67.7% accepted
Mean accepted quote £4.58 and £1.10 modeled contribution per attempted order.
- Highest synthetic conversion
- Lower contribution per accepted order
- Candidate accessibility benchmark
Transparent commercial model
Price the capacity an order actually uses.
A normal meal or small parcel should remain legible. Heavy liquid baskets, long routes and orders requiring multiple aircraft should pay for the capacity and handling they consume.
Quote laboratory
Change the basket.
See every component.
The calculator assumes a 1.8 kg usable payload per light-delivery aircraft. Orders above that mass may require several aircraft and quickly become better suited to a cargo bike, van or collection point.
Public context
Deliveroo’s reported UKI basket context and published customer fees help bound research, but neither establishes what Cambridge customers will pay for drone delivery.7
Tariff sensitivity outcome
High margin per delivery can still be a bad price.
The useful measure is contribution per attempted order, because it captures both accepted-order economics and demand destroyed by price.
£1.32 per attempt
30.7% accepted with a £6.96 mean accepted quote. It produced the strongest modeled contribution per attempt.
- Current simulation optimum
- Not validated willingness to pay
- Starting point for customer research
22.0% accepted
Mean accepted quote £7.66 and £1.13 modeled contribution per attempted order.
- Protects scarce aircraft capacity
- Suppresses too much synthetic demand
- Useful only under constrained supply
Source: Locust 270-case headless sweep, 6 June 2026. Willingness to pay and basket mix are synthetic.12
Business and public-sector services
Buy evidence before hardware.
Begin with the smallest engagement that can answer the decision. Aircraft and infrastructure are quoted only after the route and economics pass a gate.
Mission sprint
£12k–£25kRoute screen, approval path, preliminary economics and proceed/redesign/stop recommendation.
Focused setup
£35k–£75kDigital twin, aircraft comparison and route, risk, payload and energy scenarios.
Multi-route design
£90k–£180kCalibrated model, assurance plan, infrastructure design and investment case.
Drone setup
£150k–£350kIntegration, payload, C2, HIL, procedures and evidence. Aircraft excluded.
Starter hub
£120k–£300kSite, charging, storage, connectivity and control integration. Major works excluded.
Monitoring service
£1k–£2.5kPer aircraft/month for scenario re-runs, monitoring, evidence updates and optimization.
Commercial rules
Clear scope. Explicit pass-throughs. Measured outcomes.
Mobilisation, design gate, integration gate and acceptance.
Integration, procurement and warranty handling are visible rather than hidden.
Material changes are re-scoped because they alter evidence and operating risk.