Here, we’ve compared DoorDash vs Postmates to highlight areas in which one may have an advantage, and show whether you may prefer to try one over the other.
After all, in today’s fast-paced society, convenience is king.
These two of the most popular food delivery apps offer delivery and pickup from local restaurants throughout the country.
Which one is better? Let’s take a look.
Postmates or DoorDash User Comparison
When comparing Postmates vs DoorDash, there are many factors to consider.
Between all of the many factors to look at, we believe the following are most important from a customer’s perspective:
- Available areas
- Variety of restaurant options
- Promotional partnerships
- User-friendliness
- Pricing & fees
- Opportunities for existing users
- Customer service & support
While both of these food delivery services are fantastic in their own right, there may be a category or two that may be more important to your particular experience.
And if you’re a night owl, you may also want to check out our guide on what time does DoorDash stop delivering.
Read on to compare these factors for a comprehensive DoorDash and Postmates food delivery comparison.
DOORDASH AND POSTMATES: THE CONTENDERS
DoorDash
DoorDash made their way onto the food delivery stage in 2013. Since then they’ve grown drastically in size & reach. Nowadays they’re widely considered one of the most well-rounded delivery apps available and very popular as a result.
Postmates
Postmates was one of the early birds of food delivery (2011), and they boast the most unique options for customers as a result. Their popularity can be accredited to their massive selection of order options, including the ability to deliver from any establishment.
DOORDASH VERSUS POSTMATES: THE COMPARISON
DOORDASH: STRENGTHS
- Low order minimums
- Delivers from convenience stores
- Great introductory offer
POSTMATES: STRENGTHS
- Delivers from grocery stores
- Huge variety of restaurant options
- Local promotional partnerships
DOORDASH: WEAKNESSES
- Need to create an account before seeing what options they have
- Service fees included on all delivery orders
POSTMATES: WEAKNESSES
- Less available areas than competitors
- Higher delivery fees for non-partnered merchants
DOORDASH: EASE OF USE
- Suggested items feature to assist in making a decision
- Lower order minimums
POSTMATES: EASE OF USE
- Simple group ordering with Postmates Party
- Easy-to-use order customizations
DOORDASH: PRICE & VALUE
- Great introductory offer
- Exclusive membership deals with Chase cards
POSTMATES: PRICE & VALUE
- Low delivery fees for partner merchants
- Great membership program
DOORDASH: DELIVERY
- Estimated delivery time given before checkout screen
- Organized group ordering
POSTMATES: DELIVERY
- Delivery goal within 1 hour
- Convenient curbside pickup option available for no extra charge
DOORDASH: FOOD VARIETY
- Can order delivery from restaurants & convenience stores
- Teamed w/ Caviar to offer more restaurant choices
POSTMATES: FOOD VARIETY
- Over 600,000 choices available within the app
- Able to order from anywhere with a manual order option
DOORDASH: SUPPORT
- 5 different support options including email & chat
- In-depth FAQ section for self-help ability
POSTMATES: SUPPORT
- Strong support presence via social media channels
- Simple, straightforward refund process if ever needed
DOORDASH: AVAILABILITY
- Available in over 4,000 cities
- U.S. & P. Rico, Canada & Australia
POSTMATES: AVAILABILITY
- Available to 80% of US households
- Focused on regional expansion
DOORDASH VS POSTMATES: THE RESULTS
DoorDash
DoorDash is one of the most multi-faceted food delivery apps with a large availability, lower fees, good customer service, and options for delivery from restaurants and convenience stores alike.
Postmates
Postmates is revered for their wealth of options, including the ability to deliver from anywhere (including groceries), split fees with Postmates Party, and partnership promotions with local/regional restaurants.
DOORDASH OR POSTMATES: THE OVERVIEW
On-demand services are all the rage with this trend, and food delivery services are soaring in popularity within this area.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economical shutdowns, food delivery apps have become a go-to for many people throughout the world and especially in the United States.
While they have much in common, they do differ in many respects.
Take a peek at our in-depth guide to see which one may work best for you.
Where Are DoorDash and Postmates Available?
In the Postmates vs DoorDash comparison, the first thing to look at would be whether they’re even both available in your area.
If you live in a large city, you most certainly have access to both.
Beyond that, DoorDash has a slight advantage.
Postmates has seen exponential growth over the past few years. As of April 2019, they are available in over 3,500 U.S. cities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. They cite the ability to cover about 80% of U.S. households with their current availability and plans to continue expansion.
