Tipping is optional but customary, and it directly affects how much a driver earns per run since base delivery fees rarely go to the person handing you your order. Adjust upward for distance, weather, or a heavy order, and downward only when service genuinely falls short.
TL;DR:
- Tips typically range from 15% to 20% for standard orders, with higher tips justified for difficult conditions like bad weather or large, fragile items.
- Delivery fees are not usually part of the driver’s earnings, so customers should add a manual tip when app options are unavailable or unclear.
- In-app tipping at checkout is the most reliable method because it ensures the driver receives the full tip, with adjustments possible after delivery if needed.
- For small orders under $20, a flat $3 to $5 tip is appropriate, while large or multi-stop deliveries may warrant higher amounts or percentage-based tips.
- Tipping for pickup or curbside orders is optional, with a small gesture of $2 to $5 appreciated if staff assist beyond standard service.
Table of Contents
- Standard tipping ranges and quick examples
- Factors that should change your tip
- How to tip: methods and timing
- Special cases and quick rules
- Legal and platform rules that affect tipping
- How Say Less handles tipping and delivery
- What matters more than the exact percentage
- A convenient, legal option for your next order
- Sources
- FAQ
Standard tipping ranges and quick examples
Consider closer to 20% for deliveries that involved more effort such as bad weather, a tricky address, or a rush order.
Reporting from Westword notes drivers commonly see tips generally in the mid single-digit to low double-digit dollar range per stop, with some recommending a higher minimum tip on larger orders. On the high end, a $10 or higher flat tip makes sense for oversized or multi-item deliveries regardless of the percentage math.
Here is how that breaks down on typical orders:
- A $25 order: tip $5, which is roughly 20% and above the flat minimum for a small purchase.
- A $50 order: tip $7.50 to $10, which lands in the standard 15 to 20% range.
- A $150 order: tip $15 to $30, following the same 10 to 20% guidance but scaled to a bigger basket.
None of this is required by law.
Factors that should change your tip
The baseline percentage is a starting point, not a fixed rule. Several situational details push a fair tip up or down.
- Distance and access: a driver crossing town or climbing four flights of stairs without an elevator earns more than one making a quick drop at street level.
- Weather: rain, snow, or extreme heat adds real difficulty to a delivery run and justifies a few extra dollars.
- Multiple stops or pooled orders: if your delivery is bundled with others on the same route, the driver is doing more work per dollar earned, so a slightly higher tip helps offset that.
- Heavy or fragile items: multi-item orders with vape hardware, glass, or beverages take more care to handle and deserve recognition.
Delivery fees and service charges are a separate line item from a tip, and they frequently do not reach the driver at all. Treat any listed delivery fee as the cost of the service itself, not as compensation for the person driving.
Pro Tip: If your app shows a delivery fee but no clear tip line, add a tip manually rather than assuming the fee already covers it.
How to tip: methods and timing
Getting the tip to your driver correctly matters as much as choosing the amount. Here is the simplest path depending on how you’re ordering.
- Tip in-app at checkout if the platform offers it. This is the most reliable method since delivery-network companies must disclose driver pay and tips as part of standard payment recordkeeping, which keeps the tip traceable from checkout to payout.
- Add or adjust a tip after delivery on platforms that allow it. Most apps let you revisit the order and increase the tip once the driver has arrived, and that adjustment is added to the earnings breakdown the driver sees.
- Hand over a cash tip discreetly at the door if you’d rather skip the app entirely. Cash avoids any processing delay and goes straight to the driver, which some customers prefer for privacy reasons as much as speed.
- Confirm the tip option exists before assuming none is available. If a dispensary’s own ordering system doesn’t show a tip field, cash is the fallback, and it’s worth asking when you place the order.
When a single delivery involves more than one driver, split a cash tip evenly or add a slightly higher combined amount to cover both.
Special cases and quick rules
A few scenarios come up often enough to deserve their own answer.
- Small orders under $20: tip a flat $3 to $5 minimum rather than calculating a percentage that would barely register.
