How Much Does Uber Eats Pay per Delivery? A Comprehensive Guide

Being one of the most widely used and popular food delivery apps across the globe, Uber Eats has become a noteworthy source of income for drivers.

A report shows that the aggregate earnings of Uber Eats couriers and drivers were $7.9 billion in 2021. However, many gig workers are confused about the payment system for Uber Eats drivers.

So, how much does Uber Eats pay per delivery? What are the factors affecting the payout? And what are the requirements to become an Uber Eats driver? We have covered answers to all these questions in this blog. It will provide additional information to help make an informed decision about working for the company.

Alright then, let’s dive in!

What is Uber Eats?

Uber Eats is a leading global food delivery service platform that connects customers with their favorite restaurants. With operations spread over 6,000 cities globally, Uber Eats helps deliver food to customers’ doorsteps in the best condition.

In return, Uber Eats charges a commission fee that can vary based on the restaurant’s plan. On average, it typically falls between 15% and 30%. It helps restaurants increase sales of dine-in and delivery orders, increasing job opportunities for independent delivery drivers.

Uber drivers delivering food have the option to accept or reject delivery orders based on their preferences and earn a worthwhile commission as per cost, location, and other factors.

How does Uber Eats Work?

For Uber Eats Users:

• Users can order food by downloading the Uber Eats app and creating an account.
• After creating an account, users can place orders from available restaurants.
• The app allows users to track their deliveries in real-time.
• Users receive their food via doorstep delivery.
• They have the option to rate and provide feedback on their orders.

For Uber Eats Delivery Partners (Drivers):

• Individuals interested in becoming drivers need to sign up.
• They must meet specific vehicle requirements.
• A background check is a mandatory part of the sign-up process.
• Drivers can go online within the app to accept delivery requests when they are available.
• Upon accepting a request, drivers pick up the food order from the restaurant.
• The next step is to deliver the order to the customer’s specified location.
• Drivers’ earnings are calculated based on factors such as distance traveled and time taken.
• Drivers can receive ratings and feedback from both customers and restaurants.

Overall, Uber Eats offers a flexible and efficient platform for food delivery, benefiting both customers and delivery drivers.

Understanding the Uber Eats Driver Compensation Model

Uber Eats drivers make a decent income through the platform due to the vast earning opportunities available in the company. The total income for an Uber Eats driver can vary from person to person.

Typically, Uber Eats drivers earn around $17.05 per hour or more in the United States, based on location, time, and demand.

Uber Eats driver employees can operate in the highest-paying cities to ensure a higher Uber Eats base pay and earnings.

The highest-paying cities for Uber Eats delivering food:

• New York City
• Austin
• Portland
• Houston
• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Los Angeles

Being an Uber Eats delivery driver, you can choose the top cities to earn higher payouts and maintain a steady flow of delivery orders and income.

Key Factors That Influence Uber Eats Drivers’ Earnings

The company states that the delivery partners are paid based on the combination of a trip supplement, delivery fares, promotions, and tips the customers receive. But there are fluctuations in the payouts during the real delivery operations.

You must understand the Uber Eats pay model to earn more with your delivery requests and filter the delivery acceptance.

1. Base pay structure

The payout model for Uber Eats delivery drivers primarily involves a base fare, which considers:

• Drop-off fee: A standard rate for each food order delivered to its destination.
  Example: Delivering multiple orders to the same location earns a fee for each order.
• Pickup fee: Payment for traveling to the restaurant to collect a food order.
  Example: Picking up orders from multiple restaurants in one delivery results in a multiplied pickup fee.
• Distance: A per-mile rate calculated between the restaurant and the drop-off location, based on the most fuel-efficient route.

Tip: Using optimized and short delivery routes (via the Uber Eats app or other software) can help maximize earnings.

Furthermore, drivers can earn more through surge pricing during peak hours and high-demand periods. 