DoorDash has also shown incredible growth over the past few years, going from serving about 50 U.S. cities to offering delivery in over 4,000 cities within 4 countries including the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia as of May 2019. They also plan to continue expanding.
Popular U.S. cities for both apps include:
- NYC
- Los Angeles
- San Antonio
- Atlanta
- Orange County
- Chicago
- San Diego
- Denver
- Inland Empire
- Washington, DC
- Santa Cruz
- Reno
- Charlotte
- Seattle
- Sacramento
- Houston
There are many, many more popular cities, of course, both these are just some that enjoy these delivery service options the most.
Variety of Restaurant Options for Postmates vs DoorDash
Is DoorDash or Postmates better when it comes to variety?
Both food delivery apps offer a wide variety of restaurant options.
How many & who wins?
Postmates takes the win in this category.
The San Fransisco-based app offers over 600,000 options.
DoorDash offers about 340,000, which is quite a lot and very impressive, but not quite as many as their competitor.
If variety is something that’s important to you, then Postmates is going to be your best bet.
One thing also to consider is the fact that you can also get your groceries with Postmates.
Pretty nifty, huh?
They offer delivery from grocery stores as well as the option to request delivery from any restaurant or grocery store in your area, even if it isn’t part of their platform.
For a deeper dive into these services from top to bottom and find out what people are saying about them, check out our Postmates review for customers post and our DoorDash review for customers.
Promotional Partnerships Play a Large Role
Do you like getting deals and perks with your food deliveries?
No matter which food delivery app you choose, you may want to pay attention to this.
Some restaurant partners have exclusive deals with one of the delivery companies and will offer special promotions as a result.
So which app has more?
Both apps offer a good amount of exclusive incentives, but the Postmates service typically has a bigger variety.
They have delivery partnerships with restaurants such as:
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
- Burger King
- Jamba
- Denny’s
- Carl’s Jr.
- Subway
- Tacos El Unico
- Tender Greens
DoorDash offers promotion opportunities for its consumers with the following partners:
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Chipotle
- Cracker Barrel
- Wendy’s
- Wyndham Hotels
There are many more, of course, and even more coming as these services surge in popularity.
Which Food Delivery Apps Are Most User-Friendly?
Especially when it comes to ordering food, people want to get through the process as quickly and simply as possible.
On-demand delivery apps such as these take that into account when creating their ordering system and user interface.
So what’s better, DoorDash or Postmates?
This one is pretty even, actually.
Thankfully, both apps are very user-friendly, with quick ordering processes.
In terms of pros and cons within this category, they both have the same attributes.
On the pros side of things, they both allow you to create an order before requiring any payment information. Having to input payment information first can be quite frustrating, so this is a plus for both apps.
Also, both offer real-time tracking of your order, which is a big factor for some customers to reinforce their peace of mind while waiting for their orders.
As far as cons, the only one that sticks out is actually true for both options.
You are required to create an account before browsing through available options in your area, which can result in frustration on the part of the customer, especially if you’re already hungry!
That being said, we believe in this case that the pros outweigh the cons, and both the DoorDash app and the Postmates app are set up to be quite user-friendly and focused on pleasant customer experiences throughout the process.
How Expensive Are the Prices & Fees?
And now for the thing that most people want to know: is Postmates or DoorDash cheaper?
Both meal delivery services have a similar structure for prices and fees, so the comparison is pretty straightforward.
Whether you’re using Postmates or DoorDash, you’re going to see a combination of the following items:
- Actual food cost (the cost of the food you’re ordering)
- Service fee (company fee to cover resources & costs)
- Sales taxes (varies by location)
- The delivery fee (cost of delivery via courier)
- Gratuity (tips are encouraged but not required)
So, let’s compare.
For DoorDash, the situation would look something like this:
- Restaurant partners select the prices of their meals. You may notice differences between the usual menu price, as they typically mark them up higher to recoup some of the cost of their merchant fees. DoorDash sets the prices for any non-partner restaurants in their app. These prices may be marked up as well.
- The service fee is typically around 10-11%, although it too may vary by merchant and by city.
- Sales tax will be charged depending on your local tax rate.
- The delivery fee varies by city and by the restaurant, typically ranging from $1.99 to $5.99 (you can place an order without a delivery fee by choosing pickup instead).
- Delivery fees are higher during surge pricing times (peak hours, usually during lunch and dinner).
- Tipping is optional but encouraged. You may tip through the app or in cash.
- DoorDash does charge a small order fee of $2 if the total falls below its minimum amount.
