Grubhub Payout Explained for Restaurants

Grubhub is one of the three major delivery platforms in the United States, and for restaurants operating on it, the payout statement is one of the most important — and most confusing — financial documents you receive each week. Between marketplace commissions, delivery fees, marketing premium charges, and Grubhub+ adjustments, the gap between what customers pay and what arrives in your bank account can be significant. Understanding exactly how Grubhub calculates your payout is essential for verifying that you are being charged correctly.

This guide covers the complete Grubhub payout process: how the weekly cycle works, the distinction between marketplace commission and delivery fee, what marketing premium costs, how Grubhub+ orders affect your payout, and how to reconcile your Grubhub deposits against your POS and bank records. Whether you are investigating a specific shortfall or building a routine verification process, this is your complete reference.

How Grubhub Payouts Work

Grubhub uses a weekly payout cycle as its standard payment method for restaurant partners. All completed orders during a seven-day period (Monday through Sunday) are aggregated into a single payout. Grubhub calculates the gross revenue from those orders, subtracts all applicable deductions, and initiates a bank transfer for the net amount.

What makes Grubhub’s payout structure distinct from DoorDash and Uber Eats is the explicit split between marketplace commission and delivery fee. On DoorDash and Uber Eats, these charges are often bundled into a single service fee or commission line item. On Grubhub, they appear as separate deductions, which gives you more visibility into what you are paying for — but also means there are more line items to verify during reconciliation.

Grubhub also has a particularly prominent marketing premium program that allows restaurants to pay for higher search placement. Unlike optional promotional campaigns on other platforms, Grubhub’s marketing premium is a core part of many restaurants’ visibility strategy on the platform, and the associated charges can add a substantial layer of cost on top of the base commission and delivery fee.

Grubhub Payout Schedule

Grubhub’s standard weekly cycle means there is a gap of nine to ten days between when a Monday order is placed and when the deposit arrives in your bank account. Unlike DoorDash, which offers Fast Pay for daily deposits, Grubhub’s daily payout options are more limited and may not be available in all markets. The weekly batch creates a reconciliation challenge: your POS records orders in real time while Grubhub consolidates them into a single weekly deposit. For a complete step-by-step process covering all of Grubhub’s fee layers, see our guide on how to reconcile Grubhub statements.

What Gets Deducted Before Your Payout

Grubhub applies several categories of deductions to your gross order revenue before calculating the net payout. The following table summarizes every deduction type that can appear on your Grubhub payout statement:

Reading Your Grubhub Payout Statement

The Grubhub for Restaurants portal provides a payout breakdown for each deposit period. Understanding each line item is essential for identifying discrepancies. For a complete line-by-line walkthrough of every charge, see our guide on how to read a Grubhub statement.

Gross Sales (Order Subtotals). The total value of all completed orders during the payout period, based on order subtotals before taxes and tips. This is the top-line number before any deductions. Compare this against your POS records for the same date range to verify that all orders are accounted for.

Marketplace Commission. Grubhub’s base platform fee for listing your restaurant and processing orders. This is calculated as a percentage of the order subtotal and varies depending on your partnership agreement. Typical rates range from 15% to 25%. This is separate from the delivery fee and is charged on all order types, including pickup. For a broader look at how marketplace commissions work, see our guide on how delivery platform commissions work.

Delivery Fee. A separate charge covering Grubhub’s delivery logistics — dispatching drivers, routing, and delivery insurance. This fee applies only to orders where Grubhub handles the delivery. If you use your own delivery team, this line item should not appear. The delivery fee is typically calculated as a percentage of the order value, ranging from 10% to 15%, and is listed as a distinct deduction from the marketplace commission.

Marketing Premium. If you opt into Grubhub’s sponsored placement program, marketing premium charges appear here. The rate ranges from 5% to 17.5% on orders that originate from promoted listings. This is one of Grubhub’s most significant “hidden” costs because it only applies to orders generated through the paid promotion, not to all orders. However, it can substantially increase the effective cost of those specific orders.

