Driving for Uber Eats: What is it Like Delivering Food for Uber?

Want to deliver with Uber Eats? Uber Eats drivers can get paid to pick up and drop off local food & retail orders.

Here’s what you need to know about the gig: Uber Eats accepts almost any vehicle, you can make around $15—$20 per hour, and you can drive on your own schedule.

Read on to learn what delivering for Uber Eats is like, how much Uber Eats drivers get paid, and how you can get started!

Article Contents:

• What is Uber Eats? Basic Facts
• Uber Eats Driver Requirements
• How Much Do Uber Eats Drivers Make?
• Delivery bonuses: Quest, Boost, Surge, and More
• Delivering for Uber Eats, Step By Step
• Is Uber Eats a Good Job?

What is Uber Eats?

Uber Eats is an on-demand delivery app for local restaurants and stores.

Customers choose items using the Uber Eats app; then Uber Eats couriers pick up & deliver the order. It is similar to DoorDash.

Drivers deliver without a schedule. You are free to log in to the app when you want to work and log out when you’re done.

• Uber Eats User Guide for Customers – More about Uber Eats from the customer’s perspective

Basic facts about delivering for Uber Eats

• Uber Eats drivers pick up orders from restaurants and deliver them to customers
• Uber Eats drivers earn around $15–$20 per hour
• Delivery pay formula: Base fare + trip supplement + promotions + tips
• Drivers must be 19 years or older
  • Bicycle riders can be 18 or older
• Any vehicle model year qualifies
  • Some cities require 20 years old or newer
• You can also do Uber ridesharing rides if your vehicle qualifies

How to sign up for Uber Eats

You can apply to deliver with Uber Eats on the Uber Eats website without becoming an Uber rideshare driver.

If you’re already an Uber driver, you can opt into receiving Eats requests at Menu > Account > Work Hub.

Already an Uber driver? How to opt into Uber Eats deliveries

If you’re already an Uber driver, you can opt into eats deliveries in the “Work Hub” of the Uber Driver app.

In the Uber Driver app: Tap Menu > Account > Work Hub, then select “deliver food with Uber Eats. From there, tap “Turn on deliveries.”

If you’re not an Uber driver, you can apply to Uber Eats here.

How to turn on Uber Eats delivery requests in the app

Tap the bottom of the home screen to enable or disable Uber Eats deliveries.

Tap on the icon with two lines to bring up your Driving Preferences. Then tap on deliveries to enable or disable the option and tap Save.

You will get rideshare and delivery requests if you enable both at the same time.

How Uber Eats drivers can switch to rideshare

If you began as an Uber Eats driver and want to give rides for Uber’s ridesharing services, you have to contact Uber. Then, ask to have rideshare added to your driver profile.

• How Uber Eats drivers can add rideshare.

How much do Uber Eats drivers make?

According to the top data sources, Uber Eats drivers can expect to make around $15–$20 per hour before factoring in vehicle expenses.

• How Much Uber Eats Drivers Make, According to Top Sources

Delivery pay can vary quite a bit from day to day and hour to hour. Typically lunch and dinner hours are the most lucrative times of the day.

Uber delivery pay may be lower than Uber pay for rideshare drivers, which is closer to $15–$25 per hour after accounting for expenses.

How Uber Eats drivers get paid: Earnings calculation for each delivery

Uber Eats drivers get paid for each completed delivery. Order requests show an estimated payout, the restaurant or store location, the customer’s location, and the estimated mileage to complete the delivery.

The payout for each delivery is based on this equation: Base fare + trip supplement + promotions + tips.

Uber does not share exactly how they calculate base fare, but the upfront information will typically give you enough information to let you know if the order is worth your time.

• Base fare: Pay for pickup, drop-off, time, and distance
• Trip supplement: Added to base fare to account for extra time, distance, demand
• Promotions: Boost, Quest, and surge earnings (Read more below)
• Tips: Drivers keep 100% of tips. Customers can tip in the app before or after an order

Uber Eats payout = Base fare + trip supplement + promotions + tips

What does “Includes expected tip” mean?

The order request screen may say “Includes expected tip” beneath the estimated payout. That means the estimate you see includes some or all of the tip the customer left during checkout.

If a customer doesn’t tip in the app, the estimated payout will be low, and you’ll know that the order might not be worth it.

