If you’re delivering for Uber Eats, you might be wondering if your Uber Eats acceptance rate matters. Should you accept most of the orders that Uber Eats sends your way? Or can you be strategic and only accept better orders?
Here’s the short answer. Your Uber Eats acceptance rate doesn’t matter. Indeed, Uber Eats makes it clear that it doesn’t matter. Anecdotally, I’ve also been delivering with Uber Eats for over 5 years and have consistently maintained a low acceptance rate. Usually, I accept 25% or less of the delivery requests I receive.
In this post, we’ll look at how the Uber Eats acceptance rate works and further explain why it simply doesn’t matter. We’ll also talk about another issue related to your Uber Eats acceptance rate – canceling orders and how you can do that without hurting your standing on Uber Eats.
Uber Eats Acceptance Rate – What Is It And How It Works
Your Uber Eats acceptance rate is based on the number of Uber Eats delivery requests you receive that you also accept. Every time you receive an Uber Eats delivery request on your phone, you have the choice of either accepting it or rejecting it.
When you reject an order, you lower your acceptance rate. By contrast, when you accept an order, you increase your acceptance rate. For example, if you’ve received 100 delivery requests and rejected 50 of them, your acceptance rate would be 50%.
One thing to note is that if you reject too many orders in a row or let a bunch of orders in a row lapse before you accept or reject them, Uber Eats will automatically log you out of the app. However, you can immediately log back in and keep getting delivery requests, so this is more of an annoyance than an actual issue you have to worry about.
How To Check Your Uber Eats Acceptance Rate
Uber Eats used to show you your acceptance rate, but a few years ago, they removed that feature. Recently, however, they seemed to have brought it back. Now you can see your Uber Eats acceptance rate in the profile section of your Uber driver app (click the top left corner of the Driver app, then click on your profile picture).
Here’s what my stats look like in the Uber Eats driver app:
As you can see, I maintain a low acceptance rate, only accepting orders that are profitable to me. I reject far more orders than I ever accept (I also have a high cancel rate, which is a subject for another post).
In the past when Uber Eats showed you your acceptance rate, people who didn’t understand the app were convinced that your acceptance rate mattered and could get you deactivated if it got too low. In reality, it’s a scare tactic that Uber Eats uses to get less experienced drivers to accept more orders. I’ve been delivering for Uber Eats for over five years and have never had issues getting orders or working with Uber Eats. If the acceptance rate did matter, I’d have noticed by now.
Your Uber Eats Acceptance Rate Doesn’t Matter
The definitive answer is that your Uber Eats acceptance rate does not matter. They make it clear in both your independent contractor agreement, as well as on the website. For example, for promotions and quests, Uber Eats states: “As of August 21, 2017 Uber is no longer tracking acceptance rate or cancellation rate against Quest promotions.” The fact that they are no longer tracking your acceptance rate in the app at all is also an indication that it doesn’t matter.
That being said, Uber Eats isn’t afraid of using scare tactics to make it seem like your acceptance rate might matter. For example, on the Uber help page, they state this:
“It is important to maintain a high acceptance rate to provide a reliable service to restaurants and customers.”
That might seem to imply that your acceptance rate matters, but it’s really empty language meant to scare new drivers into accepting more orders.
And again, I know that your acceptance rate doesn’t matter because I maintain a low acceptance rate, cherry-picking orders that make sense to me. Despite this, I’ve been consistently delivering for Uber Eats for over half a decade.
If you think about it, Uber Eats has a vested interest in avoiding anything that makes Uber Eats drivers look like employees. Requiring drivers to accept a certain percentage of orders would undermine the independent contractor relationship between Uber Eats and its drivers. So the best they can do is try to scare drivers into accepting more orders, but they can’t really do anything to punish drivers that are strategic about which orders they accept.
Canceling Uber Eats Orders – That’s Okay Too
Related to accepting orders is whether you can also cancel orders after you accept them. The answer here is that you can cancel orders without any issue so long as you do so before you pick up the order.
There are a lot of reasons why you might want to cancel an order after you accept it. First, it’s easy to accidentally accept a delivery request. The app makes it stupidly easy to click accept. I guarantee you’ll find yourself opening the app and accepting an order by accident.
The second reason you might want to cancel an order is if you arrive at the restaurant and find the order isn’t ready or there’s a long wait. Sometimes, you just need to cut your losses and move on.
Finally, you might also cancel an order because it’s not going in an ideal direction. If you’re multi-apping (which I recommend everyone does), you might get an order from Uber Eats, then realize that you have orders from DoorDash or Grubhub going in opposite directions. In those situations, it might make sense to cancel an Uber Eats order you already accepted to focus on other orders.
The most important thing is to never cancel an order after you’ve picked up the food and marked that you’re on your way to the customer. The reason you don’t want to do this is that Uber Eats or the restaurant loses money if you cancel an order after you’ve picked it up. When you cancel an order after you’ve picked it up, you keep the food and no one else can deliver the order. If you do this too many times, I’m positive that Uber Eats will eventually deactivate your account.
By contrast, if you cancel an order before you pick it up, there’s no harm to anyone. Uber Eats can send the order to someone else and they’ll still make their money.
Final Thoughts
So, if you’ve made it this far, you hopefully have learned why your Uber Eats acceptance rate doesn’t matter. When you’re delivering with Uber Eats, you’re working as an independent contractor, which means you are your own small business. As such, you need to act like one and be strategic about the assignments you accept. No business would ever accept an unprofitable bit of work. And the same should be true for you.
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.
- 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 October 31, 2022. As long as you get your account opened before October 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($350) – 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.
- Fifth Third Bank ($250) – 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.
- 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.
- OnJuno ($100) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $250 or more. The account has no fees or minimum balance requirements. Even better, the bonus posts immediately after you meet the requirements. If you can meet the direct deposit requirements, OnJuno is an easy bank bonus that’s worth snagging. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($50) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $50 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spiral ($50) – Spiral is a fintech bank that's currently offering new customers a $50 signup bonus after opening a free checking account with them. The Spiral referral bonus is especially good because it's a free checking account and doesn't require a direct deposit to earn the bonus. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Spiral Bank bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- 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 $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- Upgrade Bank. 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. Note that it’s now scheduled to end on October 31, 2022.
- 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.
It does matter. I tested a few times and my delivery offers slow down, sometimes alot.
You might think that, but I can counter and say I’ve never noticed any difference. Of course, how orders are assigned is a mystery, but I’d bet it’s probably more in your head than you think.