Most restaurant owners think calculating delivery margins is the same as dine-in margins - that's completely wrong. Platform fees, sky-high rent prices and packaging costs silently devour your profits. Here's how to calculate your real margin and spot where adjustments matter most.
The hidden costs of delivery
Delivery meals carry different cost structures than traditional restaurants. You'll save on waitstaff but you're hit with platform fees, packaging expenses and often brutal rent per square meter in urban areas.
💡 Example delivery meal costs:
Pasta carbonara, selling price €16.50 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Ingredients: €4.80
- Packaging (container, lid, bag): €0.65
- Platform fee (25%): €3.78
- Rent per portion: €1.20
- Labor per portion: €2.50
Total costs: €12.93 - Margin: €2.22 (14.7%)
Calculate platform fees correctly
Thuisbezorgd, Uber Eats and Deliveroo grab 15-30% commission from your selling price. This hits you on top of ingredient costs, not instead of them.
⚠️ Note:
Platform fees get calculated on your selling price including VAT. A dish priced at €16.50 costs you €4.13 in commission at 25% platform fee, not €3.78.
Calculate rent costs per portion
Expensive cities mean higher rent per square meter. You need to allocate this cost to each portion to see your real expenses.
Formula rent per portion:
(Monthly rent / Working days) / Average number of portions per day
💡 Example rent calculation:
Dark kitchen Amsterdam, 40m²:
- Rent per month: €3,200
- Working days: 26 days
- Portions per day: 100
Rent per portion: €3,200 / 26 / 100 = €1.23
Include packaging costs
Packaging represents a direct cost that too many operators overlook. You must account for every component: container, lid, cutlery, napkin, bag.
- Standard meal container: €0.35-0.50
- Lid: €0.10-0.15
- Paper bag: €0.08-0.12
- Cutlery set: €0.05-0.08
- Napkins/sauce packaging: €0.02-0.05
Total packaging runs €0.60-0.90 per order on average.
Adjust labor costs
Delivery operations need different staffing than table service. You'll use fewer front-of-house staff but require more kitchen and dispatch workers. After managing kitchen operations for nearly a decade, I've seen how this shift affects your labor allocation across different service models.
💡 Labor cost comparison:
Restaurant vs. delivery (per portion):
- Restaurant: €3.50 (kitchen + service)
- Delivery: €2.50 (kitchen + dispatch only)
Savings: €1.00 per portion on labor
Calculate minimum selling price
Your selling price must cover all costs plus your desired margin to stay profitable.
Formula minimum price:
(Ingredients + Packaging + Rent per portion + Labor per portion) / (1 - Platform fee % - Desired margin %)
⚠️ Note:
Always work with your net margin. If you want 15% profit and pay 25% platform fee, you have 60% remaining for costs (100% - 25% - 15%).
Digital support
Tools like KitchenNmbrs automatically calculate these cost components per dish. You input ingredients, packaging costs and rent, then immediately see your actual margin per delivery meal.
How do you calculate the margin on delivery meals? (step by step)
Gather all cost items
Add up: ingredient costs, packaging (container, lid, bag, cutlery), rent per portion and labor per portion. Don't forget any component.
Calculate platform fee impact
Multiply your selling price by the platform fee percentage (usually 15-30%). This amount goes directly off your revenue.
Deduct all costs from net revenue
Net revenue = selling price minus platform fee. Deduct all direct costs from this. What's left is your margin.
Check if margin is sufficient
Aim for a minimum of 15-20% net margin on delivery meals. Lower means you're probably losing money on busy days.
✨ Pro tip
Track your margin on delivery orders every 2 weeks, not monthly. Platform fees shift frequently and packaging suppliers adjust prices without warning, so you need faster visibility into margin erosion.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I include VAT in my margin calculation?
Always calculate with prices excluding VAT for your margin calculation. You pass the VAT on to the tax authority, it's not yours.
How do I pass rent costs through to portions?
Divide your monthly rent by the number of working days, and that again by your average number of portions per day. This gives you rent costs per portion.
Are packaging costs really that important?
Yes, packaging costs an average of €0.60-0.90 per order. At 100 orders per day that's €22,000-33,000 per year in packaging costs.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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