Have you ever wanted to earn money driving your car? One sure way to do it is through being a delivery driver for Doordash! Doordash was founded in 2013 with a mission to support local economies! They partner with local restaurants that may not be able to offer delivery service on their own, and contract with local freelancers to make those food deliveries. The process is simple: enter your zip code and the search function will populate a list of all the restaurants in your area that Doordash can serve. They even give you an estimated delivery window so you know how long it will take from time of order placement to doorstep delivery!
About DoorDash
DoorDash is an online service that can deliver food from your favorite restaurants right to your door, including options like California Pizza Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, and more. And thanks to DoorDash’s “revolutionary logistics technology,” they’ll have your food to you in less than 45 minutes.
All you have to do is log on to the DoorDash website (or use their iOS or Android app), place your order (there’s no minimum size), and sit back and wait. Compared to traditional delivery services though, you can schedule your DoorDash order up to four days in advance.
If you are new to Doordash, you are able to get get a $15 sign-up bonus towards your first order!
DoorDash Driver Program
Once hired as a “Dasher,” you will be able to sign up for available shifts in your desired location. During your shift, you may be assigned to wait near a partner restaurant for orders to roll in. Once an order is placed, you are dispatched to make that delivery.
Dashers are paid $5 per delivery plus tips. DoorDash will fund the difference in the event the dasher does not make at least $10/hour with the delivery fee and tips. As an Independent Contractor, you are responsible for gas and maintenance of your vehicle. That will count as a tax deduction.
For more details about becoming a DoorDash driver, refer to our Doordash Driver Review before you make you decision!
DoorDash Ordering Process
Probably the easiest way to begin using DoorDash is to enter your address on their home page, or by clicking on your neighborhood in the list under each city’s name. From there, DoorDash will let you know which restaurants in your area they work with.
At this point, you’ll also be able to view an estimated delivery time, which will be updated again when you check out, depending on the size of your order. Based on when you place your order, a restaurant might be listed as “Busy,” which means “their current delivery time exceeds standards for a fast delivery, and they’re temporarily not accepting orders for that restaurant.”
At the time of our research, DoorDash operated in the following cities:
- Atlanta
- Bellevue, WA
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Los Angeles & LA Valley
- Manhattan & Brooklyn
- Minneapolis
- Orange County, CA
- Phoenix
- San Diego
- San Francisco & East Bay
- Silicon Valley
- Toronto
- Vancouver, BC
- Washington DC
Beginning Your Order
Begin by clicking on the restaurant you’re interested in, you’ll be able to view their menu. If they offer different menus at different times of the day, you’ll be presented with all options.
After choosing your menu, you’ll be able to view all available selections. See something you like? Just click on the dish, choose the quantity, indicate what you’d like to do if an item isn’t available (e.g. refund item, cancel entire order, contact you, etc.), and add to cart. This is also where you’ll enter any special instructions.
After Your Order Has Been Placed
Once your order has been placed, DoorDash will either immediately send it over to the restaurant of your choice. Or, if you’ve selected a specific time (up to four days in advance), DoorDash will send it over at an optimal time in order to ensure it’s “hot and fresh from the kitchen.”
DoorDash Delivery Cost
DoorDash is paid a commission by each restaurant they work with. As such, some restaurants may pass the cost of this commission along to their customers (making their base prices slightly higher), while others will keep their prices the same as an in-restaurant visit.
The delivery fee for your first DoorDash order will be $1. After that, your delivery fee can vary, but it will always be listed on the checkout page prior to finalizing your order; along with an itemized list of your order, food cost, and tax. You’ll also be able to enter a tip in this section, and invite friends to earn credits applicable toward future orders.
In addition to a Doordash food delivery fee, the Doordash food deliverywill also charge a “service fee”, which varies based on the restaurant from not Doordash Delivery fee or Doordash service fee, to a $6.99 Doordash Delivery fee and 20% Doordash service fee stack on top of one another.
Note: DoorDash charges a double delivery fee for all orders over $100.
DoorDash Convenience
Like any delivery service, yes, DoorDash can make it more convenient to get food from some of your favorite restaurants delivered right to your door. If you are looking to use Doordash food delivery, make sure to sign up through this post in order to get save on your first order.
From this perspective, while placing a delivery order will almost always come with some kind of added cost (such as a tip for the driver), you might be paying more on all sides when it comes to DoorDash. In other words, your food might be more expensive due to the restaurant’s commission with the company, on top of DoorDash’s delivery fee and any tip (although this last part is certainly optional).
Add to this that, even if you live in a city where DoorDash operates, you’ll still need to be in a very specific neighborhood (often urban and centralized) in order to take advantage of their service.
