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Grubhub The Drop vs DoorDash loyalty vs your own program
Grubhub's The Drop has no upfront fee: restaurants "only pay when a diner walks in and spends," but Grubhub has not published the rate, and it runs only in New York City and Chicago so far (Nation's Restaurant News, Sep 29, 2026, checked Oct 2026). DoorDash's omnichannel loyalty, part of DashOS, rewards guests in-store, online and in the DoorDash app, with no published price.
A program you run yourself costs a tool fee and some effort, and it is the only one of the three where the guest's phone number and history stay with you. For most independents the delivery-app programs are a discovery channel. Your own list is where repeat visits live.
The three ways to reward dine-in guests
| Option | How guests join | What the guest gets | What you pay | Who keeps the guest | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grubhub The DropLaunched Sep 2026 | Links a card in the Grubhub app, picks from three personal rewards each week. | Grubhub credit for pickup or delivery, used within 30 days. | No upfront fee. Pay only when a diner visits and spends. Rate not published. | Grubhub. You get data on which offers perform. | NYC and Chicago, national rollout planned |
| DoorDash omnichannel loyaltyPart of DashOS | Joins your program in the DoorDash app, online or in-store. | Rewards from your program, wherever they order. | Not published. Quote from DoorDash. | Shared. Export terms not published. | Announced Sep 30, 2026; Clover and others from 2027 |
| Your own programOn your POS or a partner like AZ | Phone number at checkout, on your ordering page or by text. | Rewards you design. | Tool fee plus your time. | You. Full contact and order history. | Any restaurant, any POS |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: Restaurant Dive, Sep 29, 2026, NRN, Sep 29, 2026, DoorDash release, Sep 30, 2026 and the DashOS page, all checked Oct 2026.
How The Drop works
- The guest side. Guests link a card in the Grubhub app. Each Thursday they choose from three personalized rewards at partner restaurants. If they visit and pay by the next Wednesday, they earn Grubhub credits for pickup or delivery, good for 30 days (Restaurant Dive, Sep 29, 2026, checked Oct 2026).
- The restaurant side. "There are no upfront costs or fees for restaurants to participate," and restaurants pay only when a diner walks in and spends. Grubhub declined to share the economics (NRN, Sep 29, 2026, checked Oct 2026).
- Who is in it. First partners include Tacombi, Juice Generation, Chopt, DIG, Dos Toros, Momoya, 7th Street Burger and Pokeworks. The tech comes from Claim, a rewards company bought by Grubhub's parent, Wonder.
- Read the reward closely. The guest's reward is Grubhub credit. Your dine-in visit pays the guest to order through Grubhub next time.
How DoorDash's omnichannel loyalty works
- One program, every channel. DoorDash says it rewards guests "wherever they order: in-store, online, or on DoorDash Marketplace" (DashOS page, checked Oct 2026).
- DoorDash's claim. Enrolled guests order about 1.8 times as often and spend about 1.75 times as much as guests who did not join. Loyal guests join loyalty programs, so this number shows who signs up more than what the program adds.
- Timing. DoorDash plans to bring SevenRooms guest profiles and loyalty to 80,000+ restaurants on Clover, Qu, Checkmate, Chowly, Deliverect, Stream and Urban Piper beginning in 2027 (DoorDash release, Sep 30, 2026, checked Oct 2026).
We cover the rest of DashOS, and six questions to ask before connecting, in what DashOS means for independent restaurants.
How to judge a pay-per-visit deal
"Pay only when they spend" sounds free. The real question is how many of those visits would have happened anyway. A regular who comes every Friday and happens to have The Drop on their phone now costs you a fee for a visit you already had.
- Get the rate in writing.Per visit, per dollar spent, or a percentage. Ask whether it applies to the full check, tax and tip included.
- Ask what share of redeeming guests are new to you.Grubhub says it shares data on which offers perform. Ask for new versus returning guests.
- Work out the cost per new guest.Total fees in a month, divided by the guests who had never visited before. Compare that with what a new guest is worth to you over a year.
- Set a cap.Ask whether you can limit redemptions per week or turn offers off on your busiest nights.
Our recommendation by situation
Use a delivery-app program when
- You are new in the neighborhood and need first visits.
- Your slow nights have empty seats you can fill at any margin above food cost.
- You can cap redemptions and see who is new.
Build your own first when
- Most of your sales come from regulars.
- You already pay delivery commissions and want fewer, not more.
- You want to text a guest about a new dish or a slow Tuesday without a middleman.
Our loyalty and win-back guide covers what rewards work for independents, and the guest list how-to shows how to start the list on any POS.
A guest list and win-back that stay in your name
AZ is a forward-deployed technology partner for independent restaurants. We connect your POS, ordering page, phone line and reviews to one guest list you own, then run win-back with you. Delivery-app programs can sit alongside it for discovery. Our proof restaurant in Houston runs all of it live.
guests known by name, 90% of them reachable by phone.
app orders last week paid with Apple Pay or Google Pay, so checkout takes seconds.
Self-serve direct orders went from 17% in mid-August to every direct order today.
From our proof restaurant's own systems, Oct 2026.
Where these facts come from
- Restaurant Dive: Grubhub dine-in rewards The Drop (Sep 29, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
- Nation's Restaurant News: Grubhub is launching a dine-in rewards program (Sep 29, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
- DoorDash: DoorDash Introduces DashOS (Sep 30, 2026) - checked Oct 2026
- DoorDash merchants: DashOS product page - checked Oct 2026
Questions owners ask
What is Grubhub The Drop?
The Drop is Grubhub's dine-in rewards program, launched in late September 2026 in New York City and Chicago. Guests link a card, pick a weekly reward at a partner restaurant, and earn Grubhub credit for pickup or delivery when they visit and pay.
How much does The Drop cost restaurants?
Grubhub says there are no upfront costs or fees, and restaurants pay only when a diner walks in and spends. It has not published the rate, so ask for it in writing before joining.
Is The Drop available in Texas?
Not yet. In October 2026 it was live in New York City and Chicago, with a broader national rollout planned and no date given.
Does DoorDash have a loyalty program for restaurants?
Yes. DoorDash's omnichannel loyalty, part of DashOS, rewards guests in-store, online and in the DoorDash app. DoorDash has not published its price, and wider rollout to Clover and other systems is planned from 2027.
Should I run my own loyalty program instead?
If most of your sales come from regulars, yes, start there. Your own program keeps every guest's contact and history with you. Delivery-app programs can be added later to find new guests.
See what your regulars are worth, and how to bring them back without a middleman.
No vendor commissions, so we tell you when a delivery-app program is worth it.
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