Should you charge a little more for online orders?
Many delivery and takeaway businesses set their online prices slightly higher than in person. Here's why bakers often do the same — and how to do it fairly.
4 min readUpdated August 2026If you've ever noticed that a takeaway costs a pound or two more on Uber Eats or Deliveroo than it does at the counter, that's deliberate. Businesses selling through a platform routinely set their online prices a little higher — often around 10% — to cover the cost of the platform and the convenience they're offering. It's a normal, widely used pricing decision, and it's one you can make too.
Why online prices are often a little higher
- Selling online costs money to run — card processing, the platform that hosts your shop and takes the orders, and the time saved not chasing payments or messages.
- Customers are paying for convenience: browsing your menu, ordering from their phone in seconds and paying securely, without a single DM.
- A small uplift protects your margin so that the ease of online ordering doesn't quietly eat into what you actually earn per bake.
- It keeps your pricing consistent. If you also sell at markets or the door, a modest online price lets you absorb fees without feeling out of pocket on every web order.
How much is reasonable?
Around 10% is a common benchmark because it's enough to cover fees and the convenience premium without putting customers off. On a £20 order that's £2 — rarely enough to change someone's mind when they're ordering for the ease of it, but meaningful across a busy weekend. The right number is yours to choose; start modest and see how it lands.
How to do it fairly
- Be consistent. Apply the same approach across your menu rather than singling out a few items.
- Keep it proportionate. A small, even uplift feels fair; a large jump can make customers feel penalised for ordering online.
- Round to tidy prices. £5.50 reads better than £5.47, and neat numbers feel more considered.
- Remember your worth. Convenience, reliability and card checkout are genuine value — you're pricing for the service, not just the sponge.
Review your prices every few months against your ingredient and packaging costs. Small, regular adjustments are far easier for customers to accept than one big rise later on.
There's no rule that says your online price has to match your door price exactly. Plenty of successful sellers charge a little more for the convenience of ordering online — and their customers happily pay it, because the ease is worth it.