Given all of this, along with DoorDash’s mixed online customer reputation, means that we’d strongly recommend exploring all your options before placing your order. Because if you’re not satisfied (even if it’s clearly the company’s fault), it doesn’t appear you’ll be able to get a refund.
Doordash Food Delivery Pros
- Flexibility: Making your schedule is a major selling point for those looking for an easy side hustle. You just log on to the app, see which time slots are available, and choose the one the best works in your schedule. Also, being able to decide which deliveries you want to take on means you can have better control over knowing how much you can make per day.
- No Need for a Car: If you happen to live in one of the locations where a car is not necessary, such as New York or San Francisco, then you can still make money like the drivers without the added costs of a car.
- Safety: While every delivery is different and can come with some safety concerns since you’re approaching private homes at times, some Dashers believe it’s a very safe option.
- Tips and Incentives: In addition to earning money from DoorDash for a delivery, Dashers like that they get to keep every penny of their tips. The incentives for making more deliveries and signing up other Dashers also makes this side hustle more appealing and lucrative.
- Quick Payments: Unlike with a traditional job where you have to wait two weeks to get paid or other contract work where it could take 30 days to receive payment, DoorDash pays you every week. This means you can have a steady flow of extra cash or collect it sooner if a sudden payment is due.
Doordash Food Delivery Cons
While there are a number of positives to being a Dasher, there are some downsides to consider.
- Outside costs: While DoorDash updated their payment formula to account for expenses like parking, you still are in charge of paying for those costs. Unfortunately, depending on where you work and live, these costs can be high if you’re constantly paying for street or garage parking.
- Schedules can book up: You can choose which hours you want to work, but Dashers have complained that popular times get filled quickly.
- Delivery times range: Sometimes your deliveries can be completed quickly, but you are at the whim of the restaurant’s schedule, too. So if they have a backlog or take a while to prepare a meal, you could be stuck waiting. The same goes for how long it will take to get to your delivery destination. Your drive could be 30 minutes or five to make a delivery.
How Doordash Food Delivery Works
Once hired as a “Dasher,” you will be able to sign up for available shifts in your desired location. During your shift, you may be assigned to wait near a partner restaurant for orders to roll in. Once an order is placed, you are dispatched to make that delivery.
Dashers are paid $5 per delivery plus tips. DoorDash will fund the difference in the event the dasher does not make at least $10/hour with the delivery fee and tips. As an Independent Contractor, you are responsible for gas and maintenance of your vehicle. That will count as a tax deduction.
Doordash Food Delivery Requirements
To become a Dasher, you must:
- Drivers must be 18 or older, cannot have any major violations in the last 7 years, including: DUI, Reckless Driving, Homicide or Assault, Driving with a suspended license, failure to stop or report and driving with a license that is suspended or expired and cannot have more than 3 incidents* in the last 3 years
- After you are conditionally approved to be onboarded, DoorDash will run a criminal background check with your consent
- DoorDash conducts background checks in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
- DoorDash will always conduct an individualized assessment.
- DoorDash will only consider arrests or criminal accusations that are pending or that resulted in a conviction within the past 7 years.
Availability/Location: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose/Silicon Valley, SF East Bay, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C, San Antonio, and Nashville
Bottom Line
While DoorDash is a great way to make some steady extra cash on your time. Dashers also have the bonus of being able to get their hard-earned money by the next day with the DailyPay program. However, you will have to pay an additional $1.25 per expedited transfer. One of the biggest expenses many Dashers will have to incur are the costs associated with driving a car. This will not affect those who are on foot, bike, or scooter.
If you are interested in making money, becoming a Doordash Driver may be a good decision for you! For more ways on saving money, you can purchase Discounted Gift Cards, shop through the Best Cash Back Shopping Portals, and also refer to our full list on more ways to Save Money!
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$5 plus tip is a flat out lie! I am a dasher and i only make about $5.50/ dash. That’s pay and tip. According to my breakdown from door dast about 50-70% of my pay is tips. Door dash only guarantees $1 per order plus your tips. In my area you can expect to earn roughly $12-$14/ hr. If your lucky. I’ve earned as low as $5.49 in an hour before. I also have a friend that dashed for 2.5 hours one day and never got an order. Thats quite a bit of time sitting in your caf in 95+ degree weather for no pay, or even a loss of $ if you idled your engine for the ac.
In my area, i can dash any day any hour. No slots are filled. I made 170 on a fkin saturday bruh. I been pullin 20 dollar hours like candy from a baby, this is legit AF. I work randomly too, like all day, but spread out, made 600 my first week, amd i didnt work 3 of those days, its becoming my main job.