How much DoorDash and Grubhub drivers make: $3 to $7 an hour

On Gridwise’s 2025 driver data, the average DoorDash driver grosses $12.43 an hour and the average Grubhub driver grosses $17.52. Take out a small sedan’s full running cost and the waiting time nobody pays for, and that comes to about $3.21 against $7.03 per logged-in hour before tax. On the same method, Instacart shoppers net about $8.22, Uber Eats $6.97 and Uber rides $6.15. Grubhub’s mileage is our assumption rather than a measured figure, so its number is the least certain.

The numbers

Assumptions: gross pay from Gridwise’s 2025 data for DoorDash and Uber and Grubhub; DoorDash miles from Gridwise’s pay per mile, and Grubhub given the same miles (our assumption, since Gridwise doesn’t report Grubhub mileage); car cost is AAA’s 2026 figure of 61.73¢ a mile for a small sedan; 75% of logged-in time is paid (our assumption); tax is 15.3% self-employment tax on profit after the 76¢ IRS mileage deduction, with income tax not included; rounded to the cent.

The inputs, numbered

Swap in your own figure for any of these.

1. Gross pay per hour. Gridwise’s 2025 averages are $23.88 for Uber rides, $18.06 for Uber Eats, $17.52 for Grubhub, $13.30 for Instacart and $12.43 for DoorDash. Gridwise defines Uber’s “active” hour as carrying a passenger or driving to pick one up, with time between trips excluded. Its delivery pages use “per work hour” without a full definition, and Instacart’s figure includes time spent shopping in the store. If any of these already include idle time, our 75% adjustment understates that app’s pay. Gridwise sells tracking tools to drivers, so it is not a neutral source, but it is the only dataset here that covers all five apps on the same basis.

2. Miles per hour. We divide gross pay by Gridwise’s pay per mile to get miles driven:

   • Uber rides: $23.88 ÷ $0.94 = 25.4 miles
   • Uber Eats: $18.06 ÷ $1.27 = 14.2 miles
   • DoorDash: $12.43 ÷ $0.94 = 13.2 miles
   • Instacart: $13.30 ÷ $3.46 = 3.8 miles
   • Grubhub: no pay per mile is published, so we assume 13.2 miles, the same as DoorDash.

   Gridwise’s own DoorDash page gives about $0.92 a mile, against the $0.94 used in its comparison data. The difference is small, and this article uses $0.94.

3. Cost per mile: 61.73¢. This is AAA’s 2026 figure for owning and running a small sedan at 15,000 miles a year, the cheapest vehicle type in its study. It is the full cost of the car, including depreciation, not just gas. AAA’s 2026 release says the 2026 totals are not directly comparable with its 2025 figures (55.87¢ for a small sedan) because the method changed.

4. Paid share of time: 75%. This is our assumption, not a sourced figure. Your app history will show your real ratio.

5. Tax. Self-employment tax is 15.3%. We apply it to profit after the IRS standard mileage deduction of 76¢ a mile, the rate for July 1 to December 31, 2026. This is a simplified estimate.

6. Rounding. Miles are rounded to one decimal place and dollars to the cent at every step, so a few totals may be a cent off.

A 4-hour dinner shift, line by line

We assume 4 hours logged in, of which 3 are paid.

The DoorDash column written out:

• Gross: 3 × $12.43 = $37.29
• Miles: 3 × 13.2 = 39.6
• Car cost: 39.6 × $0.6173 = $24.45
• Net: $37.29 − $24.45 = $12.84, and $12.84 ÷ 4 = $3.21 an hour

DoorDash vs Grubhub: where the gap comes from

Grubhub grosses 41% more per hour ($17.52 ÷ $12.43 = 1.41). Under our equal-miles assumption, the car costs the same on both apps, so the whole extra $5.09 an hour goes to profit. That is why the net figure more than doubles.

• Tips. Gridwise puts the median Grubhub tip at $8.46 an hour, about 52% of median gross pay. DoorDash tips average over $7 per active hour, and base pay is only 42 to 43% of trip pay. On both apps, customers pay more than half of your income.
• Pace. Grubhub drivers average 1.68 deliveries an hour. DoorDash’s median is 1.51.
• How base pay is set. Grubhub base pay is typically $3 to $7 before tips. It depends on estimated time and mileage and goes up for orders other drivers have declined. In scheduled blocks, Grubhub’s contribution pay makes up the difference if you earn less than a market minimum, as long as you accept enough of your offers. Gridwise says DoorDash base pay depends on distance, time and how complicated the order is.

