Percentage-Off Deals: How Deep Do They Really Go?
Percentage-off deals look simple: take the advertised rate and apply it to your order. In practice, the depth depends on the offer's savings cap, minimum spend, and whether the discount covers the whole order or only selected items. DealMeal analyzed 4,564 distinct percentage offers across DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub on three 2026 observation dates to measure what these promotions actually promise.
The result is less dramatic than the biggest banners suggest. The median advertised discount was 20%, while 20%-off and 25%-off offers made up 78.6% of the sample. Promotions deeper than 30% represented just 4.1%—and the deepest offers were frequently limited to particular dishes.
Quick answer
Most percentage-off food delivery deals are 20% or 25% off. In DealMeal's three-snapshot sample, the median advertised rate was 20%. Discounts above 30% were uncommon, and 91.9% of 50%-off offers applied to selected items rather than an entire order. For whole-order promotions, a cap often reduces the effective percentage as the subtotal grows.
Key findings
20% was the median advertised discount among 4,564 distinct percentage offers.
20% and 25% accounted for 78.6% of all percentage offers in the current sample.
Only 4.1% were deeper than 30%.
81.7% carried a savings cap, with a median cap of $8 among 3,729 capped offers.
91.9% of 50%-off offers were item-scoped, meaning they applied to selected dishes rather than the whole order.
In the model, the share of eligible whole-order offers still paying the full advertised rate fell from 98.8% at a $20 subtotal to 23.5% at $50.
What is the typical percentage-off deal?
The market is concentrated around a short discount ladder. A 20%-off offer was the most common tier, representing 45.4% of the sample. Another 33.2% advertised 25% off. Together, those two familiar numbers accounted for nearly four in five percentage promotions.
Advertised tier | Distinct offers | Share |
|---|---|---|
15% off | 481 | 10.5% |
20% off | 2,072 | 45.4% |
25% off | 1,515 | 33.2% |
30% off | 280 | 6.1% |
35% off | 17 | 0.4% |
40% off | 132 | 2.9% |
50% off | 37 | 0.8% |
The current pattern also matches the broader historical result. Across 79,668 borrow-corrected percentage observations from July 13, 2025, through July 2, 2026, the pooled median advertised rate was 20%. Uber Eats and DoorDash had a 20% monthly median in every usable month. The available historical Grubhub records had much lower text-parsing coverage, so DealMeal does not use them to claim a Grubhub trend.
How rare are unusually large percentage discounts?
A large headline is possible, but it is not typical. Offers above 30% represented 4.1% of the 4,564 percentage offers. Exactly 50% off appeared 37 times, or 0.8% of the sample.
That 50% figure also needs a scope warning. Of those offers, 91.9% were item-scoped. They applied to selected menu items, not an entire order. The same issue appeared lower down the ladder: 47.1% of 35%-off offers and 34.3% of 30%-off offers were item-scoped.
These item deals were not fake. DoorDash menu data included 5,002 discounted items across the three snapshots, with a median item discount of 50% and a median dollar saving of $7.49. However, that item-level evidence is DoorDash-only and cannot be generalized to Uber Eats or Grubhub.
DealMeal data insight
Percentage promotions contain two different products under one label. Whole-order offers made up 90.7% of the sample and usually carried a cap, minimum, or both. The remaining 9.3% carried neither; 96.2% of those explicitly said “select items.” Comparing a 50%-off dish with a 20%-off order as though they cover the same purchase creates a misleading comparison.
Why the headline percentage shrinks on larger orders
A percentage discount scales only until its savings cap takes effect. If an offer promises 20% off up to $8, it reaches the cap at a $40 eligible subtotal. Above that point, the savings remain $8 while the order grows, so the effective percentage falls.
This is common. DealMeal found caps on 3,729 of 4,564 percentage offers, or 81.7%, and the median cap was $8. Among whole-order offers specifically, 90.1% carried a cap, 95.2% carried a minimum spend, and every offer had at least one of those restrictions.
Modelled food subtotal | Eligible offers | Headline rate still holds |
|---|---|---|
$20 | 2,669 | 98.8% |
$30 | 3,577 | 74.9% |
$50 | 3,974 | 23.5% |
$100 | 4,126 | 14.4% |
At a modelled $30 food subtotal, all three platforms produced a median realized depth of 20.0% in the pooled data. At $50, the pooled median varied from 15% to 16% across the three observation dates. The model excludes tax, fees, delivery charges, and tips, so it describes promotion mechanics rather than the final amount charged.
Deeper discounts use a floor instead of a ceiling
One of the most counterintuitive findings is that deeper whole-order discounts were less likely to be capped. A cap appeared on 91.5% of 15%-off offers but only 42.7% of 40%-off offers.
