Deliveroo vs JustEat vs UberEats: Which One Is Best For Drivers?

While the food delivery and takeaway market experienced a historic boom during the pandemic, the landscape in 2026 is highly competitive. With ongoing cost-of-living pressures, more people than ever are considering taking up food delivery, whether as a full-time job or to complement other employment they have. It’s ideal for anybody looking for flexible work, but if you’re thinking of signing up you may be wondering—how much can I earn as a food delivery driver? This article will cover everything you need to know for the UK’s largest food delivery businesses, including Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.

What's in this article

• How Much Can You Earn As A Food Delivery Driver?
  • Deliveroo
  • JustEat
  • UberEats
• Hidden Costs

How Much Can You Earn as a Food Delivery Driver?

According to our 2026 research of the UK market, a food delivery driver is likely to earn between £9-£15 per hour on average (before expenses), depending on their local area, when they work, and the food delivery app they use. In this article, we'll deep dive into earnings potential for all three apps as well as other benefits to see which is truly the best for drivers.

When thinking about how much you can earn as a delivery driver, you must keep in mind additional expenses you'll incur, such as paying for delivery driver insurance, fuel, and vehicle wear and tear.

As always, also consider the number of drivers online at any given time. Picking and choosing your spots can help push your hourly income upwards (especially on busy Friday/Saturday nights), and will inevitably increase your overall pay.

Average Earnings as a Food Delivery Driver

Research by PayScale frequently lists average UK delivery driver earnings around £10.50 to £11.50 per hour, which can sometimes dip below the UK’s National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour for over 21s (£12.21 is current in early 2026; the minimum wage increases to £12.71 for over 21s from April 1, 2026).

Because food delivery drivers for all three major apps act as independent contractors rather than employees, they are not legally guaranteed the minimum wage for the hours they are logged in. The highly variable nature of customer orders simply means some hours will be busier than others. It is very much possible to earn well over the minimum wage during peak times—though certainly not guaranteed during quiet mid-afternoon slumps.

If you’re looking to optimize your earnings, we’ve put together a guide to help you earn more as a delivery driver. Without a doubt, the best way of all is to make sure you’re not sat around doing nothing—most apps will pay you a base fee plus a 'per drop' or distance rate, so the more deliveries you successfully complete, the more you’ll earn.

The UK Delivery App Market

While Just Eat used to be the largest delivery app by a mile, Deliveroo and Uber Eats have aggressively expanded their market share over the last few years.

According to data platforms like Statista, Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats consistently battle for the top spot in app downloads, with millions of active users each. Furthermore, grocery giants like Tesco and Sainsbury's now partner heavily with these apps for rapid grocery delivery, providing another revenue stream for drivers.

Simply put, these apps can be viable options for a driver if they operate in your local area and the consumer demand is there. Let’s take a look at each app's benefits and disadvantages.

How Much Does Deliveroo Pay?

Our research from sites like Indeed shows that the average Deliveroo driver earns around £12-£15 per hour, though this varies wildly from £8 to over £20 per hour depending on demand. The company doesn’t publicly advertise guaranteed hourly rates for gig workers, so we must rely on driver-reported figures. You’re more likely to hit the higher end of the bracket during their busiest periods, such as bank holidays, weekends, and special occasions (such as Valentine’s Day or major sporting events).

Deliveroo pays per drop—typically around £2.90-£5.00+ per delivery, depending on distance. If you're able to pick up a "stacked" order (more than one order from a single restaurant going to nearby customers), this multiplies, making these journeys the most lucrative Deliveroo offers.

Deliveroo does have some good incentives, offering fee boosts for operating in busy regions or during periods of high demand to help increase your earnings, but these aren’t guaranteed and competition for shifts in these areas is fierce.

Here are some positive comments from drivers on Indeed regarding pay:

"Good as you can choose ours and work for yourself, pay is decent if you know what you're doing, above minimum wage if you are quick and waiting times are not too long."

“Can easily make £100 a day in Central London”

“I made about £11 an hour… really good thing to do on the side…”

However, as Deliveroo has grown, competition for drops has increased (a common theme for all the providers) as more and more drivers and riders have joined the company. You may find yourself, especially during slower periods, making 1-2 drops per hour (if that, according to some comments).

“After insurance/fuel average is [around] £2 a delivery”

"No jobs available, cannot make minimum wage doing this and you will have to stand around in the cold for hours in between earning a couple of pounds. Don't recommend."

How Much Does JustEat Pay?

If you researched Just Eat a few years ago, you might remember them offering an employed "Scoober" model that guaranteed hourly minimum wages, sick pay, and holiday pay. However, Just Eat completely scrapped this model in the UK in early 2024. Today, Just Eat couriers operate as independent contractors paid per delivery, exactly like Deliveroo and Uber Eats. You are no longer guaranteed a minimum hourly wage; you earn based on the volume of deliveries you complete.

