DoorDash undoubtedly one of the market leaders in the on-demand food delivery space in the US and is available in over 7,000 cities.
This makes it one of the biggest players in the gig economy, providing employment to thousands of part-time and full-time Dashers—but is Dashing worth it in 2022?
Who comes out on top in the DoorDash vs. Grubhub and DoorDash vs. Uber Eats battles for driver pay?
With Q1 in the books, we are here to answer the call for data with earnings collected from over 250,000 Gridwise drivers in the country. Plus, we’ll take a look at the costs and expenses of working as a DoorDash driver for a more comprehensive analysis.
How much does DoorDash pay?
Let’s first look at how DoorDash driver pay is calculated.
Your earnings from each delivery on the platform include base pay, tips from customers, and promotions such as Peak Pay and Challenges.
So how much does DoorDash pay per hour and per trip?
Our data shows Dashers made an average of $7.90 per trip and $15.72 per hour from January to March 2022. These numbers are lower than the rivals, with Grubhub drivers earning more per trip and Uber Eats drivers earning more per hour.
Keeping with expectations, package delivery services and rideshare delivery drivers fared much better in terms of earnings than food delivery drivers.
Next, tips. DoorDash again failed to beat its rivals, although the differences are small.
Tips on DoorDash hovered around the $4 mark per trip during each of the three months, netting an average of $4.12. That’s lower than Uber Eats and Grubhub but actually better than rideshare services in the same period.
We also took a look at monthly earnings across these services. Interestingly, here DoorDash performed significantly better than Uber Eats and Grubhub, averaging monthly earnings of $229.76.
But overall, DoorDash drivers made less per trip, less per hour, and less in tips than drivers on other services.
What factors impact DoorDash driver earnings?
- Supply and demand – Fewer Dashers on the road means driver earnings go up. We saw this play out last year during the driver shortage. Earnings went up significantly due to more orders, higher pay per trip, and generous incentives.
- Peak Pay – This is a standard and frequent incentive used by DoorDash. Peak Pay is a bonus paid by DoorDash on each delivery during busy hours to entice more drivers to hit the road.
- Challenges – Apart from Peak Pay, DoorDash promotions also include Challenges to motivate Dashers to fulfill more orders. Challenges pay drivers extra money for delivering a certain number of orders in a specified time. Sometimes it pays to hustle.
- Top Dasher – Top Dasher is a rewards program designed to identify and reward the best Dashers on the platform. Drivers with high customer ratings, high order acceptance rate, and a high delivery completion rate qualify for this program and enjoy a host of exclusive benefits that can all improve earnings.
- Tips – As we mentioned, DoorDash drivers received an average tip of $4.12 per trip, making tips a significant component of total earnings.
What are the biggest expenses for DoorDash drivers?
To get the big picture on driver earnings, expenses need to be factored as well. Listed below are some of the biggest expenses that apply DoorDash drivers:
- Vehicle costs
- Maintenance and repairs
- Depreciation – The value of your vehicle depreciates over time due to age and wear and tear. While often overlooked, this is a key expense for understanding how much of your earnings actually make it to your pocket.
- Recurring expenses like your phone bill, taxes, and insurance also need to be factored in and can potentially help you save come tax time.
Have rising gas prices impacted driver earnings?
According to AAA, the national average price for regular-grade gas was $2.872/gal a year ago. As you’ve experienced, by April 2022, that price surged by a whopping 44.60% to reach $4.153/gal.
To help weather this dramatic increase in gasoline prices, many rideshare and delivery platforms have taken steps to boost driver earnings. For example
- Grubhub increased its per mile distance pay nationwide in March
- Instacart started levying a temporary fuel surcharge of $0.40 on customer orders
- DoorDash launched a Gas Rewards Program that offers 10% cashback on gas and a weekly gas bonus
- Uber and Lyft started adding a temporary fuel surcharge to their fares
Drivers can also take advantage of our Gridwise Gas program for exclusive discounts on fuel.
How can DoorDash drivers reduce expenses?
Unfortunately, the geopolitical and macroeconomic forces driving the gasoline prices up are beyond your control. However, you can reduce your overall expenses by following various proven cost-cutting techniques and by taking advantage of the many benefits programs available to you, such as:
- Cashback and discount offers from DoorDash on gas
- Download Gridwise to take advantage of exclusive partner offers designed for drivers
- Gridwise’s mileage tracker for DoorDash to maximize tax deductions
So is it worth driving for DoorDash in 2022?
While overall pay was lower for Dashers to start 2022, earnings still remain competitive with other apps.
Deciding on the right platform for your business comes down to three things:
- your location
- your vehicle
- your objectives
At least so far, there’s no clear best delivery app to drive for in 2022 other than the one that fits your needs.
We’d love to hear your experience as a driver! Join and share with our driver community on Facebook!