One issue: Customers can change their tip after receiving the order (Tip Baiting). Your final payout won’t match the expected payout you saw on the request screen if your customer changes the tip.

How drivers get paid: Weekly direct deposits, or cash out with Instant Pay

Uber Eats earnings are paid weekly on Thursday via direct deposit.

You can also cash out your earnings up to 5 times a day with Instant Pay. Each Instant Pay withdrawal costs $0.85.

To get free withdrawals, sign up for the Uber Pro debit card. Your earnings are automatically transferred to the card after each delivery, and you can get other perks like cash back on gas.

• Which Uber Pro rewards are worth it?

The Uber Plus card: Pre-paid card for shop & pay orders

Uber Eats drivers don’t have to handle payments for most orders. But for orders that can’t be prepaid, drivers can opt in to use the Uber Plus card.

The Uber Plus card is pre-loaded with funds so drivers can use it to pay for the order during pickup.

Many orders that require the Plus card are called “shop & pay orders,” which are similar to shopping for Instacart.

On a shop and pay order, you visit a store to pick out items from a list, then pay for the order and deliver it to the customer.

Like other orders, you’ll see an upfront payout estimate, the number of items, and the name of the store.

The Plus card also unlocks ‘order and pay’ orders: Visit a restaurant and place the customer’s order, then pay.

You have to opt-in to receive a Plus card. Request the card by going to Account > Plus card.

After receiving the Plus card in the mail, you will be eligible to receive order requests that require the card.

Once you have the Plus card, you can choose to opt out of shop & pay orders in the preferences area of the Uber driver app.

Driver bonuses: Boost, Quest, Surge, and more

Uber offers several earnings promotions for Eats drivers that can increase your earnings.

Full details here: How to get more Quest and Boost on Uber Eats

Quest: Bonus for completing deliveries

Quests are bonuses for completing a set number of deliveries during a specific time frame. For example, “Earn $8 extra by completing four trips between 5 and 9 pm.”

Check the Promotions area of the driver app to see available Quests. Some Quests are only a few rides, but occasionally Uber will offer a big Quest for dozens of rides.

Boost: Earnings multiplier

Boost is an earnings multiplier for deliveries that begin within the Boost area.

For example, you might see an offer for 1.7x Boost in a specific downtown area of your city during the lunch rush.

The app home screen will show the Boost zone, the earnings multiplier, and the times when the multiplier is available. The Boost multiplier is added to your net fare after subtracting Uber’s fee. The Boost is not applied to tips.

Surge: Dynamic earnings multiplier

Surge pricing is another earnings multiplier that can appear during times of high demand. The difference from Boost is that surge is applied dynamically, while Boosts are pre-set and scheduled in the app.

If both Surge and Boost run simultaneously, you will only receive the higher of two amounts. You can’t earn both Surge and Boost on one order.

Streaks: Bonus for completing consecutive deliveries

A streak bonus gives you a bonus for completing back-to-back deliveries. Example of a streak: “Complete five deliveries in a row between 5 pm and 9 pm for $10 cash”

To earn a streak bonus, you must accept every request without rejecting any offers or letting them time out, and you must complete the deliveries without cancelling or failing to drop off the order.

Guaranteed earnings

A guaranteed earnings promotion on Uber Eats will pay you a guaranteed minimum payout for completing a set number of trips within a specific time frame.

If your earnings don’t meet the guaranteed minimum, you receive a bonus payment to make up the difference.

For example, “Earn at least $2350 for completing 210 trips within your 30 first days back.” If you complete 210 trips and only earn $2250 (not including tips), you’ll get a $100 bonus to meet the minimum guarantee.

Earnings guarantees are usually offered to new drivers as a sign-up promotion or occasionally to existing drivers who haven’t driven in a while.

How tips work for Uber Eats drivers

The Uber Eats app allows in-app tipping, and drivers keep 100% of their tips.

Customers can choose to leave a tip when they place their order, or after the order is complete.

Uber Eats includes some tipping info in the upfront payout estimate, but not necessarily all of it.

The estimate screen sometimes says, ‘total may be higher,’ which can mean that Uber is hiding some of the tip. You will see the entire tip amount after the delivery is complete.

Selecting orders with tips is the best way to maximize your income. If the up-front estimate is low, chances are your customer will not tip after the order is over.

Delivering for Uber Eats: Step-by-step process

Uber Eats is an on-demand delivery service: Customers submit orders, then delivery requests are sent to an available driver close to the restaurant.

