Key Takeaways
- Tipping DoorDash drivers is recommended as they rely on tips for a living wage.
- A typical tip is $5 or 10-20% of the order, increased for long distances or complex orders.
- Drivers receive 100% of tips, which can be given through the app or in cash.
- Tips are crucial for drivers’ earnings, especially considering their job-related expenses.
Do You Tip DoorDash Drivers?
Yes, you should tip DoorDash drivers. Tipping is an expected part of the DoorDash experience, as Dashers rely significantly on tips to earn a living wage.
Tipping well also impacts the level of service you receive, although you might not realize it.
High tips tend to attract drivers more quickly, potentially resulting in faster delivery. Conversely, lower tips might lead to longer wait times as drivers may be less inclined to accept such orders.
Tips are especially important since many Dashers incur expenses like gas and car insurance. Tipping can be done easily through the DoorDash app during checkout or after delivery.
Related: Do DoorDash drivers see tips?
How Much Should I Tip My DoorDash Driver?
As a general rule of thumb, consider giving your DoorDash driver a base tip of around $5 for any order. Most drivers will agree that this is a fair tip for standard orders.
However, contextual tipping is important. You should increase this amount based on the delivery distance, order size and complexity, and challenging conditions like bad weather or difficult locations.
The DoorDash app actually takes these factors into consideration and automatically suggests a tip amount during the checkout process.
While I think the app does a good job of providing a tip amount that is fair to both driver and customer, you can manually adjust this tip.
My personal belief is that tipping should be based either on the total order amount, similar to restaurant tipping, or on the distance of the delivery.
I recommend tipping $1.50-$2.00 per mile, or at least 10% of the order total, increasing to 15-20% for excellent service or complex orders.
Scenarios and Suggested Tips
| Scenario | Suggested Tip |
|---|---|
| Average service, standard order | 10% of the order total |
| Exceptional service or challenging order | 15-20% or more of the order total |
| Distance-based (e.g., 5 miles delivery) | $7.50-$10.00 (at $1.50-$2.00/mile) |
| Minimum tip for small order | $5 regardless of order size |
| Below-average service (e.g., rude driver) | 5% less than normal |
| Extra effort (large/heavy order, stairs) | Increase tip to 20% or higher |
| Service issues beyond driver control | Maintain standard tip |
| Serious issues (missing order, harassment) | Consider tipping below 10% or contact DoorDash customer service |
While tipping your DoorDash driver is a personal choice, considering these guidelines can help you make a fair decision that reflects the quality of service you receive.
Factors That Could Justify a Lower Tip
When considering the factors that could justify a lower tip for your DoorDash driver, it’s important to remember that the tip should reflect the quality of service provided by the courier.
If you experience subpar service, adjusting your tip can be a way to express your dissatisfaction.
In such cases, a tip around 10% might be appropriate. This ensures that you’re still acknowledging the driver’s effort, while also signaling that the service was not up to standard.
However, it’s crucial to differentiate between issues within the courier’s control and those that are not.
You should avoid reducing the tip for situations beyond the driver’s control, such as missing items from your order or delays caused by traffic. These incidents are often out of the hands of your DoorDash driver.
Only consider tipping below 10% in more serious instances that require intervention from DoorDash customer service.
This could include scenarios where your order is marked as delivered but you never received it, if there’s evidence that your meal was tampered with, or if you encounter inappropriate behavior from your courier.
In these cases, a lower tip or no tip at all may be justified, as these issues significantly impact your delivery experience and are directly related to the courier’s service.
How Do I Tip on DoorDash?
Tipping on the DoorDash platform is easy and can be done right on the checkout page.
When you’re reviewing your order details on the DoorDash app or on DoorDash.com, you should see a “Dasher Tip” section that allows you to select or customize your tip amount before officially sending in your order.
If you are unable to tip on this page for any reason, you will have the opportunity to tip on the food delivery platform after your order is delivered.
This post-delivery tipping feature should be available as you’re rating your Dasher on your app.
Should I Tip My Dasher in Cash?
While cash was once the ideal form of payment for DoorDash couriers, it no longer matters if you pay in cash, through the app, or through the website.
Your Dasher will always get 100% of the tips that you provide.
The reason cash tips were once preferred was because DoorDash once had a controversial tipping model, in which customer tips essentially subsidized the driver payments.
Up until mid-2019, DoorDash offered guaranteed minimum payments that included tips, which meant that tipping could enable the company to reduce its own out-of-pocket costs.
