19 Best DoorDash Hacks For Both Dashers & Users [Must Read!]

DoorDash is one of the most buzzed food delivery and ordering platforms lately with its services in more than 7000 cities across the United States, Canada, and Australia. This widely operating food delivery company offers vast job opportunities to many.

One of the most happening job opportunities they offer is of a DoorDash delivery driver, usually known as a Dasher.

While some take it up as a full-time job, many do it on a side job basis. Whatever it may be, the ultimate goal is to make money. In fact, more money.

While it may not be easy to earn a lumpsum amount through delivery driver jobs, we offer specific tips to help you make the most out of this gig.

Without any more delays, let us dive into the article to learn all those DoorDash hacks to make more money. On a secret note, we have a few hacks for the customers as well. Get reading already!

 

 

 

How DoorDash Works For Dashers?

Before knowing the tips and tricks to hack DoorDash for more earnings, let us first have a brief insight into how it actually works.

Like all other delivery jobs, you will be doing the following things as a dasher:

In return for doing all this, you will be paid per order by DoorDash and a tip from the customers.

In addition to the base pay and tips, you will also get access to promotions, such as peak pay and challenges, that allow you to earn more during busy times and by reaching specific targets respectively.

The best part is that you will be an independent contractor, which means you are free to work on flexible schedules.

While this is about it in short, here are a few key points that will give an overall picture to those who want to join as a DoorDash driver:

• Your age should be 18 years or more to drive for them.
• Need to have a vehicle (car/scooter/bicycle).
• You must have a smartphone.
• Documentation that includes a driver’s license, insurance, etc.
• Your consent to a background check is also mandatory.

Once you are equipped with all these, you must sign up as a dasher on their website or app.

And there you go.

Read: How To Make $500 A Week With DoorDash?

 

The Best DoorDash Hacks For Drivers

It is all about making more money than average.

DoorDash drivers usually make an average of $25 per hour, including 100% of the tips. Here is a set of DoorDash hacks for you to cross that borderline average pay and earn more.

 

1. Work More In Peak Hours

There is a famous saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Peak hours are one such challenging time that not all dashers can handle gracefully.

Make yourselves stand out at such busy times by taking up more orders and handling them efficiently.

As mentioned above, DoorDash has a promotion program named Peak Pay that enables you to earn extra money in extra ways during peak hours. These peak hours may vary depending on the location so make sure you are looking out for the right one.

You can often find these kinds of promotions under the ‘promos’ tab in your dasher app.

 

2. Schedule Orders in Advance

All days won’t be the same. Some days, orders strike the peak, and some days go with just a couple of orders. However, you can also make more out of those low days using the scheduling hack.

The latest Early Scheduling feature on the DoorDash drivers’ app will allow you to schedule your shifts well in advance by finding busy points for the next 6 days starting at 3 P.M each day.

You can also find the scheduled orders available during that time, and you can grab them as well.

By using this feature, you will have less competition and more orders to fulfill, therefore, more money to make.

However, you are expected to fulfill the following criteria for you to unlock the early scheduling feature. They include:

• Driver rating of at least 4.6 plus a completion rate of at least 95%. You must also have fulfilled at least 5 deliveries between 12 A.M. of the previous Friday and 11:59 P.M. of the previous Thursday.
• Driver rating of at least 4.6 plus a completion rate of 95%. And you also must have accepted and completed 500 lifetime deliveries.

Found yourselves meeting these bars? Head onto the schedule tab on the DoorDash website now.

Read:

• 10 Companies Offering Flexible Food Delivery Jobs.
• 14 Best Delivery Driving Jobs For Retirees.

 

3. Prioritize Caviar Orders

Caviar is another popular food delivery platform that was acquired by DoorDash a couple of years ago. Since the acquisition in 2019, all orders placed on Caviar have been redirected to DoorDash.

Caviar is known for its abundant customer base and its partnership with restaurants with pricey menus. We hope now the clouds are clear as to why prioritizing caviar orders is on the list of our DoorDash hacks.

Yes, abundant customers mean a lot of orders to fulfill, and the expensive menu implies a significant tip percentage.

But how to differentiate the caviar orders on the DoorDash app?

There are two major ways to distinguish the caviar orders from the DoorDash ones. They are:

1. The caviar orders usually appear with a small orange-colored caviar icon on the order details page.
2. The automated message you receive upon accepting an order also helps you identify.

