You never know how much you’re going to make when you sign into Uber Eats for a day of delivering.
There is no guaranteed pay (except in California), and order volume changes every day.
On a great day, you can get back-to-back orders with generous tips and high base pay from Uber.
On bad days, you might see order after order with no tips and small payouts from Uber.
So, how much does Uber eats pay? How much will you make per hour?
In the end, pay for Uber Eats drivers averages out to around $15–$20 per hour, but every week can be quite different from the last.
In this article, check out examples of the high highs and low lows that drivers see on Uber Eats.
The Highest Uber Eats Driver Pay: $1000 Payouts and $45 Per Hour
Let’s start with an incredibly impressive payout that shows how well you can do on Uber Eats with near-unhealthy levels of hustle.
The driver below put in 82 hours (!) and earned $2500. That’s a sustained $30 per hour rate.
Credit breadhead1 on reddit
The image below brings us back down to earth, but still shows an impressive $883 for 47 hours per work.
That works out to a very reasonable weekly and monthly income that may not be possible from other jobs with such easy qualifications.
Credit fluffy_bne on Reddit
Below shows an insane hourly wage from someone’s best days of delivering.
This driver’s incredibly lucrative 11 hour day netted $521, or just about $47 per hour. That’s nuts!
Credit kinstudent1234 on Reddit
The Lowest Driver Pay: $1.50 Orders and $7 Per Hour
When things don’t go your way, earnings on Uber Eats can dip quite low.
Sometimes it’s a slow day, and other times non-tipping customers send you bad offer after bad offer.
Check out this terribly low add-on order below. It offers only an extra $1.50 to add a full delivery to their route! Not great.
Credit darkmatter791 on Reddit
To see how low Uber Eats hourly pay can dip, check out the payout below for $206 in 25 hours. That’s just $8 per hour! And that’s without accounting for vehicle expenses or taxes.
Credit ThatAndANickel on Reddit
The numbers below—$357 in 50 hours—work out to about $7 per hour. Ouch. That typically indicates that a market isn’t busy enough for full-time work. Diversifying with another app is a good strategy in that case.
Credit RayRoyalty on Reddit
How to Increase Your Earnings on Uber Eats
While it’s not possible to control local supply and demand, there are a few things you can do to stabilize your Uber Eats income and increase your overall average.
Don’t accept the lowest paying orders. Uber Eats shows you up-front information about every order, including estimated payout.
You can’t be deactivated for having a low acceptance rating, so feel free to decline the lowest paying orders. No tip no trip!
Rule of thumb: At least $1 per mile. Many delivery drivers have come to the conclusion that a good order should pay about $1 per mile.
Quickly do the math on an order to see if it’s worth it. Divide the payout by the number of miles displayed in the estimate.
A $5 order that is 9 miles away is less than $1 per mile and probably not worth doing. A $5 order that is only a mile away is more than $1 per mile and will be a quick trip that nets you a solid hourly wage.
Learn your market. Avoid bad hours and bad restaurants. Take a few weeks to practice your market and learn which hours are the best.
Most markets will pay out well during lunch and dinner rushes, but you might find that certain times of day aren’t actually worth it.
You can also quickly learn which restaurants to avoid. A bad restaurant will waste your time and kill your hourly earnings. Read more about restaurants that delivery drivers avoid to see how to select better restaurants and avoid the bad ones.
Try to target Boost and Surge bonuses. Not every market offers consistent bonuses, but you can significantly increase your earnings if you strategically drive during times that are more likely to offer bonuses.
Keep an eye out for trends and try to find a bonus pattern that you can follow.
Related: How to Get More Boost and Quest Promotions
Diversify your income! Sometimes one app alone might not be enough to meet your goals, even when you’re doing everything right.
Sign up for other delivery services, and if things are slow on Uber Eats try another service.
More Reading on Uber Eats
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