The deeper offers were not necessarily unrestricted. Among the 59 uncapped 40%-off offers, the median minimum spend was $60. In other words, platforms can control promotion cost in two ways: a shallow discount may stop at a savings ceiling, while a deep discount may require a high spending floor before it starts.
This is why the percentage alone cannot tell you whether a promotion fits your order. A 40%-off offer with a $60 minimum may be irrelevant to a small basket, while a capped 20%-off offer may deliver its full advertised rate at the subtotal you already intended to spend.
How the platforms differ
All three platforms had a 20% median advertised rate in the current sample, but their restrictions differed. Uber Eats was the clear structural outlier: none of its 518 percentage offers carried a recorded savings cap. Its 363 whole-order offers all carried a minimum spend instead.
Platform | Distinct percentage offers | Median advertised rate | Offers with a cap | Median whole-order minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DoorDash | 3,659 | 20% | 3,353 | $20 |
Uber Eats | 518 | 20% | 0 | $25 |
Grubhub | 387 | 20% | 376 | $20 |
The pooled current figures should not be treated as a perfectly balanced industry sample: DoorDash contributed 80.2% of the current percentage offers. Per-platform structure is more informative whenever the platforms differ.
How to judge a percentage-off deal
Check the scope. Confirm whether the discount covers the whole order or only selected items.
Find the minimum spend. Do not add food you did not plan to buy merely to unlock a higher headline rate.
Find the savings cap. Divide the cap by the advertised rate to see when the percentage stops scaling. For example, an $8 cap on 20% off begins binding at $40.
Use your intended subtotal. Compare the actual dollar saving at the amount you planned to spend.
Compare other deal types. A fixed-dollar or BOGO promotion may be better for your basket. DealMeal's analysis of percentage-off versus dollar-off promotions explains the tradeoff.
Review the full purchase. Promotion depth in this analysis excludes taxes, tips, and delivery charges, so compare the final cart values before ordering.
You can also review the DealMeal product guide to learn how to discover, filter, and compare available promotions, or explore the broader collection of food delivery deals.
Compare the deal, not only the headline
DealMeal helps you compare available food promotions across supported platforms and nearby restaurants, so you can check the scope, minimum, and likely dollar value before choosing an offer.
Get DealMeal and compare food deals
Methodology and limitations
DealMeal analyzed three daily snapshots dated August 5, August 13, and August 19, 2026. After deduplicating recurring geographic records within each snapshot, the current dataset contained 14,541 distinct offers, including 4,564 percentage offers from DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. The analysis also reviewed 805,969 menu records and 79,668 historical percentage observations from July 13, 2025, through July 2, 2026.
An offer was classified as item-scoped when it carried neither a savings cap nor a minimum; 407 of 423 such offers explicitly referenced selected items. Realized depth was modelled for whole-order offers as the smaller of the advertised percentage saving or the stated cap, provided the subtotal met the minimum. Offers whose minimum was not met were excluded at that subtotal.
The three snapshots test whether the structure repeats across separate days; they do not establish a trend. The August 13 sample was smaller, and some large-order results moved materially, so the article reports the pooled $50 result as a 15%–16% range. No observed basket totals, taxes, tips, delivery charges, final checkout totals, or offer expiration dates were available. Item-level discount data was populated only for DoorDash. Geographic and chain-level comparisons were not supportable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common percentage discount on food delivery?
In DealMeal's current sample, 20% off was the most common tier at 45.4% of percentage offers. The median advertised rate was also 20%.
Are 50%-off food delivery deals common?
No. Exactly 50% off represented 0.8% of the percentage offers analyzed, and 91.9% of those promotions applied to selected items rather than a whole order.
Why does a percentage-off deal save less on a larger order?
A savings cap stops the discount from scaling. Once the percentage calculation reaches the cap, the dollar saving stays fixed while the subtotal continues to grow.
Do all percentage deals have a maximum saving?
No. DealMeal found a cap on 81.7% of all percentage offers. Uber Eats had no recorded caps in its 518-offer sample, but its whole-order offers all had minimum spends.
Is a bigger percentage always the better deal?
No. A larger rate may apply only to selected items or require a high minimum spend. Compare the eligible items, minimum, cap, and dollar saving at your intended subtotal.
Does realized discount depth include delivery fees and tips?
No. DealMeal modelled the discount against the food subtotal only. Taxes, tips, delivery charges, and other checkout costs were not included.
Conclusion
The realistic headline for percentage-off food delivery deals is not 40% or 50%; it is 20% to 25%. Larger promotions appear, but they are rare and often apply only to selected dishes. Whole-order percentages can also lose depth as a savings cap takes over.
Judge each promotion against the food you intend to buy and the subtotal you already planned to spend. Checking scope, minimum, and cap produces a more useful answer than chasing the largest percentage—and DealMeal can help you compare those details across available offers.
