How Much Do DoorDash Drivers Actually Make?

DoorDash usually pays on a per-order basis. Drivers get a base rate of around $2–$7 per delivery, with $2–$2.50 being common. Rates on the higher end of that range are rare.

You won’t usually be able to see exactly how much you’ll make on each order before accepting it, but you will see a minimum amount you’re guaranteed to make.

How much does DoorDash pay per hour?

We spoke to Luis Jara, an experienced DoorDash gig worker, who told us that in his experience, the per-order rate we just cited generally translates to an hourly rate of between $15 and $20.

He added that in his area—Los Angeles and Orange County, California—he’s sometimes able to earn slightly more than that, up to $22 per hour.

Note that this is what you’ll get before accounting for your expenses. As a gig worker, you should budget around 35% of your earnings for these. This will leave you with an effective rate that’s along the lines of $9.75–$13 per hour, comparable to what you’d be able to make at many entry-level jobs (e.g., in retail).

DoorDash’s “Earn by Time” hourly pay feature

Although DoorDash usually pays by the order, in some markets, the app will give you the option to be paid on an hourly basis with DoorDash’s “Earn By Time” feature, which you can enable in the app.

If you do this, you’ll get a predetermined hourly rate, which will vary depending on your location and possibly the time of day. For instance, in some markets, you might be eligible for $14 per hour; in others, you’ll get $18 per hour, and so on.

It’s a good idea to opt for Earn by Time if the rate on offer seems higher than what you can get from completing deliveries normally. Keep track of roughly how much you’re earning every hour so you can evaluate this.

Unfortunately, Earn by Time isn’t available everywhere. To see if it’s an option in your area, you’ll have to check the app.

How can you cash out your DoorDash earnings?

You can cash out your DoorDash earnings with any of several methods:

Payment Methods on DoorDash

There are eight factors that affect how much you’ll earn when you deliver for DoorDash:

1. Distance

How far you have to drive will affect your base pay on each gig. All other things being equal, an order that sends you farther afield will generally pay more than one that requires less driving.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good idea to accept orders from restaurants or customers that are far away. It’s true that you’ll make a little more money, but for obvious reasons, these orders will also take longer and burn more gas, both of which will eat into your profits.

They may also leave you in out-of-the-way neighborhoods with no restaurants, which you’ll have to drive back from before you can accept another delivery.

Consider both the pay and the difficulty of each order before you accept it. You have to be a bit choosy about the jobs you take if you want your delivery driving side hustle to be worthwhile.

2. Tips

Customers on DoorDash can tip you, either at checkout or once they’ve received their delivery.

Tips are not mandatory, and it’s unlikely that all of your customers will leave them. You can increase your odds by providing good customer service and delivering orders as promptly as possible, but even if you do everything right, some people still won’t tip. (Moreover, factors outside of your control, such as bad traffic or delays at the restaurant, may make customers not want to tip you.)

DoorDash’s hidden tips

When customers choose to tip in advance, DoorDash will sometimes indicate that on the screen you see before accepting the order. However, the app is vague about how much you stand to earn; if a tip is over $4, it just notes that the “Total is higher than the number shown on acceptance.”

This means that it can be tricky to tell how much you’ll get for completing a given order.

What’s more, some customers prefer to tip in cash (which means the tip won’t be factored into the price you see at all). Some users may leave notes on their orders to the effect of “cash tip guaranteed,” but this isn’t an actual guarantee. There’s no way to hold the customer to it if they change their mind later.

The safest course is to assume that you won’t make anything over the minimum price shown when you accept each order, and to be fairly selective about the orders you take. Not all the offers you see will be worth your time (something that’s true for all delivery gig apps, not just DoorDash).

3. Location

Where you operate, known as your “market,” is one of the biggest determiners of how much you can make driving for DoorDash.

Rural areas usually have less demand than densely populated urban areas. This translates to fewer orders, and—often—lower rates.

On the flip side, urban areas also tend to be more expensive to drive in, with heavier traffic, so you’ll end up spending more on gas. Cities still usually end up being more lucrative to drive in, but the calculus isn’t quite as simple as it might first appear.

4. Time

What time you work is also a big factor. Certain times of day are busier than others, particularly around lunch and dinner. They tend to see more demand than the rest of the day, which means you’ll get more offers for deliveries.

However, when it comes to your earnings, the takeaway here isn’t as simple as “drive during mealtimes to earn more money.” You also have to factor in traffic.

If you work during the peak hours of the day (like rush hour), the traffic will be worse. The more time you spend stuck in traffic, the fewer orders you’ll be able to complete, and the more money you’ll waste on gas.

When you get started as a Dasher, experiment to see what the most lucrative times to deliver seem to be in your area.

5. Competition from other drivers

You almost certainly won’t be the only Dasher in your delivery zone. The more competition you have, the harder it will be to get worthwhile orders.

