Home / Guides / Olo App explained
The Olo App: what it means for independent restaurants
On October 20, 2026, Olo launched the Olo App, a free app where guests order pickup or delivery from many restaurant brands. Restaurants pay no commission. Guests pay a 5% network fee to Olo plus any delivery fee (Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 20, 2026, checked Oct 2026).
For now it is open only to restaurants that already use Olo, which is mostly chains such as Five Guys and Waffle House. An independent restaurant cannot join today, but the launch confirms the model independents can run on their own: list your real menu prices, show any guest fee up front, and keep the guest's details.
The Olo App in plain words
Olo is the online ordering software behind many chain restaurant websites and apps. Until now guests never saw its name. The new app puts those restaurants in one place, the way DoorDash or Uber Eats does, but with a different fee split.
| Item | What Olo and the trade press say |
|---|---|
| Launch | Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Free to download (NRN, Oct 20) |
| Restaurant fee | "Restaurants will not pay commission for orders placed through the Olo App" (Olo) |
| Guest fee | A 5% network fee that goes to Olo, plus a delivery fee on delivery orders. Olo's CEO says the fee is shown at the top of the menu and at checkout (Restaurant Dive, Oct 21) |
| Menu prices | Prices in the app match in-store prices (NRN) |
| Brands | More than 250 at launch, including Waffle House, Five Guys, First Watch, Del Taco and Shipley Do-Nuts (NRN) |
| Who can join | "Initially available to existing Olo customers," with plans to open it to all restaurants later. The page still calls it a beta (Olo) |
| Delivery | Olo's Dispatch tool asks the delivery services near each restaurant for a quote and picks one. Drivers are often from DoorDash, Uber Eats or similar (Restaurant Dive) |
| Guest data | "Guest data flows to you exactly as it would on a direct order" (Olo). Guests control how restaurants may use it for marketing (NRN) |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources checked Oct 2026. Olo has not published the cities where the app works, a date for opening it to non-Olo restaurants, or what a restaurant pays Olo for its regular ordering software.
The fee split, next to the delivery apps
The big change is who carries the cost. On the delivery apps the restaurant pays a commission and often raises menu prices to cover it. Olo's CEO Noah Glass said exactly that: "restaurants have offset that by charging a higher price on the marketplaces" (Restaurant Dive, Oct 21). On the Olo App the guest pays a small, visible fee and the menu price stays the same.
| Channel | Restaurant pays | Guest pays | Who keeps the guest's contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | 15%, 25% or 30% commission by plan (Food On Demand, Apr 2026) | Marked-up menu plus app fees | Mostly the app |
| Uber Eats | Lite plan rose from 15% to 20% after March 11, 2026 (Food On Demand) | Marked-up menu plus app fees | Mostly the app |
| Olo App | No commission (Olo customers only today) | 5% network fee, plus delivery fee | The restaurant, with the guest's consent |
| Your own site or app | Your ordering software and card fees | Your menu price, plus any fee you choose to show | The restaurant |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
We line up the three side by side, with the questions to ask each, in our Olo App vs DoorDash vs your own ordering comparison.
Four things an independent owner can take from this
Guests accept a fee they can see
Olo is betting guests will pay 5% when the menu price is honest and the fee is shown up front. You can run the same test on your own site: same prices as the counter, any service fee printed before checkout.
Price parity is now a selling point
Olo's whole pitch is "same price as in store." If your delivery-app menu is marked up, say plainly on your own site that ordering direct costs less.
The guest list is the prize
Olo sells "guest data flows to you." That is the part the delivery apps keep. Every direct order should leave you with a name and a phone number you can text later. Our guest list guide shows how.
Do not wait for the app
Olo has given no date for opening to restaurants outside its customer base. A small restaurant gets the same benefits today from its own ordering page and a link on Google.
Olo's CEO also said the app is unlikely to shift industry economics right away and may need refinement (Restaurant Dive). Treat it as a signal of where ordering is heading. Your own channel still has to do the work.
Five steps that copy the Olo model on your own channel
- Match your counter prices online.Your own ordering page should never cost more than walking in. If you mark up the delivery apps, keep doing that, and say so.
- Show every fee before the guest taps pay.A fee the guest sees at the top of the menu feels fair. A fee that appears at the last step feels like a trick.
- Put your own order link first on Google.Delivery apps can appear on your Google profile automatically. Our Google Maps guide shows where to set your own link.
- Ask for a phone number on every order.That is how you invite the guest back without paying a commission next time.
- Count direct orders every week.If the share of direct orders does not grow, something in steps 1 to 4 is broken.
If you are choosing ordering software, our commission-free ordering systems compared and Owner.com vs ChowNow vs Toast vs Square pages list the published prices.
Your own ordering, on your own POS, run with you
AZ is a forward-deployed technology partner for independent restaurants. We set up commission-free ordering on the POS you already use, build the parts that are missing and run it alongside you. At our proof restaurant in Houston, guests order and pay on their own phone, on the website, at the table, or by calling an AI phone host that texts a pay link.
Self-serve direct orders went from 17% in mid-August to every direct order today.
app order in the last 60 days was paid before the kitchen cooked it.
guests known by name, with a phone number for nine in ten of them.
From our proof restaurant's own systems, Oct 2026.
Where these facts come from
- Nation's Restaurant News: Olo launches restaurant ordering app with promise of lower prices (Oct 20, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
- Restaurant Dive: Olo wants to kill delivery commissions (Oct 21, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
- Olo: Welcome to the Olo Network - checked Oct 2026
- Food On Demand: How the Uber Eats fees stack up against 3PD competitors (Apr 1, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
Questions owners ask
What is the Olo App?
The Olo App is a free app, launched October 20, 2026, where guests order pickup or delivery from more than 250 restaurant brands that already use Olo's ordering software, such as Five Guys and Waffle House.
Does the Olo App charge restaurants a commission?
No. Olo says restaurants pay no commission on orders placed through the Olo App. Guests pay a 5% network fee to Olo, plus a delivery fee on delivery orders.
Can an independent restaurant join the Olo App?
Not yet. Olo says the app is initially available to existing Olo customers and will open to all restaurants eventually. It has not given a date. Restaurants not on Olo are asked to request a demo.
Is the Olo App cheaper for guests than DoorDash?
Olo says menu prices in its app match in-store prices, and guests pay a 5% network fee plus delivery. On delivery apps, restaurants often raise menu prices to cover commissions of 15% to 30%, so the total can be higher there. It depends on each restaurant's prices and fees.
Who delivers Olo App orders?
Olo's Dispatch tool requests quotes from delivery services near the restaurant and picks one. Drivers are often from DoorDash, Uber Eats or other services, and some restaurants use their own drivers.
What should an independent restaurant do about the Olo App?
Copy the model on your own channel: match counter prices online, show any fee up front, ask for a phone number on every order and put your own order link first on Google.
Set up commission-free ordering that keeps every guest's name and number.
We work on your POS, build what is missing, and run it with you.
Related guides