Grubhub+ Adjustments. Grubhub+ is the platform’s subscription program offering members free delivery and reduced fees. When Grubhub+ members order from your restaurant, adjustments may be applied to account for the delivery fee subsidy. These appear as separate line items and can be positive or negative depending on the specific arrangement.

Refund Adjustments. Customer refunds that Grubhub charges back to the restaurant. Not all refunds are your responsibility — delivery-related issues should be absorbed by Grubhub — but verifying each one requires reviewing the refund reason against your kitchen records. For more on how refund adjustments work across platforms, see our guide on delivery refund adjustments explained.

Net Payout. The final amount deposited to your bank account after all deductions. This should match your bank deposit for the corresponding date, allowing two to three business days for processing.

Example: Single Week Grubhub Payout Breakdown

Example: Monthly Payout Reconciliation

Common Grubhub Payout Discrepancies

These are the most frequent reasons Grubhub payouts fall short of restaurant expectations:

Marketing premium charges on orders that didn’t originate from promoted listings. Grubhub’s marketing premium is supposed to apply only to orders generated through the paid promotion program. However, the attribution of which orders are “promoted” is controlled entirely by Grubhub. Review the number of promoted orders on your statement against your actual promotional activity and verify whether the charge volume is proportional to the marketing program you opted into.

Delivery fee charged on pickup or self-delivery orders. If you handle your own deliveries or receive a significant number of pickup orders, the delivery fee should not apply to those transactions. Verify that the delivery fee deduction on your statement corresponds only to orders where Grubhub dispatched a driver. Pickup orders and self-delivery orders should be excluded from this charge.

Grubhub+ adjustments that are difficult to verify. Grubhub+ subscriber orders can carry adjustments that are not always transparent in the payout breakdown. Because Grubhub+ offers members free delivery, the economics of these orders may differ from standard orders. Tracking Grubhub+ order volume separately helps identify whether the adjustments are proportional.

Refund chargebacks for issues outside the restaurant’s control. Grubhub may charge refund amounts back to your restaurant even when the issue was caused by a delivery delay or driver error. Review each refund against your kitchen records and order timestamps to identify chargebacks that should have been absorbed by Grubhub rather than your restaurant.

How to Reconcile Your Grubhub Payouts

Reconciling Grubhub payouts requires comparing three data sources: your POS system, the Grubhub for Restaurants portal, and your bank account. Here is a systematic approach:

Step 1: Export your POS data. Pull all Grubhub orders from your POS for the payout period (Monday through Sunday). Record the gross total, the number of orders, and separate delivery orders from pickup orders if possible.

Step 2: Access the Grubhub payout statement. From the Grubhub for Restaurants portal, navigate to the Financials section and download the payout details for the same period. Note the gross sales, each deduction line item (marketplace commission, delivery fee, marketing premium, processing, refunds, adjustments), and the net payout.

Step 3: Compare gross sales figures. If the gross sales on the Grubhub statement do not match your POS total, investigate whether any orders were cancelled after reaching your POS, whether the statement includes or excludes tax differently than your POS, or whether Grubhub excluded orders your system recorded.

Step 4: Verify each deduction category. Calculate whether the marketplace commission, delivery fee, and marketing premium rates match your contract. Verify that delivery fees apply only to Grubhub-delivered orders. Check that marketing premium charges apply only to promoted orders. Flag any line item that exceeds expected amounts.

Step 5: Match the bank deposit. Confirm that the net payout on the Grubhub statement matches the corresponding deposit in your bank account. Allow two to three business days for bank processing. Match by amount first, then verify the date.

Step 6: Document and dispute discrepancies. For any mismatch, record the payout period, expected amount, actual amount, and the specific deduction line items in question. Contact Grubhub Restaurant Care through the portal with your documentation. Include POS reports, bank statements, and screenshots of the payout statement for each discrepancy.