Order requests appear in the Uber driver app as a popup notification that shows the location of the restaurant and an estimated payout. You have 15-30 seconds to tap to accept the delivery request.

After you accept a request, you will get more information about the pickup location, the customer’s name and order number, and any special instructions from the restaurant. You’ll also be able to tap a button to contact the customer.

Uber Eats drivers can also do Walmart deliveries, similar to other Eats deliveries.

How to pick up an order

After you tap to accept the order, navigate to the restaurant using the in-app GPS instructions (You can select a different navigation app in your app settings).

Once you arrive at the restaurant, check the order screen to see the order’s contents, the customer’s name, and the order number. Give that information to store employees and pick up the order when it is ready.

Once you have the delivery, tap to confirm that you picked up the order and swipe “Start delivery” to move on to the next step.

How to drop off an order

After you pick up the order and tap “Start delivery,” you will see GPS directions to the customer.

Once you arrive at the customer’s destination, look at the customer notes to see if you deliver to their door or drop it off for a no-contact delivery.

Tap the ‘Delivered’ button inside the app once you’ve completed the delivery, and follow on-screen instructions to rate the experience and complete the order.

Cancellations and no shows

If a customer cancels the order after you’ve picked it up, you will receive a payment equal to the pickup fee + drop-off fee + estimated mileage fee.

If you cannot meet your customer, you can cancel the order after waiting for 8 minutes. Uber says to dispose of the food in any way you wish. Cancellations in other situations may not result in a payout.

Do Uber Eats drivers have to schedule shifts?

Uber Eats drivers do not schedule shifts. You can turn on the app when you want to work and turn it off when you are done. Other delivery apps likeDoorDash require drivers to schedule hours—learn more about the DoorDash scheduling system.

The Drop-off: Curbside, deliver to door, & no-contact

When it’s time to navigate to your customer, the order information will let you know how to complete the order.

• Leave at door: Customers can request that drivers drop off the delivery at their door without an in-person handoff. (More about no-contact deliveries)
• Hand it to me: Meet the customer at their address. If it’s not apparent where the customer will be located based on the pin, call or text them to ask if they have a preferred meeting spot.
• Curbside drop-off: The customer comes to you. The customer will receive a text that tells them to meet you at the curb after you arrive.

How to contact Uber Eats driver support

Drivers have a few ways to get help from Uber support.

During an order, there is a contact button that will put you in touch with Uber Eats driver support, and there are also buttons to contact the restaurant and the customer.

• If you have an issue picking up the order: Contact the restaurant. Contact info is available inside the Uber driver app
• If you picked up the order but can’t complete it: Contact Uber support
• If you’re having trouble dropping off the order: Contact the customer using the contact button inside the app
• If you can’t reach the customer: Contact Uber support or begin the cancellation process
• Support number for Uber Eats drivers: 1-800-253-9435

Is delivering for Uber Eats worth it?

Generally speaking, Uber Eats is a good part-time gig that can give you a solid side income.

Because the vehicle requirements are so lenient, just about anyone with a car will qualify.

You can deliver on a bicycle or scooter in many cities, so there’s not a significant up-front investment.

You can drive whenever and wherever you want without worrying about scheduling shifts or dealing with a boss. That’s a great benefit if you need flexible work right now.

The earnings average out to around $15–$20 per hour, but can vary a lot from day to day or week to week.

Benefits of delivering for Uber Eats

• You can drive for Eats at 19, or 18 if you use a bicycle. You have to be 21 or older for UberX. Too young for Uber? Try these other jobs
• Easy vehicle requirements. Almost any model year qualifies
• You don’t have to deal with passengers
• Flexible work: Work whenever you want; no need to schedule hours

Drawbacks of delivering for Uber Eats

• The pay can be low. It can dip beneath $10/hour if your area isn’t busy
• There are common work frustrations that can grind you down: Long waits at restaurants, traffic, parking, trouble contacting the customer or finding where exactly to deliver the food

Uber Eats is worth a try if you’re looking for flexible work.

Other delivery gig options: DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Amazon Flex

If you’re interested in driving for Uber Eats, you should also consider other on-demand delivery gigs. Most have easy driver requirements and offer similar pay as Uber Eats.

• DoorDash Driver Requirements: Do You Qualify?
• How to Become an Instacart Shopper
• How to Drive for Shipt
• An Amazon Flex Overview