If you're searching for a Just Eat alternative, you've probably already done the maths on commission. The harder question is what you'd actually replace — because Just Eat isn't one tool, it's ordering, discovery, delivery and a customer list rolled into one. This guide covers what you give up, what you gain, and a checklist to switch without dropping the ball.

Quick answer

The best Just Eat alternative for most UK takeaways isn't another marketplace — it's your own commission-free ordering site plus a till and delivery tools. You keep ~25–30% that would have gone in commission, own your customers, and use the apps only for genuine new-customer discovery.

Why takeaways leave aggregators

Three reasons come up again and again: commission (around 14% if you self-deliver, ~25–30% when the app delivers — see the full 2026 breakdown), no customer ownership (the app keeps the relationship), and margin pressure as wages, energy and food costs rise into 2026. When commission is bigger than your net margin on a dish, every "successful" app order can lose you money.

What you give up vs what you gain

Give up: the marketplace's built-in discovery (lots of browsers who don't know you yet) and its courier network if you don't have your own drivers.

Gain: the commission on every direct order, your customer data and the ability to market to it, control of your menu and pricing, and a direct relationship that survives whatever the apps do to their fees next.

The smart move isn't "all or nothing" — it's keeping the apps for discovery while moving repeats to your own site.

An independent restaurant owner at the counter
Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

Checklist for a real alternative

A Just Eat replacement has to cover everything Just Eat did. Look for:

  • Ordering: your own branded site for collection and delivery, commission-free, with payments through your own provider.
  • EPOS / till: a till that takes web, phone and walk-in orders in one queue — ideally browser-based with no per-till licence.
  • Delivery: your own delivery zones, time slots and a driver screen (or an integration if you outsource delivery).
  • Customer data: names, order history and marketing consent that belong to you.
  • Support: someone to set it up and keep it running — switching shouldn't mean DIY software.

How VoiceMenu replaces the stack

VoiceMenu covers all five in one platform: a commission-free branded ordering site, a browser-based till on hardware you own, kitchen/bar/driver screens, mileage-based delivery zones and slots, and your customer data kept yours — set up and supported by us. There's no commission to us and no POS licence; you pay a flat monthly fee plus your own card processor. See the maths for takeaways, read how commission-free ordering works in practice, or get the side-by-side on our Just Eat alternative page.

Switching steps

  1. Stand up your own ordering site and till; run it alongside the apps.
  2. Add your "order direct" link to receipts, packaging, QR codes and your Google Business Profile.
  3. Give regulars a reason to switch (price or loyalty perk).
  4. Move your highest-volume customers first; keep the apps for discovery.
  5. Review the commission line monthly and scale back app reliance as direct grows.

Sources

  1. Commission ranges — our 2026 commission guide (official pricing pages, verified June 2026); verify your own rate in your Just Eat contract.
  2. Customer-data ownership / platform lock-in — Tan et al. (Taylor & Francis); check each platform's current terms.