Aggregator

An aggregator is a marketplace that lists many restaurants, owns the customer relationship and charges commission on every order. Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo are the three in the UK. Their genuine value is discovery, and it is real: they put you in front of people who have never heard of you, at a scale no single shop can buy. The trade is that the customer is theirs, not yours.

In practice

Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo are aggregators: they gather demand, present a choice of shops, and take a percentage for the introduction. Their genuine value is discovery, and it is real — they put you in front of people who have never heard of you, at a scale no single shop can buy.

The trade is that the customer is theirs. You do not get the name, the address, the order history or permission to contact them, so you cannot tell a regular from a first-timer and you pay the same rate for both.

Treating it as a choice between the apps and your own platform is the mistake. The sensible shape is both: the listing for reach, your own site for the people who already know you, with a reason to switch that only exists on your own site.

Also called: delivery marketplace, food delivery app.

Questions people ask about aggregator

Do I get my customers’ details from an aggregator?

No. You do not get the name, the address, the order history or permission to market to them, which means you cannot tell a regular from a first-timer and you pay the same rate for both. That list is the asset your own ordering platform gives you and the marketplace keeps.

Should I leave the aggregators?

Treating it as a choice is the mistake. The sensible shape is both: the listing for reach, your own site for the people who already know you, and a reason to switch that exists only on your own site. Discovery is worth paying for; paying 30% to serve a regular who already knows your name is not.

What do the aggregators charge?

Only Uber Eats publishes UK rates: 30% excluding VAT for its own delivery, 13% for self-delivery and pickup, plus a £650 activation fee excluding VAT. Just Eat and Deliveroo negotiate per restaurant and publish nothing, so the only rate that matters to you is the one on your contract.

Sources, checked 26 October 2026

Uber Eats, Pricing for UK merchants: 30% for Uber delivery, 13% for self-delivery and pickup, excluding VAT

Where to go next

What the aggregators cost you in a year →