New App Olo Cuts Food Delivery Prices With 5% Flat Fee

That $12 salad you ordered last week probably cost $15 on your delivery app, and you're tired of surprise fees that seem to change every time you checkout.

Olo, a new food delivery app launching today on Android and iOS, wants to fix that frustrating problem. The app charges restaurants just 5% per order instead of the 20 to 30% that major platforms demand.

That difference matters because restaurants usually pass those massive fees onto you by raising their menu prices. On Olo, you'll see the same prices posted inside the restaurant itself.

"Restaurants are paying 20 to 30 percent commissions to the marketplaces and are offsetting that by increasing the price," says Noah Glass, Olo's founder and CEO. His solution keeps it simple with transparent pricing and a flat 5% service fee.

The app also ditches another major annoyance: sponsored listings and endless ads. When you open Olo, you'll just see restaurants near you that accept the app, plus your recent orders for easy reordering.

Glass isn't new to food ordering tech. He started working in digital restaurant ordering back in 2005, before the iPhone even existed, with a company that let people order coffee via text message. That company eventually became Olo's behind-the-scenes software, which now processes over 3.5 million restaurant orders every day through various platforms.

The Bright Side

While Olo starts with 250 restaurant brands, the company plans to expand quickly. Glass has spent two decades building relationships in the restaurant industry, giving him an advantage as he takes on the delivery giants.

Switching apps might seem like a hassle when you're already comfortable with your current choice. But if that chicken wrap costs $3 less on Olo than on your usual app, the math gets pretty simple.

The app arrives at the perfect time, as more people push back against hidden fees and inflated prices that make ordering dinner feel like a bad deal.

For anyone who's ever compared an app menu to in-store prices and felt that sting of markup, Olo offers a refreshing alternative where convenience doesn't have to mean overpaying.