The rideshare and delivery industry has evolved post COVID. While rideshare demand decreased at the beginning of the pandemic, food and package deliveries experienced significant growth and unprecedented driver demand. Therefore, drivers had to adapt and start using their cars for more than just ridesharing, including platforms such as Amazon Flex or Uber Eats. 

Now that the demand for rideshare has recovered, most drivers are still earning a top up income with other platforms to pick up some extra money. 

Before you become an Uber Eats driver in the UK, it’s important to know what to expect in terms of earnings. To help you, we’ve gathered all the information you need to know regarding how much an Uber Eats driver can earn in the UK.  

How much do Uber Eats drivers make in the UK?

Uber Eats pay their drivers per delivery. The final payment consists of a pick-up and drop-off fee and a fee per mile for the distance between locations. The fares also vary from region and city in the UK. To get an overall idea of the potential Uber Eats fees,  here are the current Uber Eats fees in London. 

When you complete the delivery, you will get the final delivery fee, plus any tips from the customer. 

IMPORTANT: You always know how much you get paid before accepting any delivery request.

Online estimates place the average Uber Eats driver’s earnings between £7-£14 per hour. 

Based on these estimates, you could earn between £1,000- £2,700 per month, working six days per week for up to eight hours. 

That translates into earning between £12,000- £32,400 per annum. 

The earnings for an Uber Eats driver vary depending on variables such as order hours and delivery areas. 

What is the Uber Eats pay structure?

To know how much can an Uber Eats driver earn in the UK, you first have to understand how Uber Eats payments work.   

The final payment for each delivery consists of:

• Pick-up fee – every time you go to a new restaurant 
• Drop-off fee – for each separate order you deliver 
• Per-mile rate – for the total distance from pick-up to drop-off. 

What are the Uber Eats special fees?

Similar to other rideshare or delivery apps, Uber Eats has some additional fees for particular situations: 

• Boost – a feature to help you position yourself in the best places and times. If your delivery takes place in a busy area or at a busy time, a Boost fee will be applied to your delivery. That means you will make more money for a single delivery.  
• Cancelled orders – if the restaurant cancels your order, you will probably not be eligible for the full delivery fee. If the client can’t be found for delivery, despite your best efforts, you fully receive the delivery fee.  
• Tips – customers can add tips up to seven days after placing the order. They belong entirely to you since Uber Eats doesn’t apply a service fee for tips.  

How do you get paid with Uber Eats?

There are three ways to receive Uber Eats payments as a driver: 

• Weekly deposits directly to your bank account every Monday 
• Instant cash out anytime in the app, up to five times per day, and get your money instantly 
• Cash out in the app once per day before 2 PM, from Monday to Friday, and get your earnings within two business days. 

What are your costs as an Uber Eats driver?

As with any other business you’re responsible for, you have to consider all expenses as an Uber Eats driver when calculating your possible profits. Here are the main costs you’ll have as an Uber driver in London. 

Service fee 

Uber Eats takes a 25% commission for each delivery fee as a service charge. This is important to know when it comes to managing your earnings expectations. 

Vehicle running costs 

If you choose to drive a car for Uber Eats, all its running costs affect your final profit. You need to find a strategy to keep them as low as possible.  

• Fuel costs – you can use some tips to reduce fuel consumption, such as adopting a defensive driving style or using your AC wisely. Another great way to reduce fuel costs is by switching to an electric car.  Electricity’s cost per mile is around 50% cheaper than the average petrol cost per mile. Our customers who switched to EVs now save about £200- £300 a month on fuel.  
• Car maintenance – you drive around 100 miles daily, so your car will need servicing more often than a personal use car. We estimate that for an average of 32,000 miles driven per year, you will pay around £750 for yearly maintenance. Instead of paying for a full-service once a year, which can get expensive, you should opt for periodic check-ups to ensure your car is set to get on the road at any given time. 
• Insurance – you can’t drive for Uber Eats using standard car cover, you need special Car Courier insurance. The cost of insurance varies depending on the age of the car, annual mileage and your driving history. It will cost you around £2,500 per year.

London traffic charges

Another main aspect to consider when calculating your costs is paying the ULEZ and Congestion Charge. You can avoid both of them, by either driving an EV, that’s currently fully exempt from paying both of the charges, or by working outside the Congestion charge times.

How can you earn more with Uber Eats?

Plan your trips at peak times 

A good delivery driving strategy is to schedule your working hours around mealtimes and rush hours. Not only will the demand be higher at these times, but you can also get higher fares per ride. The Boost feature can add multipliers to your delivery fare in specific areas during peak hours. The busiest the pick-up area, the higher the Boost rate will be. 

Tip: You can find the current Boost zones when checking the Uber Eats Live Map.  

You will see the boost applied to your delivery fare in real time. The Promotions Hub section in your Uber Eats app can help you find out what Boots are coming up. 

Secure batched orders 

Uber Eats offers you the possibility to deliver two orders from a restaurant at the same time. This is a great way to make more money with less effort. However, delivering batched orders doesn’t imply getting two separate delivery fares. Your final payment will consist of one pick-up fee since you pick up both orders from the same place, the mileage fee and two drop-off fees. Be careful when delivering multiple orders to avoid mixing them up.  

Keep track and reduce your costs 

If you want to make the best out of your career as an Uber Eats driver, tracking and making efforts to lower your expenses is a must. Optimise your fuel costs, ask for quotes from several insurance companies, take the best offer or opt to join a PCO rent to buy or PCO car rental plan.

How can Splend help?

At Splend, we help on-demand drivers thrive. Splend customers earn the majority of their income with rideshare platforms such as Uber. We recommend that our customers sign up with other delivery apps, such as Amazon Flex or Uber Eats, to help top up their weekly income.  

About Splend

Splend is more than a set of wheels. We’ll help steer your career.

In addition to providing you with the most important tool in your career as a rideshare driver, we also offer ongoing training, support, and data-driven feedback via your personal Customer Specialist. You also enjoy a growing array of customer benefits including discounts from our partners.

For more information about Splend, make an appointment at our London Hub at 393 Edgware Road Cricklewood, London, email us, or say hello on 0333 016 4331