So next time you get an order, look out for these signs and grab it up in the flick of a moment because dashers are often after such good deals and don’t have to miss it though.

By any chance, if you accept a non-caviar order by mistake, you can always cancel it if you wish to do so.

 

4. Look For Hidden Tip Orders

Look out for tips when you receive an order, and go for the one that offers the best tip. This is one of those DoorDash hacks for drivers that will become easy to apply as they gain experience.

We have unlocked that hack for you below here!

DoorDash displays the tip in the order details for all orders, but there is a specific type of order that will need you to deliver in a fixed time period, and mostly in such cases, the tips are hidden or masked.

Such orders usually display the order’s total value, including the customer tip. You quickly identify them because they come with an alert that “tip might be higher”/”total might be higher.”

Again you can confirm whether the tip is higher or not by looking at the last digits of the total amount. If it ends with a 0 or 5, you can be assured that the tip is no less than an average of $7 to $8.

This hack is more useful during peak times because you will get to choose the ones with good tips among the flowing number of orders. At the same time, you will be able to earn more without overwhelming yourself.

 

5. Have Another Delivery App Ready

It is not a bad idea to work for multiple delivery services. There are many similar apps like DoorDash out there.

People call this technique dual-apping or multi-apping, and you can start doing it once you settle well with DoorDash deliveries.

This hack will be helpful in keeping your orders flowing when working during non-peak hours. So your hourly earnings don’t drop below the average at any time.

Some of the most popular delivery apps you can signup for along with DoorDash include:

• UberEats
• Instacart
• GrubHub
• Amazon Flex, etc.

You can sign up with these apps to fill up your slow time on DoorDash. While this should be your initial goal, you can always compare the deals across these apps and choose the best ones.

This is one of those DoorDash hacks that are great for dashers who can work only during a specific time of the day.

Also read: Shipt Vs. Instacart – Which One Is The Best For Delivery Agents?

 

6. Wait Near Ghost Kitchens

Most of you might be aware that ghost kitchens are restaurants without space to dine in and only offer door delivery or takeaways.

This is because these kitchens are usually outlets set up by cooking professionals who partner with more than one restaurant in that area.

Customers don’t have an idea of this because they usually order from the restaurant, but your pickup point will be these ghost kitchens.

You need to hunt in these places to make more bucks. Since there is no way to get food from such places except door delivery, you will always find some orders there.

So look out for the ghost kitchens that partner with DoorDash and drive to the most-rated one before your shift starts.

 

7. Avoid Becoming Top Dasher On DoorDash

First of all, if anyone of you doesn’t know, let us clarify that Top Dasher is a program by DoorDash to increase the order acceptance rate by the dashers.

But to become a DoorDasher, you need to meet specific standards that are mentioned as follows:

While that’s about it in brief, being the top dasher also comes with upsides and downsides. Let’s have a look at the ups and downs of top dashers.

Pros

DoorDash offers the following benefits if you become their top dasher.

• You will be prioritized to get new orders even on low-traffic days.
• You can schedule to dash at any time.

Cons

The disadvantages of this program usually appear in the long run, which is an effect of you initially trying to meet the top dasher criteria.

• Your earnings will be affected as you will accept any order despite its worth just to increase your acceptance rate.
• This program is beneficial only in rural areas or low-traffic areas.
• You will miss out on desirable orders that usually pay high.

Normal dashers not only get to make more by using several other DoorDash hacks but can also benefit from order desirability in their earnings.

Because the pay of a dasher usually depends on three components:

While an order is usually rejected, DoorDash forwards it to other dashers with higher base pay.

If it is rejected again, the same process repeats, and the desirability of the order only goes up, making it beneficial for the one who accepts it finally.

Top dashers don’t have this opportunity because it is they who initially reject these orders, thereby increasing the base pay value.

If you have come reading this far, we are sure you have made your decision, and we need not tell you more.

Also read:

• 44 Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra Income
• 30 Proven Online Jobs That Pay Through PayPal

 

8. Get a Dasher Direct Card For Prompt Payments

Usually, you will receive weekly payments to your bank account or daily payments to the same for a small fee.

But to get your payment within minutes for free with some added benefits, you can choose the DasherDirect card as your payment option.

DasherDirect card is a business visa card provided by DoorDash through Stride Bank, member FDIC, to which your earnings will be deposited. This is a fully-featured secure card.

