Delivery Density Cost Calculator

Work out delivery density cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Delivery Density Cost Calculator

Delivery cost per drop falls with the square root of delivery density, a well-established result in vehicle routing. Doubling density therefore cuts distance per drop by about 29%, which is why building volume in existing postcodes beats expanding the service area.

Formulas

Distance per drop

Km per drop = 0.75 / sqrt(Deliveries per square km)

Cost per drop

Cost per drop = Km per drop x Cost per route km

Worked example

With the default values below, Delivery Density Cost Calculator returns Cost per drop of $8.49. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Deliveries per square kilometre: 8
Service area: 180 km2
Cost per route kilometre: 32
Drops per vehicle per day: 70

Results

Cost per drop: $8.49
Kilometres per drop: 0.2652
Total daily route distance: 381.8
Vehicles required: 21

Step by step

1Values used
2Distance per drop
3Cost per drop
4Cost per drop= 8.49
5Kilometres per drop= 0.2652
6Total daily route distance= 381.8
7Vehicles required= 21

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why a square root relationship?

Because in a uniformly served area the average distance between neighbouring stops scales with the inverse square root of density. It is the standard continuous-approximation routing result.

What does this mean strategically?

Deepen coverage before widening it. Adding customers in served areas is far cheaper per drop than opening new territory.