"Delivery driver salary" covers two jobs that pay in completely different ways. One is an employed driver with a contract, an hourly rate, paid holiday and a payslip. The other is a self-employed courier paid per parcel, per drop or per block, who sends an invoice and pays their own costs. Averaging the two together is how most salary figures online end up meaning nothing.
This guide keeps them apart. It turns the employed rates the big employers publish into annual salaries, then shows how to work out a real annual figure for self-employed delivery work. 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 drivers: £25,000 to £31,000 a year
For an employed delivery driver the law sets the bottom of the range. Since April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds and £8.00 for under 18s. Over a 37.5 hour week that floor is about £24,800 a year at 21 and over, and no employed delivery job can pay less than the band that applies.
The top of the employed market is the supermarket home delivery fleets, which publish their rates:
| 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 | about £25,500 to £28,000 |
| Sainsbury's | £13.27 to £16.04, by store | about £25,900 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 supermarket rates come from each company's own careers listings. Our guides to Sainsbury's and Asda cover the shifts and the application. Pizza chains rarely publish a single rate: our Domino's pay guide explains why tips and mileage are the part of that job that varies.
An employed salary also carries money that does not show in the hourly rate: 28 days' paid holiday for a full time worker, an employer pension contribution under auto-enrolment, and sick pay. Those are worth thousands of pounds a year, and they are the first thing to add back when comparing a salary with a self-employed figure.
Self-employed delivery drivers: revenue, not salary
Most delivery work on the apps and a large share of parcel work is self-employed. The figures quoted for it are per hour or per parcel, never per year, because there is no year to speak of: you are paid for the work you do and nothing else.
| 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 |
| Evri | per parcel | 50p to £1.50 a parcel, about £13.72 an hour effective nationally |
| DPD Connect | per parcel | up to £18 an hour, a ceiling rather than an average |
| Food delivery apps | per order | indicative £8 to £15 an hour, depending on platform and city |
The food delivery band is indicative, drawn from courier reports rather than platform figures, and it dips below the National Living Wage at the bottom. For the per-platform detail see our best delivery driver jobs guide and the Evri pay guide.
Working out a self-employed annual figure
Because nobody publishes one, you have to build it. Here is the arithmetic for a driver on Amazon Flex working 30 hours a week at £15 an hour, as an illustration rather than a forecast:
- Revenue. 30 hours at £15 is £450 a week.
- Weeks actually worked. There is no paid holiday, so count the weeks you will work, not 52. At 46 weeks that is £20,700 a year.
- Insurance. Hire and reward cover for a car runs £800 to £1,500 a year, according to our delivery driver insurance guide.
- Fuel and wear. These 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 is a reasonable proxy for what a mile really costs you, and it is also what you can deduct against tax.
- Tax. Income tax and National Insurance on your profit, paid through Self Assessment, with nothing deducted as you go.
What is left after steps 3 to 5 is the number to compare with an employed salary. 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.
What moves a delivery driver's salary
Employed or self-employed. This is the largest factor by far, for the reasons above.
Vehicle. Employed jobs usually provide the van. On self-employed work, a car suits most platform blocks, a van opens the bigger parcel routes and costs more to run and insure, and a bike or e-bike has almost no running costs but earns less per hour. Our van driver salary guide covers van work on its own.
Location. Where employers publish a London rate, the M25 premium is worth about £2,500 a year full time. Self-employed revenue tracks route density more than region.
Hours and shifts. Evenings, weekends and the Christmas peak carry premiums on employed rotas and busier, better paid blocks on the apps.
Age. Employers may legally pay 18 to 20 year olds less. Many large ones pay a single rate at every age, so read the advert.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average delivery driver salary in the UK?
An employed delivery driver working full time earns roughly £25,000 to £31,000 a year in 2026. The floor is the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, 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?
There is no reliable annual average, because self-employed drivers are paid per parcel, per drop or per block and work very different hours. The published hourly figures, such as Amazon Flex at £14 to £18 an hour, are revenue before fuel, insurance, vehicle costs and tax, and there is no holiday pay, so an annual figure has to be worked out from your own hours and costs.
Which delivery job pays the highest salary?
Among employed roles with published rates, the supermarket home delivery fleets pay the most: Sainsbury's advertises £13.27 to £16.04 an hour 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?
Employers can legally pay less. 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 a single rate regardless of 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. On Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat couriers are self-employed and paid per order, so they earn revenue rather than a salary, with no minimum wage underneath a quiet shift.
Compare the year, not the hour
An hourly rate only tells you half the story until you know what it is attached to: holiday, a van, insurance, a pension, or none of those. Put both options through the same year before you choose, and if you are new to the work, how to become a delivery driver in the UK covers the first steps. The form below shows which delivery jobs are hiring near you.