If you’re thinking of signing up to deliver with DoorDash, this can be a great way to become your own boss and make extra money in your spare time.
Knowing the right ways to maximize your earnings can make a huge difference in your income.
How much money you can make as a Dasher depends on a variety of factors, but the top-earning Dashers are always looking for ways they can work smarter to make more per hour.
Here you’ll learn the best tips to help you make $1,000 a week with DoorDash.
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Table of Contents
1. Find the best time to dash
The best time of day to dash depends on your location. You’ll need to figure it out based on the hotspots in your market and what days of the week, and time of day people are likely to order food.
Based on other Dasher’s experience, here’s what they recommend:
The two best timeslots per day are usually 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
11:00 am to 2:00 pm (Busy time of day)
Lunchtime can get pretty busy, especially near office buildings and condos where people work from home.
It’s a short time slot, but it can be a great way to increase your DoorDash earnings if you’re available. You can take your own lunch break before or after this prime time lunch window.
4:30 pm to 10:00 pm (Busiest time of day)
This is the busiest time of day for restaurants and food delivery services, especially on the weekend.
Some restaurants are only open for dinner, so this will give you even more opportunities to get higher DoorDash orders.
Keep in mind that this is the time most Dashers will be delivering orders. So if you want to work these hours, I recommend booking them in advance in the DoorDash app.
Depending on your location, you may also find dashing in the morning (6:00 am to 9:00 am) or late at night (after 10:00 pm) can be a great time to make money faster on DoorDash.
6:00 am to 9:00 am (Sometimes busy on the weekend)
If you don’t mind working early in the morning, there isn’t a lot of competition for delivering breakfast orders.
More and more people are placing breakfast orders in big cities, especially on the weekends.
Bagel, donut, and coffee orders are popular at office buildings on Friday mornings. It all depends on your location.
However, if you’re in a smaller town, you probably won’t see many breakfast orders (or lunchtime orders), so you’ll have to dash during the dinner hours.
After 10:00 pm (Busy on Friday and Saturdays)
If you’re dashing in a large city, this can be a good time to work because there will be less competition and sometimes, you’ll receive larger tips.
If you’re in a small town though, it can be a hit or miss. Many of the larger restaurants close after 10:00 pm and only fast-food restaurants are open.
If the lobby of the fast-food restaurant is closed, that means you’ll have to wait in the drive thru, which could take 30+ minutes to get the order.
You’ll need to test it yourself to find the highest-paying timeslots where you live.
2. Prioritize high-tipping areas
As a Dasher, the money you earn will be a combination of your base pay, promotions that you take part in (such as Peak Pay), and tips given by customers.
Base Pay + Promotions + Tips = Total Earnings
One way to boost your earnings with DoorDash is to prioritize deliveries to areas known for high tipping.
While it’s tempting to make deliveries close to home, you’ll have to experiment with different zones to figure out which neighborhoods have customers that tip generously.
Once you get familiar with these markets, memorize who the big tippers are and where they live so you can easily spot their house on the map when an order comes up.
If you want to make money faster on DoorDash, you need to work in areas where people can afford the service. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of low-cost orders.
3. Get familiar with the hotspots
A hotspot is an area that has a high concentration of orders. You’ll usually see hotspots in the DoorDash app near areas with many restaurants. They’ll be displayed as a circle with a flame icon.
You can still receive orders even if the DoorDash app isn’t showing any available hotspots. This just means that there isn’t any location busy enough to create a hotspot at this time.
If you want to increase your chances of receiving more orders, simply position yourself close to a hotspot. Or if there are no hotspots available, head to your favorite area to wait for orders.
For example, you may drive to a neighborhood that has a lot of popular restaurants or park at a mall with multiple restaurants. That way, you can pick up orders quickly.
4. Make extra cash with Peak Pay
Sometimes DoorDash offers incentives to help you earn extra money by completing a certain number of deliveries or paying you more per order.
The promotions can vary between Dashers and will depend on different factors, such as how new they are to the platform, or the location and time of day.
Peak Pay can be a great way to increase your DoorDash earnings. This is usually offered when the weather is bad (rain or snow) or late in the evening when most Dashers have gone home.
5. Provide great customer service
Following a customer’s instructions and delivering their food in a timely manner can be a good way to receive better tips and a good rating.
I see many suggestions for new Dashers to send updates to the customer about their order.
For example, sending the customer a message to let them know when you arrive at the restaurant, when you receive the order, and when you’re 5 minutes away from the delivery address.
Unless the customer requested to be updated with every step along the way, this is absolutely NOT necessary.
Most customers ONLY want to be contacted for the following reasons:
When there’s a delay with their order
If you’re stuck in traffic or the restaurant is really busy, it’s important to let the customer know so they aren’t surprised when their food shows up past the estimated time of arrival.
