Postmates Fees for Restaurants

Postmates was one of the original on-demand delivery platforms in the United States, launched in 2011 with a model that allowed customers to order from virtually any store or restaurant — not just those with formal merchant partnerships. In December 2020, Uber completed its acquisition of Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion, and over the following two years, the Postmates brand was fully absorbed into Uber Eats. The standalone Postmates app was retired, merchant agreements were transitioned, and the Postmates Fleet courier network was merged into Uber’s driver pool.

For restaurant operators, this history matters because the transition created real financial consequences. Legacy Postmates commission rates, promotional commitments, and payout structures did not always carry over cleanly to Uber Eats. Some restaurants saw their effective rates change during the migration without clear documentation. Understanding what Postmates charged, how those fees compared to Uber Eats, and what happened to legacy agreements is essential for any restaurant that operated on Postmates and wants to verify that its current Uber Eats terms are correct.

What Postmates Charged Restaurants

Before the Uber acquisition, Postmates applied several categories of fees to partnered restaurant orders. The following table summarizes the fee types that appeared on Postmates merchant statements:

Postmates Commission Structure

Postmates used a tiered commission model that varied by market, restaurant volume, and partnership level. Unlike DoorDash, which published clearly named plan tiers (Basic, Plus, Premier), Postmates commission rates were often negotiated individually, especially in competitive markets where the platform was trying to grow its restaurant supply.

Standard delivery commissions ranged from 15% to 30% of the order subtotal. Restaurants in markets where Postmates had strong consumer demand — primarily Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other major metro areas — were typically offered rates at the higher end. Smaller markets or restaurants that Postmates was actively recruiting sometimes received introductory rates at 15–20%.

Pickup commissions were lower, typically 5% to 15%, since no courier logistics were involved. Postmates offered pickup ordering as an alternative channel, though it was a smaller percentage of total orders compared to delivery.

The Uber merger impact. When Uber acquired Postmates, existing merchant agreements entered a transition period. Uber honored most Postmates contracts through their original term, but upon renewal, restaurants were moved to standard Uber Eats commission tiers. For many restaurants, this meant their rates changed — sometimes higher, sometimes lower — depending on how their original Postmates rate compared to Uber Eats’ standard pricing. Restaurants that had negotiated favorable Postmates rates often lost those terms during the transition.

Legacy Postmates vs. Current Uber Eats

Understanding the differences between the original Postmates platform and the current Uber Eats system is important for restaurants that were affected by the transition:

The most significant operational change was the retirement of Postmates’ “any store” model. Postmates originally allowed customers to order from any business — restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops — regardless of whether that business had a formal merchant agreement. Couriers would place the order in person, pay with a Postmates-issued prepaid card, and deliver to the customer. In this model, the non-partnered business paid zero commissions because Postmates charged the customer directly through elevated delivery and service fees.

For partnered restaurants, the transition to Uber Eats also changed how historical data was accessible. Postmates merchant dashboard data from before the merger may no longer be available through the Uber Eats Manager portal. If you need to reconcile historical Postmates transactions, you should have retained your original Postmates payout statements and CSV exports. For guidance on reading delivery platform statements, see our resource on hidden delivery fees most restaurants miss.

Example: Total Postmates Cost Per Order

Common Postmates Fee Misunderstandings

My Postmates rate automatically transferred to Uber Eats. This is the most common misconception among former Postmates merchants. While Uber honored existing contracts during a transition period, the rates did not carry over indefinitely. Upon contract renewal or expiration, restaurants were migrated to Uber Eats standard pricing tiers. If you did not actively negotiate during the transition, your current rate may differ significantly from your original Postmates agreement.

Non-partnered orders had no cost to the restaurant. Technically true — Postmates’ “any store” model did not charge non-partnered businesses a commission. However, these orders still created operational costs for the restaurant: staff time to process orders placed by couriers, potential mistakes from verbal ordering, and no control over menu pricing on the platform. Some restaurants were listed on Postmates without their knowledge and experienced order quality issues as a result.

Postmates Unlimited only affected the customer. Postmates Unlimited was the platform’s subscription service that offered customers free delivery. Similar to DashPass and Uber One, the economics of subscription orders could differ from standard orders. Partnered restaurants sometimes absorbed a portion of the delivery fee subsidy, which appeared as a line item deduction on payout statements. For a broader analysis of how platform subscription programs affect restaurant economics, see our guide on how delivery platform commissions work.

Historical Postmates data is still accessible. After the merger, access to the legacy Postmates Merchant Dashboard was discontinued. Restaurants that did not export their historical payout data and transaction records before the transition may have difficulty reconciling older Postmates periods. If you need to audit historical Postmates transactions, contact Uber Eats merchant support with your original Postmates merchant ID.

Postmates/Uber Eats vs. Other Delivery Platforms

After the merger, the combined Postmates and Uber Eats platform holds the second-largest share of U.S. delivery orders behind DoorDash. Commission ranges are broadly similar across all three major platforms, but the effective rate — accounting for marketing fees, subscription subsidies, refund deductions, and processing charges — varies significantly by platform and by individual agreement. Restaurants that operated on multiple platforms including Postmates should audit each platform’s total deductions independently rather than assuming parity.