The weak point is mileage. If Grubhub orders run 50% longer than DoorDash’s (19.8 miles an hour), the car cost rises to $12.22 an hour and Grubhub nets $3.98 per logged-in hour. That is still ahead of DoorDash, but only by 77¢. Your own trip log settles it.

DoorDash vs Instacart

Instacart grosses about the same per hour as DoorDash ($13.30 against $12.43), but it comes out ahead after costs because much of the hour is spent walking store aisles, not driving. Gridwise’s average pay per mile is $3.46, so the estimate is only 3.8 miles an hour, against DoorDash’s 13.2. Tips are about 42% of Instacart pay, and shoppers average 0.97 batches an hour.

Treat 3.8 miles as the optimistic end. Dividing an average gross by an average pay per mile can understate miles when many trips are short. Using the median pay per mile of $2.84 instead gives 4.7 miles. At double the estimate (7.7 miles), Instacart nets $6.41 per logged-in hour, still twice DoorDash’s figure.

Uber Eats vs DoorDash

On these numbers, Uber Eats is clearly ahead:

• Gross per hour: $18.06 against $12.43, 45% more.
• Miles per hour: 14.2 against 13.2, only 8% more, because Uber Eats pays $1.27 a mile against $0.94.
• Net per logged-in hour: $6.97 against $3.21.
• Median trip pay: $14.07 against $11.26.

Uber Eats tips have a median of $6.26 an hour, about 46% of per-delivery pay. Uber rides gross more than any delivery app, but use 25.4 miles an hour. That extra car cost is why rides net less than Uber Eats. Uber’s earnings page says its cut “changes each trip and week” and that the page “does not guarantee earnings.” Uber and DoorDash both say you keep 100% of tips. There is a full breakdown of the app in how to make Uber Eats worth it.

A typical week

These are Gridwise’s average weekly gross figures, with the same per-mile cost applied. Gridwise doesn’t publish weekly figures for Grubhub or Instacart.

The average Dasher works 18.8 hours to clear about $85 after the car’s full cost. The average Uber Eats driver clears more in 11.5 hours. For the full DoorDash breakdown, see is DoorDash worth it.

What changes the answer

Which car cost you count

Net per logged-in hour, before tax:

The fuel figure is AAA’s 2026 average fuel cost per mile. The average-vehicle figure is AAA’s $12,863 a year divided by 15,000 miles (our division, which matches AAA’s “nearly 86 cents”). Depreciation is AAA’s biggest single cost, at $4,422 a year. You don’t pay it at the pump, but it comes off the car’s value when you sell. The fuel-only row is the most flattering version, and it still leaves out maintenance and tires, which you pay for in cash. The more miles an app needs, the more its net falls as cost per mile rises, which is why Uber rides drop furthest and Instacart barely moves.

How much of your time is paid

This table assumes idle time is spent parked, with no extra miles.

The rows other than the headline are calculated per hour, so Instacart’s 75% row would be $8.21 that way (rounding).

Typical driver vs average driver

A few top earners pull averages up. Gridwise’s median trip pay per hour (base plus tips, without bonuses) is $11.26 for DoorDash, $15.38 for Grubhub, $12.21 for Instacart, $14.07 for Uber Eats and $21.18 for Uber rides. With miles and the 75% share held the same, net per logged-in hour becomes:

• DoorDash: ($11.26 − $8.15) × 0.75 = $2.33
• Grubhub: ($15.38 − $8.15) × 0.75 = $5.42
• Instacart: ($12.21 − $2.35) × 0.75 = $7.40
• Uber Eats: ($14.07 − $8.77) × 0.75 = $3.98
• Uber rides: ($21.18 − $15.68) × 0.75 = $4.13

A median is a different measure from an average, so read these as a direction, not exact figures. At the top end, Grubhub’s top 10% gross $24.23 an hour or more, and Uber’s top 10% gross $29.28 or more. Nine drivers in ten earn less than those figures.

