COURIER VAN ROUTE PROFIT CALCULATOR · RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER · NOTHING UPLOADED

Is your delivery route worth driving? True profit per route, per hour and per stop

For independent contractors who own or lease the van. Type the route pay and what the route costs to run. The tool takes out fuel, van payment, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, tolls and a claims reserve, then shows what you keep per route, per hour and per stop, the lowest route pay that hits your hourly target, and lets you compare two offers.

The method with a worked example: how much profit per route delivery van contractors make.

1. What the route pays

Use any mix. Route pay = flat + per stop × stops + per package × packages. Leave the ones that do not apply at 0.

2. The route

3. Your van

4. Your week, your year and your target

Fill in the numbers, then click Check this route.

5. Compare with a second route offer

Offer A is everything above. Offer B shares your van, fuel, insurance, reserve, tax set-aside and weeks per year, and has its own pay, stops, hours, miles, tolls and routes per week.

How it is built

Route costs: fuel (miles ÷ mpg × price), maintenance and depreciation per mile, tolls and parking, the claims reserve, and a fixed share: (van payment + insurance) × 12 ÷ (routes per week × weeks per year). True profit is route pay minus those costs, before tax.

Tax set-aside is the percentage you choose applied to a positive profit, a savings target and not a tax calculation. Minimum route pay: costs plus target hourly × hours ÷ (1 − set-aside). The test suite checks that paying that amount earns the target to the cent for hundreds of random routes.

Break-even stops: (costs − flat pay) ÷ pay per stop including each stop's share of per-package pay, with miles held fixed.

Common questions

How do I work out whether a delivery route is worth driving?

Subtract every cost of running the van on that route from the route pay: fuel for the miles, maintenance and depreciation per mile, tolls and parking, a reserve for tickets and damage claims, and the van payment and insurance spread over the routes you actually drive. What is left is true profit. Divide by the hours on the road and then take out your tax set-aside to get a real hourly take-home.

What is a good profit per route for a van contractor?

There is no single number, because routes differ in hours and miles. Compare take-home per hour after the tax set-aside with the hourly you would accept, and compare annual take-home between offers. This tool solves for the lowest route pay that reaches your hourly target.

How do I include the van payment and insurance in each route?

Add the monthly van payment or lease and monthly insurance, multiply by 12, and divide by routes per week times weeks per year. A van that works 5 routes a week for 48 weeks carries each route's share of the full year of payments, including the weeks you do not drive.

How many stops do I need to break even on a route?

Break-even stops are the stops at which route pay equals route costs: the costs left after any flat route pay, divided by what each stop pays including its share of per-package pay. Miles are held fixed, so treat it as a guide for a route of this length.

Should I take the route that pays more per hour or more per year?

Look at both. A shorter route can pay more per hour worked yet put less in your pocket across the year if it fills fewer hours. The compare mode shows take-home per hour and per year for both offers side by side.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser, there are no accounts, and nothing is sent to a server. Use Save to download a scenario file.

Is this tax or business advice?

No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you type. The set-aside is only a percentage you choose; your actual self-employment tax, deductions and insurance needs depend on where you live and how you file. Check with an accountant.