Updated February 2026
If you operate an e-commerce brand, retail business, or local courier operation, you’ve probably asked: how much does local delivery cost in Canada? The short answer is that costs vary widely depending on distance, delivery speed, urban density, and operational efficiency. The long answer—and the one that matters for profitability—is that local delivery costs can quietly erode margins if they aren’t actively managed.
Local delivery typically refers to short-distance, same-day or next-day deliveries within a city or metro area. While these routes are shorter than long-haul shipping, they’re also the most operationally complex due to traffic, failed delivery attempts, parking constraints, and customer availability.
Industry research shows that last-mile delivery can account for over 50% of total shipping costs, even for short distances, largely due to labor and reattempts rather than fuel alone. This cost concentration is a consistent theme across logistics analyses of urban delivery networks.
What Is the Average Cost of Local Delivery in Canada?
While exact pricing varies by city and service level, published data and industry benchmarks suggest that local delivery in Canada often ranges from roughly $8 to $25+ per delivery for businesses, depending on urgency, route density, and operational model.
For example, logistics research summarized by SmartRoutes shows that last-mile delivery represents the largest portion of overall delivery cost, driven primarily by driver time and route inefficiencies rather than distance alone (SmartRoutes, 2024). In urban environments like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, congestion and building access can further increase per-stop delivery cost.
Additionally, industry analysis of urban delivery economics highlights that failed delivery attempts can double the cost of a single local delivery, since the same stop must be serviced again with new labor and fuel costs (FarEye, 2023). This means that even “cheap” local routes become expensive when first-attempt success rates are low.
Key Factors That Determine Local Delivery Cost in Canada
Local delivery pricing is influenced by several variables that businesses often underestimate:
Urban logistics research has consistently shown that route density and stop sequencing matter more to delivery cost than raw distance, which is why two businesses delivering in the same city can have dramatically different cost structures depending on how well routes are planned and executed.
Why Local Delivery Costs Are Rising in Canada
Local delivery costs in Canada continue to rise due to structural pressures across logistics networks. Labor shortages in urban delivery roles increase wages and recruitment costs. Fuel prices and insurance premiums remain volatile. At the same time, customer expectations for same-day delivery and narrow ETAs create operational complexity that drives up cost per stop.
Logistics industry reporting highlights that urban last-mile delivery faces increasing pressure from congestion and customer expectations, forcing businesses to invest more in routing technology and real-time visibility to maintain service levels without sacrificing profitability (IBM, 2024). This makes delivery optimization not just an efficiency play—but a cost-control necessity.
How Koorier Helps Reduce Local Delivery Costs
Koorier’s delivery orchestration platform is designed to help businesses actively lower local delivery costs in Canada by addressing the biggest cost drivers:
- AI-driven route optimization to increase drops per route and reduce total kilometers driven
- Real-time traffic-aware re-routing to avoid congestion and late deliveries
- Predictive ETAs + proactive customer notifications to improve first-attempt delivery success
- Multi-hub dispatching to shorten the last mile by shipping from the closest inventory node
- Performance analytics to identify high-cost routes, failed delivery patterns, and optimization opportunities
By improving route density and reducing reattempts, businesses using Koorier can materially reduce cost per delivery while still offering fast local delivery options to customers.
Take Action: Lower Your Local Delivery Costs in Canada
If you’re wondering how much local delivery costs in Canada for your business, the real question is how much it could cost with better optimization. Rising labor, congestion, and customer expectations make manual routing and reactive delivery management unsustainable.
Koorier helps Canadian businesses reduce local delivery costs by optimizing routes, increasing first-attempt success, and giving teams real-time control over last-mile performance.
Request a demo with Koorier to see how much you can lower your local delivery costs in 2026.
Author & Authority
By Giovanna Freitas
Marketing specialist at Koorier
About Koorier
Koorier is a Canadian logistics technology company specializing in regional last-mile delivery networks and real-time delivery visibility for retailers and enterprises.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: How much does local delivery cost in Canada on average?
A: Local delivery in Canada often ranges from roughly $8 to $25+ per delivery, depending on city, route density, delivery speed, and operational efficiency.
Q2: Why is local delivery so expensive compared to shipping?
A: Local delivery is labor-intensive and sensitive to congestion, customer availability, and failed delivery attempts, which significantly increase cost per stop.
Q3: How can businesses reduce local delivery costs in Canada?
A: Businesses can reduce local delivery costs by optimizing routes, improving first-attempt delivery success, using real-time routing technology, and staging inventory closer to customers.
