Ghost kitchen price list and profit model

What to take away

This ghost kitchen price list and profit model uses named platform rates and a working menu.

A delivery-only menu has one structural difference from a dine-in menu: a third party takes its share of every order before the operator sees the money. That share varies by platform, by tier, and by time of day.

This guide gives a working price list with actual numbers, then the profit model behind it. The cluster's numbered sequence for setting a price walks through the same arithmetic step by step.

Ghost kitchen price list: platform rates and menu prices

The working list below shows the architecture for a burger-and-wings concept in a shared kitchen. It uses the 30% commission tier that DoorDash Premier and Uber Eats Premier list in many U.S. markets.

The platform column runs higher than the own-channel column on every line. Whether your platform agreement permits that gap is a contract question you read before you set it.

As of 2026, real reference rates and typical menu prices sit below. DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub set commission by tier. Toast, Square and ChowNow sell own-channel ordering. CloudKitchens sells shared kitchen space. Wow Bao, MrBeast Burger, Guy Fieri's Flavortown Kitchen and Local Kitchens are named virtual brands with menu prices in the ranges shown.

What the platform actually pays you

Take the $16.00 smash burger on the DoorDash Premier tier: 30% commission and a $0.30 per-order fee.

Now subtract the costs that travel with that order.

That $4.68 is what the burger puts toward rent, software, insurance and salaried management. At 900 platform orders a month, it is $4,212 before fixed costs.

The same burger on the own channel at $13.50 carries no commission but adds payment processing near 2.9% plus $0.30, about $0.69. Net receipt is $12.81, and contribution lands near $6.59.

Contribution per peak minute

At peak, one station limits output: the flat top, the fryer, or the tablet operator. Divide contribution by the minutes a dish holds that station. The table uses the DoorDash Premier math above.

Loaded fries and ranch outrank every entree per constrained minute. That is the argument for selling them as add-ons rather than letting them sit as low-value standalone orders.

Small tickets and the fixed fee

A $2.50 ranch ordered alone nets $1.45 after commission and the $0.30 fee. After food, packaging and any labor minute, it contributes almost nothing and still consumes a driver dispatch.

Three fixes exist, and your platform terms decide which you can use. Set a minimum order value on the listing where permitted. Price the item so the net receipt clears the fee. Or pull it from standalone sale and offer it only inside a combo, where its 0.2 peak minutes make it the highest-value line on the menu.

Model the smallest order you will accept before the listing goes live. The month-end statement is too late to learn what it cost.

Where the fixed costs land

Fixed costs sit below contribution and are covered by contribution times orders.

At $4.68 average contribution across 900 platform orders and 200 own-channel orders, the kitchen clears fixed cost and leaves roughly $1,000 to $1,500. A 5% commission increase on the same volume removes about $720 of that.

Pricing approaches compared

Most stable delivery kitchens use contribution per minute for floors and competitor anchoring for ceilings. The Small Business Administration's Business Guide covers managing finances at a general level; the table above is the delivery-specific layer.

Write listings that survive a complaint

The listing is where price meets the customer. The Federal Trade Commission's advertising guidance for small business requires truthful, substantiated claims, and a 'was' price or a portion description counts as a claim.

State what arrives and what it costs, including platform service and small-order fees, as far as the platform lets you show them.

Promotions and payment timing

Platform promotions are usually merchant-funded in whole or part. A 20% off promotion on the $16.00 burger drops gross to $12.80, net receipt to $8.66, and contribution to $2.44. That still clears a $2.00 floor. A 30% promotion drops contribution to $1.20 and does not.

Platforms pay out on their own schedule, but suppliers and payroll do not wait. The days between are working capital, and a price that is right on paper can still leave the kitchen short.

The Internal Revenue Service's page on what records a business should keep describes a system that clearly shows income and expenses; platform statements, invoices and payroll are those documents.

Review price monthly, with a name on it

Pull orders by dish, net receipt by dish after actual commission and fees, refunds by reason, and rating mentions of price or portion. Reprice the dishes where contribution per peak minute has fallen, and retire the ones that cannot recover.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' profile of food service managers lists budgets and payroll records among the manager's duties. In a delivery kitchen, reading the platform statement is that budget work, and it belongs to a named person on a date.

What pricing depends on elsewhere

Dishes are priced from the products and packages guide, including packaging cost per dish. Occupancy, the largest fixed line, comes from the site selection guide.

Sales tax on platform orders affects what the price must carry. That is a state revenue department question the licensing and compliance guide covers. The per-order frame is set out first in the startup and market guide.

Common questions

Should platform prices be higher than my own site's?

If DoorDash or Uber Eats terms allow it and your customers accept it, many operators recover part of the commission that way. Read the terms first; it is a contract question before it is a pricing one.

What margin should a ghost kitchen aim for?

Margin percentage is the wrong target. Aim for a contribution-per-peak-minute floor that covers fixed cost at realistic volume. The break-even article in this cluster derives it.

Are platform promotions worth it?

Only when contribution under the promotion still clears your floor. A 20% cut on a $16.00 burger leaves $2.44; a 30% cut leaves $1.20.

How often should prices change?

When contribution per peak minute falls on a dish and the month's statement shows it. One change at a time, with two weeks to read the result.