Factors influencing surge pricing include:

• Peak hours and busiest days: Times with increased demand for food delivery.
• Promotions and incentives: Additional offers to encourage drivers during high-demand times.
• Bonus earnings: During high-demand, drivers can earn a percentage-based bonus (ranging from 10% to 50%) on top of their Uber Eats base pay per order

2. Trip supplements and surge pricing

In specific circumstances, Uber Eats may apply a trip supplement in addition to the base pay.

Here are the three situations:

• Traffic is higher than the estimated usual
• Very high wait times than usual at the pickup location
• Areas where there is  a shortage of drivers, but the demand for deliveries is high

3. Uber delivery promotions

The delivery drivers can witness surge promotions for specific areas or local restaurants where the orders are increasing. The marketing strategies can help the delivery drivers increase the total payout and handle the peak delivery orders with finesse.

For example, Uber delivery drivers working in New York can spot a higher base fare or drop-off fee within the busy areas in the city compared to rural areas with limited delivery orders.

4. Customer tip opportunities

An additional source of income for the driver during the completion of food delivery services is getting great tips from the customers. Uber Eats directs all the customer tips to the delivery driver’s savings bank account, and there’s no split.

An exceptionally friendly customer service during delivery operations can help delivery drivers earn decent tips from Uber Eats customers and get instant pay into their accounts.

5. Hourly pay guarantees

A minimum guaranteed earning for working during specific hours. However, the availability varies by market. It costs typically between $10 to $20 per hour, subject to meeting specific requirements.

6. Incentives for completing a certain number of deliveries

These are the extra payments when you achieve delivery milestones within a particular timeframe. These also vary based on market and specific promotional strategies. Drivers can earn a bonus between $50 and $100 to complete a set of deliveries within a desired time frame.

How much do Uber Eats drivers earn per delivery?

Food delivery demand depends on various factors, such as occasions and days of the week. For instance, delivery demands rise, leading to a surge in orders. 

As each delivery is a distinct task, Uber Eats labels it “earnings per task”. It can go up or down throughout the year. However, drivers generally manage to earn around $9 – $10 per delivery. 

How Much Does Uber Eats Earn Per Hour?

While the exact earnings depend on how many deliveries Uber Eats drivers make per hour, it can vary between $10 to $20 per hour. 

Steps to Become an Uber Eats Driver

Step 1: Check availability 

The primary step to working as an Uber Eats driver is to determine if there is an availability of food delivery service is available in your locality. If you see that it is available, you must ensure that you fulfill the driver requirements, as we have discussed below.

Step 2: Sign up 

Visit the Uber Eats website or download the Uber Eats app and sign up to become a delivery driver. You will have to register with your details, including name, contact details, and identity proof.

Step 3: Complete the background check

After signing up, the Uber Eats team will conduct a background check on you as part of their policies and hiring process. The process will usually be on your driving records and criminal history, and may take some days to complete.

Step 4: Start accepting deliveries

After finishing all the above steps, you will be able to accept Uber Eats delivery requests through the app. You can work flexibly based on your schedule.

Real-World Uber Eats Driver Earnings

Uber Eats delivery drivers make an average of about $19 an hour, which would amount to roughly $760 weekly and about $3,200 monthly if they work 40 hours per week.

Earnings Comparison across Different Regions

According to ZipRecruiter, the top three cities where drivers earn the highest Uber Eats salaries are: 

• Berkeley, California ($50,004)
• Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia ($47,548)
• Daly City, California ($47,323)

Moreover, they can differ from one city to another due to different factors, including the number and popularity of local restaurants that impact order volumes. Competition with food delivery services can also impact the share of revenue of each app.

Tips to Maximize Your Uber Eats Income

Below are the tips to increase your Uber Eats income.

