Free tool
Restaurant delivery fee calculator
Your real cost per delivery, what the customer pays at the pass-through you choose, what you absorb, and the order value below which free delivery loses money.
Suggested delivery charge
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Based on the pass-through you chose.
- Real cost per delivery
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- You absorb per delivery
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- Food margin on a typical order
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- Margin left after delivery
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Free-delivery floor
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Estimates. Rider productivity, distances and packaging vary by day; revisit the inputs after a month of real deliveries.
How it is worked out
- Own riders: cost per delivery = rider cost per hour ÷ deliveries per hour + vehicle cost per delivery + packaging.
- Per-trip service: cost per delivery = fee per trip + packaging.
- Suggested charge = cost per delivery × share charged to the customer.
- You absorb = cost per delivery − suggested charge.
- Food margin on a typical order = order value × gross margin %. Margin after delivery subtracts what you absorb.
- Free-delivery floor = cost per delivery ÷ gross margin %. At that order value the food margin equals the delivery cost; below it, free delivery loses money on the order.
Using the numbers
Deliveries per rider hour is the input that moves the result most. A rider doing three drops an hour costs roughly half as much per delivery as one doing one and a half. Tight delivery areas, batching orders going the same way, and realistic prep times that stop riders waiting all push that number up; the self-delivery page goes through the practical side.
Once you know the real cost, the charge is a pricing decision rather than a maths problem. Charging 60% of cost and setting a minimum order value is common; so is a flat charge with free delivery above a threshold set well above the floor shown here. Whatever you choose, apply it consistently on your own ordering site, where you control it, rather than discovering it was buried in a marketplace's fee structure. The delivery management page explains how charges are set per area.
To see how the delivery route changes your total monthly cost against a marketplace, use the online ordering cost calculator.
Delivery fee questions
Should I charge the full cost of delivery?
Not always. A delivery charge that fully covers a $7 trip is fine on a $45 order and off-putting on a $12 one. Many restaurants charge a flat fee below cost and recover the rest through a minimum order value or by pricing delivery items slightly higher. The calculator shows what you absorb at any pass-through percentage so you can see the trade-off.
What counts as the vehicle cost per delivery?
Fuel or charging for the round trip, plus a share of maintenance and insurance. For a scooter doing short urban trips this is often small, but it is not zero, and it rises with distance. If you do not know, start with a rough figure and refine it from a month of receipts.
How do I estimate deliveries per rider hour?
Count completed deliveries over a few typical shifts and divide by rider hours worked. Dense areas with short trips might manage three or four an hour; spread-out suburbs with long waits at the door might manage one and a half. The number has more effect on your cost per delivery than any other input.
What is the free-delivery floor?
The order value at which your gross margin on the food exactly equals the cost of delivering it. Below that order value, free delivery loses money on the order itself. It is a floor, not a target: set a free-delivery threshold comfortably above it, or do not offer free delivery at all.
Does Tuckly set delivery charges for me?
No. You set delivery areas and charges when you configure fulfilment, and the ordering page applies them. Distance-based pricing is not something to count on today; the delivery management page explains what is supported.
Set the charge where you control the checkout
Delivery areas and charges you decide, applied on your own ordering site, with no commission taken on the order.
Gateway fees, delivery and taxes are separate. Pricing