When a substitution is needed
If you’re delivering a shopping order, let the customer know that you’re at the store to pick up the order and an item needs to be replaced.
When you’ve delivered the item if you’re doing contactless delivery
If the customer requested contactless delivery or didn’t answer when you knocked on their door, send them a message to let them know that their order is there.
6. Maximize your tax write-offs
Another way to make more money on DoorDash is to get familiar with tax write-offs so you can keep more of your earnings.
As a DoorDash driver, you’re an independent contractor, not an employee. This means you need to think like a business owner.
You’ll need to spend money on basic things like car or bike maintenance, gas, and your cell phone plan to make deliveries. These are business expenses which can be written off on your taxes.
And if you want to invest in other things like a new mount for your phone or better-quality courier bags, these expenses can also be written off.
Below are some more potential tax-write offs that Dashers can look for:
- A portion of your cell phone bill
- A portion of your gas costs
- Car or bike repairs and maintenance
- Car insurance
- Car lease payments
- Bike and helmet
- Hot and cold bags for delivering food
- Parking and toll fees
7. Pay attention to the weather
People order food in both good and bad weather conditions. If you’re only making delivers when the weather is nice, you might be missing out on earning some extra cash.
Many Dashers go home when it’s raining or snowing, which means that there will usually be less competition in poor weather, and you’ll have a better chance of receiving more orders.
Your safety is a priority though, so never put yourself in danger just to make money.
8. Pay attention to holidays and events
Fridays and Saturdays are not the only popular times for food delivery. You’ll also want to keep an eye on holidays and when major TV events are happening.
This is usually when there’s a huge surge in demand for DoorDash. Below are some busy times to work.
Bustiest holidays for food delivery
Christmas, New Year’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Easter are the busiest holidays for food delivery.
New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving are also popular times.
Fridays before a major holiday are also busy. If a holiday falls on a weekday, the weekends before or after the holiday may see a spike in food deliveries.
Popular TV events for food delivery
Superbowl, NBA finals, Men’s College basketball finals, the World Series are busy times.
9. Pick up batched orders
Batched orders are when you accept multiple delivery requests that can be combined in a single trip. This can allow you to earn more money and maximize your time spent on the road.
They usually happen during peak delivery hours, but they can also happen at anytime.
When you receive a batched offer in your app, you’ll see multiple delivery requests available on your Dash Screen.
Sometimes you can pick up batched orders at the same restaurant, which can help increase your earnings and save you time, but this isn’t always the case.
Before accepting a batched offer, you’ll want to consider where the delivery will take you. For example, if it takes you out of a hotspot into the middle of nowhere, then it may not be worth driving all the way back.
10. Try Door Dash’s Earn by Time Mode
When you Dash, you can choose to be paid either by the hour (Earn by Time) or per order (Earn per Offer).
Earn by Time mode is a way for you to earn money in a reliable manner. When you choose this option, you’ll earn a minimum guaranteed active hourly rate while on delivery.
This rate is based on your active time, which is the time you are engaged in completing an order.
Earn by Time mode can be good to use on slow days or during slower times. This is because you don’t have to worry about deciding which offers are worth accepting and which ones to reject.
For example, you’ll still earn if there are long waits at restaurants or in the drive thru, if you hit unexpected traffic, or if there are other delays.
11. Know which deliveries to avoid
To maximize your time and boost your earnings, it’s important to be selective about which orders you choose to accept.
Most experienced Dashers recommend aiming for a base pay of at least $2 per mile with a $7 minimum order. Try to go for the highest pay with the lowest milage.
$1.50 per mile might be okay if you’re delivering to another hotspot, but of course you’ll want to use your own judgement.
Get familiar with your area and keep track of which restaurants have long wait times during busy hours. Only accept orders from those restaurants outside of their peak hours.
Here’s some more orders you should avoid:
Walmart groceries
Most of the time orders from big box stores like Walmart and Safeway will consist of delivering groceries, not food.
The number of bags you’ll be required to deliver is unpredictable compared to a restaurant delivery.
For example, if you’re delivering to an apartment building, you may have to carry several large bags of groceries up to the 6th floor because the elevator is busy or not running.
Orders away from hotspots
Anything over five miles should only be accepted if the pay covers at least the hourly minimum wage or takes you to another hotspot.
For example, if the minimum wage in your state or province is $15 per hour, you don’t want to accept an order that’s $10.
By the time you deliver the order and drive back, it may not be worth your time.
Fast food drive thrus
After 9:00pm, many fast-food restaurants close their lobbies, which means everyone is forced to go through the drive thru.
Depending on the day, this can easily be a 30+ minute wait, which isn’t worth your time for a low-cost order.
Eventually you’ll learn which restaurants are consistently on time (accept these orders) and which times of day to avoid certain restaurants (so you don’t get stuck waiting in the drive thru).
