DoorDash or Postmates - Driver's Requirement and Income difference between the Delivery services

So, you want to be a delivery boy or a gal! Ha! That's exactly what this means, working for DoorDash or Postmates is to choose which company you will deliver for. Or, maybe you will work for both. That's great; these companies offer perfect solutions for extra income if you own a vehicle of any kind and have the free time to deliver.

The reason these apps are so successful is that they are replacing the cost-heavy fleets owned by large delivery services and replacing them with cost-efficient independent contractors, which is a nice way of saying anyone with a car and a driving license.

Which service is better, and what do you need to do to apply for these companies?

Postmates

Postmates is a small items delivery service offering deliveries of all kinds of items from stores and shops such as office supplies and snacks as well as food deliveries from restaurants. Usually, the deliveries are for small quantities.

Postmates process is quite easy to do. All the driver needs to consider is opening the app and waiting for delivery requests to come in. There is no shift or scheduled work. Once the app is opened, and you receive a request, you drive or ride to the store or restaurant and either pick up the pre-ordered request or place the order and wait for it to be prepared. Postmates provides their drivers with a special Postmates credit card that is used to pay for the orders. The driver takes a picture of the receipt and sends it to support by the app and takes the items and delivers them to the customer.

Postmates has some basic requirements for application, they are:

  • The applicant is 18 years or older
  • Has a vehicle or bicycle, car, truck, motorcycle, or scooter
  • Owns an iPhone or Android smartphone
  • Valid US Driver's license
  • Insurance card with name on policy
  • A social security number (background check)
  • Pass the background and driving record check
  • Pass an orientation interview online or in person

Postmates requires a background check for the last seven years, so make sure you have no prior offenses or driving offenses. Checkr performs all the background checks.

Postmates Drivers Income

  • Drivers get paid a flat fee with an additional fee per minute and a calculated fee per mile between the pickup and drop-off destinations.
  • Drivers get all the tip amounts tipped by a customer through the app after the delivery has been completed.
  • Postmates offers an hourly guarantee (bonus) for drivers that accept all the requests (100%) within an hour.
  • Peak hours, known as Blitz pricing (like Ubers Surge) gives a higher rate during peak hours of the day.
  • The income generated by deliveries is paid to the driver after four to seven days.
  • The average income per hour is around $8.00 to $15.00 in most cities.

Example of income in Los Angeles

The flat rate is $1.35 which is automatic the moment a request is accepted.

The per minute rate is $0.10 for waiting at a store or restaurant

The per mile rate is $0.13 when delivering the order

So, if an order takes seven minutes to prepare and is six miles away and it takes five minutes to ride on a scooter, then the income will be:

$1.35 + $0.70 + $0.78 + $0.50 = $3.33

The overheads of this ride are the scooter fuel, insurance and mobile phone cost per minute. Taxes do apply, but they are calculated at the end of the year and depend on all the other income and expense factors.

New Postmates Sign-up Bonus ($500)

DoorDash

DoorDash is also a delivery service, but this one only delivers food. The DoorDash system of work is quite simple. Drivers for DoorDash open their app and start to receive requests. Unlike Postmates, DoorDash requires their drivers to prepare a schedule six days ahead, and drivers can enter a shift If another driver does not appear online for work. Usually, the customer places the order with the restaurant, and all you have to do is collect it. Other times the order is in the app, and the driver must place it with the restaurant and pay for it with the company credit card, the "Red Card" provided to all drivers by DoorDash. There are instances that DoorDash support will place the order and the driver only needs to pay for it at pick up with the "Red Card." Approximately one hour before a shift starts you will have to select the area you want to work in, all the requests and deliveries will be limited to the area you choose.

DoorDash has some basic requirements for application, they are:

  • The applicant is 18 years or older
  • Has a vehicle or bicycle, car, truck, motorcycle, or scooter
  • Owns an iPhone or Android smartphone
  • Valid US Driver's license
  • Insurance card with name on policy
  • A social security number (background check)
  • Pass the background and driving record check
  • Pass an orientation interview online or in person

DoorDash requires a background check for the last seven years, so make sure you have no prior offenses or driving offenses. Checkr performs all the background checks.

DoorDash Drivers Income

  • Drivers get paid a flat fee only of around $6.00 to $8.00 per delivery.
  • Drivers get all the tip amounts tipped by a customer through the app after the delivery has been completed.
  • The income generated by deliveries is paid to them on a weekly basis.

Working for DoorDash and Postmates

Both these companies offer flexible working conditions, and drivers can work for both, in fact, a lot of UberX and Lyft drivers are registered to these services as well, it fills in slow hours during the day and night.

The Pros

  • Quick and easy hiring process
  • Basic vehicle requirements that do not require special cars or car age limits
  • Usually, generates good tips and they supplement the per hour income by a further $15 to $20.
  • The work hours are flexible
  • If you cannot work for Uber or Lyft, you will be able to work for these companies, unless your background check is problematic.

The Cons

  • There is no guarantee of income; some days can be slow.
  • The expenses of driving a car are high in comparison to the income generated by deliveries.

Doordash sign up bonus referral code: 2069103961

Click here to apply:

https://bit.ly/2FI8Nl4

I only just saw this post today. If I had seen it back in 2017 I would have read it then. It’s helpful because I have been struggling with the decision to work for either of the two companies. I don’t mind driving people, but being “delivery boy” was not something I considered seriously. However, I do like to bike a lot, and this is a chance to take up the bike, be healthy and enjoy a small income. It’s not a bad brake from driving.