How Much Does Food Delivery Cost? Understanding delivery fees.

Delivery fees can feel mysterious — they vary by distance, time of day, and order size. Here's exactly how Dashdrop calculates what you pay, and how to keep costs down.

When you open a delivery app and see a fee added to your order, it can feel arbitrary. Why does it cost more on a rainy evening? Why does the same restaurant charge differently depending on where you live? At Dashdrop, we believe you deserve to understand exactly what you're paying for.

Dashdrop's delivery fee is made up of three parts: a base fee, a distance fee, and a peak-hour adjustment. The base fee covers the cost of dispatching a rider and is currently KSh 50 across all Kenyan cities. The distance fee adds KSh 8 per kilometre between the merchant and your address. The peak-hour adjustment — a small surcharge of up to KSh 30 — applies during the busiest windows, typically 12:00–14:00 and 18:00–21:00, when rider demand is highest.

On top of the delivery fee, some merchants apply a small service charge that goes directly to them, not to Dashdrop or the rider. You will always see this itemised on the checkout screen before you confirm your order — nothing is added after the fact.

To keep your delivery cost down: order during off-peak hours when you can, choose merchants closer to your location, and combine items into a single order rather than placing two separate ones. If you order regularly from the same merchant, the Dashdrop subscription plan — available under Account settings — reduces your per-delivery fee by 40%.