How Much To Tip DoorDash Drivers In 2024 [& Why You Should] (2024)

Do You Tip DoorDash Drivers?

Yes, you should tip DoorDash drivers. Tipping is an expected part of the DoorDash experience, as Dashers rely significantly on tips to earn a living wage.

Tipping well also impacts the level of service you receive, although you might not realize it.

High tips tend to attract drivers more quickly, potentially resulting in faster delivery. Conversely, lower tips might lead to longer wait times as drivers may be less inclined to accept such orders.

Tips are especially important since many Dashers incur expenses like gas and car insurance. Tipping can be done easily through the DoorDash app during checkout or after delivery.

How Much Should I Tip My DoorDash Driver?

As a general rule of thumb, consider giving your DoorDash driver a base tip of around $5 for any order. Most drivers will agree that this is a fair tip for standard orders.

However, contextual tipping is important. You should increase this amount based on the delivery distance, order size and complexity, and challenging conditions like bad weather or difficult locations.

The DoorDash app actually takes these factors into consideration and automatically suggests a tip amount during the checkout process.

While I think the app does a good job of providing a tip amount that is fair to both driver and customer, you can manually adjust this tip.

My personal belief is that tipping should be based either on the total order amount, similar to restaurant tipping, or on the distance of the delivery.

I recommend tipping $1.50-$2.00 per mile, or at least 10% of the order total, increasing to 15-20% for excellent service or complex orders.

Scenarios and Suggested Tips

While tipping your DoorDash driver is a personal choice, considering these guidelines can help you make a fair decision that reflects the quality of service you receive.

Factors That Could Justify a Lower Tip

When considering the factors that could justify a lower tip for your DoorDash driver, it’s important to remember that the tip should reflect the quality of service provided by the courier.

If you experience subpar service, adjusting your tip can be a way to express your dissatisfaction.

In such cases, a tip around 10% might be appropriate. This ensures that you’re still acknowledging the driver’s effort, while also signaling that the service was not up to standard.

However, it’s crucial to differentiate between issues within the courier’s control and those that are not.

You should avoid reducing the tip for situations beyond the driver’s control, such as missing items from your order or delays caused by traffic. These incidents are often out of the hands of your DoorDash driver.

Only consider tipping below 10% in more serious instances that require intervention from DoorDash customer service.

This could include scenarios where your order is marked as delivered but you never received it, if there’s evidence that your meal was tampered with, or if you encounter inappropriate behavior from your courier.

In these cases, a lower tip or no tip at all may be justified, as these issues significantly impact your delivery experience and are directly related to the courier’s service.

How Do I Tip on DoorDash?

Tipping on the DoorDash platform is easy and can be done right on the checkout page.

When you’re reviewing your order details on the DoorDash app or on DoorDash.com, you should see a “Dasher Tip” section that allows you to select or customize your tip amount before officially sending in your order.

If you are unable to tip on this page for any reason, you will have the opportunity to tip on the food delivery platform after your order is delivered.

This post-delivery tipping feature should be available as you’re rating your Dasher on your app.

Should I Tip My Dasher in Cash?

Whilecash was once the ideal form of payment for DoorDash couriers, it no longer matters if you pay in cash, through the app, or through the website.

Your Dasher will always get 100% of the tips that you provide.

The reason cash tips were once preferred was because DoorDash once had a controversial tipping model, in which customer tips essentially subsidized the driver payments.

Up until mid-2019, DoorDash offered guaranteed minimum payments that included tips, which meant that tipping could enable the company to reduce its own out-of-pocket costs.

In this model, DoorDash drivers would only really get their guaranteed minimum plus tip if they received unrecorded cash tips.

Luckily, this is no longer the case. CEO Tony Xu announced a new model for payments after the 2019 backlash and now fully separates promotions from tips.

Your tips will now truly be 100% benefiting drivers, instead of supporting DoorDash in any way.

Why I Fully Support Tipping On Every Delivery

At the end of the day, DoorDash drivers are providing a service, and they should be rewarded accordingly for doing so.

Dashers can be likened to waiters and traditional pizza delivery drivers in that they’re providing a service on top of the restaurant preparing your meal. In return, it’s common courtesy to provide a tip for their help.

DoorDash tipping is actually such an integral part of the company’s pay model that it would be difficult for Dashers to make a comfortable living without it. This is especially the case in cities with a high cost of living, like San Francisco and New York City.

After they spend on expenses like gas and car insurance, which all Dashers (as independent contractors) cover themselves, this hourly wage can be even lower.

Dashers depend on customers’ tips to earn a living wage, especially since many take on the food delivery gig to support their families or cover other important financial needs.

Without your tips, your courier’s payout may be just a few dollars — even if they spent half an hour or more to get your food safely to your door.

Another point to make is that you should tip your driver if you’re using aDoorDash promo code.

You should tip on thefull amount of the meal, like you would in a restaurant if you were using a gift card. If you’re saving money using a promotion, be kind to your driver and pass some of those savings along.

Tipping is also expected if you request a no-contact delivery, which was made available when the coronavirus pandemic began (and is a default in the midst of COVID-19).

While you won’t be serviced face-to-face, your Dasher still spent time traveling from their original location to your favorite restaurant and to your door, which is a time-consuming service in itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Be a Pro Tipper

Tipping your DoorDash courier is an essential part of using the service and helps protect the livelihoods of the people who make your food deliveries possible.

While DoorDash once faced backlash for an unjust tipping model, Dashers are now truly getting 100% of your tips — with no loopholes — regardless of whether you tip in cash or on the digital platform.

If you use more than one platform in the gig economy, there’s a good chance you’ll need to learn about tipping etiquette for other apps.

What do you think? Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts!