ChooseOutHow Restaurants Calculate Delivery Costs to Customers
A restaurant's delivery price is built from three layers — courier cost, packaging cost and platform commission. The customer pays the sum of these, sometimes split into separate fees, sometimes hidden in item prices. Understanding the maths makes the totals predictable.
The three layers
1. Courier cost. Whoever delivers your food gets paid £3-£6 per drop on average UK trips. If the restaurant uses Stuart, Uber Direct or its own fleet, this cost is direct. If the restaurant uses Uber Eats / Deliveroo / Just Eat, the courier is paid by the platform out of the commission.
2. Packaging cost. Bags, containers, sauce pots and labels run £0.20-£0.80 per order for most UK takeaway food, more for premium presentation.
3. Platform commission (apps only). 25-35% of the order total when ordered through Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Just Eat. Direct orders skip this layer.
How direct delivery prices form
A typical UK independent doing direct delivery:
- Food cost (raw ingredients): 30% of menu price.
- Kitchen labour: 25% of menu price.
- Packaging: 2% of menu price.
- Courier (Stuart or self-employed): £3-£4 per drop, often partly subsidised, partly passed to customer as £2-£3 delivery fee.
- Restaurant overhead and profit: the remainder.
A £20 menu basket on direct delivery: customer pays roughly £20 for food + £2-£3 delivery fee = £22-£23 total. Restaurant nets £6-£10 after costs.
How app delivery prices form
Same restaurant, same £20 menu basket, on Uber Eats:
- Item prices marked up 15-20% to recover commission: £20 in-store becomes £23-£24 on the app.
- Customer pays the marked-up basket + delivery fee + service fee + tip: £23-£24 + £3-£4 + £1.50-£2 + £2 tip = £30-£32.
- Platform takes 25-30% commission on the marked-up basket: £6-£7.
- Restaurant nets the remaining £16-£17 in revenue, before food and labour costs. After those, £3-£6 net profit.
The customer pays £8-£10 more on the app version. Most of the extra goes to the platform; the restaurant nets less than on direct delivery.
Why fees are split into multiple lines
Splitting one cost into delivery fee + service fee + small-order fee + surge serves two purposes:
- It makes each line look smaller and more reasonable.
- It allows promos like "free delivery" while still keeping the rest of the fee stack.
A flat £6 surcharge on a £20 order would feel oppressive. £2.99 + £1.50 + £1.99 + £0.50 totals the same but reads as a series of smaller, individually reasonable amounts.
What you can do with this knowledge
Three takeaways:
1. Direct ordering saves more than just the visible markup. It cuts out a layer that includes the platform's profit, not just its costs. 2. Service fees are pure margin to the platform. If you want to support the restaurant, ordering direct gets the most of your money to them. 3. Tips are the only line that goes 100% to the courier. Everything else is split between restaurant, courier and platform.
How much of my delivery fee goes to the driver?
On UK apps, typically 60-80% of the headline delivery fee passes to the courier. The rest stays with the platform. Service fees go almost entirely to the platform; tips go to the courier in full.
Why do delivery fees vary so much for the same restaurant?
Distance, demand, weather and platform policy all factor in. The same restaurant can have a £1.99 delivery fee at 3pm and £4.99 at 7pm. Platform commission and restaurant pricing are stable; courier-related costs are variable.
Do restaurants make money on delivery orders?
Less per order than dine-in. Direct delivery is comparable in margin to dine-in. App delivery has a notably thinner margin — many UK restaurants tolerate it for volume rather than profit per order.