How Much Can You Make on DoorDash in a Day?

DoorDash is one of the largest and fastest-growing food delivery services, and more than 2 million people have already started making money with DoorDash. Speaking of money, how much can you make on DoorDash in a day?

Figuring out how much DoorDash drivers make will help you decide if this side hustle is worth your time or not. To help you with that decision, we're going to break down everything you need to know about DoorDash driver pay, including how much you can make in a day or week, how drivers are paid, and more.

Let's get started!

How much can you make on DoorDash in a day?

Before we answer this question, it’s important to understand that every region is different. We're going to explain DoorDash driver pay in different parts of the country in a moment, but let's get the answer to this question out of the way first.

Average DoorDash pay is in the range of $15-$25/hour. If you worked 4 hours, you could make $60-$100/day. That would be as if DoorDash was a part-time job. If you worked it like a full-time job, working 8 hours a day, you could make around $120-$200/day.

DoorDash Disclaimer: Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries completed, time of day, location, and expenses. 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 peak pay, tips, and other incentives.

Drivers are paid for each delivery they make, and some markets are hot for DoorDashers, while others aren’t quite as busy. For example, if you live near a college town, you’ll likely make a killing dashing, but you may not be as busy if you live in a rural area.

According to salary data, the highest paying cities in the U.S. for DoorDash drivers are:

• Chicago, IL $24.46/hour average
• Denver, CO $24/hour average
• Atlanta, GA $23.70/hour average
• Dallas, TAX $23.50/hour average
• Phoenix, AZ $23.01/hour average
• Salt Lake City, UT $22.29/hour average
• Indianapolis, IN $22.24/hour average

Additionally, DoorDash drivers in Colorado, North Dakota, Washington, and Nebraska are among some of the highest-paid in the U.S. according to salary data on Indeed.

It depends less on the state and more on the city you're delivering in, but the lowest-paying states overall are Utah, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Mississippi. And if you pay attention to that list of highest-paying cities, you'll notice that several of them are in states with lower pay overall.

How much can you make a week with DoorDash?

We all have specific financial goals. Like, "I want to make an extra $1,000 a month to pay off my credit card debt," which breaks down to $250/week. Now that we understand how much DoorDash drivers make per day, we can use that information to see how much you would make over the course of a week or month and how that would help you reach your goals.

From the previous section, we know DoorDash drivers make anywhere from $15-$25/hour and $120-$200 for an 8-hour shift.

Here's what that means for DoorDash driver pay over the course of a week:

• Working 20 hours a week, you could make $300-$500/week
• Working 40 hours a week, you could make $600-$1,000/week

That means you can realistically expect to make anywhere from $1,200 to $2,000 a month delivering part-time for DoorDash.

You can make $2,400-$4,000/month delivering full-time.

Glassdoor confirms this range and says that DoorDash drivers report monthly earnings ranging from $1,045 to $7,000/month, and they say the average is $2,645.

Going back to financial goals, if you wanted to make an extra $1,000-$2,000/month, that's entirely possible with DoorDash.

M$M tip: Read our full DoorDash driver review to learn more, including driver requirements, alternatives, pros and cons, etc.

How does DoorDash pay?

To understand the variation in pay, it’s helpful to know how DoorDash calculates driver pay. They use a formula called the Dasher Pay Model, which is Base Pay + Promotions + Tips = Earnings.

Here’s the DoorDash pay model:

Base pay

Your base pay ranges from $2-$10. It varies by order and is based on an algorithm that looks at the time, distance, and desirability for each order. The app shows you the base pay per order, and you can decide whether or not to accept the order from there. If the customer has added a tip in advance, you’ll see that too before accepting the order, and you always keep 100% of tips.

Promotions

DoorDash has a couple of promotions that help drivers boost their pay:

• Challenges are incentives to complete a certain number of deliveries in a set amount of time. An example of a challenge is an extra $20 if you complete 15 deliveries over 6 days. Your challenge progress is tracked in the app.
• Peak Pay is an extra $1.00+ amount per order for driving during busy times. The dinner and lunch rush is typically busier, and holidays like Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve, etc.

Tips

DoorDash drivers always keep 100% of the tips they earn while on delivery. DoorDash customers to tip in advance.

How do DoorDashers get paid?

DoorDash pays drivers weekly through direct deposit. You add your bank account information to the driver app when you sign up so DoorDash can start processing payments as soon as you start delivering.

For faster payments, DoorDash has two options:

• Fast Pay: For a fee of $1.99 per transaction, you can use Fast Pay, and DoorDash will immediately transfer your earnings to your bank account.
• DasherDirect: This is a free prepaid Visa business debit card available to Dashers, and DoorDash automatically transfers pay from each delivery to your DasherDirect card if you've signed up for it.

Using DasherDirect can save you money on instant payments, but you will have to be okay with having your money sit on a prepaid card instead of going into your bank account.

