Cost per Delivery Calculator
Work out what each delivery really costs: fuel, driver pay, vehicle and overheads per stop, per successful delivery and per mile or km.
Cost per delivery is the number that decides whether a delivery fee, a route or a customer is profitable. It is easy to underestimate because driver payroll costs, the vehicle lease and software are paid monthly, not per stop. This calculator turns one vehicle's daily and monthly costs into a cost per delivery attempt, per successful delivery and per mile or kilometre.
How to use this tool
- Choose miles or kilometres.
- Enter the delivery attempts per day and the share that succeed on the first try.
- Enter route distance, fuel economy and fuel price.
- Add driver hours, wage and payroll overhead, then the monthly vehicle and other costs and the working days per month.
Formula
Daily cost = fuel + driver labour + (monthly vehicle + other costs) ÷ working days + distance × maintenance rate
Cost per successful delivery = daily cost ÷ (attempts × success rate)
Fuel is distance ÷ mpg × price per gallon, or distance × L/100 km ÷ 100 × price per litre. Driver labour is hours × wage × (1 + payroll overhead %). Fixed monthly costs are spread evenly over the working days.
Example
A van makes 100 stops on a 100-mile route at 10 mpg with fuel at $4.00 a gallon ($40), and the driver works 10 hours at $20 with no extra overhead ($200). With no other costs, the day costs $240, so each delivery costs $2.40. If only 80 of the 100 attempts succeed, the cost per successful delivery rises to $3.00.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical cost per delivery?
It varies widely with stop density, wages and vehicle type. Dense urban parcel routes can be a few dollars per stop, while rural or two-person furniture deliveries can cost many times more, so use your own figures.
How much do failed deliveries cost?
The model spreads the entered daily costs across successful deliveries. Holding costs constant, improving success from 90% to 95% reduces cost per success by 1 − 90/95 ≈ 5.26%. Actual failed attempts and redelivery costs can differ.
Should I include the warehouse and dispatch staff?
For a full cost, yes: add this vehicle's share of depot rent, dispatchers and software to Other costs per month. Leave them out if you only want the marginal driving cost.
Last updated: 2026-10-30