cost per delivery stop calculator
Cost per delivery stop calculator
Know what each stop really costs (labor + fuel + vehicle + overhead) so you can price delivery with confidence.
Summary
- Calculates total daily delivery cost and cost per stop
- Breaks down labor, fuel, vehicle, and overhead components
- Best for multi-stop delivery routes and daily runs
- Use the result to set delivery fees and minimum order thresholds
Definitions
- Cost per stop
- Your total daily delivery cost divided by completed stops. Helpful for pricing and profitability.
- OTD% (On-time delivery rate)
- The percentage of stops delivered on time (within the promised window, or your chosen definition).
- Effective work minutes
- The realistic minutes a driver can spend delivering in a shift after breaks, loading, traffic, and end-of-day admin.
Cost breakdown
Cost per stop simulation
Worked example
Inputs
- Stops
- 80
- Drivers
- 4
- Hours/driver
- 8
- Wage/hour
- $18
- Miles/day
- 180
- Fuel cost/mile
- $0.22
- Vehicle/day
- $120
- Overhead/day
- $150
Outputs
- Total daily cost
- ≈ $885.60
- Cost per stop
- ≈ $11.07
If your delivery fee is below your cost per stop, you’re subsidizing delivery. Use this as a baseline, then add margin (or set a minimum order threshold) so delivery is sustainable.
Benchmarks / ranges
These are conservative ranges. Your results depend on density, stops, traffic, and service type.
- Planning + dispatch time5–30 minutes/routeIf it’s 60+ minutes, route creation is likely too manual.
- Failed delivery / reattempt rate0.5–5%High failure rate can spike cost per stop due to repeat trips.
- Conservative mileage reduction from better routing5–15%Depends heavily on density and how manual the current process is.
What to do next
- If cost per stop is high: increase route density (more stops per mile) before adding more drivers.
- Reduce failed deliveries with clearer ETA windows and customer communication.
- Standardize driver notes (gate codes, preferred drop-off) to avoid repeat issues.
- Track miles and late stops per route to find the worst-performing areas.
- If labor dominates: shorten loading time and reduce waiting at stops.
- If fuel dominates: tighten routes and reduce backtracking; consider zone-based routing.
- Recalculate weekly and compare by region/route type (same-day vs scheduled).
Turn your number into better delivery pricing with Lynxo
Once you know your cost per stop, Lynxo helps you reduce it (fewer miles, fewer reattempts) and keep service reliable.
- Tighter routing to cut wasted miles and backtracking
- Fewer failed stops with ETA sharing and better stop notes
- Proof of delivery to reduce disputes and chargebacks
- Reports by route/zone so you can see what’s expensive
Where this helps
- Last-mile delivery teams pricing same-day delivery
- B2B distribution routes to stores and branches
- Service teams doing multi-stop daily runs
FAQs
What is cost per stop?
Cost per stop is your total daily delivery cost divided by the number of completed stops. It helps you understand pricing, profitability, and operational efficiency.
What costs should I include?
At minimum: driver wages, fuel, vehicle cost (lease/maintenance), and overhead. If you have it, include dispatch/support labor too.
Why does cost per stop change so much day to day?
Stops, distance, traffic, failed deliveries, and route planning time all swing the denominator and the costs.