DoorDash vs. Uber Eats: Which Pays Better for Drivers?

DoorDash and Uber Eats are the two largest food delivery services in the U.S. right now. At the core, they are very similar, but we break down the differences in each to help you decide which is the better food delivery app for drivers.

Key Points:

• Drivers for both DoorDash and Uber Eats are considered independent contractors, and you’re paid for each order you deliver, not a flat hourly rate.
• In 2024, DoorDash controls 67% of the U.S. food delivery market compared to Uber Eats at 23%.
• DoorDash drivers can delivery for restaurants plus grocery, retail, and convenience stores. Uber Eats drivers primarily delivery for restaurants, convenience stores, and some retail.
• Drivers for both Uber Eats and DoorDash are paid weekly with an option to cash out daily.

Who Pays Better, DoorDash or Uber Eats?

The short answer is that overall DoorDash and Uber Eats are paid similarly. Drivers are paid for each order they take, not a flat hourly rate. This means that with either service, how much drivers make is determined on the orders they accept and whether or not work is available.

Driver Pay Case Study

We recently spoke to Katie, a DoorDash driver in Boise, Idaho who is on our email list, and here’s what she said about how much she makes with DoorDash:

“When I go out, my goal is to make $50 a day. Typically, this takes me between two and two and a half hours, which is a reasonable goal. On a bad day, it might take three hours, but on a good day, I can finish in less than two hours. If you commit to this little chunk of time every day, you can bring in $1,500 a month.”

Can You Drive For Uber Eats And DoorDash At The Same Time

Yes, and many food delivery drivers deliver for multiple companies. Because DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers are independent contractors, you have the right to deliver with multiple services.

Drivers find that they can make more when they sign up for more than one, and keep both apps open while delivering. You can pick the highest-paying orders and decline the ones that don’t pay well. DoorDash driver must maintain a 90% rating to have access to orders. Uber Eats doesn’t clearly state what the threshold is, but they say that you can lose access to the app if your rating gets too low.

Understanding DoorDash and Uber Eats Driver Pay

Uber Eats and DoorDash both have complex pay formulas that determine how much drivers are paid for each order they complete. With both, drivers keep 100% of their tips.

DoorDash pays Dashers every week on Friday using direct deposit. Most drivers report that money hits their bank account by Wednesday. If you want your cash ASAP, you can use Fast Pay for $1.99 to cash out immediately.

You can also sign up for the free DasherDirect card, DoorDash’s prepaid business Visa card, and get no-fee instant deposits that automatically show up in your account right after every delivery.

Uber Eats pays its drivers weekly via direct deposit. Payments are processed on Wednesday, and most drivers see earnings in their account by end-of-day Thursday.

There’s also an Instant Pay feature, which instantly deposits your earnings onto your personal debit card. It’s $0.50 per cash out and you can use it up to 5x per day. Or, you can open an Uber Visa Debit Card and use Instant Pay for free.

Now, let’s look at how each company calculates driver pay:

DoorDash Driver Pay Model:

• Customers can add tips after the delivery is completed, and you keep 100% of your DoorDash tips.
• Base pay is the guaranteed minimum drivers are paid per order. It varies by order and ranges from $2-$10. Drivers see this amount in the Dasher app before accepting an order, and you always keep 100% of this amount.
• Promotions give you opportunities to increase your earnings. There are Peak Pay times when certain delivery areas in the Dasher app light up red with a plus dollar amount, which is the additional amount you’ll earn on top of the base pay. This is typically between $1-$4 extra per delivery.
• Challenges are currently in beta mode, and can be things like “Complete X number of deliveries in a set amount of time”. If you complete the challenge, you’ll receive bonus pay. Dashers can earn challenge bonuses on top of Peak Pay.

Learn more in Top DoorDash Tips for Making Money and How Much Can You Make on DoorDash in a Day.

Uber Eats Driver Pay Model:

• Base fare: This is your pay for pickup, drop off time, and distance.
• Trip supplement: This is a newer earnings component that takes into consideration factors like total time and distance, and Uber Eats says it “helps make every delivery worthwhile.”
• Promotions: There are a few different promotions, including Surge and Boost, that turn on when there is a high demand for orders.

DoorDash vs. Uber Eats: Driver Requirements

Uber Eats and DoorDash have very similar driver requirements overall, and this is the same for all of the most popular services. But let’s take a quick look because some very subtle differences might make one the better option for you.

DoorDash Driver Requirements

• Be at least 18 years or older (19 years old in some states)
• Have an iPhone or Android smartphone
• Any car, scooter, or bicycle (in select cities)
• Valid driver’s license
• Auto insurance if driving
• Social Security number if delivering in the U.S.
• Consent to a DoorDash background check

The most notable difference with DoorDash driver requirements is that you can be 18 to deliver whether that’s via car, bike, or scooter.

