Delivery Cost per Order Calculator (Riders, Routes, Failed Deliveries)
What one delivered order really costs, after failed attempts, returns and the hub.
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- Free preview: the cost per delivered order in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3) and a watermarked chart; every other figure is hidden.
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Where the cost of an order goes
How the first-attempt rate moves it
The working
Route by route
Drop a delivery report with a row per route (or rider) per day: date, route or beat, rider, vehicle, km, orders attempted, delivered, failed, RTO, pickups, COD orders, hours. Each route day is costed with the rates above.
Routes
Riders
Vehicles
Route days to look at
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Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
How this tool is checked
- Tests
- 14 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
- Report a problem or write to support@mysmartcopilot.com, with what you entered and the result you expected.
About the Delivery Cost per Order Calculator (Riders, Routes, Failed Deliveries)
A delivery business is paid for orders delivered, but it pays for every attempt: the rider's day, the fuel or charging for every kilometre, the vehicle, the hub, the cash it collects, the orders that come back. This calculator turns a typical day of your fleet — routes, attempts a route, distance, rider pay, vehicle and hub costs — into the cost per delivered order, with the cost per stop and per km, what failed deliveries and returns to origin (RTO) add to every order, the fee that breaks even, and how the first-attempt rate moves it all.
Then drop a route report (CSV or Excel: date, route or beat, rider, km, orders attempted, delivered, failed, RTO, pickups) to cost every route day with your rates and see which routes, riders and vehicles cost the most per delivered order.
Without a pass the result is a free preview: the cost per delivered order in full, the first rows of each table, the first step of the working and the chart as a marked picture; the rest, Copy summary and the CSV, Excel and PDF files unlock with a Pro pass. Nothing you enter or drop leaves this browser.
How to use it
- Describe a typical working day: how many routes (riders or vans) go out, how many attempts each makes, the orders handed over at a stop, the distance a route runs and the working days a month.
- Set how deliveries go: the first-attempt delivery rate, how often a re-attempt delivers, the attempts before an order goes back (RTO) and the share of orders customers send back.
- Add the costs: fuel or charging (price and distance per litre or kWh), servicing and tyres per km, the vehicle’s monthly cost, rider pay (fixed pay, on-costs, per delivered order, per attempt, per km and daily incentives), the hub, cash-on-delivery handling and the cost of an RTO. Add the fee you earn per delivered order to see the margin.
- Read the cost per delivered order, the breakdown, the working and how the first-attempt rate moves it. For route by route, drop your delivery report under Route by route. Copy summary and the CSV, Excel and PDF files unlock with a Pro pass; without one the result is a free preview.
Examples
100 attempts a day, 80% delivered at the first attempt, re-attempts deliver half the time, 2 attempts before RTO 50 km at ₹2 fuel + ₹1 upkeep a km · rider ₹25,000 a month + ₹10 a delivery · vehicle ₹2,500 and hub ₹2,500 a month · RTO ₹20 · 25 days
Each order takes 1 + 0.2 × 1 = 1.2 attempts; 90% are delivered, 10% go back 100 ÷ 1.2 = 83.3 orders a day, 75 delivered, 8.3 returned Costs a day: ₹1,000 + ₹750 rider, ₹150 km, ₹100 vehicle, ₹100 hub, ₹166.67 RTO = ₹2,266.67 Cost per delivered order ₹30.22 (₹23.50 if every order were delivered at the first attempt)
8 bikes, 40 attempts each, 48 km a day, 86% first-attempt rate, petrol at ₹104 a litre and 45 km a litre, 45% cash on delivery, a fee of ₹55
The cost per delivered order, the share of rider pay, fuel, the vehicle and the hub in it, the margin on the ₹55 fee, and what each point of first-attempt rate is worth
Common uses
- A D2C brand or a dark store working out what its own riders cost per order against a courier’s rate.
- A last-mile delivery partner checking whether a client’s payout per delivered order covers its costs.
- A restaurant or pharmacy with its own delivery staff pricing its delivery fee.
- A hub manager comparing routes and riders from the day’s delivery report.
