If you want to know how to make $500 a week with DoorDash, I’m going to show you how to do it. To many people, making $500 a week with DoorDash might seem difficult. I’ve found that if you break things down into smaller numbers, things become much more manageable.
In this post, I’m going to tell you exactly how to make $500 a week with DoorDash. Let’s take a look at what you need to do.
The Math Behind How To Make $500 Per Week With DoorDash
If you want to make $500 per week with DoorDash, it helps to break it down into a smaller number. $500 per week might seem like a lot. But if you think about how much you need to earn per day, you’ll find it’s much more manageable to hit this target.
To make $500 per week on DoorDash, you need to earn about $71 per day. When you think of it like that, $500 per week seems much more in reach.
If you’re strategic about how you approach DoorDash and dash in an area with high demand, most people should be able to earn at least $20 per hour. I personally average around $30 to $40 per hour by multi-apping and working during peak hours in high-demand areas (more on that in the next section).
Even at $20 per hour, earning $71 in a day would take about 3.5 hours. If you can increase your earnings to $30 per hour, it would only take you about 2.5 hours or so to earn $71 in a day. That’s really not that much time. Work for an hour or so during lunch and an hour or so during dinner and it’s very possible you can earn $71 in a day without having to work that much. If you can get into the $40 per hour range, it’s possible to make $500 a week working 2 hours per day or less.
An Example of Someone Making $500 A Week With DoorDash
Here’s an example of how you can make $500 a week with DoorDash. Let’s say you have a goal of making $500 per week or about $2,000 per month with DoorDash. To do this, you’d need to make about $71 per day.
To reach this goal, you could do the following:
- Work for 1 hour during the lunch break. If you earn $30 per hour, you’d make $30 over the lunch hour.
- Work for 1.5 hours during the dinner rush and average $30 per hour. If you did this, you’d earn $40 during the dinner rush.
If you did that, you’d make $70 per day just by taking an hour over the lunch hour and an hour-and-a-half over the dinner rush. That’d nearly get you to the $71 per day you need to earn.
To earn a good hourly rate though, you need to use some basic strategies, which I’ve outlined in the next section.
Tips For How To Make $500 A Week With DoorDash
Making $500 per week with DoorDash without working tons of hours each day requires you to be strategic. Here are some important tips and strategies you can use to earn more on DoorDash and make $500 per week.
Multi-App
If you want to make $500 a week with DoorDash, you’re going to want to multi-app. So what is multi-apping?
The general gist of multi-apping is that instead of delivering with only one app, you use all of the food delivery apps in your market at the same time. In my market, I deliver using DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Whenever I want to do deliveries, I’ll turn on all three apps and accept orders from all of them. My goal is to pick orders going in the same general directions. By doing this I’m able to dramatically increase my earnings.
The math shows you how valuable multi-apping can be. Most of the deliveries I accept pay between $5 and $8. When I’m multi-apping during peak hours, I’m typically able to complete 5 deliveries per hour. You can see the range of income I can earn per hour given these numbers.
If I complete 5 deliveries per hour at $5 per delivery, I’ll make $25 per hour. At $6 per delivery, I’ll increase my hourly rate to $30 per hour. At $7 per delivery, I’ll earn $35 per hour. And at $8 per delivery, I’m able to earn $40 per hour. To figure out how much you can make, figure out how many orders you can complete in an hour and what you think you can average per delivery.
DoorDash is a numbers game. And if you’re only using DoorDash, you’re probably only going to get 3-4 deliveries per hour. But if you can add other apps like Uber Eats or Grubhub into the mix, you can increase your earnings simply by completing more deliveries. The best is when you get orders from the same restaurant all going in the same direction. When this happens, instead of getting paid for one delivery, you could be getting paid for 2 or 3 deliveries.
Work During Peak Hours
A lot of people make the mistake of treating DoorDash like a regular job. But it’s not a regular job. DoorDash is based around two peak times – lunch and dinner. If you want to make the most you can with DoorDash, you need to be working during these peak hours. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time and earning less.
So, if you want to make $500 a week with DoorDash, try to time your dashing times with the peak lunch and dinner periods.
Stay In Busy Areas
Again, this is pretty obvious, but worth mentioning. Stay in busy areas when you’re working on DoorDash. Dense downtown areas and areas with a lot of young people tend to be the busiest places.
Another thing to think about is where your orders are taking you. Ideally, you don’t want to accept orders that take you far from busy areas. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself deadheading back to a busy area – i.e. you’re losing time and money heading back to the city center. The best thing is if you can accept deliveries that stay in busy areas or take you to another busy area.
Be Strategic With The Orders You Accept
I think a mistake a lot of new dashers make is accepting orders without thinking too much about them. Some people approach dashing with a scarcity mindset, where they think that if they don’t accept an order, they won’t get any more orders later.
The fact is, if you’re in a busy area and working during busy times, there will always be orders for you to accept. So, be strategic with the orders you do accept.
I generally consider a few things whenever I get a delivery request.
- Where’s the order going? I only want orders that aren’t going too far and keep me in a busy area of the city. If the order is way out of my way, it’s not worth doing.
- What’s my experience with the restaurant? This takes a bit of experience, but eventually, you’ll learn which restaurants are good and which you should skip. Some restaurants treat dashers with respect, have the food ready, and don’t waste your time. Others are the opposite. Stick to the good restaurants. Avoid the bad ones.
- How much is the order paying? You have to set your own criteria as to whether an order is paying enough for you to accept it. Remember that time is money, so even if an order is paying a lot, if it’ll take a lot of time to complete, you’d be better off taking a lower-paying order than you can compete faster. A good rule of thumb I use is the 50-cent rule. If I can make about 50 cents per minute for an order, it’s worth accepting. So, if an order pays $5, then I’ll accept it if I think I can complete the order in 10 minutes or less.
Think Like A Business
When you’re dashing, you’re an independent contractor, which means you’re essentially you’re own small business. Because you’re a business, you need to act like one.
Approach every delivery like a business decision. Only accept orders that you believe will be profitable. If the order pays too little or will take too long to compete or is going in a direction that isn’t ideal, don’t accept the order. You are the boss of your own little business – so act like it.
Takeaways
It is possible for you to make $500 per week with DoorDash. Indeed, with the right strategies, it can be done with just a few hours of work each day.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy though. But with experience and some practice, it can get easier. And even if you can’t make $500 per week with DoorDash, making anything extra is always a good thing.
If you want more detailed strategies or information about DoorDash, check out my post – DoorDash Dasher: What It’s Like Delivering For DoorDash.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – 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 Bike – 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.
- 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 ($10) – 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 $10 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 $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock 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 stocks using Webull.
- 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.
- 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.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($275) – 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 $250 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.
- 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.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – 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.
- OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 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.
- 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.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
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 $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Novo Bank. 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. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- 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 $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. 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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