In the modern age, many people are looking for a side hustle to supplement their main source of earnings.
DoorDash has established itself as a major player in the gig economy. Operating in 7,000 cities worldwide, they're a popular option for those looking for additional income.
The question is: How much do you actually earn from DoorDash? Is it worth it? Should you drive for a different app, instead?
In this article, we’ll answer these questions and more! Specifically, we’ll cover:
- The basics of DoorDash as a platform
- How much DoorDash drivers earn vs. drivers on other platforms
- The exact details of DoorDash’s pay structure
- Expenses and deductions to be considered.
Let’s get into it!
A Glimpse Into DoorDash
The basics of DoorDash is this:
A customer places an order with a local restaurant or store. This delivery is then displayed to local dashers who are “on duty”.
Once a driver accepts the order, they drive to the store or restaurant to pick it up and then deliver it to the customer's house. After the delivery is completed, they’re paid.
DoorDash pays their drivers through direct weekly deposits, FastPay, direct cash payments by customers, and even through their own DasherDirect prepaid Visa card.
How Much DoorDash Drivers Make vs. Other Platforms: Revealing the Data
Ultimately, how much you earn with any delivery app depends on how much work you accept, as well as where you’re working. Some people make DoorDash their full-time job, driving 40 hours or more a week. Others use it as a side gig or part-time job, intending to supplement their main income. Obviously, full-time drivers will earn significantly more than part-timers. The data below is based on full-time work and is specific to the US.
Hourly Earnings
Almost none of the driving or delivery apps have a flat, hourly rate. Instead, pay is based on how many deliveries or trips you complete. For this reason, pay can vary significantly. Pay also varies depending on the type of work you’re doing. For instance, rideshare apps tend to have higher pay, whereas delivery services are normally lower.
According to Solo’s earnings data from December 2022 to June 2023, DoorDash drivers make the smallest hourly rate of any delivery-style app at $13.55 per hour. This is exceeded by Uber Eats ($16.37/hour), Instacart ($16.45/hour), and Amazon Flex ($25.07/hour).
Earnings Per Trip
This is calculated based on the average earnings of drivers per trip they make, regardless of each trip's length or complexity.
DoorDash again brings up the rear at just $7.78 per trip, compared to $8.75 per trip for Uber Eats drivers and $15.15 per trip for Instacart. Amazon drivers stand to make between $18 to $26 per trip.
Weekly Earnings
These numbers are calculated based on the average total weekly earnings for each app:
- UberEats: $170.31 per week
- DoorDash: $199.36 per week
- Instacart: $196.85 per week
- Amazon Flex: $311.76 per week
Monthly Averages
The same as weekly averages, these are based on total earnings from all deliveries within a month:
- UberEats: $431.38 per month
- Instacart: $499.76 per month
- DoorDash: $535.77 per month
- Amazon Flex: $823.05 per month
Highest Earning Cities for Each Platform
Earnings can vary significantly depending on which city you reside in. This is due to numerous variables including population, available jobs, and average food prices.
Without transparent, market wide earnings information it can make your decision of where and when to work extremely difficult. We're here to give you all the information you need to see what jobs are paying the most in real time and make it easy to plan your schedule to hit your earnings goal faster—guaranteed.
Here are the top 5 cities for each app in order of average earnings:
DoorDash
Amazon Flex
- Seattle
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Atlanta
Instacart
Uber
UberEats
A Closer Look Into the Pay Structure of DoorDash
Ultimately, you can experience major variance in earnings depending on how you work and your efficiency.
The best app for you also depends on your preferences. Some people are fine with having strangers in their car and managing the risks and problems that come with that. Others don’t want to deal with this at all, and would much prefer delivery work.
To help you make this decision, let's do a deep dive into DoorDash’s pay structure:
Base Pay for Each Delivery
For every delivery you make as a Dasher, you’ll receive a base pay between $2 and $10.
This depends on the estimated time of the delivery, its distance from you, and the desirability of the order. If an order is turned down by many drivers, its base price will rise.
Factors such as peak hours and location will also impact base pay amounts.
Customer Tips
One of the best things about DoorDash compared to other services is that customer tips have no impact on base pay.