12. Know when to unassign orders
As a Dasher, you’ll need to maintain a 90% competition rate or higher to avoid DoorDash deactivation. This means if you completed 90 of your last 100 orders, your competition rate is 90%.
Your competition rate will increase when you make sure that every order you accept is delivered to the customer.
But there are some circ*mstances when it makes sense to unassign an order to help you make the most money.
For example, if you arrive to the restaurant and find out that the order won’t be ready for about 20 to 40 minutes, then you should unassign the order.
Or if you get to the restaurant and find out the lobby is closed and there’s a huge wait in the drive thru, cancel the order.
13. Schedule your dashes in advance
Areas become greyed out on the map when it’s filled with DoorDash drivers, which means you can’t dash there. This is common in zones with a lower volume of orders or slower areas.
To make sure you don’t miss out on being able to make money, always schedule dashes in advance whenever possible.
Early Access Scheduling allows you to schedule your dashes 6 days in advance. This ensures that you can dash in your zone and choose the hours you want to work, which makes it easy to plan out your week.
14. Double check your deliveries
Most restaurants staple the take-out bag or seal it with a sticker, so you won’t be able to double check the order to make sure that everything is included.
But you can make sure you follow the customer’s instructions and deliver the order to the right address. This can help you get more tips and improve your ratings.
For example, I used to live in a condo building and many people complained that food delivery services left their food outside the wrong unit or didn’t follow their instructions.
Most of the time, DoorDash customers leave pretty simple instructions. But if you come across something confusing, you can always reach out to the customer to ask about it.
15. Keep hot and cold food separate
Another way to increase your tips and get good ratings is to make sure that you keep hot and cold items separate.
The last thing a customer wants to receive is melted ice cream or cold pizza. This can obviously ruin the food delivery, and a lower rating is given or the customer stops using DoorDash going forward.
To prevent this, always use an insulated food delivery bag and avoid putting hot and cold items next to eachother in the same bag.
16. Restart the Door Dash app regularly
Sometimes the DoorDash app can experience technical issues, which means you won’t be able to receive any orders and earn money.
If you think the app might have crashed or is acting buggy, just take a minute to restart the app. This won’t delete any of your data, and it can help you get new orders so you can get back to making deliveries.
17. Write the customer’s name on the bag
If you’re trying to juggle multiple deliveries due to batched orders, it can be helpful to write the customer’s name on the bag.
Restaurants will usually attach a receipt to the outside of the bag with the customer’s name on it, but not always.
This can help you avoid confusion and ensure that you deliver the order to the correct address, which can lead to higher tips and improved ratings.
18. Avoid using Fast Pay (if possible)
Fast Pay allows Dashers in the United States and Canada to cash out their earnings daily for a fee of $1.99.
While this can be a great option if you need cash right now, that fee of $1.99 can really eat into your earnings if you’re using Fast Pay a lot.
19. Use other food delivery apps
One way to make more money is to work for multiple delivery apps. If you’re driving for just DoorDash, you’re missing out on the potential to maximize your earnings.
You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket and many gig workers do multi-apping to help them get as many orders as possible.
Below are some of the best DoorDash alternatives:
- UberEats
- GrubHub
- AmazonFlex
- Instacart
- Shipit
- Postmates
- Skipthedishes
20. Figure out your minimum delivery rate per mile
DoorDash provides your base pay, which is the minimum payment for mileage. The rest of your earnings will come from customer tips and promotions (such as Peak Pay).
Experienced Dashers will always set a minimum delivery rate per mile to help them make more money.
As I already mentioned, I recommend aiming for a base pay of at least $2 per mile with a $7 minimum order.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to increase DoorDash earnings?
The best ways to increase your DoorDash earnings are to dash during busy times, traveling to popular hotspots, and working when Peak Pay is in effect. These can all help you make the most money with DoorDash.
How to get higher DoorDash orders?
The best way to get higher DoorDash orders is to improve your ratings, increase your completion rate, schedule your dashes in advance, regularly restarting the app, and working in the popular hotspots. This can help you make the most money on DoorDash.
How can I make money faster on DoorDash?
To make money faster on DoorDash, you’ll want to make deliveries to areas that are known for higher tips. Find out which neighborhoods are more likely to have customers who tip generously and prioritize these hotspots areas.
How long to make $500 with DoorDash?
You’ll need to work at least 20-30+ hours per week to make $500 with DoorDash. The amount of money you make will depend on your location, the time of day you work, and being selective about which orders you accept to maximize your earnings.
Does DoorDash pay for gas?
Unfortunately DoorDash does not pay for your gas, but they have a Gas Rewards program where eligible drivers in the U.S. can get 10% cash back on gas through DasherDirect.
They also offer a weekly gas bonus for those who accept and complete orders totaling 100 miles in a motor vehicle.
You can also write off a portion of your gas on your taxes. Always keep track of your mileage.
