The real cost of Доставка пиццы: hidden expenses revealed

The $3 Pizza That Actually Costs You $15

Last Tuesday, I ordered a medium pepperoni pizza at 8 PM. The menu said $12.99. My credit card statement? $27.43. And honestly, I got off easy.

Pizza delivery has become such a normalized part of modern life that we barely glance at those receipts anymore. We're tired, hungry, and scrolling through our phones while absently tapping "confirm order." But those seemingly innocent charges are quietly draining our wallets in ways that would shock you if you actually sat down and did the math.

Let me pull back the curtain on what's really happening every time you hit that "Place Order" button.

The Fee Avalanche Nobody Talks About

That advertised pizza price? It's basically fiction. Here's what actually happens:

First comes the delivery fee—typically $3 to $6 depending on your location and the platform you're using. Here's the kicker: this fee doesn't go to your driver. Not most of it, anyway. The company keeps the lion's share to cover "operational costs," which is corporate speak for "we need to make money somehow."

Then there's the service fee. Yes, that's different from the delivery fee. This usually runs 10-15% of your order total. So on a $30 order, you're looking at another $3 to $4.50. Third-party apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats have normalized this so completely that most people don't even question it anymore.

The Markup You Never See

Here's where it gets sneaky. Many delivery platforms mark up menu prices by 15-30% compared to what you'd pay walking into the restaurant. That $12.99 pizza? It's probably $9.99 if you pick it up yourself. A 2022 study found that the average order through third-party delivery apps costs 40% more than ordering directly from the restaurant.

Small order fees add another gut punch. Ordering just one pizza? Many platforms will slap on a $2-3 charge because your order doesn't meet their minimum threshold. They want you buying more, always more.

The Tip Trap

Remember when I said that delivery fee doesn't go to your driver? This is where things get ethically murky. You're expected to tip—and you should, because drivers are getting squeezed harder than anyone in this equation.

Most people tip 15-20%, which on a $30 order means another $4.50 to $6. But here's the thing: drivers are using their own cars, paying for their own gas, and dealing with wear and tear that averages $0.58 per mile according to IRS calculations. That "quick" delivery might involve 8 miles round trip, which costs the driver $4.64 in vehicle expenses alone.

"I've had orders where after gas and time, I basically made $4 an hour," a delivery driver from Chicago told me. "People think that delivery fee goes to us. It doesn't. We're surviving on tips and hoping the algorithm sends us enough orders to make rent."

The Hidden Time Tax

Money isn't the only cost. Let's talk about time.

The average delivery takes 38 minutes from order to doorstep, according to industry data. But we've all experienced the 75-minute wait, the cold pizza, the missing items. You're stuck in limbo—too committed to cancel, too hungry to cook something else, checking that tracking map every three minutes like it'll make the driver move faster.

That's time you could spend actually cooking. A homemade pizza takes 20 minutes of active work (yes, even with homemade dough if you prep ahead). The rest is just oven time while you do other things.

The Real Numbers Over a Year

Let's say you order delivery twice a week. Conservative estimate: $25 per order after all fees and tip. That's $200 per month. $2,400 per year.

If you picked up those same orders? You'd save roughly $960 annually just by driving five minutes to grab it yourself. Order directly from restaurants instead of using apps? Add another $480 in savings from avoiding service fees and markups.

We're talking $1,440 a year. That's a decent vacation. A new laptop. Three months of groceries.

What Actually Makes Sense

Look, I'm not here to tell you to never order delivery. Sometimes you're genuinely stuck at home, or it's pouring rain, or you've had the kind of day where cooking feels impossible. Life happens.

But most of the time? We're paying premium prices for convenience we don't actually need. We're subsidizing a business model that underpays drivers while overcharging customers, all while pretending that $3.99 delivery fee is the real cost.

Next time you're about to tap that order button, maybe ask yourself: am I paying for actual convenience, or just habit? Your wallet might thank you for the honesty.