Empty miles on Uber

Gridwise says 30% of the miles Uber drivers drove were idle. If the $0.94 a mile counts only paid miles, the shift actually covers 76.2 ÷ 0.70 = 108.9 miles. The car cost rises to $67.22, which leaves $4.42, or $1.11 per logged-in hour. This data doesn’t measure empty miles on the delivery apps, so their figures may be flattering too.

Where you drive

• California (Prop 22): a pay floor of 120% of local minimum wage for engaged time, plus $0.37 per engaged mile in 2026. That 37¢ is 24.73¢ short of a small sedan’s 61.73¢.
• New York City: restaurant delivery apps must pay at least $22.13 an hour before tips, from the first pay period on or after April 1, 2026. The city’s grocery delivery rules set the same rate. It says other app types are not yet covered.

Check your own city’s rules. Most places have no delivery pay floor.

Costs a per-mile figure misses

Insurance

At $6.15 an hour, Uber’s $2,500 deductible is about 407 logged-in hours of net pay. On DoorDash, you should assume every repair to your own car comes out of your pocket. DoorDash does automatically include occupational accident cover: up to $1,000,000 of medical costs, plus disability pay of 50% of average weekly earnings, capped at $500 a week. It doesn’t cover damage to your car or bike. Some personal insurers need to be told you use the car for delivery, so ask yours before the first shift. This applies to Grubhub and Instacart as well.

Cashing out

DoorDash Fast Pay costs $1.99 per cash-out, once a day, to a debit card that isn’t prepaid. Earnings you don’t cash out go out in the weekly direct deposit, and DoorDash’s Crimson account pays out instantly with no fee. One Fast Pay per 4-hour shift costs about 50¢ an hour, which is 16% of the $3.21. Uber also charges a fee for each Instant Pay transfer. The app shows the amount before you confirm.

Your phone

Every one of these apps needs a smartphone, and you pay for the data plan.

DoorDash requirements, and the other apps

From DoorDash’s requirements page:

The numbers angle: on a bike, the 61.73¢ car cost disappears, along with most of the insurance question. Gridwise’s figures cover drivers only, so this data can’t put a dollar figure on bike earnings.

Uber asks for your state’s minimum driving age, at least 1 year of licensed US driving (3 years if you’re under 25), an eligible 4-door car, proof of insurance if it’s your own car, and a check of your driving record and criminal history. Uber also takes deliveries by bike, scooter or car.

For Grubhub and Instacart, the research only found third-party guides, and they don’t agree on Grubhub’s minimum age. Most say Instacart full-service shoppers must be 18, with alcohol orders needing 21, and both apps run a background check. Confirm the current rules in each app before you sign up.

Tax: the deduction matters more than the rate

The IRS mileage rate was 72.5¢ from January 1, 2026, and Announcement 2026-11 raised it to 76¢ for July 1 to December 31, because of fuel prices. Both are above a small sedan’s 61.73¢ real cost, so taxable profit in the shift table is lower than real profit. On DoorDash, 76¢ a mile wipes out most of the profit for tax purposes ($7.19 taxable on $37.29 gross). The deduction only works if you can prove the miles, so keep a log.

• Self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare). You file Schedule SE once net earnings reach $400.
• The 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025. You still have to report gig income if you get no form.
• None of these apps withholds tax. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more, you generally need to make estimated payments.
• No Tax on Tips lets you deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips a year for 2025 to 2028, phasing out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 joint). If you’re self-employed, the deduction can’t exceed your net income from the work. It reduces income tax only, not self-employment tax. Delivery drivers earn mostly tips, but a thin profit after mileage may cap what they can deduct.

These figures are arithmetic, not tax advice. A tax professional can tell you what applies to your return.

Compared with minimum wage

Many states and cities set a minimum above $7.25, so check yours. Under these assumptions, only Instacart beats the federal floor, by 97¢, and it relies on a low mileage estimate. For hourly jobs that need no car, see best paying part-time jobs with no experience. For other options ranked the same way, see side hustles ranked by after-tax pay per hour.

Verdict in one number

$3.21 an hour. That is what an average DoorDash hour nets once a small sedan’s full cost and unpaid waiting are counted, before tax. Grubhub, Instacart and Uber Eats all clear about twice that on the same assumptions.