Following are the perks of applying for a DasherDirect card on your dasher app:

So get your DasherDirect card now to get your complete earnings with no cuts but extra rewards.

Also read: 71 Online Jobs That Pay Daily (Some Instantly)

 

9. Use Dasher Direct Card To Earn Cashbacks on Gas Expenses

Saving money is similar to earning more, especially in the case of gas. Yes, you got that right. Fuel is the vital thing you will be spending on to earn through this gig.

Your earnings should be worth your gas expenses. So, how do we make it worth it?

Though DoorDash doesn’t provide fuel expenses, you can still draw benefits by using this DoorDash hack.

When you pay for fuel using your direct dasher card, you’ll earn 2% cashback on your order.

The cashback will be reflected as soon as your purchase is fulfilled. You can find the cashback rewards in your DasherDirect mobile app, which can be redeemed from there.

You can also use different shopping sites to save some bucks on an identical product priced highly elsewhere.

And platforms like Swagbucks & Rakuten are good additions to your phone to make some extra bucks in terms of discounts and offers.

 

10. Make Combo Dashes Work For You

This is the ultimate DoorDash hack to get more orders. As the name itself suggests, you will be accepting orders and delivering them combined.

Combo Dashes are an excellent task, but at the same time, if you are efficient enough in handling them, then these can be an excellent way for you to make more money.

You can often find such orders on DoorDash because it uses a patented order-combining technology that offers a discount to customers for making a combined order.

It is quite an attractive offer for the customers. These customers usually live in close proximity, such as within a colony or hostel, apartments, etc.

However, the restaurants they ordered from may or may not be in close proximity, which is why we quoted the delivery of these orders as a task earlier.

Eventually, you will save on gas, fulfill multiple orders at a time, and earn more tips as well.

 

DoorDash Hacks For Free Food

Free food! What say?!

So here is a list of secret hacks that we promised for DoorDash customers at the beginning of this post. Try your favorite or wishlist delicacies by using these DoorDash hacks for free food.

 

1. Use Promo Codes

Promo codes are always available on the DoorDash app to get new customers and keep the existing customers coming back.

There are hundreds of new promos every day at a number of their partner restaurants, along with on-demand delivery.

You can find these promo codes by entering your zip code in the promotions section on their website or app. This is one of the most straightforward hacks you can try on DoorDash for free food.

These offers keep regularly changing, so keep updating yourselves to make the most out of them.

Read: 28 Ways To Get Free Food [Both Online & Offline]

 

2. Signup For DoorDash Newsletter To Get Offers & Free Food

While it is easy to miss promos or offers as you might not open the app frequently, create a reminder for yourselves by signing up for DoorDash Newsletter.

Once you sign up, you will be among the first to receive any information on special sales or surprise promos, coupons, etc. Like now, you are their VIP customer.

Since we all keep checking our mail regularly, we cannot miss these deals. So what are you waiting for?

Sign up for the DoorDash Newsletter and grab all possible deals or maybe complimentary dishes sometimes.

 

3. Refer Friends to Get Free Food

Feel like having free food today?!

Get your friends and family to download the DoorDash app and place their first order now. You can invite them to share your referral link generated by the app when you click on refer a friend.

Once your friend downloads the app and places their first order, they will receive their offer at the checkout itself, and your credits will be sent to your mail that you can apply to your next order.

These credits are usually worth $7 to $15. Great deal, simple hack, right?!

However, to qualify for this whole thing, you should be sure of the following things:

You can avail of this offer for up to 25 unique members you invite. You can also try platforms like Survey Junkie and Rakuten to refer friends. You can redeem your earnings to buy free food at any time.

Read: 29 Legit Websites To Make Money Referring Friends

 

4. Answer Surveys To Win DoorDash Gift Cards

If you are a regular visitor to our website, you must know about survey apps and websites, and maybe some of you may even be using them already.

For those who are not familiar, survey apps or websites are market research platforms that pay consumers in return for fulfilling different tasks such as taking surveys, playing games, reading emails, etc.

Also known as GPT sites, these apps pay customers in different forms, from cash to gift cards, discounts, coupons, etc.

Here is a list of some popular survey apps where you can do the above-mentioned tasks to win DoorDash gift cards:

 

5. Buy DoorDash Gift Cards At a Discount

Another DoorDash hack for customers that’s quite clever is to buy DoorDash gift cards that too at a discount. 

