Calculate a delivery tip without confusing fees with the tip
Food, pizza, and grocery delivery receipts often contain more than the order subtotal. A platform or restaurant may show delivery fees, service fees, taxes, promotions, and an optional tip. This calculator keeps the voluntary tip separate from those other charges.
Enter the order subtotal you want to use as the tip base and choose a percentage. If the receipt includes delivery or service fees that you want included in the final amount, enter them separately in the service-charge field. Those fees are not automatically treated as the driver's tip.
Delivery fees are not the same as a tip
A line labeled delivery fee or service fee can be easy to mistake for money that goes directly to the driver. Do not assume that the fee is the tip. The receipt or ordering platform may explain how its fees are handled.
The calculator therefore treats the voluntary tip as its own value. That makes it easier to see exactly how much you are choosing to add beyond the order and any required fees.
Common delivery percentages
The Emily Post Institute lists 10% to 15% of the bill as a general delivery guideline and separately discusses pizza delivery. Real-world choices can vary with order size, distance, weather, stairs, heavy items, local customs, and the level of service.
The preset buttons are there for quick comparison, not as a requirement. Use the custom percentage field whenever another amount better matches your situation.
Example
For a $45 food order, a 15% voluntary tip is $6.75. If the receipt also shows a $4 delivery fee, entering that fee separately produces a final total of $55.75 before any other taxes or charges you may have already included in the order subtotal.
The important distinction is visible in the result:
- the order subtotal is the purchase amount
- the delivery or service fee is a separate charge
- the tip is the voluntary amount calculated from your chosen percentage
Large or difficult deliveries
A percentage alone does not describe every delivery. People may choose a different amount for unusually large orders, heavy grocery deliveries, long distances, difficult parking, stairs, bad weather, or other circumstances that increase the work involved.
Rather than trying to encode a single "correct" answer, the calculator makes it fast to compare several percentages and enter a custom value.
Pizza delivery
Pizza orders can range from one small box to a large group order. For a small order, some customers prefer thinking in a flat-dollar amount; for a larger order, a percentage may be easier to compare consistently.
This page currently calculates percentage-based tips. If you already know the exact dollar amount you want to leave, you can adjust the custom percentage until the displayed tip matches that amount, or use the general calculator for comparison.
Grocery delivery
Grocery delivery can involve more handling than a typical restaurant order, especially when there are many bags, heavy items, stairs, or a long walk from the vehicle. The calculator uses the same transparent percentage math, while the amount you choose remains up to you.
Why this tool hides restaurant-only fields
The delivery calculator focuses on the order subtotal, tip percentage, and optional fees. It does not ask you to split the bill between diners or choose a pre-tax/after-tax restaurant tip basis because those controls are usually less important for delivery intent.
For a dine-in check with sales tax, automatic gratuity, and a group split, use the Restaurant Tip Calculator instead.
Related calculators
For a pizza-specific order I use the Pizza Delivery Tip Calculator. If a platform fee or another required charge needs to stay visible, I keep it separate from the voluntary tip.
How the context fields work
Distance, weather, a heavy or large order, and stairs/access are shown as extra-effort context. They do not secretly change the tip percentage; I still choose the percentage or custom amount myself.