Wolt operates in 27+ countries and is the preferred platform for restaurant discovery in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia. Since its acquisition by DoorDash in 2022, it has maintained its own brand and operation while expanding aggressively.
For restaurant owners deciding whether to join — or optimizing their existing presence — here's what you need to know about how Wolt works in 2026.
Commission structure
Wolt's commission ranges from 20% to 30% depending on your market, restaurant category, and negotiated terms.
Base commission: Most restaurants start at 25–28%. In highly competitive urban markets, Wolt sometimes offers lower introductory rates to acquire restaurant supply.
How it's structured: Wolt takes a percentage of the food subtotal (exclusive of any delivery fee paid by the customer). This includes payment processing — you don't pay separately for credit card handling.
Wolt's commission tends to run slightly lower than Glovo's in head-to-head comparisons in shared markets. The difference is typically 2–5 percentage points, which matters significantly at scale.
What the commission covers
The Wolt commission includes:
- Platform listing and visibility in the Wolt app
- Wolt courier delivery (where Wolt provides delivery)
- Order management and customer support
- Marketing placement in standard search results
- Payment processing and settlement
Wolt handles customer complaints related to delivery (damaged items, wrong delivery). Restaurant-caused issues (wrong order, missing items) remain your responsibility.
Wolt Partner plan tiers
Wolt offers differentiated partnership tiers that affect visibility, marketing inclusion, and commission:
Standard: Base commission, standard search placement, access to the basic restaurant dashboard.
Featured: Higher commission or monthly fee in exchange for priority placement in category search, inclusion in curated lists ("Top Picks," "Popular Near You"), and participation in app-wide promotions.
Premium: For high-volume restaurants. Includes dedicated account management, first access to new platform features, custom marketing campaigns. Terms negotiated directly.
The practical impact: a Standard restaurant listing in a city with 500 other restaurants may get limited organic visibility. Investing in Featured placement can significantly increase order volume — but at a cost. Run the math before upgrading.
Contract terms and exclusivity
Wolt's restaurant contracts in 2026 are typically 12–24 months. Key terms to review:
Exclusivity clauses: Some Wolt contracts include clauses limiting your ability to be listed on competing platforms simultaneously or to offer lower prices on other channels. Read this carefully. Exclusivity is a significant constraint.
Termination notice: Most contracts require 30–60 days notice to exit. You can't leave on 24 hours notice if a better option appears.
Price parity: Wolt may require that prices on their platform are no higher than prices on your website or other channels. This prevents you from raising Wolt prices to offset commission. It does not prevent you from offering lower prices directly (with the discount framed as a loyalty reward or direct ordering discount).
Performance requirements: Some contracts include minimum acceptance rate and order fulfillment requirements. Consistently rejecting orders or having high cancellation rates can trigger contract review.
Onboarding process
Timeline: Wolt's onboarding typically takes 2–4 weeks from application to first order. This includes:
- Application and initial review (3–7 days)
- Contract negotiation and signing (3–5 days)
- Menu upload and photo requirements (3–7 days)
- Technical setup and tablet/printer delivery (3–5 days)
- Soft launch with limited visibility
Menu requirements: Wolt has specific requirements for menu photos — minimum resolution, aspect ratio, and content standards. Many restaurants need to reshoot their photos to meet Wolt specs.
Equipment: Wolt provides a tablet for order management at a subsidized or free cost. A receipt printer is optional but strongly recommended for kitchen workflow.
The Wolt dashboard: what you can manage
Through the Wolt Partner platform, restaurants can:
- Update menu items, prices, and availability in real time
- Mark items as sold out (updates immediately in the app)
- View order history and financial reports
- Respond to customer reviews
- Manage opening hours and delivery zones
- Access marketing campaign tools (Featured placement purchases)
The dashboard is usable and reasonably intuitive. Updates to menu prices and availability propagate to the customer app within minutes.
Wolt's review and rating system
Customers rate orders after delivery on a scale with thumbs up/down or stars (varies by market). Ratings factor into:
- Your restaurant's position in search results
- Eligibility for Featured placement
- Account health metrics Wolt uses internally
Managing ratings:
- Respond to negative reviews professionally and quickly
- For reviews citing delivery issues (not your fault), contact Wolt partner support — some can be flagged as delivery-attributable
- A consistent rating above 4.5 stars gives you negotiating leverage on commission
One bad review in a day of 50 good orders has minimal impact. A pattern of 3.5-star ratings over several weeks significantly affects visibility.
Wolt's marketing products
Beyond the base listing, Wolt offers several marketing tools:
Sponsored placement: Pay to appear at the top of category search. CPM or CPC pricing. Useful during launch or for targeting specific time slots.
Wolt+ inclusion: Wolt's subscription service (free delivery for subscribers) drives significant order volume. Participation means higher order volume but lower per-order margin (you pay an additional fee or the delivery fee is subsidized).
Flash deals: Limited-time discounts (20% off, free item with order) promoted through push notifications to nearby Wolt users. Drives volume during slow periods. Works best for lunch specials and mid-week gaps.
Campaign participation: Seasonal campaigns (Valentine's Day, local events) with prominent placement in the app. Application required. High demand — not all restaurants are selected.
Optimizing your Wolt presence
Respond to orders quickly. Wolt's algorithm rewards restaurants with fast acceptance rates (under 2 minutes). Slow acceptance drops your visibility.
Accurate preparation times. Set your stated prep time 5 minutes longer than your realistic prep time. Orders delivered earlier than estimated get better ratings than orders delivered on time.
Strategic hours: Your Wolt hours affect how often you appear in searches. Keep hours accurate — being shown as "open" when you're closed hurts your rating. But being shown as closed during hours you could realistically handle orders misses volume.
Photo quality: Wolt's algorithm correlates high-quality item photos with higher conversion and therefore higher placement. Invest in menu photos, especially for your top 10 items.
Comparing Wolt to alternatives
| Factor | Wolt | Glovo | |--------|------|-------| | Commission | 20–30% | 25–35% | | Market presence | N/EU, some CEE | S/CEE/Africa | | Platform quality | High | High | | Negotiability | Moderate | Moderate | | Exclusivity risk | Yes (read contract) | Yes (read contract) |
The right platform depends on where your customers are. In many markets, being on both Wolt and Glovo doubles your discovery surface but at the cost of managing two separate operations.
The direct channel alongside Wolt
Wolt brings you discovery. Your own platform (Restmarket, your website) handles retention. These goals are compatible — you don't need to choose between them.
The optimal model: use Wolt to acquire new customers, convert repeat customers to direct ordering via incentives in your packaging, and build a customer base that generates revenue without commission.
A restaurant doing €20,000/month in Wolt orders paying 25% commission ($5,000/month) that converts 30% to direct ordering saves €1,500/month — €18,000/year. That's a meaningful number for an independent restaurant.