In this model, DoorDash drivers would only really get their guaranteed minimum plus tip if they received unrecorded cash tips.
Luckily, this is no longer the case. CEO Tony Xu announced a new model for payments after the 2019 backlash and now fully separates promotions from tips.
Your tips will now truly be 100% benefiting drivers, instead of supporting DoorDash in any way.
Why I Fully Support Tipping On Every Delivery
At the end of the day, DoorDash drivers are providing a service, and they should be rewarded accordingly for doing so.
Dashers can be likened to waiters and traditional pizza delivery drivers in that they’re providing a service on top of the restaurant preparing your meal. In return, it’s common courtesy to provide a tip for their help.
DoorDash tipping is actually such an integral part of the company’s pay model that it would be difficult for Dashers to make a comfortable living without it. This is especially the case in cities with a high cost of living, like San Francisco and New York City.
After they spend on expenses like gas and car insurance, which all Dashers (as independent contractors) cover themselves, this hourly wage can be even lower.
Dashers depend on customers’ tips to earn a living wage, especially since many take on the food delivery gig to support their families or cover other important financial needs.
Without your tips, your courier’s payout may be just a few dollars — even if they spent half an hour or more to get your food safely to your door.
Another point to make is that you should tip your driver if you’re using a DoorDash promo code.
You should tip on the full amount of the meal, like you would in a restaurant if you were using a gift card. If you’re saving money using a promotion, be kind to your driver and pass some of those savings along.
Tipping is also expected if you request a no-contact delivery, which was made available when the coronavirus pandemic began (and is a default in the midst of COVID-19).
While you won’t be serviced face-to-face, your Dasher still spent time traveling from their original location to your favorite restaurant and to your door, which is a time-consuming service in itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the DoorDash delivery fee an automatic tip?
No, the delivery fee is a separate charge and is not related to your Dasher tip.
The delivery fee and other DoorDash fees do not go straight to your Dasher and simply contributes to your courier’s base pay. Only the tip you manually select on the checkout page will 100% be sent to your Dasher.
Is DoorDash tipping expected for pick-up orders?
No, tipping on the DoorDash app is not expected for pick-up orders, as no delivery person is involved in providing service. However, you may choose to tip restaurant employees who assist you during your pick-up in cash.
How does DoorDash tipping etiquette compare to expectations on similar food delivery apps?
Tipping etiquette is the same for other food delivery services like Postmates. While tips are never required, it’s common courtesy to tip at least 15% for good service when ordering delivery from any platform.
Be a Pro Tipper
Tipping your DoorDash courier is an essential part of using the service and helps protect the livelihoods of the people who make your food deliveries possible.
While DoorDash once faced backlash for an unjust tipping model, Dashers are now truly getting 100% of your tips — with no loopholes — regardless of whether you tip in cash or on the digital platform.
If you use more than one platform in the gig economy, there’s a good chance you’ll need to learn about tipping etiquette for other apps.
What do you think? Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts!
I disagree. The industry standard is no tip for over the counter service. DoorDash not providing adequate pay to drivers is the real
Issue. For example if I already pay for delivery, I expect that to go to the driver. The pizza places in our area charge a delivery fee. That pays for the driver. A waiter in a restaurant is giving a service. Your suggesting we pays waiter/service fee plus pay an additional tip for no service. If the driver was not paid and no delivery fee given to them than yes I would think tipping would be needed.
A waiter doesn’t have expensed like ever rising gas prices car insurance, car upkeep, oil, car repairs, speeding tickets or other inconveniences that can be somewhat avoided but are bound to happen at some point with so much time on the road. The portion of the delivery fee that goes to the driver, will actually cover this and no more. The reality is that drivers are private contractors and after all the other expenses still have to save money for tax as well.
All things considered, if your to lazy to get off the couch and drive or walk to get your own items, tipping is necessary and expected. Less than 15% is disrespectful and will result in a driver (doing a job that you are paying them to do) receiving significantly less than minimum wage on payday. You shame yourself and your family by behaving like this. If you disagree, I challenge you to try living off delivery app wages.
I doordash in a small town. DoorDash drivers make $2 per delivery. On some occasions they make $3-$5 per delivery when demand is really really high but that is rare and getting rarer. Most of the time they make $2 per delivery plus tips. This is regardless of how many miles they have to travel, how long you have to travel back, how much gas you use, if there is a hail storm outside, the cost to maintain or fix your car, how long the lines are, and how long the restaurant makes them wait for the food. These are things most tip based workers don’t have to worry about.
