Just Eat now takes orders on WhatsApp: what it means for UK takeaways

Since 1 October 2026, UK customers can order from Just Eat inside WhatsApp. They message Just Eat's number, 07476 549170, ask for what they fancy, and Just Eat's AI assistant suggests restaurants and builds the basket in the chat. Payment then happens in the Just Eat app. Just Eat says customers can order from any of its 100,000 UK partners this way. For your takeaway, these are still Just Eat orders: the customer belongs to Just Eat, and Just Eat's release mentions no change to partner fees, so expect your normal Just Eat agreement to apply. If your regulars already message you on WhatsApp, you can take those orders on your own number instead, at 0% commission.

Create your free ordering pageBook a demo (opens in a new tab)

Checked 20 October 2026 against Just Eat Takeaway.com's own press releases. Menuthere is not affiliated with Just Eat.

What Just Eat launched, in its own words

Just Eat calls itself the first UK delivery platform to offer this. Meta's VP for EMEA, Derya Matras, is quoted in the release.

What it means for your takeaway

1. It's another door into Just Eat, not a new channel for you. The chat sends the customer to Just Eat's checkout. The order lands on your Orderpad like any other Just Eat order, and the customer's details stay with Just Eat.

2. Commission is unchanged, as far as Just Eat has said. Just Eat's UK sign-up page listed 14% + VAT when you deliver with your own drivers and 30% + VAT when Just Eat delivers (July 2026 copy; your agreement is the final word). Nothing in the WhatsApp release changes that. See Just Eat commission in the UK.

3. Your regulars may now think "WhatsApp" means "Just Eat". If a customer used to message your own number for a Friday order, Just Eat's chat is now one tap away in the same app. That's the real competitive point: Just Eat is teaching UK customers to order food by message.

4. Your own WhatsApp number is still yours. Just Eat's chat runs on Just Eat's number. Nothing stops you from taking orders on your own WhatsApp Business number, as long as you follow your Just Eat agreement on prices and customer data.

Just Eat on WhatsApp vs WhatsApp ordering on your own number

Where Just Eat is better: customers build the whole basket inside the chat, and they can discover restaurants they've never heard of. Menuthere links out to your menu page; it doesn't take the order inside the chat.

Where your own number is better: the order, the customer and the margin are yours, and the next order comes back to you, not to a marketplace that also lists the takeaway next door.

What a WhatsApp order costs: a worked UK example

A takeaway sells 200 delivery orders a month at £22. Here's one order through each route.

Notes on the maths:

• WhatsApp: Meta bills each order update at its UK utility rate, £0.0159, to your own WhatsApp account. Menuthere adds no markup. The reply to the customer's "Hi" is a service message, and each number gets 1,000 of those free a month. Three updates (accepted, out for delivery, completed) cost about 5p. You don't need all six.
• Delivery: on your own channel you deliver yourself or offer collection. Your driver's time and mileage come on top, and you can charge a delivery fee. Our own delivery drivers guide works through those costs in pounds.
• VAT: if you're VAT-registered you can usually reclaim the VAT on Just Eat's commission. The commission itself is still gone.
• The plan: Pro is billed in US dollars (US$39 a month); your bank converts it.

Want to run your own numbers? The delivery app loss calculator opens with Just Eat UK at 30%.

How to take WhatsApp orders on your own number

1. Create your ordering page. Sign up, import your menu from a photo or PDF, and set collection and delivery. Ordering is free for 50 orders a month.
2. Move to Pro to connect WhatsApp. Pro is US$39 a month, with a 7-day free trial (a card is needed to start; nothing is charged until it ends).
3. Connect your WhatsApp number with Facebook sign-in. You can keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number.
4. Switch on the flows you want. The "Hi" welcome with an Order Now button, and two or three order updates. The Out for delivery message carries a Track Order button to a live map.
5. Add your riders to the Menuthere Delivery App (iPhone and Android) if you deliver yourself. You assign each order with one tap.
6. Tell your regulars. Make a "Hi, I'd like to order" link with the free WhatsApp link generator and put it on your Google profile, flyers and bags.

More detail: WhatsApp ordering system for UK takeaways, WhatsApp Business API pricing in the UK and the WhatsApp Business hub for restaurants.

Should you stay on Just Eat?

For most takeaways, yes, for now. Just Eat brings customers you'd never reach on your own, and WhatsApp ordering may bring a few more. The money is in what happens next: a customer who found you on Just Eat and liked the food can order direct next time.

• Keep Just Eat for discovery.
• Give regulars your own number and ordering link, at 0% commission.
• Check your Just Eat agreement before you promote direct prices or contact customers who found you on Just Eat. Use Just Eat customer details only to fulfil Just Eat orders.

Running Just Eat day to day? Read our Just Eat Partner Hub guide. Not on Just Eat yet? See how to join Just Eat as a restaurant. Weighing up a move away? See Just Eat alternatives and our takeaway ordering system.

Take WhatsApp orders on your own number.

Create your free ordering pagebook a demo (opens in a new tab)