Grubhub vs Uber Eats: Driver Comparison Guide

Grubhub and Uber Eats — if you haven’t heard of these two food delivery service behemoths then you must have been living under a rock for the past several years.

With the growth of food delivery services, Grubhub and Uber Eats are virtually becoming a verb as consumers increasingly turn to food delivery services to receive their meals.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it doesn’t really make a difference as couriers of the two companies flood the streets like ants delivering fast food and gourmet restaurant orders during peak meal times.

This extreme rise in popularity poses an excellent opportunity for side hustlers like yourself to earn an income by delivering orders.

Whether you’re new to the delivery game or are already hustling orders for other delivery services, we want to give you everything you need to know regarding these two delivery services.

By the end of this article, you should be able to decide which delivery service you’d like to drive for to start making some extra cash.

Grubhub vs Uber Eats

Grubhub and Uber Eats are two on-demand food delivery services that partner with restaurants to deliver food directly to consumers.

These companies are two of the most popular delivery options offering consumers convenient delivery and workers with an excellent employment opportunity.

Unlike their biggest competitor Postmates, these two delivery companies are a restaurant-only delivery service.

As a driver, you won’t need to worry about doing any grocery shopping and checking items off a list as a grocery store. Instead, you’ll accept an order, navigate to the restaurant to pick up the order, and then deliver it to the customer’s location.

As an employee for both of these companies, you’ll be an independent contractor with the ability to choose your own schedule, be your own boss, and work as many hours as you’d like since both services operate around the clock.

You’ll also have a finger on the pulse of your city’s dining scene since you’ll be exposed to new restaurants on a daily basis.

Before going any further, we should first figure out if Grubhub and Uber Eats are offered in your city.

City Availability

Even though these are two of the most popular delivery options, there still might be a chance that Grubhub or Uber Eats aren’t available in your city.

You shouldn’t need to worry too much since most major U.S. cities, like Boston and New York, will have one or the other.

To start, Grubhub is the market leader and processes almost a half million orders every single day.

It’s the largest delivery option out there and serves over 2,000 cities across the United States.

The easiest way to see if Grubhub is available in your city is to head to Grubhub.com and type in an address in your city.

Uber Eats is nipping at the heels of Grubhub and is taking over some cities in terms of popularity.

The number of cities Uber Eats operates in is also seemingly endless.

Now that we have that settled, let’s see what the requirements are to become a driver for each platform.

Driver Requirements

The driver requirements for Grubhub and Uber Eats are nearly identical, but let’s look closer at each one for better reference.

Grubhub Driver Requirements

The basic requirements for becoming a Grubhub driver are that you’re at least 19 years of age, a responsible driver with a clean driving and criminal history, and have the proper documentation to operate your vehicle.

To be more specific, here are all of the requirements you’ll need to meet to become a Grubhub delivery driver:

• Must be at least 19 years of age (Chicago drivers must be 21 or older)
• Have at least two years driving experience
• Own an iPhone with iOS 8 or higher, or an Android with 4.0 or higher (data plan required)
• Drivers must have a valid driver’s license and a vehicle covered by auto insurance
• Bikers do not need a driver’s license, but they do need a valid state ID
• Must have a checking account to receive direct deposit payments
• Must pass a background check

In regards to the background check, Grubhub is looking for any serious convictions or patterns of irresponsible behavior.

If you’d like to know more about the background check process, then you can check out our guide to Grubhub background checks.

Now let’s see how these requirements compare to Uber Eats.

Uber Eats Driver Requirements

Uber Eats delivery drivers have nearly the same requirements as Grubhub with a few exceptions here and there.

The main differences are that Uber Eats allows drivers that only have one year of driving experience to work for them, compared to two years that Grubhub requires.

Here are all of the Uber Eats driver requirements:

• Be at least 19 years old (21 in Canada) and 18 if you deliver with a bike
• Have a valid driver’s license, insurance, and proof of vehicle registration
• Bikers don’t need a driver’s license, but they do need a valid state ID
• Have at least one year of driving experience
• Must have a checking account to receive direct deposit payments
• Own a smart phone that’s capable of running the Uber Eats app
• Be able to lift 30 pounds
• Must pass a background check

If you’d like to know more about Uber Eats driver requirements or the background check process, then head to our guide to becoming an Uber Eats driver.