How a day becomes a cost per order
- Each new order gets a first attempt and is delivered with the first-attempt rate (p₁). A failed one is tried again, each re-attempt delivering with the re-attempt rate (p₂), until it has had the most attempts allowed (m); then it goes back to the seller or the hub (RTO).
- Attempts per order = 1 + (1 − p₁) × (1 − (1 − p₂)^(m−1)) ÷ p₂; the share delivered = 1 − (1 − p₁) × (1 − p₂)^(m−1); the share returned is the rest. A customer return (a reverse pickup) takes a stop of its own.
- The routes’ attempts in a day are their capacity: new orders a day = attempts ÷ (attempts per order + delivered share × return share), and delivered orders = new orders × the delivered share.
- Cost per delivered order = the day’s cost (riders, fuel or charging, upkeep, vehicles, the hub, cash handling, RTOs and returns) ÷ the orders delivered. Cost per stop divides by the stops (attempts ÷ orders a stop) and cost per km by the distance.
- What failed deliveries cost: the cost per delivered order minus what it would be if every order were delivered at the first attempt, times the orders delivered in a month.
Route by route
A route report has one row per route (or rider) per day. Its columns are found by their headings — date, route or beat, rider, vehicle, km, orders attempted (out for delivery, OFD), delivered, failed (NDR), RTO, reverse pickups, COD orders, hours, rider pay and fuel. Failed orders are worked out as attempted minus delivered when the file has no such column. Each route day is costed with the rates above: rider pay and fuel from the file when it has them, else from the rates; a vehicle’s cost a day for each route day, and the hub’s cost a day shared over the route days of that date. Routes, riders and vehicles are then compared by their cost per delivered order, success rate and distance per delivered order, and route days more than 25% above the file’s cost per order, or 10 points below its success rate, are listed.
What moves the cost most
- First-attempt delivery rate. Every failed attempt is a stop paid for twice; the table under the result shows the cost per order from 70% to 100%.
- Attempts a route a day. The rider’s day and the vehicle are paid for whatever the route carries: denser routes spread them thinner.
- Distance a route. Fuel or charging, tyres and servicing grow with every kilometre; an electric scooter usually costs a fraction of petrol per km — enter your own price and distance per kWh.
- Cash on delivery and RTO. Cash costs handling, and an order that comes back has paid for its attempts without earning its fee.
Limitations
- A model of a typical day: real days vary, and attempts are assumed to fail at the same rate on every route unless you analyse a route file.
- Re-attempts are assumed to go out on later days within the same capacity; peak days that need extra riders are not modelled.
- Rider pay rules (minimum wages, incentives, gig-platform terms) are the ones you enter; nothing is assumed about your contracts.
- An estimate for planning, not accounting or legal advice.
Privacy
On this device; its files download once
Everything you type and every route file you drop is worked out in this browser and never uploaded. Your currency and units are kept in this browser for the next time.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Delivery Cost per Order Calculator (Riders, Routes, Failed Deliveries) shows the cost per delivered order in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3) and a watermarked chart; every other figure is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What is a good first-attempt delivery rate?
It depends on the city, the share of cash on delivery and how well addresses and phone numbers are checked before dispatch. The calculator does not assume one: enter yours and look at the table of cost per order from 70% to 100%, which shows what each point is worth to your fleet.
Should I count RTO as a cost?
Yes: an order that goes back has used its attempts and earns no delivery fee, and its handling and return leg cost more. Enter what an RTO costs you beyond the attempts — handling at the hub, the freight back to the seller and any write-off. If your client pays you an RTO charge, subtract it from that cost.
Do riders on their own bikes change the sum?
Then you pay them for the vehicle instead of owning one: put their fuel and vehicle allowance under pay per km (or a higher pay per delivery) and set the vehicle’s monthly cost and fuel to 0, so nothing is counted twice.
Which route files can it read?
Any CSV or Excel report with a row per route or rider per day and at least the delivered orders and the orders attempted (or failed). The columns are found by their headings; check what was found under the file before you rely on the figures.
Is my data uploaded?
No. The calculation and the route file are worked out in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.