off DoorDash?
Independent restaurants save a modeled $48,000 to $300,000+ per location per year at 3,000 to 12,000 orders a month. On our model, a busy single location doing about 3,000 orders per month saves around $48,000 per year; a mid-volume independent at 6,000 orders per month saves about $120,000; a high-volume or multi-brand ghost kitchen at 12,000 orders per month saves a modeled $300,000+. The savings come from cutting ~30% commission to ~3% processing on the orders that move to direct.
Is Zayos a good DoorDash alternative for South Florida restaurants?
Yes. Zayos is built for independent restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton, and across South Florida, and Zay Revenue Group builds it for you locally. Naya Grill (Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach) was customer #1, and you can order right now from Syrian Shawarma, Socotra Yemeni Coffee & Co, Melt N Dip and more. You keep DoorDash for discovery, ingest those orders into one Otter tablet, and win repeat South Florida diners back to a commission-free direct site, saving a modeled $48,000 to $300,000+ per location per year at 3,000 to 12,000 orders a month.
Comparing other channels? See Zayos vs Uber Eats or Zayos vs Toast Online Ordering.
Can I start without talking to anyone?
Yes. You pick a plan, sign the agreement and pay online, with no call and no demo first. We build your ordering site, import your menu and email you your sign in. Someone from Zayos checks the store before ordering opens. We get you live in under a week.
What it costs
Zayos is $399, $499 or $599 per location per month. Month to month, no setup fee, no contract.
What you keep
Your diners pay a flat $0.99 service fee on pickup and delivery. You keep 100% of your food revenue, and 100% of tips on pickup and dine-in. On delivery the tip goes to the driver.