How to Reduce Food Delivery Commission Fees in Malaysia

Running a restaurant in Malaysia means dealing with delivery platform commissions that can consume 25-35% of your revenue. Between GrabFood's 23-30% commission and Foodpanda's 20-28%, plus additional fees for promotions and rush hours, many Malaysian restaurants find themselves working harder just to break even on delivery orders.

But it doesn't have to be this way. In this guide, we'll share proven strategies that Malaysian restaurants are using to reduce their delivery commission costs while maintaining—and actually growing—their takeout and delivery business.

Understanding Delivery Commission Structures in Malaysia

Before diving into cost-saving strategies, it's essential to understand how delivery platforms structure their fees in the Malaysian market:

• GrabFood Commission: 23-30% per order, depending on your tier and subscription level
• Foodpanda Commission: 20-28% per order, with volume-based discounts available
• Pick-up Orders: Typically 0-12% commission—significantly lower than delivery
• Promotional Fees: Additional 3-8% for featured placements and deals
• Rush Hour Surcharges: Extra 5-10% during peak meal times

7 Proven Strategies to Reduce Your Delivery Commission Costs

1. Leverage Pick-Up Orders

The simplest way to reduce commission costs is to incentivize customers to pick up their orders instead of having them delivered. Offer a 10-15% discount for pick-up orders—this is still more profitable than paying 25-30% in delivery commissions.

How to implement:

• Advertise pick-up discounts prominently on your menu
• Use Klikit to manage both delivery and pick-up orders from one dashboard
• Set up a dedicated pick-up counter or pickup window for efficiency

2. Build Your Own Delivery Network

Consider partnering with local delivery services or hiring your own delivery riders for orders within a 3-5km radius. While there's an upfront cost, you avoid the 25-35% platform commission on every order.

Options for Malaysian restaurants:

• Hire part-time riders for lunch and dinner rushes
• Partner with local courier services like Janio or LalaMove
• Use Klikit's integrated delivery management to coordinate in-house deliveries

3. Negotiate Your Commission Tier

Most restaurant owners don't realize that delivery platform commissions are negotiable. If you're doing consistent volume, reach out to your account manager and negotiate a lower rate.

Tips for negotiation:

• Document your monthly order volume and average order value
• Show commitment to promoting the platform exclusively
• Be prepared to walk away—threaten to reduce your presence if fees aren't reduced
• Consider signing longer contracts in exchange for lower rates

4. Optimize Your Menu for Higher Margins

If you're paying 25-30% in commissions, you need menu items with higher margins to compensate. Review your menu and adjust pricing to account for delivery costs.

Strategies:

• Bundle items into "meal deals" with higher perceived value
• Add premium pricing to cover delivery costs
• Create delivery-exclusive menu items with built-in commission margin
• Remove low-margin items that don't justify the commission

5. Time Your Promotions Strategically

Avoid running promotions during already-busy peak hours. Instead, use promotions strategically to fill during off-peak hours when platforms are more likely to offer reduced commission rates.

Best times for promotions:

• 2-5 PM (afternoon lull)
• Late night (10 PM - 2 AM) for late-night cravings
• Weekdays when competition for customers is higher

6. Use Social Media for Direct Orders

Reduce your dependency on delivery platforms by taking orders directly through WhatsApp, Instagram, or your own website. This eliminates commission fees entirely.

Implementation steps:

• Create a WhatsApp Business account for orders
• Set up Instagram Shopping to enable direct food purchases
• Use Klikit's online ordering system with zero commission
• Offer a 15% discount for direct orders to incentivize the switch

7. Aggregate Orders with a Unified POS

Using a unified POS like Klikit that aggregates orders from all delivery platforms reduces the operational complexity and allows you to analyze which platform offers the best net margin after commissions.

Benefits:

• Compare effective commission rates across platforms in real-time
• Automatically route orders to the most cost-effective platform
• Reduce staff time managing multiple tablets and apps
• Track true profitability per order after all fees

Commission Comparison by Platform

Platform	Base Commission	Promo Fees	Rush Hour	Pick-up
GrabFood	23-30%	3-8%	5-10%	0-12%
Foodpanda	20-28%	3-6%	4-8%	0-10%
Direct Order (Klikit)	0%	0%	0%	0%
Your Own Rider	RM2-4/order	0%	0%	0%

Calculate Your Potential Savings

Let's say your restaurant does RM 50,000 per month in delivery orders through GrabFood and Foodpanda combined, with an average commission rate of 27%.

Current situation:

• Monthly delivery revenue: RM 50,000
• Commission paid: RM 13,500 (27%)
• Net revenue: RM 36,500

With strategies implemented:

• If 30% of orders become pick-up (12% commission): RM 15,000 × 12% = RM 1,800
• If 20% of orders come direct (0% commission): RM 10,000 × 0% = RM 0
• If 10% uses your own riders (RM 3/order avg): 500 orders × RM 3 = RM 1,500
• Remaining 40% still on platforms: RM 20,000 × 25% = RM 5,000
• Total commission: RM 8,300
• Monthly savings: RM 5,200 (38% reduction)

Start Saving Today

Reducing delivery commission fees requires a multi-pronged approach, but the savings can be substantial. Start with one or two strategies and gradually implement more as you see results.

Klikit can help you manage orders from all delivery platforms in one place, track your true profitability, and build your direct ordering channel. Book a demo to see how we can help reduce your delivery costs.