When you’re ready to become a DoorDash driver, the sign-up process typically takes less than 10 minutes. The longest part of the approval is waiting to hear back on the background check, which is run by a third-party company called Checkr. You can expect a wait of 5-10 business days, and DoorDash will notify you once you’ve been approved. 

Uber Eats Driver Requirements

Doordash vs. Uber Eats: How It Works for Drivers

Despite how similar these apps work, there are a couple of key differences. One of the biggest is that DoorDash drivers can schedule their hours in advance while Uber Eats doesn’t offer advanced scheduling. Uber Eats drivers open the app and drive if it’s busy, and DoorDash drivers can do both.

Another big difference is the time you have to accept or decline an order. DoorDash gives you 45 seconds vs. the 15 seconds Uber Eats allows.

But since there are three main parts of making money with these services — scheduling, accepting or declining orders, and making deliveries — let’s look at how these two food delivery giants stack up.

How Does Doordash Work For Drivers?

• Scheduling: DoorDash lets you schedule delivery time anywhere from a week in advance to an hour beforehand, and the meal times are the busiest. Drivers can also log into the app when they aren’t scheduled and see if the app is busy to Dash Now. The in-app map lights up in red for places with a high enough need for additional drivers.
• Accepting and declining orders: When a DoorDash driver sees an order in the app, they have 45 seconds to accept or decline the order. DoorDash doesn’t have a minimum acceptance rate (this is the percentage of delivery drips you accept), but you’ll need to have an acceptance rate of 70% if you want to qualify for its Top Dasher program. The benefit is that you can “Dash anytime,” regardless of whether it’s busy or not.
• Making deliveries: The app gives you turn-by-turn driving directions, and customers may leave specific delivery instructions, like “leave the order on the red chair” or “don’t ring the doorbell because the baby is sleeping.” Doordash does require dashers to have a completion rate of 90% which means completing most of the orders you accept.

For more money making opportunities, check out How to Make $1,000 Fast.

How Does Uber Eats Work For Drivers?

• Scheduling: Uber Eats drivers don’t schedule hours in advance; you simply open the app and wait to get pinged for an order. Drivers can work up to 15 hours a day, and you can’t work more than 12 consecutive hours in a day.
• Accepting and declining orders: Drivers have 15 seconds to decide whether or not they want to accept or decline an order. On its site, Uber Eats says, “It is important to maintain a high acceptance rate to provide a reliable service to restaurants and customers. To keep delivery turnaround times quick, we ask that you only go online where you want to take requests.” Your rating, however, doesn’t show in the app, nor does it impact your ability to get orders or qualify for promotions.
• Making deliveries: Uber Eats built-in map system gives you driving directions, or you can tell the app to open Waze or Google Maps if you prefer. Customers can leave delivery instructions, and you can use the app to take a picture of the food to prove that you’ve delivered it.

How To Increase Your Driver Pay With DoorDash and Uber Eats

No matter which service you drive for, here are tips from real drivers to make more than the average driver:

• Make yourself available during meal times. The busiest times for DoorDash and Uber Eats are during lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and late night hours on the weekends. And it can get super busy during events like the Super Bowl or any other major televised event when people don’t want to run out and miss what’s on TV.
• Build delivering into your daily routine. One of the best tips we’ve gotten is that attaching driving to a non-negotiable routine will help you find time to make money. For example, plan on taking an order or two on your way home from work.
• Keep track of your mileage and expenses. Neither DoorDash nor Uber Eats reimburses you for driver expenses like fuel or your cell phone, but you can write these expenses off at tax time if you keep track of them. We recommend using an app like Everlance to track miles and expenses so you can take an accurate deduction at tax time.
• Be a little picky with orders. Many drivers recommend only accepting larger orders and avoiding ones like a $7 order from Taco Bell. The reason is that larger orders almost always pay more, but declining too many orders means you’re missing out on opportunities to make money. The best approach is to test things out for yourself. Spend a couple of days taking every order that comes in the app and another couple of days being picky — which days did you earn more?

Read more in How to Handle Taxes for Your Side Hustle.

The Final Word: Does DoorDash or Uber Eats Pay Better for Drivers?

DoorDash drivers see higher pay, can schedule their hours in advance, have more time to decide if they want to accept orders, and DoorDash controls significantly more of the food delivery market when compared to Uber Eats. That makes it the winner in our book, but either delivery service is a solid side hustle if you want to make extra money.

Doordash Disclaimer:

Earning more on certain types of orders (ex. alcohol): Earn more per order as compared to restaurant orders. Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries you accept and complete, time of day, location, and any costs. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90-day period and includes compensation from tips, peak pay, and other incentives.

Get paid instantly (DasherDirect): Subject to approval

Cash out daily (Fast Pay): Fees apply

Start dashing today: Subject to background check and availability

Dash anytime: Subject to availability