The first thing to understand about Just Eat driver pay is that there is no hourly rate. There is no guaranteed minimum per shift. What you earn depends on how many deliveries you complete, what each one pays, and how much of that you keep after your running costs come out.
The figures quoted online vary enormously because the experience genuinely varies. A cyclist doing peak-hour deliveries in a dense city centre earns a very different effective rate to a car driver working a quiet Tuesday afternoon in a suburban area.
How Just Eat driver pay works: per delivery, not per hour
Just Eat couriers are paid a Transit Pay for each order they complete. That rate is calculated automatically based on the estimated driving distance, the estimated journey time factoring in local traffic, and any local promotions active in your area at that moment.
You do not earn anything while waiting for an order or while driving to the restaurant. The clock effectively starts when you collect the order and ends when you drop it off.
In practice, most deliveries pay somewhere between £3.50 and £6.00, according to Courier Forum UK's 2026 driver pay data. The higher end applies to longer routes; the lower end reflects short drops where restaurants and customers are close together.
Just Eat pays weekly via direct bank deposit. There is no instant cashout option.
Self-employed versus directly employed: an important distinction
The majority of Just Eat couriers are self-employed contractors. You set your own hours, accept or decline jobs freely, and are responsible for your own tax, insurance and vehicle costs. Your earnings are revenue, not a wage: fuel, insurance, vehicle wear and a tax reserve come out of them, and no minimum wage underwrites a quiet shift.
Just Eat does directly employ some courier workers on standard employment contracts in certain areas. Directly employed couriers receive the National Living Wage as a floor, currently £12.71 an hour for age 21 and over, along with statutory employment rights.
What you actually earn per shift
The figures below draw on Courier Forum UK's 2026 data and Breakroom, cross-referenced with driver reports. These are aggregator and community sources rather than figures Just Eat publishes, so treat them as indicative. Gross figures assume an active shift with reasonable order flow.
| Deliveries per shift | Avg rate per drop | Gross earnings | Car net (after costs) | Cyclist or e-bike net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 deliveries (3hr quiet shift) | £3.80 | £45.60 | £28 to £32 | £40 to £42 |
| 20 deliveries (3hr busy shift) | £4.50 | £90.00 | £60 to £68 | £82 to £86 |
| 30 deliveries (5hr peak shift) | £5.00 | £150.00 | £102 to £112 | £138 to £142 |
| 40 deliveries (6hr full peak) | £5.50 | £220.00 | £155 to £170 | £205 to £212 |
Net columns deduct fuel and a pro-rated share of annual insurance, but not a tax reserve, which you should set aside separately.
According to Indeed, average daily earnings across Just Eat self-employed drivers sit at approximately £202 per day, which reflects drivers working longer, fuller days than the scenarios above.
Service Club partners with Just Eat and 5,000+ other delivery networks across the UK. Couriers who spread active hours across more than one platform report more consistent weekly income, particularly during slower weekday periods.
Pay by vehicle: why cyclists often net more per hour
The transit pay calculation does not give cars a premium over bicycles. What differs dramatically is the running cost.
Cyclists and e-bike riders
No fuel cost, no hire and reward insurance requirement, no MOT or vehicle tax, and no congestion charge in London. Effective net rate after minimal costs: £10 to £14 per hour in busy urban areas.
Car and moped drivers
Fuel typically costs £12 to £18 per shift depending on distance. Hire and reward insurance is mandatory, because standard personal vehicle insurance does not cover delivery work. Providers include Zego, INSHUR and Veygo. Effective net rate: £6 to £11 per hour.
The gap narrows in suburban areas where delivery distances are longer and a car is genuinely faster. In dense city centres a bicycle can beat a car on both speed and net earnings at the same time.
Peak versus off-peak: when the real money is made
Just Eat order volume is not evenly distributed across the week. Couriers who concentrate hours on peak windows earn significantly more per hour than those working general availability.
Busiest periods are Friday and Saturday evenings between 5pm and 10pm, Thursday evenings, rainy and cold weather days, and bank holidays. Slowest are Monday to Wednesday lunches, early afternoons, and January and early February.
A courier working 10 hours across Friday and Saturday evenings will typically gross more than one working 20 hours across general weekday availability.
After your costs: the self-employment reality
Just Eat does not reimburse fuel, insurance or any other running cost. As a self-employed courier, these come directly out of your earnings.
Hire and reward insurance is mandatory for cars and mopeds. Your standard personal vehicle insurance does not cover paid delivery work. Annual policies with providers like Zego typically cost £800 to £1,500 for cars. Our delivery driver insurance cost guide breaks this down by vehicle and provider.
Fuel for car drivers typically runs £12 to £20 per shift, depending on your vehicle and how many dead miles you cover between orders.
