Many Philippine restaurants want the cost benefits of direct online ordering without the operational overhead of running their own delivery fleet. Lalamove, Grab Express, and Borzo offer a clean middle path: restaurants accept and process orders through their own website, then dispatch a courier for last-mile delivery.
The short answer
Direct online ordering with Lalamove or Grab Express integration costs ₱15,000–₱30,000 on top of a Business-tier (₱120K–₱180K) restaurant website build. The model works well for restaurants with consistent monthly direct-order volume above ₱50,000 — at that scale, the platform commission savings (vs. GrabFood/Foodpanda) more than cover the build cost and ongoing delivery fees.
How the integration works
- Customer browses your menu on your website
- Customer adds items to cart, enters delivery address, and pays (via GCash, Maya, PayMongo, or HitPay)
- Your kitchen receives the order via email/SMS notification or POS integration
- After the order is prepared, your staff books a Lalamove or Grab Express pickup through their merchant dashboard or API
- Courier picks up the order and delivers to the customer
- Customer receives the order; both restaurant and courier confirm completion
Integration approaches
Manual booking: Staff books each Lalamove or Grab Express delivery manually after the order is prepared. Simplest implementation. Works at low volume (under 30 orders/day). No API integration cost.
Automated booking via API: When the order is marked ready in your kitchen system, the API automatically requests a Lalamove or Grab Express courier. More expensive to build (₱20,000–₱40,000 added) but eliminates the manual booking step. Works at higher volume.
Hybrid: Manual booking with pre-filled delivery details. Staff clicks a button that opens the courier app with order details already populated. Reduces manual entry without full API integration. Around ₱10,000–₱20,000 added cost.
Lalamove vs Grab Express vs Borzo
Lalamove: Strong reliability, app-based booking, good coverage Metro Manila and major provincial cities. Service tiers (Motorcycle, Sedan, MPV) at different price points.
Grab Express: Tightly integrated with Grab ecosystem. Good driver supply during peak hours due to Grab’s overall driver pool. Slightly higher cost on some routes.
Borzo: Newer entrant, competitive pricing on some routes. Smaller PH driver pool than Lalamove and Grab.
Most restaurants offer one primary courier and a fallback for capacity issues during peak hours.
Cost economics
Sample monthly delivery volume comparison:
| Channel | Monthly Orders | Revenue | Platform/Delivery Cost | Net Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrabFood (25% commission) | 300 | ₱150,000 | ₱37,500 | ₱112,500 |
| Direct + Lalamove (3.5% payment + ₱80 avg delivery passed to customer) | 300 | ₱150,000 | ₱5,250 | ₱144,750 |
The savings on 300 orders/month: ₱32,250. Annual: ₱387,000. The build cost is recovered in 2–3 months at this volume.
Below 100 orders/month, the savings don’t justify the build complexity. Above 200 orders/month, the savings are significant.
Customer-facing delivery experience
Build customer trust around the delivery experience:
- Show delivery fee at checkout (calculated by distance from your kitchen to customer address)
- Send confirmation email with order summary
- Send “preparing your order” status
- Send “courier on the way” notification with tracking link (provided by Lalamove or Grab Express)
- Send “order delivered” confirmation
This information flow is critical — without it, customers default to platform UX expectations and feel frustrated.
Budget
Integration into a Business-tier restaurant website: ₱15,000–₱30,000 added to the build, depending on integration depth (manual vs. API).
Per-delivery cost (customer pays): ₱60–₱200 within Metro Manila, varying by distance.
Payment processing: 3.5% of order value via PayMongo or HitPay.
Restaurant ready to add direct ordering with Lalamove or Grab Express pickup? Send your details through the contact page for a specific recommendation within one Philippine business day.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a restaurant offer direct ordering with Lalamove or Grab Express pickup?
- Yes. Restaurants with their own online ordering can use Lalamove, Grab Express, or Borzo as the delivery layer. The restaurant accepts and processes the order; the delivery service handles pickup and last-mile delivery. This is a common operating model for restaurants that want direct ordering without building their own delivery fleet.
- How much does Lalamove or Grab Express integration cost?
- Adding Lalamove or Grab Express pickup to a restaurant website with direct ordering costs ₱15,000–₱30,000 added to the build — usually included in the Business-tier scope. Per-delivery costs (charged to customer or restaurant) typically range ₱60–₱200 within Metro Manila depending on distance and service tier.
- Should the customer pay for delivery or should the restaurant?
- Most Philippine restaurants pass delivery cost to the customer at checkout. The customer sees the food total plus delivery fee. Some restaurants subsidize delivery (free delivery over ₱500) as a promotion. The restaurant pays Lalamove or Grab directly; the customer pays the restaurant.
- Is direct ordering with Lalamove pickup better than GrabFood?
- It depends on volume. GrabFood handles discovery, customer acquisition, and platform UX — costs you 20–25% commission. Direct ordering with Lalamove pickup costs you the development cost upfront and roughly 3.5% payment processing — but you handle marketing and customer service. For high-volume restaurants, direct ordering is significantly cheaper per order; for low-volume, the math doesn't work.
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