How to Split Your Restaurant Marketing Budget Across Delivery Platforms

May 21, 2026·Nataliia· 12 min read All posts

You're a small restaurant owner, and you're getting crushed by the competition on delivery platforms. A recent survey of local restaurants found that:

20%↑

Food Delivery Apps

used for marketing

30%→

Meal Kit Services

used for marketing

40%↓

Restaurant Websites

used for marketing

10%↑

Social Media

used for marketing

It's time to rethink your marketing strategy and allocate your budget effectively across delivery platforms. In this article, we'll show you how to split your restaurant marketing budget to reach new customers and boost sales.

Allocating Your Marketing Budget Across Delivery Platforms

When it comes to allocating your marketing budget across delivery platforms, it's essential to consider your target audience, marketing goals, and the costs associated with each platform.

Here's a general breakdown of the costs you can expect to incur when marketing on different delivery platforms:

Food delivery apps (e.g., Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash): 20-30% of your marketing budget
Meal kit services (e.g., Blue Apron, HelloFresh): 10-20% of your marketing budget
Restaurant websites: 10-20% of your marketing budget
Social media: 10-20% of your marketing budget

Pro Tip

Want expert help? DataLatte's analytics & reporting service is built specifically for local small businesses.

Marketing Budget Allocation Across Delivery Platforms

Food Delivery Apps

20%

Meal Kit Services

15%

Restaurant Websites

12%

Social Media

10%

Food Delivery Apps

Food delivery apps are a great way to reach a large audience, but they can be expensive. Here's a breakdown of the costs you can expect to incur when marketing on food delivery apps:

Average cost per click (CPC): $1-$3
Average cost per acquisition (CPA): $10-$30
Average conversion rate: 2-5%

Meal Kit Services

Meal kit services are a great way to reach customers who are interested in cooking and trying new recipes. Here's a breakdown of the costs you can expect to incur when marketing on meal kit services:

Average CPC: $0.50-$1.50
Average CPA: $5-$15
Average conversion rate: 3-6%

Restaurant Websites

Your restaurant website is a crucial part of your marketing strategy. Here's a breakdown of the costs you can expect to incur when marketing on your restaurant website:

Average CPC: $0.25-$1.00
Average CPA: $5-$10
Average conversion rate: 5-10%

Social media is a great way to reach a large audience and build brand awareness. Here's a breakdown of the costs you can expect to incur when marketing on social media:

Average CPC: $0.25-$1.00
Average CPA: $5-$10
Average conversion rate: 5-10%

Pro Tip

Don't forget to track your marketing metrics and adjust your budget allocation accordingly. You may need to adjust your budget based on the performance of each platform.

Tips for Allocating Your Marketing Budget

Here are some tips for allocating your marketing budget across delivery platforms:

Start with a clear understanding of your target audience and marketing goals.
Research the costs associated with each platform and adjust your budget allocation accordingly.
Consider the average CPC, CPA, and conversion rate for each platform.
Allocate your budget based on the performance of each platform.
Continuously monitor and adjust your budget allocation to ensure you're getting the best return on investment.

Watch Out

Don't fall into the trap of overspending on marketing. Make sure you have a clear understanding of your marketing metrics and adjust your budget accordingly.

Example of a Successful Marketing Strategy

Here's an example of a successful marketing strategy for a small restaurant:

Allocate 30% of the marketing budget to food delivery apps (e.g., Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash)
Allocate 20% of the marketing budget to meal kit services (e.g., Blue Apron, HelloFresh)
Allocate 20% of the marketing budget to social media
Allocate 10% of the marketing budget to restaurant websites
Allocate 10% of the marketing budget to influencer marketing

Real Example

This is just an example and may not work for your specific business. Make sure to adjust your marketing strategy based on your target audience and marketing goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I just drop DoorDash and Uber Eats entirely? Probably not. They're still the largest source of new customers who are actively looking to order delivery. The mistake isn't using them. The mistake is using them as your only acquisition channel and calling it a marketing strategy. Keep the platforms that generate positive ROI. Cut the ones that don't. Run the math every quarter.

Q: How do I track whether a customer came from DoorDash versus my website? You can't perfectly track this on the platform side — DoorDash doesn't share that data. But you can track it on your end. Use unique phone numbers (Google Voice numbers cost $0), unique promo codes per channel, or ask customers how they found you during checkout. Imperfect is fine. You're not running a clinical trial. You're running a restaurant.

Q: What if I don't have a website that takes orders? Get one. Square Online costs $0/month if you already use Square for payments. Toast has a similar free tier. If you're paying $500/month for a custom website built in 2018 that nobody can find, replace it with a $29/month template on Shopify or Framer and connect it to your POS. This is not a technology problem. This is a decision problem.

Q: How long should I test a platform before deciding it's not working? Eight weeks minimum. Some campaigns take time to optimize. But if you're losing money on a platform after 60 days and you've tested at least three different ad creatives or offers, cut it. You can always come back later. The money you save can go into something that works.

Q: Do I need a social media manager? Not if your budget is under $3,000/month total marketing spend. Post photos of your actual food on Instagram Stories. Reply to comments. That's enough. A social media manager at $800/month will eat a third of your budget before you've spent a dollar on anything that actually brings someone through the door. Hire one when your monthly marketing budget hits $5,000 and you're already profitable on every other channel.

Q: What's the one thing I should do today that costs zero dollars? Claim your Google Business Profile if you haven't. Update your hours. Add your current menu. Upload photos that a customer took of your food — not professional shots, the ones that look like someone actually ate it. Then respond to every review from the last three months. Google ranks businesses that actively manage their profile. This takes 45 minutes and costs nothing.

I spent a decade at agencies where we'd build $200,000 media plans for Fortune 500 restaurant chains. The scariest thing I learned is that the fundamentals for a $2,000/month plan are exactly the same. Know where your customers actually come from. Spend more where the return is real. Stop paying to acquire people who already buy from you. And never, ever let a platform own the relationship with your customer.

Most restaurant owners I talk to are spending more on delivery platform marketing than they realize, getting less than they think, and blaming the algorithm. The algorithm isn't the problem. You're just renting space in someone else's store. Build your own door.

If you want to run the numbers on your current delivery spend and see where the leaks are, I do that for a living. Book a free consultation. Bring your last three months of platform reports. I'll bring the coffee.

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Nataliia

Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.

About Nataliia