Grubhub vs DoorDash vs Uber Eats for evenings and weekends

The short answer

If you can only deliver on evenings and weekends, DoorDash is usually the easiest of the three to plan around. You can book dinner slots days ahead, and its Earn by Time mode pays a set rate for active time. Uber Eats makes the best second app: it shows fares upfront, and cashing out costs less and can happen more often. We’d try Grubhub where it’s busy but keep it as an extra. It runs on reserved blocks, and refunds went out in 2026 after the FTC said it misled drivers about pay.

Time cost: Plan on 5 to 8 hours a weekend to cover two or three meal rushes. You don’t need to work weeknights, though one quiet weeknight helps for signing up and, later, for paperwork.

How the three apps compare when your time is limited

To a customer the three apps look almost the same. If you have a day job, the differences that matter are practical. Can you get on the road in the few hours you have free? How is each offer priced? How quickly and cheaply does the money reach your bank?

DoorDash’s minimum age is 19 in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Getting on the road when your hours are fixed

If your only free time is Saturday at 5 p.m., you need to know you can actually work at 5 p.m. This is where the apps differ most. DoorDash’s guide to scheduling says you book slots in the app’s Schedule tab up to 5 days ahead, or 6 days if you qualify for Early Access. Each new day opens at midnight. DoorDash names lunch (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (4:30 to 8 p.m.) as its peak periods. It also warns that slots fill up on weekends and during the dinner rush, which are the very hours a 9-to-5 worker has free. To get a Saturday dinner slot, open the app shortly after midnight five days before. If it’s gone, check again later in the week, because DoorDash says slots change often. Dash Now lets you start without booking, but only when not too many Dashers are already active near you. Our guide to DoorDash on weekends covers that app in more depth.

Grubhub’s driver site describes a similar system. You reserve delivery blocks, and higher driver levels get early scheduling. Grubhub also says it limits how many drivers are on the road at once. Its “work when you want” slogan doesn’t promise you can start whenever you like, so as a new driver you may struggle to get the busiest weekend blocks at first.

Uber’s official courier pages explain fares and promotions but say little about booking shifts. Before you plan a weekend around Uber Eats, open the app and see how going online works in your area.

Uber Eats vs DoorDash pay

Most hourly figures you see online come from third parties, so treat confident claims with care. Gridwise, which makes an app for drivers, gives 2025 figures before expenses. It puts Uber Eats at a median of $14.07 an hour in trip pay including tips, or $15.03 with promotions. Its DoorDash median is $11.26, with an average of $12.43. Gridwise sells its app to drivers, and none of these figures take off fuel or wear on your car, so use them as rough guides only. There’s more on the Uber side in how much Uber pays for evening and weekend work.

The bigger difference is how each app pays. DoorDash’s Earn by Time mode pays a guaranteed rate per active hour. Active time covers the drive to the restaurant, the wait there and the drive to the customer. DoorDash’s example rate is $14, but that’s an illustration and not a national rate. In this mode you can decline or unassign one offer an hour. A second decline, or letting an offer time out, ends the dash. If you want a predictable Saturday evening, that structure is appealing. Uber Eats shows you an upfront fare that includes any upfront tip. You keep all your tips, and a “Guaranteed” badge protects you if a customer cuts the tip after delivery.

Where you live can matter more than which app you pick. New York City’s minimum for restaurant delivery apps is $22.13 an hour from the first pay period on or after April 1, 2026. Uber’s NYC page still shows the 2025 figure of $21.44, so go by the city’s number. DoorDash’s help page sets out Seattle’s per-offer minimum. Each offer pays the greater of $0.80 per engaged mile plus $0.47 per engaged minute, or $5.34. Tips don’t count toward it, and the rates are adjusted every year. Uber’s help page describes California’s Prop 22 guarantee as 120% of the applicable minimum wage for active time, plus $0.37 a mile. Time spent waiting online doesn’t count. Uber says some other markets have a minimum rate for on-trip time too.

Grubhub vs DoorDash

Both apps rely on scheduling. DoorDash also confirms two things Grubhub’s driver site doesn’t describe: a way to start without booking, and a guaranteed hourly mode. Grubhub builds base pay from mileage, delivery type and time spent, you keep 100% of tips, and missions add bonuses. Gridwise gives Grubhub an average of $18.67 an hour. A few high earners can pull an average up, though, so it can’t fairly be compared with DoorDash’s median.