According to reported data from Indeed and courier forums in 2026, Just Eat drivers typically earn around £10 to £14 per hour during standard shifts, with the potential to earn more during peak dinner rushes. Just Eat is known for having a slightly higher base transit pay in some regions compared to its rivals, but this heavily depends on your specific zone.

Here are a few things JustEat drivers said about their experience on Indeed:

“so simple… I usually get around £15-£20 an hour”

”Really good place to work.rewarding.good hours.easy.flexible..would definitely recommend such a job to anyone I know. Can be exhausted at end of shift but worth it"

"Generally a good company to work for but not flexible enough hours for me and sometimes with fuel cost didn't feel like I was earning enough to make it worth it"

"Terrible company. Extremely difficult to get in touch with don't have a number to call, don't always reply to emails and arrogant staff online not taking note of issues you may have. Loose documents and don't care and their drivers. DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS DISCRACE OF A COMPANY"

How Much Does UberEats Pay?

Market research indicates Uber Eats drivers earn around £9 - £15 per hour in the UK, varying heavily by time:

Estimating your earnings with Uber Eats requires taking a few different payment components into account:

Uber also has a driver-friendly “instant cashout” feature, allowing drivers to receive their pay for their completed work within minutes of request for a small fee.

There are plenty of positive comments out there about driver earnings with Uber Eats—here are a few we found online:

“easily earn over £450 per week [working] 40 hours”

“it can be very profitable during peak hours with the 1.4x boosts”

Be careful of quiet periods, however—because you are an independent contractor (and do not receive the minimum wage guarantees that Uber's taxi drivers receive), you could end up earning well below minimum wage for a quiet daytime shift.

“Dead periods lasting weeks, when you earn way below minimum wage”

“5 hours online… you will make MAYBE £30 if it's dead”

Be Careful Of Hidden Costs

If you’re going to be using your personal vehicle to deliver anything, it’s highly important to consider the overhead costs you’re taking on. You’ll have to pay for your own fuel and sign up for a mandatory commercial Courier Insurance policy—and that isn’t even considering the extra mileage, tyre wear, and increased risk of an accident you’ll be taking on.

Insurance, especially, is something that drivers often fail to budget for. If you’re going to be working full-time, a monthly Courier Car Insurance policy in 2026 typically costs £150-£200+ per month (£1,800-£2,500+ annually)—which can be a tough pill to swallow during quieter periods. Drivers who deliver less frequently (e.g., as a weekend side-hustle) generally find it much more economical to use pay-as-you-go top-up delivery driver insurance via apps like Zego or INSHUR.

Mileage and wear and tear are important to factor in too: considering the average UK road user averages just under 20 miles per day, and some delivery drivers report driving north of 80-100 miles per day, you’ll need to heavily consider the impact on your vehicle's value if and when you decide to sell or trade it in.

Deliveroo vs JustEat vs UberEats Pay Comparison: The Final Verdict

Because all three apps operate on a very similar independent contractor model in 2026, there is no single "best paying" app. It entirely depends on which app has the most market share and highest customer volume in your specific postcode.

There are many variables at play that will affect your individual pay, so your best bet is to sign up for multiple delivery apps and find which works best for you. There’s nothing stopping you from being signed up to all three (this is known as "multi-apping") so you can turn on the app that is currently offering the best Boosts or incentives on any given night. Also, ask around when you wait outside local restaurants to find out about the experiences of other delivery drivers in your area.

What Next?

Our guides to signing up and getting properly insured with all three providers could be a good starting point, whether you’ve decided which one you’d like to work for or are still considering your options:

How to become a Deliveroo driver

Head to the Deliveroo website to begin the sign-up process. You'll need a scooter, bike or car (with correct licensing/equipment), a Smartphone (iOS 12/Android 6 or above), proof of your right to work in the UK and to be over the age of 18.

How to become an UberEats driver

Head over to Uber's "deliver" website to begin the process of becoming an UberEats driver. You'll need to have proof of your vehicle of choice (bike, motorbike, car, etc.), have your UberEats Insurance sorted beforehand and be able to submit your documents, before finally passing Uber's background check.

How to become a JustEat driver

Head to the Just Eat Courier portal to begin your application. As with the others, you will need to pass a background check and provide proof of your right to work and commercial vehicle insurance.

Finding the right insurance

Courier Insurance can be an extremely complicated business—our partners at QuoteZone aim to take the hassle of things out of the equation. Fill out a quote form and they’ll connect you with a number of insurance businesses that are happy to cover your work as a courier.