Why Is Grubhub So Slow? - Financial Panther

Why is Grubhub so slow? You may be asking yourself this question if you’re having issues with Grubhub. Hopefully, this post can help you understand what’s going on.

There are two types of people who might be reading this and are wondering why Grubhub is so slow. These include the following people:

You’re a Grubhub driver and aren’t receiving any orders.
You’re a customer and are waiting a long time for your order to arrive.

In the remainder of this post, we’ll take a deeper dive into why Grubhub is so slow for both drivers and customers.

I’m A Driver – Why Is Grubhub So Slow?

If you’re a Grubhub driver, there are four main reasons why Grubhub may be slow for you. These include the following:

You’re working during non-peak hours.
The Grubhub app is down.
You’re not in a busy area.
There are too many Grubhub drivers signed in.

Let’s address each of these reasons in turn.

1. Delivering During Non-Peak Hours

As you can probably imagine, most people order food during two main times – the lunch hour and the dinner hour. If you want to be strategic, you should stick to doing deliveries during these hours. That means you should work between 11 am and 1 pm, and from 5 pm to 8 pm. I generally stick to working only during these prime hours to avoid any inefficiencies.

Depending on your schedule, you might prefer to work in the morning. I find that morning is typically slow on Grubhub, but this might differ depending on your market. You can try working in the morning to see how you fare, but I’ve rarely had luck working on Grubhub in the morning.

Mid-afternoon is also a bad time to work. Again, you can understand why by thinking about when people eat. Most people eat during lunch or dinner, so they’re not going to be ordering a lot of food during the mid-afternoon.

There are a few exceptions, however. On weekends, many people shift their eating habits, which means you can have fairly constant delivery requests throughout the day. In addition, if there is a special event happening (sporting events or big TV events come to mind), then that might shift when people are ordering food.

2. The Grubhub App Is Down

If you’re logged in during peak hours and you find that you aren’t getting deliveries and there isn’t any other obvious reason why Grubhub is slow, it’s possible that the Grubhub app is down. This doesn’t happen often with Grubhub (it’s far more likely to happen with DoorDash), but it can happen.

To find out if the Grubhub app is down, I usually check the Grubhub Twitter account, which will usually provide updates about the app’s status. You can also search on Twitter for the term Grubhub, which will help you find people complaining about the app being down. Finally, you can also look at the Grubhub subreddit, as many drivers will post on there if the app is down.

3. You’re Not In A Busy Area

If you find that Grubhub is slow for you, it might be because you’re not in a busy area. The Grubhub driver app will show you which areas of your city are busy. Areas with high demand are shaded in red.

These zones aren’t always correct, but they do give you a general idea of which areas in your city are likely the busiest. You’ll also want to use common sense and your own understanding of your city. Busy downtown areas are usually good places to do Grubhub. College campuses are usually busy too. I find I stay busiest around college campuses, but your area may be different. Keep experimenting until you see what works best for you.

4. You Didn’t Schedule Yourself In Advance

Grubhub does say that if you schedule in advance, you receive priority orders over those that don’t schedule in advance. Whether this is actually the case is unclear, although I suspect it’s probably true.

I rarely schedule myself in advance, so I’ve never been able to tell the difference. That being said, if you want to stay busiest, then you’ll want to consider scheduling your shifts in advance so you can get priority orders over those that don’t schedule.

I’m A Customer – Why Is Grubhub So Slow?

If you’re a customer and Grubhub is slow for you, the primary reason is likely that you aren’t tipping. Grubhub drivers are independent contractors and are paid per delivery, rather than hourly. Because Grubhub drivers are independent contractors, they are free to accept or reject any delivery requests sent their way.

Grubhub payments are made up of two parts – the base pay from Grubhub + the tip the customer leaves. Grubhub generally pays a low base pay of a few dollars, so if you don’t leave a tip, a Grubhub driver will only receive a small payout for the order. If the order is too small, most Grubhub drivers will reject the offer, which means you’ll be waiting longer for someone to agree to deliver your order.

It is true that Grubhub drivers can’t see the exact tip you leave until after they deliver your order. That being said, every Grubhub driver can still get an idea if you tipped based on the payout being offered. The takeaway is if you want your order delivered to you quickly, be sure to provide a tip.

The other reason Grubhub could be slow is that you’re ordering from a restaurant that’s too far away from your location. As can be expected, the farther away your driver has to go, the longer it’ll take to get to you. Many Grubhub drivers may reject your delivery request if your address is too far away from the restaurant. If you want your food delivered quickly, my recommendation is to order from restaurants that are closer to you.

Strategies For When Grubhub Is Slow

If you’re working as a Grubhub driver and Grubhub is slow, your best bet is to multi-app. That means signing up for multiple delivery apps and turning them all on at the same time. That way, if Grubhub is slow, other apps can make up the slack. At a minimum, you need to also be signed up for DoorDash and Uber Eats as well.

If you want more detailed info about Grubhub or any other food delivery app, be sure to check out the below posts for more information:

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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.
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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.