Food delivery is huge even after the pandemic, so the battle of Uber Eats vs. DoorDash is far from over. Whether you’re looking for cheap DoorDash delivery or Uber Eats promo codes, it can be tough to compare the two side by side. If these two delivery services were siblings, they’d be at each other’s necks non-stop.
I’m not a city gal myself, so all the best places to eat are a drive and a half away. The closest restaurant to my home is McDonald’s, and even that’s over three miles away. So when I can’t be bothered, I rely on food delivery and switch between Uber Eats and DoorDash to get the job done.
In total honesty, I’ve been satisfied with both services. But for the sake of helping you decide, I’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of how the two compare with delivery times, fees, availability, discounts, and more. I’ll even spill my own costs and experiences with each to give you an inside look.
If you’ve been wondering which food delivery app is best, here’s your in-depth guide to Uber Eats vs. DoorDash.
1. DoorDash is a more popular food delivery service than Uber Eats.
DoorDash isn’t just winning over Uber Eats — they’re beating out all other food delivery services. Currently, DoorDash accounts for 57% of the food delivery market share, while Uber Eats accounts for 26%.
Even though the Uber Eats app (iOS / Android) has about 60 million more users than the DoorDash app (iOS / Android), DoorDash is the number one free app in the Food & Drink category on the Apple store, and Uber Eats is sitting at number three.
2. In my experience, Uber Eats has lower delivery and service fees than DoorDash.
I added up my delivery and service fees for both Uber Eats and DoorDash over the last six months (and yes, I order a lot). I usually pick one vs. the other based on where I want to order from. Not all the same restaurants are available on both apps. And sometimes one will offer a lower delivery fee for the same restaurant.
As I said, I live in a suburban area where my house is at least two miles away from everything. So my delivery fees tend to be higher than those who live in a busy city. But out of 34 total orders from Uber Eats and DoorDash in the past six months, here’s what I ended up paying in fees on average:
Delivery Fees (Average per Order):
Uber Eats: $1.37
DoorDash: $4.27
Service Fees (Average per Order):
Uber Eats: $5.06
DoorDash: $4.33
At first glance, it seems like I paid more in service fees from Uber Eats. But DoorDash tacked on an extra $3 “Expanded Range” fee on a good chunk of my orders (which you might not have to pay), and that was on top of the base delivery and service fees. If I lumped these extra costs in with my DoorDash service fees here, my average spend would go up to $5.83 per order.
So all in all, I paid less in fees with Uber Eats than I did with DoorDash and saved myself an average of $3.67 per order.
3. On average, Uber Eats has faster delivery times than DoorDash.
Courtesy of Uber
The average delivery time for an Uber Eats order is 30 minutes, while the average delivery time for a DoorDash order is 40 minutes and 12 seconds.
My own personal experience definitely backs this data up. I’ve noticed my Uber Eats orders tend to arrive much quicker than my DoorDash orders. Again, this can depend on how far your driver has to travel and the overall demand in your surrounding area.
4. Both services offer virtual customer support, but only DoorDash has an actual phone number.
I’ve experienced my fair share of mishaps with both services. Most commonly, an item I ordered didn’t make it into my delivery. But I found that after reporting these problems, both services moved quickly to adjust my bill and fix the issue at hand. You usually don’t have to send pictures, proof, or answer any follow-up questions — they just go ahead and refund you.
Both Uber Eats and DoorDash focus on automated support, which you can navigate to right in the app. They make it easy to report and fix issues without ever having to get on a phone call. I’ve never had problems resolving issues with either delivery service, but sometimes you just want to talk to a real person. That’s why DoorDash has the edge over Uber Eats — they have a real customer service phone number. If worse comes to worst, you can call DoorDash at (855) 431-0459.
Uber Eats doesn’t have a customer service phone number, but they do offer additional support through their Twitter account @ubereats.
5. Uber Eats has more restaurant partners and is in more cities than DoorDash.
Both services are expanding rapidly, but Uber Eats is still in the lead (for now). You’ll find Uber Eats available in 9,000 cities across 45 different countries and six continents. They also partner with about 600,000 restaurant partners in total.