This way, you are buying a gift card for a lesser price and at the same time getting free food using that gift card, which may not have cost you more than the value of the food you ordered.

Certain dedicated websites online sell gift cards for different stores and apps, often for a good discount.

You can find ones that offer the same for DoorDash as well at a discount of up to 10%. Just Google for discounted DoorDash gift cards, and you will have them all in one place for purchase.

Also read:

• 40 Ways To Get Free Amazon Gift Cards [100% Legit]
• Is The $750 Shein Gift Card Real or Fake? [Read This First!]

 

6. Use Cashback Apps

Next comes cashback apps. You must be aware that there are dedicated apps or websites that partner with different brands to drive traffic to their websites.

These apps do so by attracting customers with cashback offers if they shop with that particular brand through their app. So, there are cashback apps that partner with DoorDash as well.

Isn’t it great to earn back money while you spend on the same app but through a different platform?

We know you are already up for this, and below are a couple of popular cashback apps that partner with DoorDash.

 

DoorDash Hacks To Save Money

Who doesn’t love discounts?!

Absolutely no one, right? So we have curated for you some DoorDash hacks that will help you save some bucks that will not let you compromise on your taste buds.

 

1. Get $5 Off And Free Delivery On The First Order

Though this is for first-timers, we mention it here because most people might not be aware that DoorDash offers a Flat $5 OFF on their first order on their app.

As soon as you download the app and sign up, you will receive an email notification mentioning the offer code. You need to use this code during checkout to claim your offer.

Like all others, this offer comes with an expiry date, so make sure you use it beforehand.

The app also offers new customers free delivery on their first order, i.e., you sign up and will pay a $0 delivery fee on your first order.

 

2. Order Early To Save Money

DoorDash has a scheduled orders feature for its customers. This feature allows their customers to place orders in advance of the time they need it.

The benefit of this offer is that these orders are delivered for free. So you know when to order next time.

Read: 37 Unique Ways To Get Paid To Eat Food

 

3. Use DoorDash Coupons to Get Regular Discounts

There is always some deal striking up on this most happening food delivery app. These deals can help you save generously on your on-demand orders.

You need to apply the coupon related to the particular deal at the checkout to claim the same.

While most of the coupons offer discounts on food at different top restaurants, there are many other regular ones for:

 

FAQs On DoorDash Hacks

How DoorDash Hacks Work?

DoorDash hacks basically help you with different goals, like getting more orders, making more money, or simply getting free food. While the first two are for dashers, the last is for customers.

 

What Are The Tricks And Hacks To Get More Orders On DoorDash?

There are a few tricks and hacks to get more orders out of them. The best are using the early scheduling feature on DoorDash, accepting combo orders, and waiting near ghost kitchens.

These three assure more orders at any given time.

 

How Do You Get Free Food On DoorDash?

DoorDash sometimes offers free food as a part of their deals. However, during the rest of the time, you can get free food using DoorDash gift cards, promo codes, or by referring the app to friends.

 

What Are The Best Cities For DoorDash?

According to Zip Recruiter, some of the best places for dashers to go dashing include Sunnyvale, Manhattan, Santa Cruz,  Livermore, Wilston, New York, etc.

 

Can I Make $1000 a Week With DoorDash?

Yes, following different clever hacks such as accepting caviar orders, hunting for ghost restaurants, and being at a busy place before your shift starts can help you make $1000 a week with Doordash.

 

How To Make $500 a Week With DoorDash?

DoorDash had a Guaranteed Earnings period during which the dashers could make $500 per week.

Their website claims that if the dashers complete 50 deliveries within 7 days and earn $400, then DoorDash adds $100 on the following day of the last of this guaranteed earnings period. 

 

Does DoorDash Pay Per Hour Or Per Delivery?

DoorDash usually pays per delivery, but recently it has been piloting a new method called Earn per time in the US and Canada. When the dasher chooses this method of earning, he will get a guaranteed rate per hour along with 100% of the tips.

 

Takeaways

There’s always a way to make the best out of any gig. Similarly, these were some of the best hacks for drivers to get more orders and make more money and for customers to save money on DoorDash.

A couple of these hacks will be easy for you to use on experience, but most of them are so seamless that you can even combine different hacks. More  New hacks are welcomed in the comments section.

However, anything comes to fruition with a lot of hard work and dedication, and the same applies to earning more on DoorDash as well. 

So get determined and dash now!

 

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