- Large or group orders: tip per stop if the delivery serves multiple people, or push toward the top of the 20% range for one large combined order.
- Late or incomplete delivery: a partial tip is reasonable if the delay was outside the driver’s control, but a genuinely mishandled order (wrong items, rude service) is worth reporting to the dispensary rather than penalizing the tip alone.
- Pickup and curbside orders: tipping isn’t expected the way it is for delivery, but a small $2 to $5 tip is a nice gesture when staff bring your order curbside or handle a complex request.
Legal and platform rules that affect tipping
There is no law prohibiting tips on cannabis delivery, and no state requires them either. What regulators and platforms do govern is how those tips are tracked once they’re given.
Delivery network companies must disclose to drivers their base pay, tips already left by consumers, reimbursements, the number of transactions completed, and pickup addresses, and must maintain post-task payment records.
That standard, laid out in Colorado’s delivery network company guidance, exists to make sure drivers actually see what they earned, tips included.
DoorDash states that Dashers receive 100% of the tips customers leave, including tips added after delivery, which gives customers a concrete reason to trust that an in-app tip reaches the driver rather than disappearing into a fee.
Separately, Maryland’s dispensary delivery guidance covers ID checks and recordkeeping for delivery operations, but it does not touch tipping practices at all. That split is common: states regulate how cannabis moves, not whether customers tip for the trip.
How Say Less handles tipping and delivery
Say Less offers fast same-day delivery and pickup across NYC, with every product lab-tested before it reaches a customer. Before your delivery arrives, have your ID ready, clear a path to your door, and keep a discreet tip ready, whether that’s a rounded-up in-app amount or a few bills handed over quietly.
What matters more than the exact percentage
It usually doesn’t. Reporting on the industry has repeatedly noted that fees and taxes eat into a customer’s willingness to tip even when that money never touches the driver’s pay.
The advice worth internalizing isn’t a specific number. It’s the habit of tipping something every time, adjusted honestly for effort, rather than defaulting to zero because the checkout screen made the fees feel like enough. A driver who just climbed four flights in the rain notices the difference between a $2 tip and a $10 one far more than you’ll notice it in your bank account. Get the habit right first. The exact percentage can flex.
— Jake
A convenient, legal option for your next order
The dispensary delivers lab-tested flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and concentrates across The Bronx and NYC, with next-day and same-day delivery windows. Every product comes from curated brands with verified lab results, so there’s no guesswork about what’s actually in your order.
Drivers depend on tips the same way any delivery worker does, so keep that 10 to 20% range in mind when your order arrives.
- Browse the full menu and place an order through Say Less’s online ordering page.
- Check delivery minimums and fees ahead of time on the delivery guide for NYC.
- Review basic pickup and delivery etiquette on the dispensary etiquette guide.
Order through Saylessny for delivery or pickup, and keep a few dollars ready for the driver who gets it to your door.
Sources
- CDLE delivery network company guidance (November 27, 2024)
- Maryland dispensary guidance (Final June 2026)
- Westword: Tipping for marijuana deliveries (March 22, 2022)
- DoorDash help: Do Dashers receive tips?
FAQ
Is it rude to not tip a budtender?
Tipping in-store budtenders isn’t the norm the way delivery tipping is, so skipping it isn’t considered rude. A small tip is a nice gesture for exceptional service, but it’s optional and not expected the way delivery tips are.
How much do you tip on a $50 delivery?
Adjust upward if the delivery involved distance, weather, or a difficult drop-off point.
Can drivers see if you don’t tip?
On platforms following disclosure standards like Colorado’s delivery network rules, drivers can see tip amounts as part of their payment records, and some platforms may show tip information before a driver accepts a delivery. Whether a specific app shows this before acceptance depends on that platform’s own settings.
Are you supposed to tip for a pickup order?
Tipping isn’t expected for pickup or curbside orders the way it is for delivery, since there’s no driver making a trip to your door. A small $2 to $5 tip is still a reasonable gesture if staff went out of their way to help with a complicated order.