DoorDash Hacks: Make More Money as a Dasher & Get Free Food (2024)

As a DoorDash driver, you can make great money – but only if you know how to optimize your earnings with DoorDash hacks.

Optimizing your earnings can be tricky, but it’s definitely worth it. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

We’ve put together this list of the best DoorDash hacks. By using these tips, you can make more money and get free food as a customer!

How Doordash Works

Doordash is an on-demand food delivery service. Customers order food from local restaurants and Doordash delivers it to them.

As a Doordash driver, your job is to pick up the food and deliver it to the customer. You get paid for each delivery you make plus a small tip from the customer.

The amount of money you can make depends on a few factors, including:

• How many deliveries you make
• What time of day you work
• Where you work

If you’re not already a DoorDash Dasher, you can get started by hitting the green ‘Become a Dasher’ button below:

Now that you know how Doordash works, let’s get into the hacks!

The Best Doordash Hacks For Drivers

These DoorDash hacks can help you make more money:

1. Apply for DasherDirect to Get Paid Faster

If you want to make even more money on Doordash, you can apply for DasherDirect.

For everyone who dashes, there’s a new way to get paid and get cash in your wallet.

With DasherDirect, your earnings are deposited to a prepaid debit card after every dash. No deposit fees, no waiting — just your earnings, right in your wallet.

Plus, as a DasherDirect cardholder, you always get 2% cash back when you get gas.

Overall, with the DasherDirect app, you can check your balance, transfer money, and find no-fee ATMs — without worrying about overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements.

You can Apply for DasherDirect in your Dasher app, just tap Tap ‘Earnings,’ then ‘Learn More’.

Once you’ve activated your DasherDirect card, your Dasher earnings will automatically be added to your DasherDirect card after every dash. Payouts typically arrive in your DasherDirect Prepaid Account within minutes.

Tips are also automatically added to your DasherDirect card within 24 hours after a customer adds a tip, which may occur up to 30 days after a dash is completed.

Bottom Line: With DasherDirect, you are paid immediately after each delivery- no waiting or extra fees!

2. Make More Money By Scheduling In Advance

Doordash recently introduced a new feature called Early Access Scheduling that allows drivers to schedule their shifts in advance.

This is a great way to guarantee yourself higher earnings and generally makes DoorDash worth it for most Dashers eligible for it.

What is Early Access Scheduling?

• Early Access Scheduling is a program that allows qualified Dashers to access the Dasher schedule 6 days in advance beginning at 3pm each day.
• For Example: If you qualified for Early Access, on Friday at 3pm you would be able to see next Thursday’s Dasher schedule.
• The program is now active across the US and Canada

If you know you want to work on Friday night, for example, you can schedule your shift in advance and Doordash will give you priority over other drivers who didn’t schedule their shifts.

There are two ways to qualify for Early Access

• You qualify if you have a Customer Rating of at least 4.6, a Completion Rate of at least 95%, and have accepted and completed at least 5 deliveries on the DoorDash platform between 12am the previous Friday and 11:59pm the previous Thursday
• You qualify if you have a Customer Rating of at least 4.6, a Completion Rate of at least 95%, and have accepted and completed at least 500 lifetime deliveries on the DoorDash platform

If you meet the above requirements and want to take advantage of this hack, simply log into the Doordash app and click on the “Schedule” button. From there, you can select what day and time you want to work.

You can also use this feature to schedule multiple shifts up to 6 days in advance. So if you know you want to work every Friday and Saturday night, you can go ahead and schedule those shifts all at once every week in advance.

Bottom Line: This hack is especially useful for drivers who only want to work a few hours per week. By scheduling your shifts in advance, you can guarantee yourself a consistent income without having to commit to working full-time.

3. Wait Near Ghost Kitchens for Deliveries

If you’re looking to make more money on Doordash, one of the best things you can do is wait near “ghost kitchens.”

Ghost kitchens are restaurants that only exist for delivery orders – they don’t have a physical location where customers can eat-in.

Because ghost kitchens don’t have dine-in customers, they tend to get a lot of delivery orders. And that means more work for drivers like you!

The best way to find ghost kitchens in your area is to open up the Doordash app and look at the restaurant list. Restaurants that only offer delivery will be labeled as “ghost kitchens.”

Another way to find ghost kitchens is to search online. A quick Google search will reveal any ghost kitchens in your area.

Once you’ve found a few ghost kitchens, the next step is to wait near them for deliveries. This hack works best if you park your car nearby and wait for the app to notify you of a delivery.

Doordash tends to give priority to drivers who are closer to the restaurant, so by waiting nearby you’ll increase your chances of getting the delivery.

And since ghost kitchens get a lot of orders, you can make a decent amount of money just by waiting around for deliveries.

Bottom Line: This hack is especially useful during busy times like lunch and dinner rush. If you can find a ghost kitchen in a busy area, you can make a lot of money just by hanging out and waiting for orders.

4. Use More Than One Delivery App

If you want to make even more money, you can sign up for multiple delivery apps.

Doordash is just one of many delivery apps out there. I rounded up the best delivery service to work for that is actually worth it and you should be using.

In case you’re in a hurry, just know that there are plenty of other companies that will pay you to deliver food, including Instacart and Uber Eats.

Each app has its own pros and cons, so it’s worth signing up for a few different ones. That way, you can choose the app that works best for you at any given moment.

For example, if Doordash is slow in your area, you can always switch over to another app and start getting deliveries right away.

The best part about this hack is that it doesn’t take much extra effort. Once you’ve signed up for one delivery app, it’s easy to sign up for others. And once you have all the apps, you can just choose the one that’s paying the most at any given moment.

Bottom Line: This hack is especially useful during busy times like lunch and dinner rush. If you can find a ghost kitchen in a busy area, you can make a lot of money just by hanging out and waiting for orders.

