How much can you make with DoorDash in 3 hours? For most people, I think it’s realistic to aim to make $60 in 3 hours. This averages out to $20 per hour and is an achievable goal for most people, so long as you’re being strategic with how you work for DoorDash. This includes working during prime hours, sticking to dense areas where you can get a lot of orders, and multi-apping, if possible.
For many people, doing 3 hours of DoorDash is the perfect amount of time. Even with a busy schedule, many people can fit a few hours of DoorDash into their schedule. And 3 hours of DoorDash is just the right amount of time for you to work during the best hours when you can maximize your earnings (i.e. you can work 1.5 hours during the lunch hour and 1.5 hours during the dinner rush).
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how much you can make with DoorDash in 3 hours, as well as discuss the strategies you can use to maximize your DoorDash earnings for those three hours.
How Much Can You Make With DoorDash In 3 Hours?
How much you can make with DoorDash in 3 hours will vary depending on when and where you work, as well as the strategy you use when delivering for DoorDash. This is because, unlike a typical job where you’re paid a set wage, with DoorDash, you’re working as an independent contractor, which means you choose when you work and decide which orders you accept.
That being said, the minimum I think everyone should aim to make with DoorDash in 3 hours is $60. This comes out to an hourly rate of $20 per hour. In my view, if you aren’t able to make at least $20 an hour from DoorDash and other food delivery apps, you should probably consider whether DoorDash is worth it for you.
The math of how much you can make with DoorDash in 3 hours is straightforward. Simply take what you earn over three hours and divide that number by three. That’ll tell you your hourly rate.
It’s important to remember that DoorDash generally pays Dashers per order they complete, not an hourly rate as you might expect from a typical job (there is an exception to this, as you can also opt for DoorDash Earn By Time, which is a way to earn a minimum hourly rate if you meet certain requirements).
A payout for a DoorDash order is based on three things: (1) the base pay, (2) any tip you receive from the customer, and (3) any promotional bonuses in effect.
If you want to earn at least $60 in three hours, you’ll need to consider what the orders you’re accepting are paying, how many orders you’re doing, and how long it’ll take you to complete those orders. Remember that the more orders you can complete in an hour, the more you’ll earn.
If you want to make $20 in an hour, you’ll have to think of how many orders you can complete per hour, as well as how much you’re earning per order. So, if you can complete 4 orders in one hour, with an average pay rate of $5 per order, you’ll earn $20 for the hour. In 3 hours, if you complete 12 orders with an average pay rate of $5 per order, you’ll earn the $60 that I recommend everyone aim for.
Strategies To Maximize Your Earnings With DoorDash Over 3 Hours
Here are the main strategies to consider to maximize your earnings with DoorDash over three hours:
1. Work During Prime Hours
The most important thing you can do is work during the busiest hours for DoorDash. Generally, this will be during the lunch hours (from 11 am to 1 pm) and dinner hours (from 5 pm to 8 pm). It’s very important to work during these times because the only way you earn money from DoorDash is by doing deliveries. If you’re not getting any orders, you won’t earn anything.
The good thing about working just three hours on DoorDash is that it allows you to limit your working hours to only the best times. If you work a full 8 hours, for example, much of your working time will be during off hours when you likely won’t receive many orders. By contrast, if you only work an hour or two at lunch and dinner, you’ll stay busy the entire time you’re working.
2. Work In Good Neighborhoods
In addition to when you work, it’s also important to consider where you work. Most of the time, the best places to work will be in dense areas, usually downtown areas and areas with a lot of apartments. I especially like to stick to hip neighborhoods that have a lot of young people – college campuses, for example, have worked out very well for me.
The benefit of working in dense neighborhoods is twofold. First, you’ll get more orders because more of the restaurants that people order from will be there. Second, the distances you travel will likely be shorter since there are more people in a smaller area. Both of these things are hugely beneficial since getting more orders that are traveling shorter distances means you can complete more orders, and thus, earn more money.
3. Be Strategic About The Orders You Accept
There can be a tendency when doing DoorDash to accept anything that gets sent your way. This is a mistake. DoorDash makes it clear that your acceptance does not matter. If you are accepting orders because you want to keep your acceptance rate up to avoid potential deactivation, this is unnecessary. DoorDash makes it abundantly clear that you cannot be deactivated because of a low acceptance rate (note that you can be deactivated for a low completion rate, which is the percentage of deliveries you accept that you ultimately do not complete).
Some people may opt to keep a high acceptance rate to gain access to the Top Dasher Program. I’ve made the argument that I don’t think Top Dasher status is worth it because of the tradeoff of having to accept bad orders.
With any order, you want to consider how far the order is going and how long it’ll take you to complete it. With experience, you’ll begin to understand the time it takes to complete orders. Some restaurants will be better than others. And some locations will have better deliveries. This will all be unique to your area and will require experience on your part. I’ve been delivering for DoorDash for over 8 years, so with all that experience, I have a good idea of which restaurants are quick and which neighborhoods are good to work in,
It’s important to remember that DoorDash earnings are based on the number of orders you complete. That means the more orders you can complete in a shorter amount of time, the more you’ll make. This is a fact that I think a lot of Dashers overlook. While high-paying orders can be tempting, it’s important to consider how long an order will take to complete. Even a high-paying order might not be worth it if you have to wait a long time at the restaurant for the order or if you have to travel a long distance to get to the customer.
4. Multi-App If You Can
The final strategy you should implement if you can is multi-apping. This is an advanced tactic that won’t be suited for everyone, but will dramatically increase your earnings if you can do it.
For those who don’t know what it is, multi-apping is the process of delivering for multiple delivery apps at the same time. So, instead of only delivering for DoorDash, you have not only the Dasher app running but also your Uber Eats and Grubhub driver apps running as well. Ideally, you can receive orders from multiple delivery apps, all going from restaurants nearby and going to customers in the same general direction.
Multi-apping takes practice to do correctly, so I don’t recommend you do this if you are new to DoorDash and other food delivery apps. But, with practice, it becomes very easy. I’ve been multi-apping for years now and have never had any issues.
If you are multi-apping and work during prime hours and in good locations, you’re almost guaranteed to average at least $20 per hour. I typically average more than that.
If you want to learn more about multi-apping, check out my post: The Ultimate Guide To Multi-Apping With DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
Final Thoughts
In my view, you should aim to make a minimum of $20 per hour, or about $60 in three hours from doing DoorDash. This shouldn’t be difficult for most people to do. All it takes is averaging 4 deliveries per hour, with an average of $5 per delivery. If you are multi-apping, you could easily achieve this by doing 2 deliveries per hour with DoorDash, and 1 delivery each per hour on Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Depending on where you live, you can probably make more than $60 in 3 hours. In my experience, I’m usually able to make much more than that, often hitting $75 in 3 hours and sometimes reaching $100 in 3 hours if things are going particularly well.
Of course, there’s no guarantee of what you can make in 3 hours with DoorDash. But if you use the tips and strategies in this post, you’ll put yourself in a good situation to maximize your DoorDash earnings.
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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.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 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 $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- 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.
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