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Postmates and DoorDash are two of the most popular food delivery apps, and both apps are now accepting new delivery drivers. Drivers for Postmates and DoorDash use their own vehicle to pick up and drop off deliveries for local customerss. Drivers are paid for each delivery and are free to set their own hours.
Is delivering for Postmates or DoorDash a good gig? We looked into both jobs to find out how much can you make as a driver, and what the jobs are really like.
Update: Postmates is going away! Following the acquisition of Postmates by Uber Eats, Uber is now asking Postmates drivers to migrate to Uber Eats. Learn how to make the switch here.
Article Contents
- Driving for Postmates
- Driving for DoorDash
- Are DoorDash and Postmates Good Gigs?
- Other Delivery Gigs to Look into
Driving for Postmates
Postmates is an on-demand delivery service that allows users to request deliveries of all types from local restaurants and stores. Most Postmates deliveries are typically for food delivery or small items such as home and office supplies.
What Do Postmates Drivers Do?
- Receive delivery requests in the Postmates courier app and navigate to the restaurant or store
- Deliver the item to the customer’s location using directions from the app
- Drivers don’t schedule shifts. Log in to the app when you want to work
- Postmates customer support places the order if they can. Otherwise, drivers place the order at the store and pay with a Postmates credit card
Postmates Driver Requirements
- Must be 18 years or older
- Any car, truck, or van qualifies
- Bicycles and scooters are accepted in some cities
- Valid auto insurance
- Pass a background check
How Much Money Do Postmates Drivers Make?
- Postmates drivers can expect to make $10–$15 per hour in most markets
- Drivers are paid a fee for pickup & drop-off, paid for wait time at the restaurant, and paid per mile between pickup and drop-off
- Drivers receive 100% of tips. Customers can tip using the app
- Blitz pricing, similar to Uber’s surge pricing, increases the delivery fees during peak hours
- Guaranteed earnings are sometimes offered: Do X deliveries and earn a guaranteed minimum payout
- Other bonuses: Bonuses per delivery, ‘Crushers’ (complete X deliveries during a period)
- Drivers are paid weekly via direct deposit, or can choose to withdraw earnings earlier
Example: How Postmates Drivers are Paid in Los Angeles
The payout equation is slightly different for every city, but to give you an example of how Postmates calculates driver earnings for a delivery, here are the rates in Los Angeles.
- $1.40 for pickups
- $0.70 for drop-offs
- $0.07 per minute wait time at the pickup location
- $0.69 per mile from the food pickup to the drop-off
- Learn more about earnings minimums in California
(Results not typical)
Driving for DoorDash
DoorDash is an on-demand food delivery app that hires independent drivers called Dashers to do food deliveries. Much like Postmates, Dashers use an app to receive orders, then navigate to the restaurant to pick up the order and drop it off at the customer.
One big advantage of DoorDash over Postmates is that Dashers can see up front if a tip is included with the order. Dashers can decline low-paying orders and accept only those with higher payouts from tips.
Another distinction is that Dashers generally must schedule hours in advance. Postmates drivers are free to sign into the app and work whenever they want, no schedule required.
What DoorDash Delivery Drivers Do
- Receive delivery requests inside the DoorDash app and deliver them to the customer
- Drivers schedule shifts in advance
- It’s possible to “Dash Now” without a schedule
- Learn more about the DoorDash scheduling system
- The customer enters their order through the app and pays through the app, all drivers do is pick up and deliver the food
- On some orders drivers have to order the and pay with a special DoorDash credit card called the ‘Red Card’
- Delivery requests will be limited to the geographical region you select
DoorDash Driver Requirements
- You must be 18 years or older
- Have access to a vehicle. Any vehicle qualifies
- Scooters and bicycles are accepted in some cities
- Own an iPhone or Android smartphone
- Driver’s license
- Valid insurance with name on policy
Related: DoorDash driver requirements: How to become a Dasher
How Much Do DoorDash Drivers Make?
- DoorDash drivers can get paid $23 per hour while on a delivery*
- DoorDash shows the minimum payout of a delivery before you accept it
- Pay formula: Base pay + Promotions + Tips
- Base pay is a calculation of variables like difficulty of the order, distance, and overall desirability
- Dashers see estimated order payout up front
- Bonuses: Peak Pay and Challenges can increase earnings during periods of high demand
- Drivers are paid weekly via direct deposit, or can choose to withdraw earnings earlier
*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
Example of a DoorDash order payout. Dashers see the payout before accepting a request
Left: The DoorDash scheduling page. Right: Dasher map showing red “Dash Now” areas
More Essential Reading on DoorDash
- Real Data: How Much Dashers Make
- DoorDash Earnings: Highs and Lows
- About Peak Pay and Challenges for Dashers
- Is it Worth it to Be Top Dasher?
- DoorDash Ratings & Avoiding Deactivation
Is Being a Delivery Driver for Postmates or DoorDash a Good Gig?
Delivering with Postmates and DoorDash is flexible gig work that allows you to choose your own hours and put your car to use as a productive asset. You can work as often or as infrequently as you want. Need a week off? Just don’t sign in–you don’t have to ask.