Now looking at Postmates, their payment criteria are as follows:
- Postmates selects their prices are selected just like DoorDash, with partnered merchants choosing their own pricing, and Postmates setting non-partnered restaurants’ costs themselves.
- The service fee is also a percentage, which varies. It’s typically around 15%.
- Sales tax is added according to your local tax rate.
- The delivery fee varies by merchant. The fee for partnered merchants is typically between $0.99-3.99, and the fee for non-partnered merchants usually runs between $5.99-9.99. These may vary by area as well. Merchants will quite often offer free delivery, especially during non-peak hours.
- Delivery fees are higher during peak hours as well, which is called ‘Blitz pricing.’
- Tipping is also encouraged, but not required. The app offers the ability to tip, although you may use cash as well.
- Postmates also charges a small order fee of $1.99; the minimum is typically $12 although it can vary by city.
After looking at this direct comparison, they stack up pretty neck-to-neck.
It really depends on your local city, which restaurant you order from, and what time of the day you order.
Using these points, you should be able to use these factors to your advantage to save on your deliveries!
If you haven’t used either of these apps yet, we’d recommend taking a look at our guides to Postmates discounts and DoorDash promo codes for free delivery to see how to save some serious money getting started.
Opportunities for Existing Users to Cut Costs
While neither service specifically offers promo codes for existing users (this is typical for most on-demand services), both do offer membership programs with built-in savings for regular purchases.
Postmates offers a program called Postmates Unlimited.
As a Postmates customer enrolled in this program, you would enjoy the following benefits:
- Free delivery for all orders over $10 (minimum sometimes varies by location)
- No blitz pricing during peak hours
- Special offers for members
- Exclusive giveaway & event access
This program costs either $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly and is estimated to save users an average of $185 yearly with just two orders per month.
DoorDash offers a program called DashPass.
DashPass features include:
- Free delivery on orders from specific DoorDash restaurant partners (order minimum is $12)
- Reduced service fees on orders over $12
- Special deals for Chase cardholders
DashPass also costs $9.99 monthly and claims to save about $4-5 per order, so even just ordering twice per month makes up for the cost in savings.
With the same monthly cost (and even lower yearly cost), a wider variety of benefits, and a lower order minimum, Postmates pulls ahead of DoorDash in this comparison category.
For a deeper dive into discounts as you continue to use these services, check out our DoorDash promo for existing users guide.
Getting Help from Customer Service & Support
How about when you have an issue with your food order and need help?
Is Postmates better than DoorDash with customer service, or vice versa?
DoorDash gets the win in this category with many more ways to get in touch.
They used to only have email support, but they’ve upped their game in response to some competitors offering better solutions as well as customers requesting the ability to call via phone or use chat support.
Ask, and you shall receive.
They now offer the following support platforms:
- Chat support through their app or website
- Phone support (855-973-1040)
- Email (support@doordash.com)
- Contact form via website or app
Postmates, on the other hand, only offers a contact form for customer service (be sure to use the correct one; they have one for consumers, one for couriers, and one for merchants).
Alternatively, you could seek help via social media as they are highly responsive on platforms such as Twitter (@Postmates_Help) and Facebook.
Both services also have extensive FAQ and help sections for customers to clear up any issues on their own if desired.
Overall Conclusion: DoorDash or Postmates?
So, when cravings hit, who are you going to order with?
Well, it depends.
If you’re getting food delivery often, and you’re looking at a membership program to save as a regular user, then you may want to look at Postmates.
The reason?
The difference in rates is pretty nonexistent for Unlimited members, but they have a larger variety and they feature more promotions to choose from.
If you’re just looking to place sporadic orders here and there, you may have more of an advantage with DoorDash.
Their one-off costs are going to be slightly less due to their lower service and delivery fees.
Our advice would be to try them both and see which one you prefer!
There are fantastic benefits to each of these businesses, and many of the categories listed here are a matter of personal preference.
We’d suggest trying each for yourself to see which one works best for you.
And if you’d like to compare another fellow food delivery app, be sure to check out our comparison of DoorDash or Uber Eats.
DoorDash and Postmates FAQs
What’s the deal with the DoorDash vs. Postmates Reddit thread?
If you’re on the hunt for a promo code, be wary of the promotions listed on Reddit for both of these services. They’re just referral codes posted by existing users in an attempt to receive some account credit. These codes will only work for new users to the platform, and even then it’s hit and miss. You’d be better off using an official promo code that has been verified to work.
Does either DoorDash or Postmates take PayPal?
No, unfortunately, neither app accepts PayPal for payments at this time.
