What does a delivery cost you?
Setting your fee? Read how to set delivery fees and minimum orders, and check the UK rules on showing fees on your menu.
These are example values, not a recommended fee. Replace every number with your own.
Example: the National Living Wage for ages 21 and over from April 2026. Add employer costs on top.
Your own estimate. Count the whole round trip, including waiting for the food.
Out and back from your kitchen.
Example: HMRC approved rate for cars and vans from 6 April 2026. Motorcycles are 24p and bikes 20p.
Delivery bags, insurance share, card fees on the fee itself, anything else you can count.
What the customer pays for delivery today.
Basket before the delivery fee.
Orders you deliver yourself, not collection.
Cost of one delivery
£0.00
Also the fee that breaks even
Gap per delivery
£0.00
Over a month
£0
This uses only the numbers you type. It does not include food cost, packaging or VAT, so treat it as the cost of getting the order to the door.
How to use it
- Enter what a driver costs. Type an hourly cost and how many deliveries one driver makes in an hour, counting the full round trip and any waiting at the kitchen.
- Add the vehicle and extras. Enter the round-trip miles for a typical delivery, a cost per mile and any other cost you can count for each delivery.
- Compare it with your fee. Type the fee you charge, your average order value and deliveries per week. The calculator shows the gap per delivery and over a month.
How the sum works
Cost of one delivery = (driver cost per hour ÷ deliveries per hour) + (round-trip miles × cost per mile) + other cost per delivery.
With the example values on this page, that is £12.71 ÷ 2 = £6.36 for the driver, plus 4 miles × 55p = £2.20 for the vehicle, which comes to about £8.56. A £3 fee would then leave a gap of about £5.56 on each delivery. Those values are examples, not a typical takeaway. A shorter run, more deliveries per hour or a cheaper vehicle change the answer a lot, which is why every box is editable.
If the fee does not cover the delivery
- Charge by area. A short run and a long run do not cost the same, so a near zone and a far zone can carry different fees and minimum orders.
- Raise the minimum order for far areas so a long trip is worth making.
- Draw the outer edge where the cost stops making sense. The calculator shows the cost for a typical run, so try it with the round-trip miles of your furthest zone.
- Batch nearby orders if you can, which raises deliveries per hour.
- Show the fee early. Customers should see delivery fees and minimum orders before they check out. See the UK rules on menu prices and fees.
Where the example numbers come from
- £12.71 an hour is the National Living Wage for ages 21 and over from April 2026 (GOV.UK, read 10 November 2026). It is a floor for employees, and employer costs come on top.
- 55p a mile is HMRC's approved rate for cars and vans for the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026, with 24p for motorcycles and 20p for bikes (GOV.UK, read 10 November 2026). It is a tax rate for employees' own vehicles, so use it as a stand-in until you know your own cost per mile.
The commission side is in the commission calculator. For the rest of your margin, see the restaurant profit margin guide, and for how VAT applies to takeaway food see VAT on takeaway food.
Questions
How do I work out what a delivery costs?
Add the driver cost of one delivery (hourly cost divided by deliveries per hour) to the vehicle cost (round-trip miles times cost per mile) and any other cost per delivery. This calculator does that sum with your own numbers.
What delivery fee should I charge?
This calculator does not recommend a fee. It shows the cost of a delivery from the numbers you enter, so you can see whether your current fee covers it. The break-even fee is the cost of one delivery. Many takeaways then set a different fee for each area, which suits delivery zones on a map or by postcode.
Where do the example numbers come from?
The £12.71 hourly figure is the National Living Wage for ages 21 and over from April 2026 (GOV.UK, read 10 November 2026). The 55p a mile figure is HMRC's approved rate for cars and vans from 6 April 2026, with 24p for motorcycles and 20p for bikes (GOV.UK, read 10 November 2026). Both are only starting points. Your own costs are what count.
Does the calculator include VAT?
No. Enter your figures on the same basis, either all with VAT or all without. For how VAT applies to takeaway food and delivery, read our guide to VAT on takeaway food.
Is anything uploaded or saved?
No. The sum runs in this browser tab and nothing is sent to Chefzi or saved.
Does Chefzi send the driver?
No. Chefzi has no courier integrations. You deliver with your own drivers, or the customer collects. Each delivery zone can have its own fee, minimum order and delivery time.
Set a fee for each delivery zone.
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- ✓ No setup fee
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- ✓ Month to month, no contract
Starts from £9 a month. No credit card required. First month is on us. Live in 24–48 hours, max.
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