Postmates is one of the most popular delivery services available due to the sheer range of items they will deliver from a surprising number of stores.
Whether you need dinner as soon as possible, groceries for the week, alcohol for your party, or a hammer to fix your bed, Postmates can and will deliver those items for you.
If you’re wondering what this convenience will cost you, keep reading.
This article will walk you through everything you need to know about what Postmates is, what their delivery fees are, and how to minimize your individual delivery charges by signing up for Postmates Unlimited or using Postmates promo codes.
We’ll even compare Postmates to your other delivery service options.
Let’s dive right in.
What Is Postmates?
Postmates was one of the first apps to enter the on-demand delivery space and it made a huge splash.
Founded in San Francisco in 2011 by Bastian Lehmann, Sam Street, and Sean Plaice, Postmates quickly expanded into the Bay Area and then to major American cities like New York and Seattle.
It now operates in a range of city sizes across the United States and internationally.
You can check if Postmates is available in your city by clicking this link.
Postmates will deliver whatever you need, more or less.
This can be a meal from your favorite local restaurant or McDonald’s, groceries or party supplies from the convenience store, a coffee from Starbucks, or another bottle of alcohol when your party is more popular than you expected.
How Much Does Postmates Cost to Deliver?
Postmates delivery fees vary dramatically, depending on whether you’re ordering from a Postmates Partner Merchant, have Postmates Unlimited, or are ordering during a peak time.
If you are ordering from a Postmates Partners Merchant, the delivery fee ranges from $1.99 to $3.99.
Merchant Partners are marked with a green check mark next to their business name in the app.
Postmates charges between $5.99 and $9.99 for deliveries from all other businesses.
While $9.99 isn’t cheap, many people find it well worth it for the convenience being able to order anything from a hammer from the hardware store to a new mouse from the computer store to a burrito from Chipotle.
While food delivery services abound, finding someone willing and able to run all your other errands isn’t as easy.
For many people, it’s even worth the occasional surge pricing.
Postmates Surge Pricing
Occasionally Postmates does charge surge pricing, or “blitz pricing.”
This additional fee is implemented when the number of couriers available is far less than the number of people placing delivery orders.
Blitz pricing is most common during lunch and dinner rushes.
Sometimes it happens at odd hours when there aren’t many couriers who are available to delivery your stuff, like in the very early morning.
The most effective way to protect yourself from blitz pricing skyrocketing your delivery costs is to sign up for a Postmates Unlimited membership.
Postmates Unlimited
Postmates Unlimited is a subscription for Postmates delivery service.
Instead of paying a delivery service fee for each and every delivery, you pay a flat monthly fee for all orders over $15, avoid the minimum cart fee, and never pay blitz pricing.
Postmates Unlimited costs $9.99 per month or $7.99 per month if you pay for a full year upfront at $95.88.
You can try it for seven days for free to see if you like it.
If you place orders frequently, paying for Postmates Unlimited could easily be worth it to you.
Of course, if you have unlimited free deliveries, you may find yourself placing more orders than you would otherwise.
Postmates Promo Codes
Postmates always has an abundance of coupon code offers.
Which promo codes are available to you will depend on your city, the season, and a range of other factors.
The easiest way to stay up-to-date on the available Postmates coupon codes is by following Postmates’ social media accounts.
You can follow the relevant Postmates Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts by clicking on those links.
You can also check Postmates.com for other offers.
There are often limited-time special deals on your first delivery for new customers, and it’s a good idea to keep checking for promo codes that give you a free delivery credit or a percentage off your order.
You can also check this article for available Postmates promo codes.
Postmates vs Other Delivery Apps
While Postmates was one of the first delivery services, it’s far from the only one in the on-demand delivery space nowadays.
If you’re ordering food, you can choose between Postmates, Seamless, Grubhub, and DoorDash.
Uber now has the subsidiary Uber Eats which offers food delivery service.
Lyft hasn’t joined the fray yet but we wouldn’t be surprised if they announce a competitor soon.
There are also boutique options like Caviar which offer delivery from fine dining restaurants that don’t typically offer delivery or even pickup.
If you’re using Postmates to deliver more routine things like a new keyboard from the electronics store or a new air conditioner from the hardware store, you could also choose to use TaskRabbit.
TaskRabbit is a better choice if you not only need someone to deliver that air conditioner but also install it.
In certain cities, Amazon Prime offers same day delivery, sometimes even within an hour.
If Postmates is your go-to delivery service for getting more alcohol to your party, you may not be aware that Drizly and Saucey exist.
Or maybe you live somewhere they don’t deliver yet.
Or maybe you just like Postmates best because the Postmates app is a one-stop shop to get all of these things delivered to your door.
While it can be pricier than the “free shipping for annual members” offer that Amazon Prime has or the occasional $1 delivery fee promotions that Seamless runs, Postmates is very convenient.
Unlike Uber Eats which may ask you to meet their driver on the street to get your food or Amazon which may abandon your package on your stoop, Postmates requires their drivers to meet you in person and physically hand it to you.
If you prefer the convenience one-stop shopping from nearly everywhere in town, having your items safely handed to you, and same-day delivery, Postmates is your best bet.
And if you choose to subscribe to Postmates Unlimited, it can be a relatively affordable option.
Is Postmates Worth It?
Whether Postmates is worth it depends on your personal usage and values.
Postmates is a great option for you as an on-demand delivery service if you order a range of products on a regular basis and like having them in your hands fairly quickly.
If you’re ordering often, making Postmates your go-to delivery app and purchasing the Postmates Unlimited subscription is probably a good idea.
On the other hand, you can also use it just for when you need a random item delivered quickly and keep a range of other delivery apps as your default delivery services. It’s all about your personal preferences.
While Postmates isn’t the only delivery service app out there, it is a good one due to its ease of use and range of delivery services.
No matter how you choose to use it, whether regularly or infrequently, with a Postmates Unlimited subscription or on-demand delivery fees, Postmates will make your life a little bit easier.
