Can DoorDash Be A Full-Time Job?

Can DoorDash be a full-time job? Theoretically yes. That being said, while there are many people who deliver for DoorDash full-time, I generally don’t think it’s a good idea and wouldn’t recommend doing it. In my view, DoorDash is best used as a side hustle, rather than a full-time job.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at why I don’t think DoorDash should be a full-time job. However, if you’re set on delivering for DoorDash full-time, I’ll also walk you through what you should do if you want to deliver for DoorDash full-time.

Can DoorDash Be A Full-Time Job?

Whether DoorDash can be a full-time job primarily depends on how much you need to earn to make it work for you. The more you need to earn, the harder it’ll be for you to deliver for DoorDash full-time. Conversely, the less you need to earn, the easier it’ll be to make DoorDash a full-time job.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau provides some good information about the median individual incomes in different states. You can find that information here: https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20220401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm. The median income differs depending on where you live, but if you deliver for DoorDash full-time, you should be able to earn a median income in most places (or at least get close to it).

However, working full-time with DoorDash doesn’t necessarily mean working 40 hours per week. As a Dasher for DoorDash, you’re an independent contractor. The advantage of being an independent contractor is that you can work as much as you want, whenever you want. So, if you know you need to earn a certain amount, you can keep working until you hit your target number.

The downside is that there is no guarantee of what you’ll make each day. Some days might be busy and you’ll do well. Other days may be slow, leading to low earnings. Depending on how busy things are, you may have to work long hours to hit your earnings goals.

Food delivery also has the issue that the work isn’t steady throughout the day. Most people order DoorDash during the lunch and dinner hours, which means the busiest times of the day are spread out. That leaves long periods in the morning, afternoon, and night when you won’t be as busy.

The other downside is that as an independent contractor, you’re responsible for your expenses. You’ll need to take this into account when calculating your earnings, as things like fuel, maintenance, and anything else you need to pay for while Dashing will cut into your earnings.

Why I Don’t Think You Should Deliver For DoorDash Full-Time

The main issue with delivering for DoorDash full-time is the variability of how much you can earn, plus the fairly small window of time when food delivery is at its busiest. There’s also the issue of expenses, primarily wear and tear on your vehicle.

The main issue you’ll need to deal with is the variability in your earnings. There’s no guarantee of what you can make with DoorDash. While I’m usually able to earn $25 to $30 per hour delivering for DoorDash, there are days when I make very little.

If you’re relying on DoorDash income, it also puts a lot of pressure on you to accept any deliveries you receive, even if they aren’t optimal (you might even have to aim for Top Dasher Status so you can receive priority orders and schedule yourself in advance). There’s also always the risk that DoorDash deactivates you for whatever reason (contract violations, etc). You remove a lot of that pressure if you treat DoorDash as a side hustle.

The other issue with delivering for DoorDash is that the best times to work are split throughout the day, with most customers ordering during lunch or dinner. That means if you want to deliver for DoorDash full-time, you’ll usually need to work longer hours or split your work day between lunch and dinner. This can make things less efficient since it means working for several hours in the middle of the day, then either earning less during the middle of the day or taking a break before going out again to work in the evening. If you have a family or other obligations, these long days can be difficult to balance.

Finally, for people who deliver using a car, putting a lot of wear and tear on your car will directly cut into your earnings. Worse yet, it’s often difficult to notice the wear and tear on your vehicle. Most people only notice their gas costs, but the more you drive, the more likely something will go wrong with your car.

In short, for most people, I think delivering for DoorDash full-time can be difficult. It puts a lot of pressure on you to keep working so you can earn money. The variability that comes with DoorDash can also make it difficult to make DoorDash a full-time gig.

Best Strategies For Delivering For DoorDash Full-Time

If you are set on delivering for DoorDash full-time, here’s what I think you need to do:

1. You Need To Multi-App

Perhaps the most important thing you need to do if you’re delivering for DoorDash full-time is to multi-app. That means signing up, not just for DoorDash, but also for Uber Eats, Grubhub, and any other delivery services in your market. Even signing up for grocery delivery apps like Instacart and Shipt can make sense.

The reason you need to multi-app is that you can’t rely on a single app to make you a full-time income. You never know when one app will be slow and another app might be busy. It’s also not good to rely only on DoorDash because the app could crash or you could get deactivated for any number of reasons.

The other reason to multi-app is to increase your earnings. An advanced strategy when it comes to food delivery is to accept multiple orders going in the same direction. Multi-apping like this can dramatically increase your earnings. For example, if you accept a DoorDash order going in one direction and also accept an Uber Eats order going in the same direction, you can essentially double your earnings in a single trip.

On my YouTube channel, I film myself multi-apping using DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Here’s one video of me doing deliveries using all of these different apps at the same time:

2. Split Up Your Day, If Possible

Food delivery is busiest during specific hours, namely the lunch and dinner rush. The time between those two hours, on the other hand, is usually pretty slow. If you want to maximize what you earn per hour, it’s best to try to work only during the busiest hours of the day.

To do that, try to work between 11 am and 1 pm, and from 5 pm to 8 pm. Sticking to these hours will keep you busiest and help you maximize your earnings for the time you’re working. Outside those hours, I’d aim to do other things. Delivering for apps like Instacart or Shipt in the middle of the afternoon isn’t a bad idea, as grocery delivery is less dependent on the time of day compared to food delivery. Or if you have other things you can do, do that instead.

3. Use Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Or Even Consider Using A Bike Or Scooter

Minimizing your expenses is one of the most important things you can do to maximize your earnings. The most obvious expense you’ll have to think about is your vehicle expenses. To minimize these expenses, you should use fuel-efficient vehicles. An electric car is an excellent option if you have one. Otherwise, hybrids like the Toyota Prius are another good choice.

Depending on where you live, another option is to DoorDash using a bike or electric scooter. This is the way I’ve always delivered for DoorDash, not only because it saves me a ton of money, but also because it’s faster to use a bike where I live and it’s way more fun.

If you can, getting an ebike is one of the best options, as an ebike will let you travel at faster speeds and not get tired. I got my first ebike about five years ago and it was a complete game changer for me when it comes to commuting and doing DoorDash. The nice thing about getting an ebike is that they don’t have to be that expensive and you can make your money back. Think of the ebike as an investment (it might be the best investment you ever make).

Final Thoughts

In sum, DoorDash can be a full-time job, but I wouldn’t recommend most people rely on it for their full-time income. The problem for me is that the money you can earn from DoorDash is too variable and if you’re relying on DoorDash to pay your expenses, you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself.

Instead, DoorDash is best as a side hustle since you can work whenever you want and earn money quickly. It’s better if you have a full-time job that covers your bills and use DoorDash as a way to earn extra money. You can even have some fun doing it too.

This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.