DoorDash is available in approximately 7,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan, with about 400,000 restaurant partners in total.
But unless you literally live in the middle of nowhere, U.S. coverage is rarely an issue. On top of that, Uber Eats and DoorDash are fiercely competitive, so where one service is available, the other is likely available, too.
6. You’ll find better promos and discounts on Uber Eats than on DoorDash.
Food delivery is convenient, but it comes at a price. That’s why I’m always on the hunt for deals and discounts to help me save more. If I can get bigger savings from one service vs. the other, that’s enough to win me over.
Uber Eats consistently dishes out more deals and coupons than DoorDash, though they both offer the same type of savings. Most deals are restaurant-specific, so you’ll see offers like “Spend $20, Save $5” or “Spend $12, Get $0 Delivery” when you order from certain places.
Uber Eats and DoorDash both have ongoing offers for new customers, but Uber Eats gives you a slightly better deal:
If you’re already a customer, don’t worry. You’ll always find some sort of promo to take advantage of. To see current Uber Eats offers, open the app and tap the filter icon next to the search bar, then toggle on the “Deals” filter.
For DoorDash, just tap the “Offers” filter on your app home page to see all available deals near you.
7. Both services offer paid memberships, but Uber Eats gives you more perks.
If you order food delivery at least twice a month, signing up for an Uber Eats or DoorDash membership may be worth your while.
The Uber Eats membership is called Uber One, and DoorDash’s is called DashPass. Both cost $9.99 a month, but DoorDash does give you a discount if you sign up for their annual plan ($96 a year). DoorDash also has a special plan for students, which costs just $4.99 a month and gives you 10% off every order.
Even still, Uber One has better benefits than DoorDash because you get Uber Eats perks AND Uber rideshare perks in one membership.
Here’s how the benefits from both memberships compare:
$0 delivery fees and lower service fees on orders over $12
$0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible grocery, convenience, and other orders over $25
Unlimited $0 delivery fees and up to 10% off orders over $15
$5 credit if the latest arrival estimate on your order is off
5% off and a $0 delivery fee on all your grocery orders over $35
5% off rides and access to top-rated drivers
8. Uber Eats and DoorDash are both breaking into grocery delivery, but neither has nailed it (yet).
Both services are making huge efforts to expand their convenience and grocery delivery options, but they’re struggling to win over customers. It’s hard to compete with the big guy, aka Instacart, which is THE most established grocery delivery service out there.
What most customers don’t know is that ordering groceries through Uber Eats or DoorDash could mean lower markups on basic food items than you’ll pay with Instacart. I’m here to tell you that Instacart notoriously marks up prices by 15%, but markups for Uber Eats and DoorDash linger around 10%. Either way, with service fees, delivery fees, fuel surcharges, and tipping, delivery will always cost you more than shopping for groceries yourself.
As far as availability goes, Uber Eats is in the lead with over 100,000 non-restaurant merchants in their app, while DoorDash has just over 75,0000. However, DoorDash’s new partnership with Aldi could speed things up soon.
We’ll have to wait and see how things pan out as these two services level up their efforts.
9. Referring a friend pays off more with Uber Eats than it does with DoorDash.
Uber Eats and DoorDash have highly underrated referral programs. Both apps give you a custom link to share with a friend, and when that friend signs up and places an order, you both get to cash in on the rewards.
However, Uber Eats rewards YOU more for friend referrals than DoorDash does. Here’s how both offers stack up when you share your referral code with a friend:
Uber Eats: When a friend uses your code for their first Uber Eats order, you both get $15 off a $20 order.
DoorDash: When a friend signs up with your referral link and places their first order over $25, you get $10 in credits. Your friend also gets $5 off their first order.
Uber Eats also has a referral program specific to grocery orders. When you invite a friend who completes a grocery order for the first time, they’ll receive $30 off their order (if it’s at least $40), and you’ll receive $15 in credits for a future grocery order.
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