How Late Does DoorDash Deliver? (Ultimate Guide)
Maybe you're hankering for a late-night snack and want to place a DoorDash order.
Or, maybe you're making money with DoorDash and want to know how late you can stay out on deliveries.
Whatever the case, one frequent question customers and Dashers alike ask is: how late does DoorDash deliver?
The way DoorDash hours work can be a bit confusing since it depends on your market and some other factors.
That's why this post is covering when DoorDash closes, how the hours work, and tips for making sure you get your deliveries when you need to.
How Late Does DoorDash Deliver?
In most cities, DoorDash delivers until around 11pm or even midnight. How late DoorDash stays open really depends on how late restaurants in your market remain open. This is because the DoorDash app works 24/7 but requires restaurants to still be open for you to order.
Really, the time DoorDash closes orders at depends on a few main factors:
- Number Of Restaurants In Your City: If you live in a larger city with more restaurants, there's a higher chance some restaurants stay open 24/7. So in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, DoorDash is basically 24/7.
- Number Of Available DoorDash Drivers: One reason DoorDash is slow or not available is that there aren't enough active drivers. Again, this isn't an issue in large cities. But in small towns, it might be hard to get DoorDash delivery past 10pm.
- Day Of The Week: If you live in a smaller city, some restaurants might stay open late on Friday and Saturday night but close earlier on other days of the week.
Ultimately, if you live in a massive city, DoorDash should be 24/7 or at least let you order until 1 or 2 in the morning.
But in smaller towns and cities, many restaurants close at around 10pm or 11pm, so this is the latest you can order from DoorDash.
What Time Does DoorDash Close?
The DoorDash app is available 24/7, which means it never truly closes. However, if restaurants close in your area, you won't have any available delivery options in your area when you open the app and search for food.
The same goes for DoorDash drivers. You can open the app anytime, but you usually can't schedule a Dash super late at night. And if you live in a small town, restaurants probably won't be open from 2am to 5am, so you won't get any order requests.
Are There Days DoorDash Doesn't Deliver?
DoorDash operate 365 days a year, including during holidays and major events like:
- Christmas
- Easter
- New Years
- Mother's and Father's day
- The Super Bowl
This is the beauty of the gig economy; someone is always willing to work, and DoorDash relies on this basic supply and demand model.
Reasons Your DoorDash Order Is Late
According to DoorDash data, the average delivery time is about 42 minutes on average. This means it takes 42 minutes from the time a customer orders their food with the app to it arriving at their door.
And now that you know how late DoorDash delivers, let's cover a few common reasons for late DoorDash deliveries so you know how to avoid this problem.
1. You're Ordering At Peak Times
The best times to deliver for DoorDash as a driver is during the lunch rush, dinner rush, and then late-nights on Friday and Saturdays.
So as a customer, ordering at peak times like during lunch or dinner means there's a higher chance driver's are busy with orders and will be slower to deliver yours.
This is just part of how DoorDash's supply and demand works, so don't be surprised if ordering your dinner takes an hour or longer if you order at the busiest times.
2. Not Enough DoorDash Drivers
If there's bad weather outside or you're ordering DoorDash very late, there are probably fewer drivers on the road.
And with fewer active drivers, it's only natural that your order will take longer to get accepted and to arrive at your home.
Extra Reading – The Best DoorDash Driver Tips & Tricks.
3. You're Not Tipping
DoorDash drivers can't see tips when you make an order. However, DoorDash provides a guaranteed earnings amount that includes base pay and also factors in tips.
So, if you leave a large tip when you order, DoorDash is likely going to show Dashers a higher guaranteed pay when they decide to accept or decline an order.
With higher pay, Dashers are more likely to accept your order quickly, meaning you get your food faster.
4. You Live Far Away
One final reason for a late DoorDash delivery is that you live very far away from the restaurants you're ordering from.
Not only does this make a Dasher drive farther, but they might have to drive all the way back to stay in their designated DoorDash zone.
When ordering from restaurants that are far away, make sure you tip to incentivize drivers to make the trek out to you.
Tips For Avoiding Late Deliveries
Now that we've covered when DoorDash stops delivering and why orders can be delayed, here are some tips customers can use to avoid late deliveries in the first place.
1. Schedule Your DoorDash Orders
Not many customers know this, but you can actually schedule DoorDash orders in advance.
This tactic won't work for a spontaneous order after a late night out on the town. But you can schedule your lunch or dinner deliveries in advance to make sure DoorDash finds a driver to deliver it in time.
Just make sure the store you're ordering from is actually open for the time you want your food deliveries.
2. Beat The Rush
As mentioned, ordering at busy DoorDash times like lunch and dinner can result in slower deliveries because of high demand.
So, if you're willing to eat a bit earlier or later, try ordering during non-peak times.
This could even be 30 minutes to one hour before dinner or after lunch. But this should reduce the chances you get your food very late.
3. Order From Restaurants With Good Reviews
DoorDash lets customers review restaurants and their overall experience. And one sign of a slow restaurant is often that it has bad reviews.
People want their food quickly, and even restaurants with great tasting food often have 3-4 stars because the food takes so long to prepare and deliver.
4. Go With Less-Popular Restaurants
One final tip to avoid late DoorDash deliveries is to go with slightly less popular restaurants.
I mean let's face facts: if you order McDonald's on a Friday night along with every other college kid, you're going to wait a while for your food to arrive.
But if you order from a smaller chain or less popular restaurant, you might get your food faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DoorDash 24/7?
DoorDash is a 24/7 app that lets customers and drivers login at any time. However, customers can't order if restaurants in their city aren't open. Similarly, DoorDash drivers won't get order requests and can't make money if restaurants are all closed.
What Are Other Delivery Gigs I Can Use To Make Money?
DoorDash is an excellent side hustle since it's available in 5,000+ cities and lets you work the hours you want.
However, there are numerous other driving gigs you can use to make quick money on the side besides DoorDash.
And, many Dashers actually double-app so they get as many order requests as possible.
Some of the best jobs like DoorDash you can use to make money include:
- Instacart: The leading grocery delivery service in North America where you can realistically earn $15 to $20+ per hour.
- Uber Eats: Another popular food delivery app like DoorDash.
- Cornershop: A newer grocery delivery service by Uber that is similar to Instacart.
- Amazon Flex: Get paid $18 to $25 per hour as an Amazon Flex driver.
People often double-app with DoorDash and Instacart or with Uber Eats.
Whatever the case, you can try to use all these apps to make as much money as possible, especially if DoorDash is slow in your market.
Extra Reading – How To Get More DoorDash Orders.
What's The Average DoorDash Delivery Time?
According to data from DoorDash, the average delivery time for an order is approximately 42 minutes. However, you can get faster deliveries if you use the pick-up option and just pass by the restaurant yourself to get your food.
Final Thoughts
So, what time does DoorDash stop delivering?
It all depends on the size of your city and how late restaurants stay open. But in major cities, this is often until 2am or 3am or even 24/7.
As for smaller towns and cities, DoorDash probably stops delivering at 2am or 3am at the latest, and often stops at 11pm.
But if you know the hours restaurants are open, you shouldn't have any nasty surprises as a customer. And as a DoorDash driver, you can work at the busiest times to make as much money as possible.
Thanks for reading!
Looking for other useful gig economy guides? Checkout:
- How To DoorDash For The First Time.
- How Much Money Do Instacart Shoppers Make?
- How To Make The Most Money On DoorDash.
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