Why We Charge 10% (And Why That Matters to You)

Let's talk about money. Specifically, where it goes when you order food delivery, book a handyman, or hire someone for a gig.

On DoorDash, restaurants pay 15-30% commission per order. TaskRabbit takes 15% from service providers, plus a booking fee from customers. Uber Eats? 25-30% from restaurants, easy. That's before processing fees, marketing costs, and all the other line items.

Lumo charges 10%. Flat. No hidden booking fees. No surge pricing on our cut.

Why? And what does that actually mean for you?

The Math That Actually Matters

Here's a real example: You hire a handyman through a typical platform for $100.

If the platform takes 20%, the handyman gets $80. If they're good at what they do and want to earn a living wage, they probably quoted you higher to compensate for that platform cut. Maybe the job should cost $85, but they're charging $100+ to account for fees.

On Lumo, that same handyman pays $10 in commission. They can charge you $90 and still take home more money than they would've at $100 on the other platform. You pay less. They earn more. Everyone wins except the middleman taking 20%.

This isn't theoretical. Our providers consistently tell us they can price 10-15% lower than competitors while making the same or better money per job.

What We Don't Do (And Why)

Honesty time: We don't have Super Bowl ads. We don't offer 24/7 phone support with two-minute hold times. We haven't gamified the experience with animated confetti when you complete a booking.

Here's what we've specifically chosen not to invest in:

Massive marketing budgets. Those DoorDash commercials aren't free. Neither are the constant promos and discounts designed to create platform dependency. That money comes from somewhere—usually the 25% commission.

Redundant support layers. We have real humans who help when things go wrong, but we've built the platform to prevent problems rather than just react to them. Our dispute resolution is straightforward, not staffed like a call center.

Complex algorithmic matching. Some platforms use sophisticated (expensive) AI to assign jobs. We let customers choose their providers based on ratings, reviews, and profiles. Old school, maybe. But it works, and it doesn't require millions in tech infrastructure.

Investor-pleasing growth-at-all-costs. We're building a sustainable business, not burning venture capital to subsidize artificially low prices while gouging providers on the backend.

The Trade-Offs Are Real

We're not claiming we're perfect. With lower fees, we've made conscious choices:

Our platform is clean and functional, not flashy. We focus on reliability over bells and whistles. If you want augmented reality filters on your food delivery, we're not your platform.

We grow through word-of-mouth more than paid ads. That means we might not be the first name you think of—yet. But it also means we're not pricing in a Super Bowl slot into every transaction.

We're local-first. We're not trying to be everything everywhere. We're building density in the communities we serve, which means better service and lower operational costs.

Why 10% Is Actually Sustainable

The dirty secret of the gig economy is that high commissions don't necessarily mean better service or better technology. Often, they mean:

Subsidizing unprofitable markets
Paying for customer acquisition instead of customer service
Funding executive compensation and shareholder returns

At 10%, we cover our actual costs: payment processing, platform maintenance, customer support, trust and safety, insurance, and modest operational overhead. We're profitable on a per-transaction basis, which means we're not dependent on endless funding rounds or eventual price hikes to survive.

Our providers keep more of what they earn. Our customers pay closer to the true cost of the service. The platform stays healthy without extracting maximum value from every transaction.

The Bottom Line

That handyman, food delivery driver, or moving crew? They're doing the actual work. They deserve the lion's share of what you pay.

We're here to connect you safely and reliably. We handle payments, disputes, and trust. We maintain the platform. That's worth 10%.

The other 10-20% that competitors charge? That's worth questioning.

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Curious what 10% pricing looks like in practice? Check out local services, delivery options, and gigs on Lumo—and see the difference for yourself.