1. Work for more hours to increase your income. However, you must ensure you don’t exceed the 12-hour limit in 24 hours, as per Uber’s guidelines. 
2. Another way to earn more is driving at peak times when thousands of people order meals online. At this time of demand surge, Uber Eats encourages more drivers by paying out twice the payouts in normal times. So, you can consider boosting your income by driving these times.
3. Besides choosing the peak demand time, you should also look for the days when you can earn more. For instance, weekends and holiday seasons, or times around lunch or dinner, where you can have more earning potential. 
4. Leverage driver promotions to get rewarded for completing deliveries, such as total completed journeys and trips per hour.
5. Optimize routes based on traffic, customers’ preferred time windows, and priority to reduce travel time and distance and complete more deliveries daily.

Uber Eats Driver Reviews

Overall, there are mixed Uber Eats driver reviews, with some of them reporting a positive experience, whereas others report some challenges. 

Here are a few reviews that will help you understand the experience of Uber Eats drivers:

1. Easy to start: 

Many drivers have appreciated the easy onboarding process, which allows them to start working quickly after signing up. This makes the platform quite effective in terms of the hiring process.

2. Incentives and bonuses: 

The bonuses and incentives offered by Uber Eats make it a praiseworthy company to work for. Drivers get certain incentives for working during peak hours or after completing a particular number of deliveries.

3. Work flexibility: 

Flexible work hours are a commendable benefit that comes with Uber Eats, as reported by many drivers. This allows them to work as per their schedule and make money as a side hustle as well. 

4. Inconsistency: 

While there are lucrative benefits, Uber Eats’ earnings can sometimes be inconsistent. This is due to irregularity in getting enough deliveries and lower demands, which can affect them from earn a decent wage.

5. Accessibility: 

Some drivers have reported the user-friendliness of the app, which makes it smooth to complete deliveries. However, other Uber Eats drivers have noticed glitches during peak hours and raised issues with the app.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Uber Eats Delivery

Getting an overview of the pros and cons offered by the platform can help you make a wise career decision.

To overcome the cons, you can use professional route planning software to help you access the shortest and most optimized delivery routes to minimize expenses and boost productivity.

You can get a better uptime that can remove the hassles of inefficiencies of the Uber Eats driver app.

But choosing the best route planner for your Uber Eats delivery operations can be overwhelming. Our team has filtered the best software for you to make more money and generate extra cash for managing your lifestyle.

Deliver Food Faster Than Ever with Routes Optimized Through Upper Route Planner

Upper Route Planner is an advanced route planning software that helps you streamline your food delivery operations by giving optimized and shortest delivery routes. This means you can save fuel, increase your efficiency level, and deliver more parcels with this efficient routing process. Here’s how Upper benefits you:

1. Complete More Deliveries Per Shift

Upper gives you the shortest, most efficient routes, factoring in one-ways, tolls, and traffic so you waste no time between stops.

2. Maximize Your Time on the Road

Smart stop sequencing means you’re always headed to the next best drop-off, helping you stay in motion and off the brakes.

3. Handle Multi-Order Runs Like a Pro

Upper automatically organizes multiple pickups and drop-offs into one seamless, time-saving route. Less backtracking, more earnings!

4. Cut Fuel Costs to Keep More of What You Earn

With fewer miles driven and zero detours, you save money on fuel, boosting your net take-home per delivery.

5. Get More Tips with On-Time Arrivals

Upper helps you stay on schedule and update customers with real-time ETAs, leading to better service and higher ratings.

6. Protect Every Delivery with Instant Proof

Collect photos, signatures, or notes at each stop so you’re always backed up in case of disputes or order issues.

Is It Worth Driving for Uber Eats?

Now that we have discussed the key parameters of how Uber Eats drivers are paid and other aspects of the work, the final decision lies with you. Whether it is worth driving for Uber Eats or not depends on your personal preferences and circumstances. 

You can try driving for Uber Eats if you’re looking for a flexible job that comes with a lucrative earning potential. However, you must be open to the challenges associated with the job.

While you may have a lot of delivery routes to cater to, route planning must not be your burden. Getting an intelligent route planner like Upper can help you save a lot of on-road time and fuel costs. You can start using the advanced software by signing up for a 3-days free trial.