To calculate how much you make an hour also depends on the area but you do have to consider how many orders you get because the pay isn’t hourly.
How many orders you get still depends on your area but in my area I can get around 0-4 orders an hour. That means at most I get $8/h as a base pay but many hours during the week it is $0/hour. So DoorDash Drivers depend on getting a tip and many refuse to accept an order if it doesn’t include one upfront.
You might think, “but why would I pay for a service I haven’t gotten yet”. The answer is simple. Because 95% of people that aren’t willing to pay upfront will not pay after the service is done either. Most of the non tippers I get also put in their order “just leave it at the door” so they don’t have to face you as a non tipper. But Doordash drivers don’t see that little note until after they’ve accepted the delivery and picked up the order. But once they see it they know they’ve just been stuffed on the tip. I rarely get paid after a delivery is delivered.
When calculating a tip, you have to factor all of these things into the calculation. The number one factor being how far the driver has to go to get your food. That includes going to the restaurant, taking it to you, and getting back to the area where the restaurants are. Since you don’t know where they are and how far they have to travel to get to the restaurant you can guess. But If you order a TacoBell taco for a couple bucks but want us to travel 10 miles to get it to you, your calculator says the tip should be like $.30. That isn’t reasonable.
It’s important for people to understand that We do not get the entire delivery fare. Normally we get just $2. At least where I am that is the case almost all the time.
If a friend asked me how much you should tip a doorsdash driver my response would be: two – three dollars per mile or 15-20% of your order. Whichever one is higher. You should pay on the higher range ($3/mile or 20%) when the distance is farther because the driver needs to drive back to the area with restaurants to start another delivery and is likely missing out on deliveries because they are now so far away.
This means they have to spend more money on gas and spend more time not getting orders because they are outside their working area.
Your article makes it sound like tipping is on top of an $11/h wage which is ridiculously misleading. At most a driver in my area is making $8 without a tip (this means only some of the peak hours do they make $8/h most of the days hours are $2, maybe $4 sometimes $6) but my average is 3 deliveries per hour. Sometimes less. Rarely more. Tips are what make it all possible.
Now I would love to see DoorDash be more transparent about everything. They should tell customers that drivers only make $2 per delivery and that they should consider how far a dasher may have to travel to get their food to them when they are thinking about how much they should tip.
You could look at it like this. If you had a friend who didn’t have a full time job (so you knew he was available) and you needed someone to pick some food up for your family. So you call him and ask him to do it, how much are you going to offer him. At least gas money. If you’re a decent person you’d probably want to pay him something for his time. If he had to stand in line for 20 minutes waiting for your food, or if he was doing it during a hailstorm, etc, you’d probably pay a little more.
That’s what tipping is for a doordash drivers.
I read this article I also would Like to say It doesn’t mention anything about a dasher having to deal with a hustle merchant I am a dasher and I’ve experienced employees Being rude and hostile to a dasher while picking up the food This has happened to me on a couple of occasions I don’t think this treatment is reflected in the doordash pay And tipping process it should be as is very stressful at times when dealing with a merchant Especially if a merchant is having a bad day or not fulfilling the doordash orders on time they take it out on the dashers
Facts
Why would anyone want to be a dasher? If I understand your calculation, you average $3 per order plus tip. If you work 4 hours per day and average 4 deliveries per hour that is $48 plus tips. Let’s say each order averages $25, so $3 plus 15% tip of $3,75 = $6.75 x 16 = $108 = $27 per hour, Less taxes and car insurance and maintenance = ? Have you made any money after expenses? Best of luck to you.
Just imagin tipping. For what for delievery? its just a low IQ thing to do.
The correct method is to tip based on miles / time of day. The cost of the food should not factor into it at all (unless its a large catering order more than one person can carry at once). In fact to even look at the price or content of the order could be considered by some an invasion of privacy. Imagine your UPS guy told you he wanted a bigger tip because you ordered something expensive off the internet and he looked inside the box.
Dashers usually carry my food order, from grocery store, directly into my kitchen, which is 25 feet from my front door; the bags are too heavy for me to handle; this is why I shop online and have home delivery; I tip them very well and have had no problems, even during the pandemic; however, the last couple of drivers were a little curt and didn’t want to carry the bags into the house, giving an excuse that they didn’t work for the grocery store I shopped at; that is totally unacceptable; I have home delivery and I shop online because I physically CANNOT DO IT anymore myself; neither could my recently deceased husband, who died four months ago from a long battle with cancer; as I said, I tip well and I do not understand the problem of carrying the bags into my kitchen; IF I COULD, I WOULD, AND I WOULD BE SHOPPING MYSELF, NOT ONLINE; can you explain this to me ? The reluctance is very upsetting to me; workers seem to want big raises, yet want to work less and give more excuses.
