Private hire or food delivery: which is worth doing?

They look similar from the outside and are very different jobs. The gap that matters is not the hourly rate, it is what it costs to be allowed to start.

Getting in

That table is the whole decision for a lot of people. Food delivery is something you can try; private hire is something you commit to.

The work itself

Private hire is longer jobs, fewer of them, more time with a person in the car, and a lot more night work. Food delivery is short hops, constant stopping, and evenings concentrated around meal times.

Private hire generally pays more per hour once you are established, partly because the barrier to entry keeps the supply of drivers down. It also has more dead time between fares outside busy periods.

The costs run higher too. More miles per hour, a licensed vehicle that may need to meet emissions rules, and an insurance premium in a different bracket.

The tax side is almost identical

Both are self-employment. You register with HMRC, file a Self Assessment return, and pay income tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your profit. The mileage method works the same way at 55p a mile.

The one difference worth flagging is turnover. Private hire fares run through platforms that take a commission, so your income is the gross fare and the commission is an expense. Getting that round the right way keeps you on the right side of the trading allowance and the Making Tax Digital thresholds.

A reasonable way to decide

1. Try food delivery first if you have not done either. It costs almost nothing to find out whether the work suits you.
2. Log a month and look at the true hourly rate rather than the gross.
3. If it is working and you want more, price the private hire licence and insurance in your own council area. The numbers vary enormously between authorities.
4. Only then decide, with your own figures on both sides.