Tax. Register with HMRC as self-employed as soon as you start earning. You can offset fuel using HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payment, which is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles annually.
Equipment. You will need an insulated bag. Our guide to the Just Eat delivery bag covers how to get one, what the bag types are, and whether you need the branded version.
Just Eat versus Deliveroo versus Uber Eats: which pays more?
| Just Eat | Deliveroo | Uber Eats | Amazon Flex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay structure | Per delivery (transit pay) | Per delivery (zone-based) | Per delivery (pick-up plus mileage) | Per block (2 to 4 hr) |
| Typical gross per hour | £8 to £14 | £9 to £13 | £9 to £14 | £14 to £18 |
| Minimum vehicle | Bicycle | Bicycle | Bicycle | Car |
| Pay frequency | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly |
| Employed option | Yes, some areas | No | No | No |
| Tips | Yes | Yes | Yes, 100% | No |
In central London, Deliveroo typically edges ahead because restaurant density is higher. In outer London and other UK cities, Just Eat often catches up because its network is broader. Amazon Flex pays more per hour but requires a car and works to fixed scheduling blocks.
Most experienced food delivery drivers in the UK run two or three platforms simultaneously and take whichever order appears first. To see how Just Eat compares across the wider market, read our guide to which UK delivery platform pays best or our roundup of the best food delivery jobs.
Create your free driver profile
Is it worth being a Just Eat driver in 2026?
Just Eat works well if you are a cyclist or e-bike rider in a city, you want flexible evening or weekend income, you live near a well-covered urban area, and you are willing to file a self-assessment tax return.
The numbers are harder to make work if you are a car driver in a suburban or rural area, you need predictable income without peaks, your insurance premium is high, or you are comparing it to employment with holiday pay and sick pay.
Certified Service Club drivers receive matched opportunities across food delivery and courier networks within 24 to 72 hours of creating a profile.
What you need to become a Just Eat driver
Just Eat courier roles are open to applicants aged 18 or over. You will need a vehicle of your own, such as a moped, bicycle or car, with the correct insurance. A driving licence is required for motorised vehicles, along with a smartphone running iOS or Android. Check the current requirements on Just Eat's own courier sign-up page before you apply, as they vary by city.
How to apply, step by step
- Visit the Just Eat courier sign-up page and start your application.
- Fill out the basic fields such as name, email and mobile number, then select the city you would like to work in.
- Complete the remaining information and select your delivery zone on the map. You can add more than one zone.
- Choose the vehicle you will use for your deliveries.
- Upload your identification documents.
- Complete a criminal record check. If you already have one you can upload it; if not, Just Eat will help you obtain one.
- Enter your bank details.
Expect to wait a few days for Just Eat to process your application. For the full picture across every UK platform, see our complete guide to becoming a delivery driver.
FAQs about Just Eat driver pay
How much do Just Eat drivers make per delivery?
Per-delivery rates range from £3.50 to £6.00, based on Courier Forum UK's 2026 data. The transit pay calculation factors in estimated driving distance, journey time and local traffic conditions. Longer routes pay at the upper end; short urban drops pay less per delivery but more per hour, because you complete more runs.
Do Just Eat pay weekly or monthly?
Weekly, via direct bank deposit. Earnings from the previous week are paid into your registered account. That is faster than parcel networks like Evri, which pays monthly, but it still requires you to track income separately from any employment income for tax purposes.
Do Just Eat pay for petrol?
No. As a self-employed courier you cover your own fuel. You can offset it using HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payment, which is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles per year. Keep a mileage log from your first shift.
How much do Just Eat drivers make per hour?
Gross hourly rates fall between £8 and £14 depending on order density, location and time of day. Car drivers net £6 to £11 per hour after costs. Cyclists and e-bike riders typically net £10 to £14 per hour, because their running costs are close to zero. None of these are wages, and no minimum applies to self-employed couriers.
What is the best time to earn more on Just Eat?
Friday and Saturday evenings between 5pm and 10pm produce the highest order density in most UK cities. Rainy and cold weather days also push volumes up. Working peak windows specifically, rather than general availability, is the most reliable way to improve your effective hourly rate.
Find Just Eat and other food delivery opportunities near you
Service Club matches driver profiles to open positions across Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Bolt Food, Stuart and 5,000+ other delivery networks in the UK. Create a free profile, complete a short Academy module, and receive matched offers within 72 hours.
- Free to join. No fees.
- All vehicle types: bicycle, e-bike, moped, car.
- Certified drivers matched up to 8 times faster than uncertified applicants.
- Responses in 24 to 72 hours.
If you would like to sharpen your skills first, the Service Club Academy has short microlearning courses for new couriers. If you are only after a few shifts a week, start with part-time delivery driver jobs.