I don’t think door dash and serving at a restaurant are comparable jobs. A server spends their entire meal with you serving, refilling, providing xtra needs & keeping inhappy the entire meal. They do not have vehicle maintenance wtc but their job is much harder than driving a meal to a home BUT…
I don’t compare servers to drivers and I dont tip the same way. I do consider the time spent to get here regardless of food cost and also gas prices. As for car maintenance I know tax write offs can help with that so I do not factor tjay in tok much. They chose this job-taxe wrote offs can help a fair amount but I do hope my tips are fair. Due to distance of most places & time to get here I usually tip 7$. If during a rush 9$. If they ever have to wait (most drop the order I will up to 10 but rare). The factor that would change this for me is if gas prices rose more (I’d likely add 50 cents soon) and also of the order was huge requiring extra care or more than 1 trip to door but Ive never ordered that much. So a 15$ order and 50$ order both usually get 7$ if distance is same. If during rush they both go up the same amount. Its not about the work, its about the distance & time to get here for me. Different system. I look this up often to make sure what I top is fair at least – adjust accordingly.
If you don’t like working at door dash because the tips and pay aren’t very good, maybe you should quit, no one is forcing you to work there. It shouldn’t be the customers job to pay the salary of a companies employee.
I’m a semi retired dasher. It got me through a tough spot in my life. It’s simple to me. I would not tip based on cost of one’s food. It’s already marked up ordering on the app as it is. However.. I do consider the distance from the merchant to the place I’m having my food delivered to. I adjust the tip accordingly. If it is a restaurant that habitually takes longer to execute orders.. I tip more.. it isn’t the dashers fault some merchants are more difficult to get orders from. I also have in my instructions to us their hot bag… it really helps. ( if they don’t. It will affect their rating)
Normally I give everyone 5 stars as long as they gave me warm food… the time isn’t a factor when the restaurant holds them up.
The star rating is not a critique structure. Just 5 star or don’t at all. Anything less hurts them… if satisfied with food just be nice.
If don’t want to tip.. grab your keys because no one is taking an order with just the base pay on it.
I REDUCED A LOTNOF MY FEES USING DASH PASS.
even with this though. The apps all certainly have an uptick in food charges rhe restaurants are forced to request for using the app. If wondering why it costs more.. than in person..
that is why.
Originally I defaulted to a 20% tip for any delivery that was satisfactory, even if one may take longer than originally suggested. But, lately, the DoorDash app (as well as other delivery services) are suggesting tips of as much as 30% (against a $30/$40 food item cost only order).
I grasp that distance is a greater consideration than just food cost, out of practical considerations. I live in the burbs, with the driver typically spending 10-20 min to pick up the food, and 20 min to drive it to my home (30-40 min total from time of order).
Against a $9 tip recommendation, I’m typically increasing my $6 default to $7-$8. (And, at that point, I feel crappy for splitting hairs.) However, at the point that a suggested tip on a $40 base cost meal starts running above $10, I may just elect to pick up.
To the person who wants a driver ( and yes, they are hired only as a driver) to enter a customer home, go into their kitchen, and place bags on the counter, it is against the rules and actually not safe for a driver to enter a complete stranger’s home. That is why it is called DOOR Dash- drive items to customer and drop off at their door. I suggest you hire a personal helper instead.
It is customary to leave a gratuity of
25% or more for dining in,
20% or more for delivery,
10% for if you are picking up yourself.
This can sometimes be higher based on an above and beyond experience or that you are making special requests (for instance, asking that your food be delivered to your door on the 10th floor; bulk items, asking extra questions etc).
It seems to me alot of individuals are REALLY REALLY not thinking about he big picture while leaving there 2 cents about something as simple as be good to fella man (cause KARMA is a BITCH). PEOPLE NEED to create a living/income (wiether it be extra income or full time income) to better not only there own lives but YOU THE CONSUMER in **HOPES** to make $$$! They provide us with a service by DASHING, SHOPPING, RUNNING ERRANDS! and I am grateful to them for it and to show said appreciation they NEED and should ALWAYS be shown it! Most people today wont even open there door to say thank you to them for said service.. then leave a SHITY tip on top of it! ( anything below $8 as a TIP with gas being at $5 a gallon is costing them money to help US out! SHAME TO EVERYONE of ya that can AFFORD to order in 2 or 3, 4, etc nights a week but are to CHEAP and LAZY to show your appreciation!
