Food Delivery Cost Breakdown, Where Your Money Actually Goes

For every pound you spend on a UK delivery order, roughly 55-65p reaches the restaurant, 15-25p reaches the courier, and 20-30p stays with the platform. The exact split varies by platform, restaurant and order, but the rough proportions hold.

A worked example: £30 order on Uber Eats

A typical UK order: £20 of menu items at restaurant in-store prices, ordered through Uber Eats with a £2.99 delivery fee, £1.50 service fee, £2 tip. Total customer pays: £30.

Where the £30 goes:

  • Restaurant: £20 menu items × 70-75% (after Uber Eats commission) = £14-£15. Of that, £6-£8 is food and labour cost and £6-£7 is what the restaurant nets.
  • Courier: £2.99 delivery fee × 70-80% + £2 tip = £4.10-£4.40 to the driver.
  • Platform (Uber Eats): 25-30% of marked-up basket + service fee + small cut of delivery fee = £7-£8.

So on a £30 order:

  • £14-£15 to the restaurant (food, labour, profit).
  • £4-£4.50 to the courier (mostly your delivery fee + tip).
  • £7-£8 to Uber Eats (commission + service fee + delivery cut).
  • £2-£3 in food/raw ingredient costs that the restaurant pays out.

The platform's share is comparable to the courier's, and that is the part most customers do not realise.

A worked example: same order direct from the restaurant

Same £20 menu basket, ordered directly from the restaurant's website with a £3 delivery fee and £2 cash tip. Total customer pays: £25.

Where the £25 goes:

  • Restaurant: £20 menu items, no commission. Nets £8-£12 after food cost.
  • Courier (Stuart, Uber Direct or in-house): £3 delivery fee × 80% + £2 tip = £4.40 to the driver.
  • Courier service / payment processor: £0.60 of the delivery fee + small payment fee.
  • Platform: nothing.

So on a £25 direct order:

  • £8-£12 to the restaurant (food, labour, profit).
  • £4.40 to the courier.
  • ~£0.60 to courier service and processing.

Direct order pays the restaurant £2-£4 more, the courier the same, and the platform £7-£8 less. Customer saves £5.

What this means for your money

The simplest summary:

  • Apps are expensive primarily because of platform commission and service fees, not because couriers are overpaid.
  • Restaurants make less per app order. The platform extracts most of the gap.
  • Direct ordering shifts most of the platform's £7-£8 share back to you (savings) and a bit to the restaurant (modestly higher net).
  • Tips are the only line that goes 100% to the courier on Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Where the platform's share goes

Within the £7-£8 the platform keeps:

  • ~30% to operations (customer support, fraud, dispute handling).
  • ~25% to marketing and customer acquisition.
  • ~15% to technology (app, dispatch, infrastructure).
  • ~30% to profit and overhead.

Service fees fund the platform's profit margin more than its operational costs.

Where does my money actually go on a UK delivery order?

Roughly 50-55% to the restaurant (covering food, labour, profit), 15-20% to the courier (delivery fee plus tip), and 25-30% to the platform (commission + service fee + cut of delivery fee).

Why does the platform take so much?

Because UK delivery is a high-fixed-cost, low-margin business that requires high volume to break even. Service fees and commission fund operations, marketing, technology and profit. The platforms set fees at the level customers will tolerate.

How can I make sure more of my money reaches the restaurant?

Order direct from the restaurant's website or phone. That skips the platform commission entirely and roughly £5-£8 of the customer's overhead returns to either the restaurant or your pocket.