ezPlatter Delivery is convenient, but it is not free, and on a smaller order the fee can meaningfully change your real cost per person in a way that is easy to overlook until you actually see the final total. Pickup takes more personal effort but usually saves real money once you run the numbers.
Typical delivery costs
Standard catering delivery fees commonly run $40 to $85 depending on distance from the restaurant and the overall size of the order, on top of the food cost itself. Some restaurants waive or reduce the fee above a certain order minimum, so it is always worth asking directly before you assume delivery is simply a flat added cost with no flexibility.
A worked comparison: the same $60 fee, two different orders
Take a flat $60 delivery fee and apply it to two different order sizes. For a 60-person order, that fee works out to $1 per person, which is a small addition that is easy to justify against the time saved by not sending someone to pick it up. For a 10-person order, that same $60 fee becomes $6 per person, which can represent 30 to 50 percent on top of an already modest per-person food cost of $12 to $18. The exact same fee has a completely different practical impact depending purely on how many people are splitting it.
When delivery is worth it regardless of order size
Delivery makes sense when the event location has no easy parking or loading access, when the person who would normally handle pickup genuinely cannot leave during the pickup window, or when the order is large enough that the per-person delivery cost rounds down to something negligible. In these cases, the convenience is worth paying for even on a smaller order.
When pickup clearly saves more money
On smaller orders under roughly 20 people, pickup is usually the better financial call if someone on the team genuinely has 15 to 20 minutes to spare and the restaurant is reasonably close by. The savings scale down as order size grows, so this advice matters most for the smaller end of typical office or party orders where the delivery fee represents the biggest percentage of the total.
Ask about combined minimums and fee waivers
Some locations set a separate order minimum for delivery versus pickup, or waive the delivery fee once you cross a certain dollar amount, often somewhere in the $150 to $300 range depending on the restaurant. If your order is close to that threshold, adding one more item to qualify for free or reduced delivery can end up costing less overall than paying the full delivery fee on a slightly smaller order, which is a small trick worth checking before you finalize the order.
Factor in the real cost of someone's time
Pickup only actually saves money if the time it takes someone to go get it is genuinely low-cost. If pulling a team member away from real work for 30 to 45 minutes has its own meaningful cost in lost productivity, a modest delivery fee can be the cheaper overall option once that is honestly accounted for, even though it looks more expensive on the invoice itself.
A simple decision guide
- Under 15 people, nearby restaurant, someone has time: pickup usually saves the most money.
- 15 to 40 people: compare the per-person delivery cost against the value of someone's time before deciding either way.
- Over 40 people, or difficult parking or loading: delivery is usually worth it regardless of the fee, since the per-person impact is small.
- Order is close to a fee-waiver threshold: consider adding an item to qualify rather than paying the fee outright.
Quick answers
Should I tip the same for pickup and delivery? Tipping is generally optional for pickup and more standard for delivery, typically in the 10 to 15 percent range, similar to other food delivery norms.
Can I negotiate the delivery fee? Sometimes, especially for a recurring order or a larger one-time order. It never hurts to ask directly whether the fee can be reduced or waived before you commit. For more ways to trim cost, see our budget catering guide.
Step by step: deciding between delivery and pickup
Calculate your headcount, then divide the quoted delivery fee by that headcount to get the true per-person delivery cost. Compare that per-person cost against a rough estimate of what someone's time is worth for the pickup trip. Check whether your order is close to any fee-waiver threshold. Make the call based on the actual numbers rather than a general assumption either way.
A worked example: 25 people, comparing both options directly
For a 25-person order with a $55 delivery fee, that works out to $2.20 per person added for delivery. If someone on the team would need 30 minutes round trip to pick it up instead, and that time is worth roughly $25 to $30 in lost productivity, the total pickup "cost" comes out close to the same range as just paying for delivery. In a case this close, convenience alone is often the deciding factor rather than a clear financial winner either way.
Multiple stops and split pickups
If your event already requires someone to run other errands nearby, combining a catering pickup with that trip effectively makes pickup free from a time perspective, even for a larger order. Consider this option specifically before defaulting to delivery out of habit.