DoorDash vs Uber Eats vs Grubhub fees: how to compare the same order
People ask me which app is cheapest, and the honest answer is "it depends on the night", which is useless on its own. What isn't useless is knowing where the money goes, because once you can see the lines, you can compare the three apps on your own order in about two minutes. Here's how I do it.
The lines on the receipt
All three apps build the total from the same parts. The names differ slightly.
Food, at the app's menu price. This is the one people skip, and it's often the biggest difference. Restaurants can set their app menu higher than their own menu to cover the commission the app charges them, and many do. So "no delivery fee" can hide a markup on every item. Compare the app's price for a main against the restaurant's own website before you look at anything else.
Delivery fee. The number the apps advertise. It depends on distance, time of day and whether you have a membership. It's also the easiest fee to make disappear, which is why it's the one they promote.
Service fee. A percentage of the subtotal, with a minimum, and sometimes a cap. Because it's a percentage, it grows with the order, and an app with a low delivery fee can still be the expensive one once the service fee is added. Look at delivery and service fee together, never one alone.
Small-order fee. Added when the subtotal is under a threshold. Usually avoidable by adding a drink.
Tax and tip. Tax follows the subtotal, so a menu markup raises it a little too. Tip is yours to set. For a fair comparison set the same dollar amount in each app rather than the same percentage, since the percentages are calculated on different subtotals.
How to compare them properly
- Put the same order in all three apps, on the same night, and go to checkout in each without paying.
- Note the food subtotal in each. If one app matches the restaurant's own menu and the others don't, that's probably your winner before any fees.
- Add delivery fee and service fee together. Ignore which one is bigger.
- Only then open the Deals or Offers tab in each app and apply the best thing on offer. A restaurant-specific discount or a buy-one-get-one on a main is usually worth more than any public code, and it can flip the order.
- Check the current codes on the DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub pages last. As of this writing Grubhub is the only one of the three with a public code that applies; GH25OFF gave 25% off an order of $15 or more when I tested it today.
What I actually do now
- Check the Deals or Offers tab on all three before you pick a restaurant. It takes a minute, and the personal offers are worth more than any public code.
- If none of them has an offer, favour the app whose menu matches the restaurant's own site. That's where the quiet money is.
- Pickup beats all three. Delivery fee and service fee both disappear, and you pay food plus tax. If the restaurant is ten minutes away, that's the biggest saving on this page.
- Memberships change the math once you order more than a couple of times a month. DashPass and Uber One each cost $9.99 a month as of this writing, and Grubhub+ comes with Amazon Prime. Each removes the delivery fee, though not always the service fee.
If you compare a specific restaurant in your city and the numbers surprise you, tell me and I'll look at it.