Upsides to Postmates and DoorDash
- The work is flexible. Schedule your own hours. Work as much or as little as you want
- Tips can significantly improve your income. Getting lucky with generous tipping can increase your pay to the $20/hour range
- It is easy to get hired and easy to get started. Fast onboarding process, usually a week
- The vehicle requirements are easy. Unlike Uber and Lyft, you can drive for these apps with ANY working car
- Drivers 18+ are eligible. Uber and Lyft require drivers to be 21, but Postmates and DoorDash both hire drivers 18 and older
Downsides to Postmates and DoorDash
- No guaranteed wage, potential low pay. If you don’t get many deliveries, your pay may be less than the minimum wage
- Fuel costs, wear and tear on your car. You might still find that gas expenses plus wear and tear on your car seriously eat into your income
- Hassles of food delivery. Parking, communicating with restaurants and customers, finding the right place to drop off the delivery
What About Other Delivery Gigs Like Uber Eats, Amazon Flex, and Instacart?
Uber Eats is very similar to DoorDash and Postmates. It has easy vehicle requirements and the pay is around the same as DoorDash and Postmates.
- Driving for Uber Eats: What it’s like to deliver food for Uber
- Vehicle requirements for the top gig apps
Another delivery app that offers flexible work is Amazon Flex. With Amazon Flex, drivers deliver packages to Amazon customers and get paid a flat rate for shifts. It is a good option to look into if you’re looking for work in the delivery app space.
Instacart is a grocery delivery app. Instacart shoppers are paid to go to stores, pick out items, then deliver them to customers. Like other delivery apps, Instacart offers easy requirements and flexible work.
Want to Try a Delivery Gig? Your Next Steps
DoorDash and Postmates make it easy to apply and get started. If you’re interested, your next step is to begin the application process. You can be on the road and delivering within a few days.
DB says
Thinking about doing this for supplemental cash, but I have a couple of questions and at least one red flag:
Q. Has anyone calculated the actual profit margin, factoring in vehicle operating costs and/or Federal mileage allowance, insurance, cost for the phone and access levels required (voice/text/data), self-employment taxes, etc.?
Q. Are there states where a business license is required to engage in this activity?
Q. How does the host company drive business to its couriers? How does a courier in a new area get business?
Q. What information is provided when the delivery invitation is sent? How do you know how far afield you might have to drive, before you accept?
Redflag: Why is the onus placed on the courier to actually place an order and/or pay for it?
DougH says
Let me do my best!
Q1. Others have done detailed analyses of their profitability doing rideshare, but not as many have done it for delivery. But I think it’s not too hard to do a rough estimate based on current federal mileage rates and the other factors you mentioned. And for most people, there is no additional insurance or phone cost, so they don’t factor it in. Pay is so regionally specific that in the end most people have to try the job to find out.
Q2. Some cities require a business license for rideshare driving, but I’m not as sure about delivery. Unfortunately there is such a patchwork of laws and regulations that it’s hard to advise generally. Your best bet is to google for that info, or to contact the delivery companies directly
Q3. The companies send requests to couriers as they come in, and typically they send them to the closest courier. You sign into the app and wait for orders to come in. This DoorDash video shows what a typical delivery is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzGZeaoVdoY
Q4. When you get a delivery request, you are shown where the restaurant is. At that point you can accept or reject the job. You won’t see the customer’s address until you pick up the food order
Redflag: In most cases orders are placed by the company, not you. You will only have to place orders at restaurants that don’t allow customers to call in orders, such as fast food restaurants. It’s unusual that the courier has to place an order, and unlikely you’d ever have to pay for the order with your own funds. Postmates and DoorDash each give a prepaid credit card in the event that you need to pay in person. Typically payment is handled behind the scenes and you simply pick up the order. But some orders will require you to use the prepaid company card. If that card doesn’t work, DoorDash says to use your own funds but Postmates says not to.
TAMI S JOHNSON says
So, what if you only want to work monday thru friday? What is you need to take off during the week or have a vacation plnnned? Also do you have a postmates in Pensacola florida? thanks
DougH says
There is no required work minimum, so you can take a time off whenever you want without notifying the companies.
Christina says
Hello!
If i signed up right now with Postmates or Door Dash, how soon could I start delivering?
DougH says
Hopefully within the next week or so! The background check takes the longest, but sometimes only takes a day or two. After that, there’s brief online training that you can do quickly.
Eve says
I signed up for Postmates on a Saturday evening. I received my supplies in the mail and was ready to start delivering Tuesday afternoon.
M.I.M. says
I seriously think Postmates rips drivers off. What are the odds that most don’t tip on the platform as much as they do on favor? It’s spotty I have received some ok tips but for the most part the rest of my deliveries with them aren’t worth the final payout. I’ve even found some pay discrepancies because they take so long to process tips I missed out on one because I didn’t catch it in time. They only allow you to dispute an error in payment within a certain time frame. Plus .15 per payment deposit is uncalled for. By the time tips are processed I’ve been deducted payment fee twice for just one delivery.
RJA says
Do you have a list or post about what delivery services allow you to have more than one person in the car while you do your delivery? For example, I would like to do deliveries with my wife. Please answer. Thanks in advance!
DougH says
You can do that with Postmates, DoorDash, and UberEATS. You may be able to do it with Amazon Flex as well. If you want to be 100% sure, you should contact support at each company.
Darren says
Yes, you can have multiple people with Amazon Flex keeping in mind you may get a crate with 40-50 packages. The only thing is only one person is allowed out the car and scanning the packages when you’re in the warehouse.
Rem says
What if i just got my license but been legally driving in foreign country for more than 5 years?
Angelina castro says
Do previous tickets disqualify you?
DougH says
They can. If you have pending issues, try Off The Record.
Roy Jackson says
Door dash won’t let me sign up?