Moreover, workers who are part of the “Dasher Rewards Program” (described below) get priority when accepting orders. If you’re not part of the program and another driver is, they’ll get selected instead of you.

Unfortunately, if your neighborhood is saturated with Dashers, there isn’t much you can do about that. However, you can try moving to another area—if you’re in a hotspot, you can try moving to a quieter zone, or vice versa.

6. Promotions

DoorDash features several promotions:

• Peak Pay: DoorDash offers “Peak Pay” promotions to incentivize you to drive at times when they’re worried they won’t have enough workers. These periods tend to be very late at night or in the morning.
• Challenges: DoorDash sometimes pays extra for completing a set number of deliveries in a certain time frame (although this feature isn’t available everywhere). For example, you may be able to get an extra $20 for completing 15 deliveries in a week.

You’ll see any promotional pay included in the base rate before you accept a delivery.

7. Overhead expenses

You’ll be using your personal vehicle to deliver, meaning you’ll be responsible for your own expenses. These will eat up a considerable chunk of your earnings.

Here are the biggest overhead expenses you’ll face (assuming that, like most Dashers, you drive a motorized vehicle rather than just riding a bike):

• Gas: DoorDash won’t pay for your gas. If you’re somewhere with high gas prices and your vehicle isn’t particularly fuel-efficient, your potential earnings will drop significantly.
• Vehicle maintenance: You’ll be driving frequently, which means you’ll put a lot of wear and tear on your vehicle. You’ll have to pay to get regular checkups and keep it in good condition.
• Taxes: As a Dasher, you’re an independent contractor, which means that you’re responsible for filing and declaring your taxes (DoorDash won’t withhold them for you). You can, however, deduct business expenses, which will reduce your tax liability.

How much all of this will reduce your profits depends on several factors, including how reliable and fuel-efficient your vehicle is, but many delivery drivers recommend budgeting around 35% of your earnings for these unavoidable expenses.

Again, this will leave you with just 65% of what you originally made. Put another way, if you’re able to make around $20 per hour from your DoorDash side hustle, your actual take-home pay (after expenses) will be around $13.

Rideshare insurance may be an additional expense

Check whether your auto insurance policy will cover you as a Dasher. Jara told us that increasingly, auto insurance providers are unwilling to provide coverage to drivers using their vehicles for delivery or rideshare purposes.

DoorDash provides its own accident insurance, but you’ll need to have auto insurance that meets the minimum coverage requirements in your state for it to be valid, and you may need to spring for rideshare insurance to fill the gaps in your coverage.

Rideshare insurance varies widely in cost. Depending on your area, your insurer, and your driving history, it might set you back anywhere from $10 to $100 per month. If the cost with your current insurance provider seems high, shop around to see if another company offers a better deal.

8. Dasher Rewards Program

DoorDash invites drivers who do well on the platform to its Dasher Rewards Program. This will give you special perks, depending on which rewards “tier” you qualify for.

The exact criteria to be eligible for the rewards program vary depending on location, and DoorDash doesn’t state the criteria for most markets on their site. However, they do list the requirements for Dashers in New York City, as well as the benefits they receive, which will give you some idea of what they look for: 1

Criteria and Benefits for the DoorDash Rewards Program in New York City

As you can see, DoorDash will assess how many orders you accept, your success rate, your average rating from customers, and how many deliveries you’ve completed (recently and in total).

You can check the criteria for your area in the “Ratings” tab of the Dasher app.

DoorDash is the most popular delivery driver app in the US right now, which is both good and bad. It means that there are plenty of orders on the app, but it also means that the competition is fairly stiff.

Some drivers claim that it’s no longer a reliable source of gigs, whereas others report that you can still make a decent income as a Dasher.

How lucrative it will be for you heavily depends on where you are and when you plan on driving, since the market is different from city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood. In the end, the only way to tell for sure if DoorDash will be worth it is to just give it a try.

What to consider before becoming a DoorDash driver

With that said, there are questions you can ask yourself to figure out whether DoorDash is likely to be a good fit for you.

Consider these questions:

• Do I have a reliable and gas-efficient vehicle?
• Do I like working independently?
• Do I generally enjoy driving (or riding a bike)?
• Do I know my local area well?
• Are there a lot of restaurants in my area?
• Can I work during peak hours (lunch, dinner, or weekend evenings)?

If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, then it’s probably worth giving DoorDash a try.

If you do, be aware that you don’t need to use DoorDash exclusively. You can—and should—install other delivery apps, such as Uber Eats, and use them in tandem with DoorDash, accepting orders on whichever app happens to be paying more at any given moment.

The truth is that not all of the offers you get (on any delivery app) will be well-paid, and the best way to boost your earnings as a DoorDash driver is to “multi-app,” which enables you to be strategic about which ones you accept.