A driver will get 100% of their tips, and the base pay of the order will remain the same whether a customer tips or not.
This is unique compared to the many delivery apps that subtract customer tips from base pay, meaning you don’t actually earn much more from tipped orders.
In some cases, you might even get a tip in cash upon delivery – meaning none of it is displayed in the initial order.
In other cases, customers may order through a business website rather than DoorDash and not be given any option to tip.
Promotions and Bonuses
DoorDash offers a variety of promotions and bonuses to their drivers that help you earn a little extra from your deliveries.
These vary greatly depending on where you are and what time you’re driving.
The Peak Pay bonus is one of the most important promotions, being offered only at peak hours such as meal times when drivers are most needed (and traffic is the worst).
Certain deliveries may have bonuses attached, such as if they are for an event or special client.
Also notable are Challenges, which can be found in the app and allow you to earn bonuses by hitting certain delivery goals within a set amount of time.
Referral Bonuses for New Drivers
As a DoorDash driver, you have access to a referral link or code to give to your friends and family.
If they join via this code, they will receive a guaranteed amount of income in their first month if they hit certain goals. And if they meet these goals, you will also get a bonus as their referrer.
For instance, your referral code might grant a guaranteed earnings amount of $1,000 for their first month as a driver.
Assuming they hit their monthly goal (something like 50 deliveries in 30 days), but only earned $800, they’ll get “topped up” with an extra $200 from DoorDash.
For the first 15 people you refer each year, you’ll receive a set “bonus amount” when they hit this first month's goal. This can be as high as $750 but is usually closer to $300.
If any people more than the first 15 use your referral code, you won’t receive anything additional from them.
Multi-App Opportunities
When maximizing your earnings, it may be best to not limit yourself to a single delivery app. What this means is that you can be active on two apps at once! For instance, you might have both DoorDash and Uber running on your phone.
This helps to prevent “dead miles” where you aren’t earning anything by maximizing the jobs available to you.
For instance, if a DoorDash order takes you 40 miles away from your home, you’ll have to drive those 40 miles back. Since you aren’t taking a delivery, these 40 miles are “dead miles” and earn you nothing.
Instead, if you also have Uber, you can set it to “Destination mode” before heading home.
Now, you can take an Uber customer to their destination as you drive those 40 miles back to your original location – meaning you’re still earning for that distance.
Potential Fluctuations in Earnings
As we’ve stated, earnings from apps like DoorDash vary greatly depending on several variables. Most notably, these will be your location and the time at which you’re driving.
You’ll earn the most from DoorDash if you’re in a big city like New York or Chicago.
You can also earn more by driving at peak times for food orders (lunch and dinner), or by driving in a high cost-of-living location like California.
Expenses and Deductions
It’s incredibly important to keep expenses in mind when working on an app like DoorDash. Solo can help you do this.
When you’re making DoorDash deliveries, you’re using your own car. Any wear and tear caused to your vehicle or fuel used is a cost that offsets your total income from your work. Driving a low mile-per-gallon car means you’ll earn less overall.
You’ll also be using your own smartphone and data when working on the app. These are also fixed costs that take away from your total income since they’re crucial to the job.
When filing your taxes as a DoorDash driver, you’ll fill out a 1099 form that designates all federal, state, and local income taxes as your responsibility. Make sure you fully understand what’s required of you when filing your taxes as a contractor.
You can also claim tax deductions on expenses related to your work, including aspects such as phone data and gas.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Overall, DoorDash could be a highly profitable or completely unsuitable option depending on your personal situation and preferences. Using the Solo app to help you find the best hours to work Doordash is the key to ensuring you’re working the best, highest paying hours for any gig major platform.
You should consider where you live, your car, your available time, and any other factors that may impact your earning potential with DoorDash.
Hopefully, this article has equipped you with all the information you need to make this decision and achieve the best financial result for you. Sign-up for Doordash and get started today.
References
https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/how-much-do-uber-eats-drivers-make/450628
https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/How-is-Dasher-pay-calculated?language=en_US
https://smallbiztrends.com/2023/07/how-much-money-can-you-make-with-doordash.html?expand_article=1
https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/side-gigs/how-much-can-you-make-with-doordash/
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