Learn More

• How Much Does Instacart Pay?
• DoorDash vs. Uber Eats: Which One is Best for Drivers?
• How to Deliver for Uber Eats
• How Instacart Grocery Delivery Works

5. Earn Cash Back on Gas

If you want to save money on gas, you can sign up for a Gas Rewards program.

There are a few different programs out there, but the one that works best for DoorDash drivers is the DasherDirect card stacked with Upside.

If you haven’t heard about Upside, it’s a nifty app that offers up to 25 cents per gallon cash back on gas. Plus, you can also earn cash back on groceries, restaurants, and more.

To sign up, just download the Upside app and enter your information. Then, whenever you need to buy gas, just open the app and find a participating station near you.

Once you’ve pumped your gas, take a photo of your receipt and upload it to the app. You’ll then receive cash back within 24 hours.

Bottom Line: This hack is especially useful if you drive a lot for DoorDash. The more you drive, the more money you’ll save on gas by using gas apps like Upside. And over time, those savings can really add up.

6. Accept Stacked Orders

If you want to make more money on Doordash, you should try to accept stacked orders.

Here is a quick video explaining what stacked orders are:

Basically, a stacked order is when you have more than one delivery to make at the same time. For example, if you’re delivering to two different restaurants that are close together, that would be a stacked order.

Doordash usually pays a little extra for stacked orders, so it’s worth accepting them whenever possible.

To find out if there are any stacked orders in your area, just open up the Doordash app and check the “Possible Stacks” section. If there are any available, they’ll be listed there.

Bottom Line: Stacked orders is a simple DoorDash hack where you can get a little extra money by ordering more than one delivery at the same time.

7. Read our DoorDash Delivery Driver Guides

If you want to learn more about DoorDash, make sure to check out our resources for gig workers and other DoorDash Delivery Driver Guides.

Our guides cover everything from getting started to advanced tips and tricks. We’ll show you how to sign up, how to get more orders, and how to maximize your earnings.

We also have a guide that covers everything you need to know about the new Dasher Direct program. This guide will show you how to sign up, how to get paid, and what the benefits are of using Dasher Direct.

Check out our DoorDash Driver Guides now:

• How Much Can You Make with DoorDash in a Week? (Real Figures)
• Is DoorDash Worth It For Drivers? (Know The Truth)
• Grubhub vs DoorDash (Which Food Delivery Service is Better?)
• DoorDash vs. Uber Eats (Which One is Best for Drivers?)

How To Hack DoorDash For Free Food

If you’re looking for a way to get free food from DoorDash, you’re in luck. There are a few different hacks that you can use to get free food, and we’ll show you how to do them.

1. Use A Promo Code

One of the easiest ways to get free food from DoorDash is to use a promo code. DoorDash regularly offers different promo codes that you can use to get a discount on your order.

To find out if there are any current promo codes, just go to the DoorDash website and check the “Promotions” page. They frequently update this page with new codes, so be sure to check back often.

Our post of the best food delivery apps also has free coupons for multiple food delivery apps, and you can use them by clicking here!

2. Refer A Friend

Another easy way to get free food from DoorDash is to refer a friend. When you refer a friend, they’ll get a discount on their first order, and you’ll get a credit for your next order (usually $7 to $15 in DoorDash credit).

To refer a friend, just go to the DoorDash website and click on the “Refer A Friend” link.

Then, enter your friend’s information and they’ll receive a unique referral code. When they use that code to place their first order, you’ll get a credit.

3. Earn Free DoorDash Gift Cards

If you want to get free DoorDash food on a regular basis, you can sign up for a DoorDash Gift Card. There are a few different ways to earn these gift cards.

One way to earn DoorDash Gift Cards is to sign up for sites like Swagbucks (no really!).

Swagbucks is a GPT site that rewards you for doing different activities online, such as taking surveys, watching videos, and shopping online.

They frequently offer DoorDash Gift Cards as a reward, and they sometimes have special offers where you can earn double or triple points. Signing up for Swagbucks is free, and you can use your points to get free DoorDash food.

Another way to earn DoorDash Gift Cards is to sign up for sites like InboxDollars.

InboxDollars is similar to Swagbucks, but they also offer a few different ways to earn cash, such as playing games and you can even get paid to read emails.

They frequently offer DoorDash Gift Cards as a reward, and you can use your cash to get free food. Signing up for InboxDollars is free, and you can start earning cash right away.

4. Use A Discounted Gift Card

If you want to get a discount on your DoorDash order, you can buy a discounted gift card. There are a few different websites that sell these gift cards.

One website that sells DoorDash Gift Cards is Cardpool. They sell gift cards for a variety of different stores and restaurants, and you can often find DoorDash Gift Cards for 10% off.

Another website that sells DoorDash Gift Cards is Raise.com. They also sell gift cards for a variety of different stores and restaurants, and you can often find DoorDash Gift Cards for 5% off.

5. Use A Cash Back App

If you want to get cash back on your DoorDash order, you can sign up for a cash back app. These websites give you a percentage of your purchase back in the form of cash or points, and you can use those points to get free DoorDash food.

One cash back app that you can use is Ibotta. They give you a percentage of your purchase back in the form of cash, and you can use that cash to get free DoorDash food. Signing up for Ibotta is free, and you can start earning cash back right away.

Another cash back app that you can use is Swagbucks. They give you a percentage of your purchase back in the form of points, and you can use those points to get free DoorDash food. Signing up for Swagbucks is free, and you can start earning cash back right away.

DoorDash Hacks FAQs

DoorDash Hacks Summary

These DoorDash hacks should help you get more orders and save money on your food. If you have any other tips or tricks, feel free to share them in the comments below. And be sure to check out our other articles on how to make money with DoorDash.