Is DoorDash Cheaper Than Instacart? Exploring Food Delivery Costs - Playbite (2024)

FAQs

Who is cheaper, DoorDash or Instacart? ›

Comparing DoorDash and Instacart Costs

However, when it comes to restaurant deliveries specifically, DoorDash often comes out on top with lower delivery fees for the same restaurants. DoorDash holds the top spot in the US food delivery market, thanks to its vast selection of restaurants and competitive pricing.

The tax and/or fees you pay on products purchased through the Instacart platform are the same as in a physical store. Depending on your location, the delivery or service fee may also be subject to tax. Additional fees may apply to your order depending on your city, state, province, or territory.

If you want a more leisurely but less income-intensive and part-time gig, Instacart would probably win out over DoorDash. If you want to make more money in less time and have the option of working exactly when you want, your best bet is to be a Dasher.

Instacart stands out as the food delivery service that offers the highest pay to its workers, topping the list of food delivery services. Following Instacart, Amazon Flex, Uber Eats, Postmates, Shipt, Favor, GoPuff, and DoorDash are among the top companies that compensate their delivery personnel generously.

We looked at three of the most popular national grocers with at least some form of delivery -- Amazon Fresh, Target and Walmart. In the end, Walmart nabbed the top spot as the cheapest place to buy groceries online. The big box store came out about 10% cheaper than Target and 18% cheaper than Amazon Fresh.

It turns out grocery delivery is roughly 10% more expensive than doing the shopping yourself. Because of membership, delivery fees and tipping, you might think having groceries delivered is way more expensive, but the final tallies were remarkably close.

This fee “supports the Instacart platform and covers various operating costs — including insurance, background checks and customer support,” according to the website.

How much does Instacart markup prices? Whether you shop at Costco, Walmart or Loblaws, grocery markups average at about 12%. These markups are a natural part of Instacart's business model. These markups do not account for the convenience fees and tips customers pay for delivery.

The short answer is no, DoorDash does not pay for gas for its delivery drivers. In fact, none of the top delivery services (think: Doordash drivers are paid for — DoorDash pays drivers per order, not a flat hourly rate or salary. The average DoorDash driver pay comes out to $15 to $25/hour.

What is the base pay for DoorDash? ›

Base pay is DoorDash's base contribution for each order. This will range from $2-10+ depending on the estimated time, distance, and desirability of the order.

Dasher pay is made up of three parts: base pay, customer tips, and Promotions. Promotions give you extra money for certain offers at certain times. How do I find Promotions? As a driver delivering with DoorDash, you'll often see Promotions in your Dasher app, which are extra ways to earn more.

DoorDash is the cheapest service for small orders

For all three orders under $20, DoorDash had the cheapest total cost, sometimes by a significant margin. In total, DoorDash was nearly $10 cheaper than Grubhub and about $6 cheaper than Uber Eats.

DoorDash, Inc. (NYSE:DASH) is the most popular food delivery service in the country, having an overwhelming 65% of the market share along with its subsidiaries. It is followed at second with 23% by Uber Eats, which is owned by Uber Technologies, Inc.

An Instacart+ membership gives you free delivery, but this may only be worth it depending on how often you drive to the grocery store, how much gas you use to do so and the gas prices in your city. You'll still need to pay service fees and tip.

Instacart Mark-up V.S. In-store prices

For some retail partners such as Whole Foods, the prices are the same. But for stores like Costco, Instacart has a 15%+ markup. According to Instacart “the average price of items on Instacart is 15% higher or more compared to the average price of that retailer in your local area.”

(NewsNation) — The grocery delivery service Instacart cut its base pay from $7 per order to $4, and those who fill the orders say the slash means they will rely more on tips.