You can transfer money from your DasherDirect card to your bank account (or someone else's as long as you have their account and routing numbers), and there's no fee to do so. It takes 1-2 business days to see the money hit your account and there's a $2,000/day transfer limit and a monthly limit of $5,000 with no more than 30 transfers per month.

Costs of driving for DoorDash

Now that you understand how much you can make in a week or month with DoorDash, there's one major caveat we need to discuss. Food delivery drivers are independent contractors, not employees.

This means one important thing; you are responsible for your taxes. You aren’t an employee, so you’ll have to pay both the employer and employee portions of your FICA taxes. 

We highly recommend withdrawing the appropriate taxes based on your tax bracket and putting them aside in a separate account. It’s a good idea to get with your tax advisor to determine how to file your taxes. Many delivery drivers pay their estimated taxes quarterly to stay on top of their obligations. You can learn more in this article about side hustle taxes.

Besides paying more in taxes because you're an independent contractor, other costs you should consider before driving for DoorDash include:

• Wear and tear on your car
• Gasoline
• Insurance
• Parking costs

Those driver expenses can add up quickly, which is why you should start tracking your expenses and miles as soon as you start driving. We recommend using a mileage tracker app like Everlance. Drivers can take a standard mileage deduction at tax time — it's 58.5 cents per mile for 2022, up 2.5 cents from the previous year — but you have to accurately track your miles to take full advantage of it.

It's also worth mentioning that if you use DoorDash’s faster payout option, which pays you by the next day, it will cost you $1.99 per transfer. It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up over time if you use it regularly.

How to increase your earnings with DoorDash

While driver expenses eat into your take-home pay, there are ways you can increase your earnings overall. The tips below will help you make more than the average DoorDash pay.

Tip #1: Know the peak times to deliver

This is the key to making as much as you can from DoorDash. It’s all about working smarter, not harder. Pick shifts that are busy in your area. This may take some trial and error. But if you know people that already drive for DoorDash in your area, pick their brains. Find out when they are the busiest and/or get the largest orders because that’s when you’ll make the most money.

For example, if you deliver when DoorDash pays Peak Pay, you’ll make more per delivery and increase your daily earnings.

The busiest times on DoorDash are typically during meal times and major televised events when people don't want to leave home. Making yourself available during those time will help you earn more than average.

Tip #2: Create a consistent schedule

If you have your mind set on making $500 or $1,000 a week with DoorDash, you need a consistent schedule. So pick your shifts early and stick to them. DoorDash lets you schedule your hours in advance, meaning you can make a good schedule for the week.

If you work the busier times, you may find you only have to deliver for 2 or 3 hours to make the same amount of money you’d make working 6 or 8 hours on slower days or times.

Tip #3: Deliver where others don’t

DoorDash as a gig is becoming more popular, and more people are doing it. Thus, if you live in a saturated area, don’t be afraid to go a town or two over. As long as it’s feasible to drive the distance and pick up enough orders to keep you busy for a few hours, you may make more money because you aren’t competing against many other drivers.

Tip #4: Be aware of significant events

Even though you may love hanging with the guys at the bar during a big game, it’s also a great time to be a DoorDash driver. Pick and choose your events wisely. If you know it’s a time that people will likely order delivery. You may want to be out there making money rather than spending it with your buddies.

Tip #5: Participate in DoorDash challenges

DoorDash often runs challenges, especially when short on drivers in an area. When you participate in challenges, you can earn nice bonuses that can help you reach that $500 or $1,000 a week mark.

To complete a challenge, you usually have to complete a certain number of deliveries in a specified period to earn the bonus.

How to get bigger tips with DoorDash

When you wonder how much you can make on DoorDash in a day, a lot of it comes down to how much you earn in tips. Drivers keep 100% of their tips, and the power truly is in your hands when it comes to how much you make.

Here are some great ways to ensure you get bigger tips:

• Follow directions: It sounds simple, but many drivers just don’t do it. Read the order carefully. Did the customer ask for extra ketchup or plastic silverware? Maybe they asked you to drop the order on the porch and have no contact. Read the directions carefully and follow them. This goes a long way with customers, and many will tip a little extra if you do what they ask.
• Be friendly: You provide your customers with a service, but a smile goes a long way. Tell them to have a nice day or ask if everything looks right if you hand them the order. Show your customers that you care, and they may reciprocate with a larger tip.
• Alert customers to delays: If you’ve run into a lot of traffic or the restaurant is running behind, throw a quick message into the DoorDash app to let your customer know what’s happening. If you don’t, they’ll assume it’s your fault, and they could even remove the tip they left for you. Customers have up to one hour to change their tips for the better or worse, so communication is vital.

Final word: How much can you make on DoorDash in a day? 

DoorDash is a great way to make money on the side, especially if you live in an area with many businesses or a college town, and it's possible to make $100/day. However, it’s ideal to find an area not saturated with drivers, especially if you want to maximize your earnings.

While it is possible to make $500 or $1,000 a week driving for DoorDash, you’ll need to get a little creative to get your earnings as high as you want.