Does Grubhub Pay Drivers Hourly?

Before you signup for Grubhub, it’s important to know how much you’ll make.

You’d have to be crazy to signup without knowing what the pay is like!

Quick tip: you can get cash back every time you fill up your gas tank by using the Upside app. It's free and pays out straight to your bank.

And while we’re on the subject, we actually recommend getting paid from multiple apps, but more on that later!

For now, let’s dive into Grubhub’s pay rates and find out whether or not they pay hourly.

Does Grubhub pay hourly?

Let’s start with the big question:

“Does Grubhub pay hourly?”

The answer is “no.” Grubhub does not pay drivers based on how many hours they work.

Grubhub does have a “minimum guaranteed wage,” but let’s ignore that for now.

Instead, Grubhub pays drivers per order, meaning you get paid every time you pick up an order from a restaurant and successfully deliver it to a customer.

It’s a logical system because you get paid based on your performance. Of course, it does raise new questions, like “how much do I get paid per order?”

Let’s take a closer look at earnings per order now.

How much do Grubhub drivers make per delivery?

Grubhub drivers earn a base pay of $3 per order.

The value of that order increases based on the total mileage, delivery type, time spent delivering, and region. For instance, a two-mile delivery in San Francisco will pay more than a 0.5-mile delivery in Buffalo.

All things considered, it’s normal to make $8 or more for each order you deliver.

You also have to factor in tips. Grubhub encourages customers to give tips ranging from 10-25% the price of the order, so it’s common to get a few extra bucks added on top of what Grubhub is paying you.

And by the way, Grubhub leaves you 100% of the tip, so there are no issues there.

Lastly, there are times when Grubub offers “Missions,” which are orders that pay extra. This is usually reserved for an order that isn’t picked up quickly by any other drivers. These aren’t common in some regions but can be a nice way to boost your earnings even further.

Now you know all about how earnings are calculated for each order and that you can easily make over $8 for each one, but you still might be wondering what your hourly wage will look like, so let’s talk about that next.

What is a normal hourly rate for a Grubhub driver?

Given how much your earnings can vary from one order to the next, it’s not possible to provide a perfectly accurate number.

With that said, Grubhub drivers tend to make around $18/hour.

This is much higher than minimum wage and pretty good pay, all things considered. However, you do incur a fair number of expenses when delivering for Grubhub, but before we discuss your costs, let’s double back to that minimum wage we brought up earlier.

What is Grubhub’s guaranteed minimum wage?

In order to give drivers a security blanket, Grubhub offers a guaranteed minimum wage.

In order to qualify for this, you need to work in their selected time blocks and accept a minimum threshold of orders. If you do that and your hourly pay is below that of your region’s minimum wage, Grubhub will make up the difference.

While it’s nice that they set a floor on your earnings, provided you follow all their rules, it’s really not a good place to find yourself. As we just pointed out, you can make $18/hour as a Grubhub driver, so ideally, you’ll never take advantage of their minimum guaranteed wage.

Now let’s talk about costs.

What are the expenses when delivering for Grubhub?

When delivering food orders for Grubhub, there is one major expense: gas.

If you’re driving a car to make deliveries, you will definitely want to download the Upside app, so you can get cash-back rebates every time you’re at the pump.

Additionally, you’ll need to get commercial auto insurance so you have coverage when making deliveries. This usually costs around $25/month.

And lastly, using your car this much will increase the general wear and tear on your vehicle. It’s harder to put an exact price on this, but it does add up.

With all this considered, you will want to be hitting that $18/hour and make more than minimum wage in your region to cover all these expenses.

Tips to reduce your costs

Virtually all the expenses of driving for Grubhub come from car ownership. If you’re delivering in an urban environment, you can save a ton of money by delivering on an electric scooter instead.

The 7 Best Electric Scooters for Food Delivery Drivers

A good e-scooter costs anywhere from $400-1,200 and will last you a long time. You’ll charge it up with electricity instead of expensive gas, repair costs are much cheaper, and you won’t need commercial auto insurance. Pair that with an insulated delivery bag, and you’re good to go:

The Best Food Delivery Bags for Uber Eats

If you already have a car and you’re comfortable driving it, then go for it, but we recommend considering these more economical choices as the financial differences can be vast in the long term.

Grubhub’s hourly rate for drivers

Let’s recap.

Grubhub does not pay drivers hourly. Instead, they pay drivers per order.

Grubhub does have a guaranteed minimum hourly wage, but you’ll only qualify for that if you work during designated time blocks and meet their minimum order approvals. You can make much more than minimum wage delivering for Grubhub, so this should be viewed as a backup plan, not your earnings goal.

Speaking of which, we recommend checking our Start Here page, which includes tips for multi-apping and delivery stacking.

Thanks for reading this guide on whether or not Grubhub pays hourly.

Save on gas & groceries: the Upside app gives you cash back when you fill up your tank, buy groceries, or eat out.

Best of luck with your deliveries!