What are the best food delivery services? Two of the most popular meal delivery services right now are Postmates and Grubhub.
Although they are identical, a few significant distinctions may cause one to stand out to drivers and consumers.
What Do They Offer?
Whether you’re a driver or a customer, there are numerous factors to consider when deciding between Grubhub and Postmates.
In this post, we’ll compare Postmates and Grubhub on a level playing field. Details about each of them as a meal delivery service, price, and a review of both delivery apps will be included.
Other factors I will go over are the registration process and the requirements to join each platform.
I’ll also compare the driver experiences of Grubhub and Postmates and help you decide which app you would rather work with.
How Do They Work?
Postmates
Postmates is recognized for being able to deliver anything, anywhere, and at any time.
You may send groceries, restaurant takeout, fast food, drugstore necessities, and whatever else you desire to Postmates.
Postmates bills itself as a “delivery app for anything you can think of.” They’ve even published some outrageous celebrity orders to give you an idea of what you can purchase with Postmate.
- Demi Lovato ordered a single Twinkie from Postmates.
- Kendall Jenner had a Target space heater sent to her.
- Chance the Rapper got adult coloring books and men’s swim trunks delivered by Postmates.
- Popeye’s biscuits were allegedly worth $8,000 to Post Malone.
Orders like that are unlikely to be seen by the typical delivery driver, but it’s essential to remember that Postmates isn’t only for groceries or meals.
Uber bought Postmates in July 2020, and it is now part of the Uber/UberEats family.
Grubhub
Grubhub is a restaurant delivery service that caters to both local and national brands. They work with over 300,000 restaurants, with delivery from over 225,000 of those eateries accessible nationally.
Grubhub has grown to over 4,000 communities across the United States since its inception in 2004.
Like many larger meal delivery apps, Grubhub has merged and collaborated with several smaller businesses since its inception. Seamless, AllMenus, LevelUp, and MenuPages are all excellent examples.
Driver Requirements
If you want to drive for Postmates or Grubhub, looking at their driver criteria is the best place to start.
Although most delivery businesses have somewhat similar criteria, you’ll notice that they’re not identical.
Postmates
- You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
- Have a vehicle (car, van, truck, SUV, motorbike, scooter) or bicycle that is insured.
- You’ll need a smartphone to use the Postmates Fleet app.
- Complete a background check.
Grubhub
- You must be at least 19 years old to apply (or 21 in Chicago or Las Vegas).
- Have a vehicle (car, van, truck, SUV, motorbike, scooter) or bicycle that is insured.
- You’ll need a smartphone to download Grubhub’s driver app.
- Complete a background check.
The only difference is the minimum age requirement. If you’re under the age of 18, you won’t be able to use Grubhub, and drivers in Chicago and Las Vegas have even tougher age restrictions.
How Much Do Drivers Get Paid?
Both Postmates and Grubhub utilize calculations to figure out how much money you can make per delivery.
The objective is to ensure that you get compensated more for longer or more distant deliveries.
Over time, both businesses have tweaked their driver compensation formulas, and they may do so again in the future.
Postmates Pay Formula
Postmates uses the following criteria to determine your per-order earnings:
- Each accomplished pick-up is worth a certain amount.
- The amount for each drop-off that has been accomplished
- For the time you spend waiting at the pick-up site, there is a per-minute fee.
- The distance between the pick-up and drop-off sites is calculated as a per-mile rate.
- Postmates drivers keep 100% of their tips as well.
The charges for each of those elements vary depending on the market you’re delivering in, with greater costs in larger, busier areas.
Postmates couriers, for example, receive $1.50 for each pickup, $0.95 per drop-off, $0.07 per minute, and $0.50 per mile in Houston, Texas.
In Chicago, a Postmates courier gets $1.45 for each pickup, $0.70 per drop-off, $0.07 per minute, and $1.01 per mile.
Your Postmates Starter Guarantee is also determined by the market you’re in. This is the amount of money you may anticipate making if you make a given number of deliveries in a particular amount of time.
If you accomplish 60 deliveries in 14 days in Charlotte, NC, you will earn a guaranteed $400, including basic pay and delivery incentives.
This is the bare least you’ll earn, and it doesn’t include tips.
Other incentives for couriers offered by Postmates include:
- Per-delivery bonus: For each delivery you accept and finish within a certain time limit, you receive an additional payment.
- Crushers: To receive an additional payment, you must complete a particular amount of deliveries within a certain time frame. bonus
- Invitees: You may earn a certain sum for each invitee who completes a specific number of deliveries during the first few weeks if you invite them to start delivering for Postmates.
Postmates drivers are encouraged to drive at peak periods and accept more orders because of the bonus per delivery and Crushers incentives.
These bonuses might add a few bucks or more to each shipment.
Grubhub Pay Formula
Grubhub recently removed the basic order amount, which was one of the most significant adjustments.
The starting sums varied by market, but they were often between $3 and $4.
Both the pick-up and drop-off ends are now paid per mile. Grubhub’s total mileage pay has risen, and the pay formula now includes time spent driving and waiting.
Grubhub drivers are always given 100% of their tips.
Grubhub displays an anticipated time and mileage amount in the app for each order, which does not alter after you accept the offer.
That implies that if you’re stopped in traffic or have to take a diversion, you’ll get paid the same amount as if nothing went wrong.
However, this might benefit drivers if the order requires less time or travel distance than the app estimates.
Grubhub provides a Recognition Program where drivers are rewarded for their presence, order acceptance, and block drop rates. Here’s an explanation of what those words mean:
- Attendance Rate: The percentage of scheduled time blocks that you actually attend.
- Acceptance Rate: The percentage of orders you accept.
- Block Drop Rate: A percentage of your schedule is blocked; however, you can drop before or during the block.
This initiative encourages drivers to show up for work and take as many orders as they can. Some drivers refuse to accept orders because the remuneration appears to be inadequate.
All Grubhub drivers start as Partners and work their way up to one of the two higher levels: Premier or Pro.
You get greater flexibility over when you plan your hours on the app as you rise through the ranks, and you may be assigned to fulfill catering orders, which pay better.
Postmates vs. Grubhub
Review Summary
In terms of how their applications operate for drivers, Postmates and Grubhub are very similar. You log in, accept orders as they arrive, pick them up, and deliver them to consumers.
There are some significant distinctions, though, such as driver bonuses and how you arrange your time.
Conclusion
While both applications are fantastic for making money on the side or as a full-time career, if, as a driver, you have to choose between the two, Postmates has the upper hand.
The higher average earnings, bonus incentives, and more flexible work schedules are significant advantages that cannot be overstated.
Grubhub may be a somewhat superior platform for customers, but Postmates comes out on top when it comes to advantages for drivers.
