Takeout & curbside tipping: what's customary in 2026.
The customary tip on takeout is $0 to 10%. The screen will prompt 18%. Below: the actual numbers from Pew and Square, three worked examples, and when curbside or a complex order should nudge you to round up.
0–10% is customary on US takeout in 2026, and zero is socially acceptable. Pew Research (2023) found only 24% of US adults always or often tip on takeout; Square's 2024 transaction data shows the median takeout tip is $0.
The screen prompts 18% because the POS vendor wrote it that way, not because etiquette did. Round up to the next dollar, tap Custom, or tap No Tip — all three are normal.
The number, and where it comes from
Two sources do most of the work here. Pew Research's August 2023 survey on tipping behavior found that 92% of US adults always or often tip at sit-down restaurants — but only 24% do the same for takeout. The Emily Post Institute's current guidance lists 10% as "appropriate for a large or complicated order" and explicitly notes that takeout tipping is optional. Square's aggregate transaction data from 2024 (the largest direct read on US tip behavior) shows the median takeout tip across millions of orders is $0; the mean, dragged up by generous outliers, sits around 4%. Bankrate's June 2025 Tipping Survey found that 49% of US adults who order takeout never tip on it. The customary number is low because the work is genuinely smaller — no table service, no refills, no clearing — and the public agrees with that read. See also our tipping fatigue piece, which covers the screen-prompt phenomenon in more depth.
Three worked examples
Example 1 — $18 pizza pickup, round-up
$0 is also fine. The screen will offer $3.24, $3.89, $4.86 — every one of those is above customary.
Example 2 — $42 family takeout
Five dollars cash on the counter is generous. Zero is the median. Both reach the counter staff.
Example 3 — $185 office lunch order, 10%
Catering-scale orders involve real kitchen work — multiple boxes, labels, often a carry-out to your car. 10% is the customary bump.
Edge cases
Curbside pickup
Someone walked your food out to your car, often through weather. The customary tip jumps to $2–$5 cash for a normal-sized order, or 10% on a larger one. The work involved is closer to a quick delivery than a counter handoff. Restaurants that built curbside as a pandemic-era service usually pay the runner a flat shift wage and route card tips through the house tip-out; cash handed to the runner stays with the runner.
Complex or custom orders
Catering trays, large-format orders, custom packaging (allergy separation, separate sauces, "no contact" with kids' meals labeled by name) — these are 10% jobs. The kitchen did meaningful extra work, and at most takeout-heavy restaurants the card tip goes into a shared pool that includes the back of house. If you've called ahead to special-request anything, the tip is the thank-you for the call as much as the food.
The touchscreen prompt at the counter
The 18/22/25% defaults you see on most takeout screens are set by the POS vendor — Square, Toast, Clover — not by etiquette and usually not by the restaurant owner. The vendor optimizes the presets to maximize average tip per transaction; the restaurant inherits the defaults unless it actively changes them. Tap Custom or No Tip without guilt. The tipping fatigue piece covers the mechanics in detail.
Picking up at a sit-down restaurant
Same rules as a takeout counter. Even if the restaurant is otherwise a 20%-tip kind of place, when you walk in, grab a bag, and walk out, the service is takeout service. A round-up or $2 cash is normal; the bartender or hostess who handed you the bag isn't expecting 20%. The one exception: a host who packed the order themselves while taking other tables — $5 cash is a generous read of that.
Cash vs. card
Most takeout tips end up shared with the kitchen. At restaurants on Square or Toast, the takeout tip pool is usually distributed across line cooks and counter staff on the next pay cycle — not pocketed by the person who handed you the bag. A cash tip handed directly across the counter is the only way to make sure a specific person keeps it. For curbside, hand the cash to the runner. For counter takeout, dropping a couple of dollars in the tip jar is the cash equivalent of tapping a low single-digit dollar amount on the screen.
What changes the answer
Tip on takeout if…
- The order was large, custom, or required real kitchen extras.
- Someone brought the food to your car (curbside).
- You called ahead with a special request and the staff handled it well.
- You're a regular and want to keep being a regular.
$0 is fine when…
- It's a routine pickup of food you ordered online.
- The interaction was a 10-second hand-off at the counter.
- You've already paid a service or convenience fee on the online order.
Mini calculator — pre-filled at 10%
Type the bill, drag the percentage. Defaults to 10% — the high end of customary for takeout. Tap 0% if you're tipping nothing; the calculator handles it.
For delivery (different rules), see delivery tipping. The homepage calculator opens blank with no preset.
FAQ
Do I have to tip on takeout?
No. Pew Research (2023) found only 24% of US adults always or often tip on takeout. The customary range is 0–10%, and $0 is socially acceptable. The screen prompts higher because the POS vendor designed it that way.
What about curbside pickup?
Someone walked your food out to your car. $2–$5 cash is generous and customary; 10% is generous on a larger order. Hand it to the runner directly if you want it to stay with them.
Why does the touchscreen prompt 18%?
Default presets are set by the POS vendor (Square, Toast, Clover) to maximize tip revenue. The customary number on takeout is not 18%; the prompt is. Tap Custom or No Tip without guilt.