Why are the deafault tip amounts over 20%? Is doordash taking a large percentage of the tip instead of giving it to the driver?
I just saw an advert for drivers from door dash. It stated that you get to keep 100% of your “tips.” Do you realize that you are then responsible for all of your taxes yourself on this amount? Door dash then states on its platform that you are solely responsible for your taxes, that Door Dash will not be held liable in any way for your tax responsibilities and problems and then it recommends various apps and services to help you and explains that you will be financially responsible for the costs of those apps and services.
You should tip at least $1.50 per mile away from the restaurant you’re ordering from. Remember, the drivers are independent contractors, they do not need to accept your order, even if they’re standing in the restaurant when it comes in. If you want your order accepted, and not sit on the shelf, leave a good tip. If you want cold soggy food, then wait around for someone to deliver it cheap.
I went dashing for the first time a couple nights ago and was rather surprised how cheap some people can be. To set the stage, I live in a fairly wealthy area where the median income is easily 100k+. On my first night dashing, I had an order that was 10 miles away from the restaurant and the lady only tipped me $4 on her small order. It was an easy order, but a real waste of time. Another order that I picked up was a huge order ($80) from a TexMex restaurant and the lady only tipped me $3. It’s beyond me how someone can spend so much money on their To-Go food, but completely cheap out when tipping the driver. I just did it for the experience, so the money isn’t as crucial for me as I have a FT job. With that being said, if people are too effin lazy to pickup their own food then tip your drivers appropriately. They are out driving around the city picking up orders, burning expensive gas and potentially dealing with hectic situations at the restaurants. If your home is more than just a couple miles from the restaurant then the tip should be a minimum of $8.
I just started Dashing last week. In my experience so far I’m pulling in around $20/hour in suburban Detroit. This includes what DoorDash pays as a base rate (typically $2-$3 per order) plus tips. There are two methods to dash now – get paid by the hour (anywhere from $11.75-$13.75 depending on time of day/demand in my area) plus tips OR (my preferred method) just taking orders as they come for the base $2-$3 rate plus tips. I prefer this because if you do hourly, you cannot reject low or no-tip orders – you have to take everything. And low/no tippers are definitely out there. You’d be surprised how often I get an offer to deliver food 12 miles for a total of $3. It’s an automatic reject. Guess what, you’re probably going to have a hard time after a while getting your food if you expect someone to drive 10 or 15 miles from a restaurant to your home for the lousy couple of dollars DoorDash pays the driver.
We are providing a service to you, one that must be of some benefit to you because otherwise why wouldn’t you just pick up your food yourself? If your problem is with DoorDash not paying their drivers more, then by all means don’t use the service. But don’t penalize your driver just because your problem is with the pay structure of the service.
Ok I read all the opinions about
how much a tip should be for Door
Dash drivers. Not one person said anything about them delivering
prescriptions from Walgreens or any other pharmacy. Omg, I’m over 70 yrs old. I have also been
a widow for 8 yrs. My husband died of cancer, and I don’t drive
anymore. You may want to think
about that, before throwing all of us into the same tipping hat before assuming we ordered “food” I don’t eat out and I don’t order food to be delivered. Walgreens decided using Doordash as their delivery people was a great idea. I hope that someone in management sees my
post, that was a TERRIBLE idea.
Fed-X used to deliver my RX’s. That worked great. Shame on you
Walgreens, we can’t afford the expected tips!!!! I speaking for myself and other senior citizens.
I agree that tips are necessary for DoorDash Drivers and when Doordash was not charging us delivery service charges I tipped at least 20%. However, it seems recently Doordash has inflated menu cost about 10%, at $6 delivery fee, and then tips. A $40 order cost me $63 using Doordash. They have gotten too expensive and need to re-evaluate their business model. I am now tipping between 10% and 15% for delivery of food. We used them a lot during the pandemic, since then maybe once a month for convenience. I am interested in knowing how much of the Doordash fee go to the driver, some should. It would be easier if Doordash charged a fee that included all costs (service fee, flat delivery fee),etc) then people would not have to struggle with this tipping concern.