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Postmates vs DoorDash: Which is Better for Drivers?

Who wins in the battle of Postmates vs DoorDash? We've covered every angle to help drivers understand which option makes the most sense for them. Read more here.

Key Takeaways

  • DoorDash is better for drivers doing short local trips, while Postmates is better for longer distances.
  • The Postmates driver app is easier to use than the DoorDash app – mainly because of the map.
  • The two companies tie for the application process. Both are easy to apply to drive with.
  • Postmates wins in the help & support area. They have a phone number to call, while DoorDash doesn’t.

Postmates vs. DoorDash: Pricing

Uber and Lyft drivers will tell you upfront when it comes to earning money, location matters. This simple fact rings true for the food delivery sector as well.

Areas that have a high demand for timely food deliveries will have more orders than neighborhoods that do not. Due to this, if you are in a high demand location, you may be able to earn more money.

Other than this important fact, the two services actively compete against one another. For couriers and those making the food order, this is a win-win.

As Postmates and DoorDash compete for your business, they are also trying to gather the best drivers on the market. To achieve this goal, both companies offer payouts per delivery.

DoorDash Pricing

The formula to calculate the DoorDash delivery fee involves three components.

Drivers receive an initial payout of $1, all the ‘pay boost’ generated, and 100% of the tips earned. The amount of ‘pay boost’ you can earn varies based on the distance traveled during a delivery and how complex the order was.

Beyond that, the smallest payout for any order a courier takes on is $6.

Keep in mind, this can add up if you have several minimum payout orders delivered to the same location at lunchtime.

On top of this mandated payout, the app is designed to make tipping easy and encourage hungry patrons to do so.

Due to this, the probability of earning a tip is pretty high and drivers report earning an hourly rate between $8 – $15.

Postmates Pricing

Other than the initial flat fee, the way Postmates calculates payments is quite a bit different.

Payment earned is calculated using a mileage rate. This measurement only includes the drive time between pickup and drop off. This means that the time it takes you to actually go to the pickup location does not generate any cash for couriers.

On the plus side, when demand for Postmates is high, such as during lunchtime, ‘blitz pricing’ is in effect.

Blitz pricing is a bonus multiplier that couriers can use to bump up their pay. This boost ranges anywhere between 1.25x and 1.75x and is automatically triggered by the app.

Once an order is complete, customers are allowed to tip couriers within the app. The tipping feature is not as streamlined as DoorDash’s, which may lead to a reduction of average tips earned for some.

Pricing: Our Take

We give DoorDash the advantage for those who are looking to make frequent deliveries within their immediate area. However, Postmates is the preferable option for those who plan to drive longer distances for each delivery, or plan to make most of their deliveries during lunchtime.

Suggested Reading

How much do Doordash drivers make?

How much do Postmates drivers make?

Postmates vs. DoorDash: The App

DoorDash App

Hands down, one of the easiest food delivery apps to use out there is the DoorDash app.

A great deal of effort goes into making the service fun to use, and it shows. Using this app is not overly complicated and the layout is clean.

Drivers have very few hoops to jump through to perform common tasks, such as check on an order status or contact a customer. Overall, this makes using the app a complete breeze.

A major downside to the app is what service lacks, a map. For many users, this is quite a pain. Without a built-in map on the app, drivers must use other alternatives. This may not sound that bad at first, however, it can be very time-consuming.

Each time a new order is received, drivers have to navigate to their default maps app to view directions. Unless, of course, you know exactly where you are going and how to get there from the get go.

Other than this issue, DoorDash makes things pretty simple for both drivers and customers. Drivers can accept delivery requests on the fly without much effort.

Plus, when the orders are near each other, drivers can “batch” those deliveries together. As a result, the app will tell you the best pickup and drop off route for all your deliveries.

Being able to reorganize delivery routes on-the-go reduces the amount of time between deliveries. This makes it possible for drivers to pick up more orders and earn a nice sum of cash from it.

Postmates App

This app is easy to use, just like its counterpart. The layout is smooth and most things are not hard to find. The key difference between the apps, however, is the built-in map.

This service offers drivers an interactive heat map designed to make navigating the city streets easy. Or at least as fast as traffic will allow.

Even so, these features make it easy to knock out several orders in an hour. The Postmates service also allows for batch orders, which goes a long way towards helping to boost your earnings.

The combination of these two built-in perks helps couriers make more money when they are available.

The App: Our Take

While both services offer a high-quality app with an impressive user interface, we give Postmates the win for their built-in map.

Becoming a Delivery Driver

In general, it is much harder to become a rideshare driver than it is to make deliveries.

One of the major reasons for this is the less restrictive vehicle requirements.

For example, most food delivery services do not have an age restriction on vehicles, whereas rideshare companies do.

Keep in mind, there are still some regulations involved.

Although these basic requirements are not difficult to fulfill, they are worth reviewing.

Doing so reduces the likelihood of overlooking something important before signing up.

Becoming a DoorDash Driver

The requirements to become a DoorDash driver (Dasher) aren’t as rigorous the requirements to become a Lyft or Uber driver.

Mandated items a driver needs are a smartphone and access to a set of wheels.

Drivers may use any car, truck, motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle as long as it’s functional.

