Delivery drivers in the UK are paid in two ways that do not average together. An employed driver has a contract, an hourly rate, paid holiday and a payslip. A self-employed courier is paid per parcel, per drop or per block, sends an invoice and covers their own costs. A salary figure that blends the two, as many online averages do, describes neither.
If you already know which platform you are looking at, our ranking of which delivery company pays most compares them rate by rate.
Employed delivery driver salaries by employer
Every employed delivery job pays at least the National Living Wage band that applies to the driver. Since April 2026 that is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20 and £8.00 under 18.[1] A 37.5 hour week at the 21 and over rate comes to about £24,800 a year. The supermarket home delivery fleets publish higher rates and pay the most, which puts a full time employed salary at roughly £25,000 to £31,000:
| Employed role | Hourly rate | Full time a year, 37.5 hours |
|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage, 21 and over | £12.71 | about £24,800 |
| Asda home shopping | £13.10, or £14.35 inside the M25, July 2026 pay award[8] | about £25,500 to £28,000 |
| Sainsbury's | £14.73, or £16.04 in London[7] | about £28,700 to £31,300 |
| Tesco home delivery | £14.18, or £15.45 inside the M25 | about £27,700 to £30,100 |
| Employed parcel multi-drop | £12.71 to about £15 | about £25,000 to £29,300 |
| Pizza and takeaway delivery | at or a little above the statutory band, plus tips and mileage | from about £24,800 |
The supermarkets put their rates on their own careers listings.[2] Our guides to Sainsbury's and Asda cover the shifts and how to apply. Pizza chains rarely publish a single rate, and our Domino's pay guide explains why tips and mileage are the part of that job that varies.
The hourly rate leaves out several things an employed driver is paid for: 28 days' paid holiday for a full time worker,[3] an employer pension contribution under auto-enrolment,[4] and sick pay. Together they are worth thousands of pounds a year, so add them back first when you set a salary against a self-employed figure.
Self-employed delivery drivers: revenue, not salary
Most app-based delivery work and a large share of parcel work is self-employed, and its rates are quoted per hour or per parcel, never per year. You are paid for the work you do and nothing else, so what you make in a year depends entirely on how much of it you do.
| Self-employed work | How it pays | Published or indicative rate |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Flex | per booked block | £14 to £18 an hour, per Amazon's own UK site[5] |
| Evri | per parcel | 50p to £1.50 a parcel, about £13.72 an hour effective (indicative, from aggregator and courier-community reports) |
| DPD Connect | per parcel | around £18 an hour on average, according to DPD franchise job ads |
| Food delivery apps | per order | indicative £8 to £15 an hour, depending on platform and city |
The food delivery band comes from courier reports rather than the platforms, and at its bottom end it is below the National Living Wage. The best delivery driver jobs guide has the detail platform by platform, and the Evri pay guide covers Evri's parcel rates.
Working out a self-employed annual figure
Nobody publishes a self-employed annual figure, so you have to build your own. Take a driver on Amazon Flex working 30 hours a week at £15 an hour (an illustration, not a forecast):
- 30 hours at £15 brings in £450 a week.
- With no paid holiday, count only the weeks you will actually work. At 46 weeks that is £20,700 a year.
- Take off insurance. Hire and reward cover for a car runs £800 to £1,500 a year, according to our delivery driver insurance guide.
- Take off fuel and wear, which depend on your car and your miles. HMRC's simplified mileage rate of 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026/27[6] is a reasonable proxy for what a mile really costs you, and it is also what you can deduct against tax.
- Set aside income tax and National Insurance on your profit. Both are paid through Self Assessment, and nothing is deducted as you go.
What remains after steps 3 to 5 is the figure to set against an employed salary. For comparison, the same 30 hours on an employed supermarket rota at £14.18 would pay about £22,100 a year before tax, including paid holiday, with the employer covering the van and the insurance.
How vehicle, location, shifts and age change delivery pay
None of these matters as much as whether you are employed or self-employed, but each one moves the figure.
Some employed jobs provide the van, as the supermarket fleets do. On self-employed work the vehicle shapes what you can do: a car suits most platform blocks, a van opens the bigger parcel routes but costs more to run and insure, and a bike or e-bike costs almost nothing to run but earns less per hour. Van work has its own breakdown in our van driver salary guide.
A London rate, where an employer publishes one, adds about £2,500 to a full time year. On self-employed work, how dense the route is matters more than the region it is in.
Evenings, weekends and the Christmas peak pay premiums on employed rotas and bring busier, better paid blocks on the apps.
Employers may legally pay 18 to 20 year olds less, though many large ones pay a single rate at every age. The advert will say which.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average delivery driver salary in the UK?
Around £25,000 to £31,000 a year for an employed driver working full time in 2026. Nobody aged 21 or over in an employed job can be paid less than the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, which is about £24,800 a year over a 37.5 hour week, and the supermarket fleets pay the most, at up to about £16 an hour.
How much do self-employed delivery drivers earn a year?
Nobody can give a reliable annual average. Self-employed drivers are paid per parcel, per drop or per block, and their hours vary widely. Published hourly figures such as Amazon Flex's £14 to £18 an hour are revenue before fuel, insurance, vehicle costs and tax, with no holiday pay, so the only annual figure that means anything is one you work out from your own hours and costs.
Which delivery job pays the highest salary?
Of the employed roles that publish a rate, the supermarket home delivery fleets pay the most: Sainsbury's careers site advertises £14.73 an hour, or £16.04 in London, and Tesco £14.18, rising to £15.45 inside the M25. Self-employed routes can show higher weekly revenue, but they carry costs an employed driver does not.
Do delivery drivers under 21 get paid less?
They can be, legally. The statutory minimum is £10.85 an hour for 18 to 20 year olds and £8.00 for under 18s, against £12.71 at 21 and over. Many large employers pay one rate whatever your age, so check the advert. Most delivery platforms and employers also set a minimum age of 18 or higher.
Do food delivery drivers earn a salary?
Only when they are employed, as drivers at pizza chains usually are. Couriers on Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat are self-employed and paid per order, so they earn revenue rather than a salary, and no minimum wage sits underneath a quiet shift.
Comparing a salary with self-employed earnings
Before you choose, find out what each rate comes with: paid holiday, a van, insurance, a pension, or none of those. Then run both options over the same year, the way the Flex example does above. If you are new to the work, how to become a delivery driver in the UK covers the first steps, and the form below lists delivery jobs hiring near you.