Is This Delivery Worth It?
What one order really pays you per hour, after the cost of running your vehicle.
Part of the 🛵 Delivery Drivers toolkit, with more tools made for the job.
To the pickup, to the customer, and back if you go back.
Waiting at the restaurant counts.
From the cost per km or mile calculator.
Tells you whether the order clears it.
Type what the order pays, the distance, the time and what your vehicle costs per distance, and what you keep appears here.
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Type what the order pays, the total distance and time, and what your vehicle costs per km or mile. This shows what you keep, what that is per hour, and what the order would need to pay to be worth it.
An order that pays well on paper can be a poor deal once the distance, the waiting and the cost of running the vehicle are counted. A short order with a long wait can be worse than a longer one that moves. Checking a few typical orders against your own cost per km gives you a simple rule for which ones to accept.
How it’s worked out
- Vehicle cost for the order is the total distance times your cost per km or mile, plus any parking, tolls or battery swap.
- What you keep is the pay (tip included) minus that cost.
- Per hour is what you keep divided by the total time in hours, waiting included.
- If you give an hourly pay you want, the pay needed is the vehicle cost plus that hourly pay for the time the order takes.
An order paying 6 for 7 km and 30 minutes, with a vehicle cost of 0.25 per km and 0.50 for parking, costs 2.25 to make, so you keep 3.75. That is 7.50 an hour. To reach 15 an hour it would need to pay about 9.75.
Common mistakes
- Counting only the distance to the customer. Include the ride to the pickup and the way back if you go back.
- Leaving out waiting. Time at the restaurant is time you cannot spend on another order.
- Using the full pay without the vehicle cost. The cost per km is what turns pay into what you keep.
- Judging one order alone. A bad order in a busy spot can be better than a good one in a quiet area, so look at your whole hour.
Questions
Where do I get my cost per km?
From the delivery vehicle cost calculator. If you have used it, a link under the box fills in your number.
Should I include tips?
Yes, if you know them. Put the pay and tip together in the first box.
What hourly pay should I put?
Whatever you want to keep per hour after vehicle costs. It is optional. Try the real earnings calculator to see what your normal weeks give.
Does it include tax and platform fees?
No. Use the pay you actually receive for the order. Tax is not taken off.
Estimates only
These are estimates and general information, not financial, tax, legal or professional advice. Costs, fuel and electricity prices, pay rates, tax rules and platform rules differ by country and place, so use your own figures and check the rules where you live.
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