Also, drivers must have a clean background and driving record.

These essentials help maintain the safety of everyone involved.

When consenting to these background checks, providing your social security number is required.

Other valid information needed includes the standard driving requirements.

These items are a U.S. driver’s license and up-to-date insurance.

Keep in mind that the insurance policy must have driver’s name on it.

If you meet all the qualifications and are 18 years or older, congratulations!

The only thing left to do is fill out the application and complete orientation.

This can be achieved online or in person.

Becoming a Postmates Driver

When it comes to signing up, the process is really smooth.

Drivers that are 18 years or older can complete the application within a matter of minutes if they meet a few basic requirements.

Related: Learn our 11 favorite secrets to maximize your Postmates earnings.

A courier needs to have a license, valid insurance with their name on the policy, and a functional mode of transportation.

If you have your social security number ready, you can learn about Postmates driver requirements and see how to become a Postmates driver.

Driver Application Process: Our Take

We give DoorDash and Postmates a draw for their application process.

Both services offer application processes that are much simpler than Lyft and Uber.

Related Resources:

DoorDash vs. Postmates: Who Wins on Customer Service?

Taking care of drivers when they need help is a major priority for DoorDash and Postmates.

Both have extensive resources available that cover almost any situation you may encounter.

These detailed guides are an invaluable tool to have at your disposal when things go south while you are on the clock.

DoorDash Customer Service

For those that would rather skim through a website to find what they are looking for will love the DoorDash resources.

This food delivery app has their customer service info organized into a series of FAQs.

Each question provides insight into common issues that new drivers experience, as well as the rarer situations.

Drivers can view categorized topics to quickly find the answer that they are looking for.

With no call-in option available for customer service, this can cause some drivers stress.

Not being able to speak to a physical person can cause frustration.

Postmates Customer Service

Postmates also includes an extensive FAQs page designed to provide answers for any driving-related questions.

Like DoorDash, each potential issue is categorized by topic.

This makes it possible for drivers to click on the relevant topic and get the information they need.

If all else fails, Postmates does have a customer service hotline you can call.

We recommend using this if you can’t get help, as their staff can typically help you fairly quickly.

Customer Service: Our Take

While both offer an extensive FAQs page, we give Postmates the win on customer service, largely due to the fact that they have a customer service hotline to dial into.

Postmates vs. DoorDash: City Availability

More than likely if Postmates is available in your area, so is DoorDash.

The number of available cities grows larger with each passing day. This means more opportunities for drivers.

Postmates seems to be the more popular and established service.

If you are in any of the following states, Postmates may be available in your area:

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin

Although the service areas for both Postmates and DoorDash are similar, it pays to check out your options.

Our Take

Both services have a lot in common.

The major differences are the built-in map feature, customer service method, and pay calculations.

Despite this, at the end of the day, both apps are very similar.

The only way real way to determine which is best is by deciding what your personal preferences are.

Due to this observation, we have decided to declare both food delivery services as the “winner”.

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2 thoughts on “Postmates vs DoorDash: Which is Better for Drivers?”

  1. The batch ordering on Postmates can be hurtful. I had 3 customers order from Chipotle at the same time. Drove 8 miles, and took 50 minutes. Only got $8.30

    Reply
  2. I did 4 deliveries with Postmates… NEVER AGAIN!

    POSTMATES:

    Drive further and longer (time) to both restaurant and customer than with Uber Eats… and then a lot of the time have to order the food upon arrival and pay with the postmates debit card and take a picture of the receipt. In the end you make like $1 less than you would have for an Uber Eats trip of shorter time and distance. You also don’t get your tips until like 24 hours after delivery. Has instant pay and instantly removes the $0.50 fee from your payout (leaving your Postmates account balance at $0). Navigation in app with map.

    DOORDASH:

    Haven’t tried DoorDash yet (Just got approved for it)

    UBER EATS:

    Uber Eats is ok when you actually get orders. I’ve had once or twice where I’ve sat for 3-4 hours at home with no order coming through. My record for one day is like $235… but I just worked 16 hours this Saturday and made $127. Get prepay tips 1 hour after delivery and after delivery submitted tips instantly. Has instant pay and removes the $0.50 fee after payout (leaving your Uber Eats account balance at negative $0.50). Navigation in app with map.

    EAT STREET:

    EatStreet is amazing if you have it near you! I highly recommend driving for them. I just started it. I worked 5.36 hours my first day and was going almost non-stop the whole time. On average my longest wait between trips was like 1-3 minutes. My longest I had 1 time I had to wait like 5-8 minutes. I ended up making $104. Has instant payout, but is unfortunately through a 3rd party app called DailyPay. There is a whopping $2.99 fee to withdraw money through instant pay and you can only access half of your total income for the pay period at any time. (first time is free). App has a map, but doesn’t provide directions. Has link to open address in your default map program for directions. They guarantee at least an average of $12 an hour minimum on your paycheck or they make up the difference. You are also a w4 employee and get taxes withdrawn immediately. One big downside is you’re required to work shifts. You can’t just go on and offline whenever you want.

    GRUBHUB:

    I’ve applied, but am on a waiting list. They aren’t currently hiring drivers in my area.

    Reply

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