Trust is a fair question for both. The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General alleged that Grubhub misled drivers about pay. In August 2026 the FTC sent more than $23.8 million to 640,038 people, and Grubhub must now advertise driver pay honestly. In September 2026 New York City announced a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash. It includes $12.3 million for Dashers who were underpaid or paid late. About 264,000 Dashers will be paid automatically, with a median payment of about $48. Neither record is spotless, so we’d judge both apps on what your own weekly pay statements show. Grubhub has been owned by Wonder since January 2025.

Cash-out costs and one setting to check

If you cash out after every Saturday shift, the fees add up over a year. DoorDash’s Fast Pay costs $1.99 and works once a day, to a debit card only (not a prepaid card). Anything you haven’t cashed out by Sunday 11:59 p.m. Pacific goes into the weekly deposit. DoorDash’s Crimson account offers instant deposits with no fee. Uber Instant Pay costs $1.25 per cash-out, up to six times a day, and the Uber Pro Card pays out automatically after every trip at no cost. Grubhub’s Instant Cash Out opens 15 minutes after a delivery, but check the fee in the app before you rely on it. If you can wait, the standard weekly deposit avoids instant cash-out fees altogether.

Since July 21, 2026, Uber Eats has taken cash orders in some markets, and eligible couriers are signed up automatically. Uber says cash deliveries can push your balance negative, even by more than the trip paid. If you’d rather not carry cash, go to Preferences and turn off “Accept Cash.”

Before you start: your day job

Read your employment contract or handbook for anything about outside work or conflicts of interest. Keep the two jobs separate: never use a work phone, work car or work hours for deliveries. For broader habits, see how to make side hustles work around a full-time job.

Insurance is the bigger trap. Personal auto policies often exclude business use. DoorDash requires you to carry your own insurance as the law requires. Its commercial policy covers up to $1,000,000 in third-party injury or damage, but only during active deliveries, and it may not apply if you don’t have personal insurance. Before your first shift, ask your insurer what you’re covered for.

Each account belongs to one person. Uber bans account renting and runs random selfie checks, and DoorDash may ask for a selfie partway through a dash. If your partner wants to deliver too, they need their own account. Never give anyone your one-time code. DoorDash says it will never ask for it, and fake “support” calls asking for it are a known scam.

Taxes on weekend delivery money

None of these apps withholds tax, so plan for it from your first weekend. This is general information rather than tax advice, so check your own situation with a tax preparer.

Self-employment tax is 15.3% once your net earnings reach $400. Mileage is usually your biggest deduction. The IRS standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1. As an example, if we assume you drive 40 miles on an October Saturday, that’s a $30.40 deduction, so record your miles every shift. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year, you’re generally required to pay estimated tax, and the next due date is January 15, 2027. The 1099-NEC threshold rises to $2,000 for payments made in 2026, but the apps’ help pages still mention $600. Uber issues a 1099-K once customer payments reach $20,000. Whether or not you get a form, you must report everything you earn. Ask your preparer about the new deduction for tips. It allows up to $25,000 a year from 2025 to 2028, but only for listed occupations, so confirm whether delivery work qualifies. DoorDash now emails tip totals separately because of this change.

Will this wear you out?

The dinner rush falls when your family is eating, and that is what this work costs you at home. After a full working week, restaurant waits, parking and stairs take more out of you than the hours suggest. In our view, two shifts a weekend is a sensible ceiling to start with, keeping at least one evening free. The seasons change things as well. School holidays, summer trips and the run-up to the holidays shift both your free time and local demand. Treat each new season as a fresh test instead of assuming last month’s numbers will hold.

A realistic weekend schedule

• Saturday morning: family time, errands, rest.
• Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: lunch block on your main app.
• Saturday afternoon: fully off.
• Saturday 5 to 8 p.m.: dinner block, the busiest window you’ll get.
• Sunday: one optional lunch block, then 20 minutes logging miles and setting aside money for tax.

Scaling it gently

To double your income, start by running a second app in the same hours rather than adding hours. When your main app goes quiet, going online on the other can fill the gaps. Add a Friday dinner block only once Saturdays feel easy and nobody at home minds, and keep one full day a week free of deliveries. If driving stops suiting you, our list of local side hustles for weekends only has options that are kinder on your car.