Flower delivery fees explained: why a $79.99 bouquet costs about $100

Flower shopping has a habit of feeling cheaper than it is. The bouquet page shows one number, and the checkout page shows a bigger one. The difference is almost always the delivery or service fee, plus anything you clicked “add” on along the way. Here is what each piece is, and what it costs at the brands most people use.

Delivery fee vs service fee: what’s the difference?

They’re two names for the same thing from your wallet’s point of view: a charge for getting the flowers to the door. The name usually tells you how the flowers travel.

• Shipping or delivery fee: the bouquet travels by a carrier in a box. 1-800-Flowers says its shipping fees depend on the recipient’s address, delivery speed, and what you buy [1-800-Flowers].
• Service fee or service charge: the order is sent to a local florist who makes and delivers it. Teleflora says its service fee covers placing your order with a local florist who creates and hand-delivers the arrangement [Teleflora].

What the big online florists charge

These medians are the lowest standard fee a shopper could get across available dates. They leave out same-day rush charges, holiday surge pricing, ZIP-code premiums, and add-ons [SendFlowers.io]. In other words, your fee can be higher, rarely lower.

We checked a few retailers’ own pages too. FTD says standard shipping and delivery charges “start as low as $19.99” and vary by location, shipping time, and calendar day [FTD]. UrbanStems ships free on orders over $140, counted after discounts and before taxes and fees [UrbanStems].

Fees that show up later in checkout

• Same-day delivery. Teleflora charges $2.99 extra for same-day delivery if you order before its cutoff [Teleflora]. See same-day delivery costs.
• International orders. Teleflora adds a $15 relay fee on top of its regular service fee [Teleflora].
• Changing the address after it ships. FTD says this may cost $10.00 [FTD].
• Vases and add-ons. On FTD’s dozen roses, the glass vase takes the price from $29.75 to $34 [FTD]. On 1-800-Flowers’ dozen, the red vase adds $15 ($49.99 to $64.99) [1-800-Flowers].
• Tax. Sales tax is calculated on the order and isn’t in any price on this site.

Can you avoid the delivery fee?

Sometimes, by trading money now for money later:

• Free shipping thresholds. At UrbanStems, a $140 order ships free [UrbanStems]. That only helps if you were going to spend that much anyway.
• Memberships. 1-800-Flowers’ Celebrations Passport costs $19.99 for the first year and renews at $29.99 a year [1-800-Flowers]. It covers free standard shipping and no service charge on eligible products delivered on weekdays; faster delivery methods and some products are excluded [1-800-Flowers]. If you send flowers twice a year or more on weekdays, the math can work. Teleflora also sells a membership that waives standard service fees on certain orders [Teleflora].
• Pick up in person from a local shop, if you’re nearby.

To see how this plays out for one product, look at the dozen roses price study, where the fee was 67% of the price of the cheapest roses.