Waitr Inc. is a food delivery and carryout app, similar to Uber Eats and Doordash, but has been around much longer.
They currently operate in more than 200 cities across the United States, but mainly in the south, like North Carolina and Louisiana.
If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money and have been curious about how much Waitr drivers are paid, take a look as we break down how well the platform pays hourly, weekly, and monthly.
How Much Does Waitr Pay?
How much you’ll ultimately make when working with Waitr depends on how much you work and how many deliveries you make.
When working with Waitr, you’ll get paid per delivery you complete, not necessarily by the hour.
The pay rate starts at $5 and goes up from there.
Keep in mind when trying to figure out how much Waitr pays, it will vary depending on where you live, how many deliveries you make, and by day.
You won’t always make the same amount of money every day, week, or month.
It will also depend on if you work part-time or full-time for the app.
Customers can tip you through the app or with cash upon arrival.
Waitr makes sure that 100% of all tips go directly to the driver, which will play a role in how much you’ll earn while driving with Waitr.
How Much Does Waitr Pay per Hour?
The best way to find out how much you make per hour on Waitr is by adding up all the trips you made in 60 minutes.
Generally, you’ll earn anywhere from $5 to $20 per hour with Waitr.
According to Indeed, most Waitr drivers can make an average of $18 per hour while delivering. d
On the other hand, there are reports of some drivers making only $8 per hour after you factor in the gas and mileage they have to drive to make the delivery.
Since Waitr pays per delivery, this will vary.
You might make $18 an hour your first hour working while you could make $25 the following or even only $10.
Hypothetically, if you made the average hourly rate, $18, you could make $72 per day if you work four hours or $144 if you work for eight hours
If you’re looking for your average hourly rate per day, you can add your total earnings and then divide them by the number of hours you worked to find out how much you made per hour per day.
How Much Does Waitr Pay per Delivery?
Waitr pays drivers per delivery, and the lowest it usually is $5, but it can be higher.
More times than not, you’ll have a higher rate due to more food in the order or if you have to drive a farther distance from the restaurant.
Waitr calculates how much the base pay for a driver will be based on a few factors.
They’ll consider how much the customer paid for the order and how far the customer lives from the restaurant they ordered from.
The closer the restaurant is to the customer, the lower the base pay since you’re using less gas to get there.
When you choose a delivery to pick up, you’ll see if the customer added a tip.
These proceeds go directly to you, but depending on how much the customer tipped, Waitr may lower the delivery payment.
How Much Does Waitr Pay per Week?
As we’ve mentioned, how much Waitr pays per week will depend on how much you work, where you live, and how much you make per delivery.
If we go based on the national average hourly rate for Waitr drivers, we can do some calculations.
If you work a “traditional” 40-hour workweek at $18 per hour, you can expect to make $720 per week, which works out to be roughly $2,880 per month.
Remember, this is before taxes.
Since driving with Waitr is a 1099 position, the IRS doesn’t automatically take taxes out, and you’ll owe during tax season.
For those who work part-time, which is considered anything less than 20 hours, the amount you’ll make at $18 an hour is $360.
So working part-time at 20 hours per week will make you $1,440 per month.
There might be weeks when you work the same amount of hours but make more or less than the week before, depending on how many people are ordering and what Waitr pays for every delivery you pick up.
Having a set salary while driving with the platform can be challenging since payment varies.
Waitr vs. Doordash Driver Pay
If you’re trying to decide whether you should work with Waitr or Doordash, how they compare in pay can be a huge deciding factor.
Most food delivery apps pay relatively similarly, but how do Waitr and Doordash compare in income?
Doordash is known to offer a base pay for a delivery, tips, and often there are promotions for completing a certain number of trips.
These promotions tend to be financial awards.
Waitr isn’t known for offering any financial promotions for completing rides, and they do offer tips and a base fare for the delivery like Doordash.
Does Waitr or Doordash Pay More?
So, the ultimate question is, does Waitr or Doordash pay more?
On average, Waitr workers make around $18 an hour while dashers make over $20.
While these numbers mean that Doordash pays more, you need to remember that depending on where you live and how much you work will cause these numbers to fluctuate.
Those who live in a major city working for Waitr are likely to make more than dashers in a smaller town.
Overall, Doordash pays more than Waitr, but your experience may differ from that of another delivery service driver.
Read More: How much does DoorDash pay?
Does Waitr Pay for Gas?
Technically no, Waitr doesn’t pay their drivers for gas money.
This falls in like with other platforms, such as DoorDash not paying for gas either.
While this may seem unfair, considering that other peer-to-peer delivery platforms also don’t pay their drivers’ gas money isn’t much of a surprise.
With the surging gas prices, Waitr and other delivery platforms are looking for ways to help keep drivers on the road without spending their earnings on gas.
Uber charges customers a small gas fee, and Waitr offers drivers a gas card.
The gas card that Waitr’s offering drivers allows them to use it at any major gas station and receive 5% off their purchase.
While it’s not a lot, it’s more than what drivers were offered before in terms of gas.
It’s unknown how long this will go on or if they’ll raise the percentage paid at any point.
To help supplement the fact that the company doesn’t usually offer to assist with gas, drivers can benefit from driving with the company, besides making money.
Waitr drivers can get discounts at major car shops like Jiffy Lube, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Goodyear.
They even offer discounts at Verizon since you need to use your phone to work with the platform.
Is Being a Waitr Driver Worth It?
Whether driving for Waitr is worth it will depend on you.
Some people believe it’s worth it, while others don’t.
However, it’s a great way to make some extra money fast.
So if that’s what you’re interested in, it’s probably worth it.
The best way to find out if driving with Waitr is worth it for you is to give it a shot.
If you find that you’re only making a few bucks an hour after a few deliveries, then it may not be worth it for you to continue, especially when you factor in gas money and general wear and tear on your vehicle.
It may not be the best move for those looking to make substantial money when you factor in gas and other car expenses.
But, for the most part, most people agree that driving with Waitr is worth it.
Wrapping Up
Waitr is another excellent food delivery app that provides people another way to make some money.
They pay each driver by delivery and allow customers to tip the drivers for doing a great job.
It’s an easy way to earn supplemental income in the various cities where it’s active.
Depending on where you drive and how often, you can expect to make anywhere between $5 and $20 per hour, but the national average is currently $18 per hour.
$18 an hour is a pretty decent pay rate, but you have to remember that it will vary every time you sign onto the platform to drive.
If you want to give driving for Waitr a try, you can download their app with your smartphone or visit their website and click become a driver to start earning today.
