Articles
Focused pieces on what the work actually pays, which platform suits you, and what to drive.
Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat and Stuart: how they really differ
The four food apps pay per order, but they differ on almost everything else: whether you can log on when you like, whether waiting is paid, what declining costs you, when the money arrives and what they insure. Here is the comparison on the things that change your week.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 29/09/2026
Amazon Flex, Evri, DPD and Yodel: parcel work compared
Parcel work suits drivers who want daytime hours and a predictable load. The four big options differ on the vehicle they need, how you are paid, how often, and how much of the week they expect. Here they are side by side.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 29/09/2026
Uber, Bolt, Freenow and Addison Lee: private hire compared
All four need the same licence, car and insurance. They differ on status, benefits, how you are paid and whether you rent the car from them. Here is how they compare on the things that change what you keep.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 29/09/2026
Renting a PCO car: mileage rate or actual costs?
If you rent your private hire car by the week, you cannot claim both the rental and the mileage rate. Which one to claim depends on the rent, your miles and how much of the week the car works. Here is the arithmetic.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 29/09/2026
The 2026 VAT change on private hire, and what it means for drivers
From 2 January 2026 private hire operators can no longer use the Tour Operators' Margin Scheme, so operators that contract as principal pay VAT on the whole fare. It is a tax on the operator, not on you, but it changes fares and what drivers are offered.
HMRC & taxUpdated 29/09/2026
Who owns the delivery apps now, and what changed for drivers
In 2025 most of the big names changed hands: DoorDash bought Deliveroo, Prosus bought Just Eat, Lyft bought Freenow, InPost bought Yodel and Evri merged with DHL eCommerce UK. For drivers and riders, very little changed on day one. Here is what to watch.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 29/09/2026
Amazon Flex or an Amazon delivery partner job?
There are two ways to deliver Amazon parcels. Flex is self-employed, in your own car, a block at a time. A Delivery Service Partner job is with a separate company that provides the van and usually sets a full day. They are different jobs with different tax.
Getting startedUpdated 29/09/2026
Deactivation rules, platform by platform
Every platform publishes its own list of what gets an account paused or closed, and its own way to challenge it. Some give you four weeks, some review automatically, some never let you back. Here is what each one says.
Account & platform problemsUpdated 29/09/2026
The trading allowance against claiming expenses
You can deduct the £1,000 trading allowance from your turnover, or you can deduct your real expenses. Not both. For anyone driving more than a few hours a week the expenses win easily, because the mileage claim alone passes £1,000 inside about two thousand business miles.
HMRC & taxUpdated 27/08/2026
The minimum income floor
The minimum income floor is an assumed level of earnings Universal Credit applies to self-employed claimants after a start-up period. Earn less than it and your award is calculated as though you had earned it, which removes the top-up in exactly the months you need it.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
Surge, boost and peak pay, honestly
Surge is a temporary uplift applied where demand outstrips the drivers available. It is a supply tool, not a bonus, and it disappears the moment enough drivers arrive. Driving across a city to reach it costs miles nobody pays for, and that usually eats the uplift.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
Best and worst hours to work
Food delivery concentrates into two narrow windows a day, lunchtime and evening, with the evening far stronger and weekends stronger still. Parcel work is the opposite, front-loaded into the morning. The worst hours are the ones between, where you are available and unpaid.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
Claiming on the wrong policy, and what happens
If you have an accident while delivering on a policy that does not cover hire and reward, the insurer can refuse the claim and can void the policy from the start. You are then personally liable for the other party's damage, and driving uninsured is a separate offence.
InsuranceUpdated 27/08/2026
The 10,000 mile threshold, worked
The mileage rate for a car drops from 55p to 25p after 10,000 business miles in a tax year. The threshold resets on 6 April, it counts business miles only, and a full-time driver usually passes it before the year is half done.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
Parking, tolls and what is deductible
Parking charges and tolls on business journeys are deductible, and they can be claimed on top of the mileage rate. Fines are not, ever. That includes parking tickets, bus lane penalties and speeding fines, however unavoidable the ticket felt at the time.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
Comparing platforms on real net hourly
No platform pays a fixed rate, so the honest answer is that it depends on your area, your car and your hours. What can be compared is the shape: private hire has the highest gross and the highest costs, food delivery the lowest of both, and parcel work sits between them.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
The year in delivery work
Demand runs on a predictable annual cycle: a peak from late November through Christmas, a sharp fall in January, a slow spring and a quiet summer. The tax bill lands in the worst month of the year, which is the part worth planning around.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
Mileage method or actual costs: which is worth more?
For most delivery drivers the mileage method wins, and it is not close. At 55p a mile it usually beats the real running cost of an ordinary car, and it needs no receipts.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 20/08/2026
Car, moped or bike: which is best for delivery work?
A bike wins in a dense city centre, a moped wins in most towns, and a car wins on parcel work and bad weather. The tax relief follows the same order in reverse.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 20/08/2026
How much tax does a full-time delivery driver actually pay?
Far less than the headline turnover suggests. Mileage relief usually removes a third or more before income tax and National Insurance are worked out at all.
HMRC & taxUpdated 20/08/2026
Private hire or food delivery: which is worth doing?
Private hire pays more per hour and costs far more to get into. Food delivery you can start this week with the car you already own.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 20/08/2026
Is Amazon Flex worth it?
Blocks look well paid until you subtract fuel, wear and tax. Here is how to work out what a Flex block is actually worth to you.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 19/08/2026
How much can you earn with Uber Eats?
Why there is no honest national average, what actually drives the number, and how to work out your own rate after costs.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 19/08/2026
What makes a good delivery car?
Running cost per mile matters more than the sticker price. How to compare vehicles for delivery work, and where electric does and does not pay.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 19/08/2026
Food delivery or parcel delivery: which is better?
Two quite different jobs that get lumped together. How the pay, hours, mileage, costs and risk compare.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 19/08/2026
25 of 25 articles shown.