{
  "slug": "cost-per-stop-last-mile",
  "title": "Cost Per Stop Last-Mile Delivery Calculator",
  "heading": "Cost Per Stop Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-stop-last-mile",
  "summary": "Blend vehicle, labor, and fuel cost into one cost-per-stop figure.",
  "description": "Last-mile delivery operations are usually priced and budgeted per stop, not per mile, because customer density (not raw distance) drives most of the cost. This calculator spreads a route's total cost — driver labor, vehicle fixed and fuel cost, and any per-stop handling cost — across the number of stops completed to give a true cost per stop, which you can then compare against what you're charging per delivery (if you're a paid last-mile provider) or use to judge route efficiency for an internal fleet.",
  "formula": "Cost per stop = (labor cost + vehicle cost + fuel cost + handling cost) ÷ stops completed.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=cost-per-stop-last-mile",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "laborCost",
      "label": "Driver labor cost for route",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 210,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "vehicleCost",
      "label": "Vehicle fixed cost allocated to route",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 55,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fuelCost",
      "label": "Fuel cost for route",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "handlingCostPerStop",
      "label": "Handling cost per stop (scanning, packaging)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.4,
      "unit": "$/stop",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "stops",
      "label": "Stops completed",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 130,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "costPerStop",
      "label": "Cost per stop",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "Total route cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fixed",
      "label": "Fixed route cost (labor+vehicle+fuel)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "handling",
      "label": "Total handling cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Driver labor cost for route: 210 $",
      "Vehicle fixed cost allocated to route: 55 $",
      "Fuel cost for route: 28 $",
      "Handling cost per stop (scanning, packaging): 0.4 $/stop",
      "Stops completed: 130"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cost per stop: $2.654",
      "Total route cost: $345",
      "Fixed route cost (labor+vehicle+fuel): $293",
      "Total handling cost: $52"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter driver labor cost for route ($).",
      "Enter vehicle fixed cost allocated to route ($).",
      "Enter fuel cost for route ($).",
      "Enter handling cost per stop (scanning, packaging) ($/stop).",
      "Enter stops completed.",
      "Read your cost per stop on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "laborCost": 125,
        "vehicleCost": 35,
        "fuelCost": 17,
        "handlingCostPerStop": 0.24,
        "stops": 78
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "laborCost": 210,
        "vehicleCost": 55,
        "fuelCost": 28,
        "handlingCostPerStop": 0.4,
        "stops": 130
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "laborCost": 335,
        "vehicleCost": 90,
        "fuelCost": 45,
        "handlingCostPerStop": 0.6400000000000001,
        "stops": 208
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What's a typical cost per stop in last-mile delivery?",
      "a": "Dense urban parcel routes commonly run $1.50-$3.00 per stop; suburban routes $2.50-$4.50; sparse rural routes can exceed $6-8 per stop due to distance between drops diluting a mostly fixed route cost across fewer stops."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why does adding more stops lower cost per stop?",
      "a": "Labor, vehicle, and most fuel cost for a route are largely fixed once the driver and vehicle are dispatched, so packing more stops into the same route spreads that fixed cost thinner — this is the core economic argument for route density optimization."
    },
    {
      "q": "How should I set delivery pricing using this?",
      "a": "Price above your fully loaded cost per stop with margin for overhead and profit, and recognize that low-density routes need either a density surcharge or a minimum per-route fee to avoid being unprofitable regardless of per-stop rate."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this apply to contracted delivery partners (like gig-style last mile)?",
      "a": "Yes — if you're paying a contracted delivery service per stop, compare their rate against your own estimated cost per stop using your own labor and vehicle assumptions to judge whether outsourcing is actually cheaper than running it in-house."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/route-density-stops-per-hour",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/trailer-utilization-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/van-fleet-replacement-cycle"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Cost Per Stop Last-Mile Delivery Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-stop-last-mile)"
}