Now let’s get into the differences between the vehicle requirements for each platform.

Vehicle Requirements

Unlike ridesharing companies, like Uber and Lyft, the vehicle requirements for these delivery services are quite relaxed.

Grubhub Vehicle Requirements

Grubhub pretty much just wants your vehicle to make it from one delivery to the next.

This means that your vehicle can be in any condition, but you must have it registered and insured.

You can also deliver orders via bike, scooter, and motorcycle in some cities.

As mentioned above, if you opt to deliver using your bike, you’ll only need to have a valid state ID.

Uber Eats Vehicle Requirements

Like its parent service Uber, Uber Eats is slightly more strict than Grubhub’s vehicle requirements.

There’s a little more to it than, “Does it run?”

To drive for Uber Eats, you must own a two-door or four-door vehicle that was built in 1998 or newer.

If you live in a city that allows for only Uber Eats driver profiles then you’re all set, however, in some cities, you may be required to meet the full list of Uber driver vehicle requirements.

You can also use a scooter to make deliveries.

Scooter requirements allow you to operate any two-wheel scooter that has a motor under 50cc that travels less than 30 miles per hour.

In regards to the bike requirements, there are none.

You just need to be at least 18 years old and have a valid state ID.

Note that scooter and bike delivery aren’t available in every city, so make sure you check while going through the sign-up process.

Pay Calculation

Grubhub and Uber Eats both reward drivers for the deliveries they complete.

Instead of an hourly wage, drivers are only paid for the work they put in.

The faster your delivery time is, the better.

Since customers and restaurants cover delivery fees, drivers get paid for each order they complete.

Grubhub Payment Calculation

The Grubhub payment structure can be summarized by the following line items:

• Base rate that’s generally around $3.00 to $4.00
• $0.50 per mile driven from restaurant to customer
• 100 percent of tips

Grubhub doesn’t offer bonuses and surge pricing in the same fashion that other delivery services do, however, it does have instruments in place to incentivize drivers.

For example, Grubhub encourages drivers to schedule their driving blocks far ahead of time.

If a driver signs up to drive early and maintains high acceptance rates, they’ll receive order priority while on their shift.

They’ll also receive access to additional referral programs and priority when it comes to large catering orders.

Uber Eats Payment Calculation

The Uber Eats payment structure is similar to Grubhub, however, the calculation is slightly different.

Here are the line items that factor into your delivery fares.

• Pickup: Fixed fee for each pickup that’s generally around $2.50
• Drop-off: Fixed drop-off fee for each drop-off that’s generally around $2.50
• Distance traveled: Per-mile rate for the distance you travel between the pickup and drop-off location
• 100 percent of tips

Unlike Grubhub, Uber Eats offers drivers plenty of incentives to drive during peak hours and in busy locations.

The two primary incentives are Surge Pricing — which rewards drivers for delivering during busy times — and Boost Earnings — which give drivers an extra bonus in their paycheck for each delivery completed in a high-demand delivery area.

Both of these incentives are percentage multipliers that can drastically affect your weekly take home.

It would be in your best interest to take advantage of these as much as possible.

If you’d like to know more about Uber Eats incentives, read through our Uber Eats guide for more information.

How to Apply

Do you feel like you have a general idea of which one you want to drive for?

If so, let’s put you on the path to sign up for one or both of these services!

If you’re still on the fence and aren’t confident you want to become a Grubhub driver, then check out our article on the pros and cons of becoming a Grubhub driver.

Do you think you’re cut out for it and don’t need any more help?

If so then you can make your way to the Grubhub application page to begin your journey into food delivery.

If you’d rather start driving for Uber Eats, then hop on over to the Uber Eats application page to begin the process.

It’s important to understand that these services don’t always have open and available positions.

In order to keep current drivers satisfied with enough work to make a decent income, the amount of delivery drivers is sometimes limited.

Take Your Pick

The restaurant delivery market may be calling your name.

Grubhub and Uber Eats are a great first step into the delivery game, but there are also plenty of other food delivery apps out there, like DoorDash and Postmates that you could also look into.

Regardless, by being your own boss, setting your own schedule, and working as many hours as you’d like, you’ll be one step closer to living out the American dream.