DoorDash vs Skip The Dishes? Each platform is different and has its own advantages and drawbacks; it’s super important to understand these in advance in order to make an informed decision about which platform is right for you.
We’ll be breaking down various comparison metrics for drivers and naming the “winner” for each category. By the end of the article, you’ll come out feeling well versed about the ins and outs of each company, but if you’re still unsure, we will present a decisive conclusion about which one—according to us—does it better.
Ready to get going? It’s the battle of DoorDash vs Skip The Dishes. Without further ado:
City Availability
Before getting too excited and mentally invested in either company, be sure to check out whether or not they are available in your city. Both platforms are sadly not offered in every Canadian city. The ideal thing to do is go on their website and find out if they operate in your area. Check Door Dash here and Skip The Dishes here. NOTE: It is easiest to enter your city in the search box rather than going through the lists or maps.
**Hot Tip: Do both companies service your city? Open the customer app and get a general idea of how many restaurants are available in your area. Why? More restaurants + greater order frequency = higher payout/
Generally speaking, it seems that Skip has a stronger market presence in Canada. This may be because they were taken over by an early entrant to the food delivery market in Canada, Just Eat. Skip is offered in twice as many Canadian cities compared to DoorDash.
Skip wins in this category for being available in more Canadian markets.
Registration
The background check process is an important prerequisite in order to start working for any gig delivery company. There is a crucial difference between both platforms. Skip makes you pay for your background check ($19.95 at the time of writing this article), while it’s free for DoorDash.
Both require the use of thermal bags and give you the option of buying company bags. It is possible to use your own bags, but you will have to prove that you have them by submitting a photo for visual proof. You can use a non-branded company bag, just as long as passes for a decent thermal bag.
**Hot Tip: Anecdotally, SkipTheDishes bags seem to be higher quality and last longer, according to drivers who have both bags.
Processing times are generally reasonable for both and you can expect to have your check completed within a week… but this can take longer if the companies have a large backlog.
DoorDash takes this category for not charging for their background check. It’s entirely possible to pay for the check and then find out that your market is oversaturated with drivers. DoorDash is therefore assumes less start-up risk.
Door Dash vs Skip The Dishes Pay
There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to comparing the pay between delivery companies. As there is no hourly guarantee, four categories were evaulated to decide who pays driver better when it comes to DoorDash vs Skip The Dishes.
Tips
Skip maxes out their tips at $25, while the DoorDash platform has no hard-imposed limit for customer tips. Tips over $25 are highly unusual but do happen once in a while by a very generous, rich or particularly giving customer.
If you don’t want to lock yourself out of the possibility of winning a potential “tip lottery…” then go with DoorDash, since no such hard limit exists. And if you think that a capped tip limit isn’t a big deal, then check out the photo below of some maximum tips that drivers have claimed to receive.
Guaranteed Order Base Rate
High order payouts and tips are anything but guaranteed in the gig delivery driving world. This means that it’s highly appreciated and noteworthy if the company steps in and compensates drivers with extra money to make up for a lackluster order. This can happen if the distance is really short or the order is really small.
Skip has a minimum order payout of around $6.50 (this varies a bit based on the city you work in) that you are guaranteed to receive if the order total + tip doesn’t reach a defined minimum. This protects the driver from completing lower-paid orders and means more money at the end of a shift.
DoorDash doesn’t have such a system in place and the company does not step in to make up for lower-paying orders but…don’t forget, you can be pickier with DoorDash without penalties.
Skip wins out here for guaranteeing a more decent minimum payout per order.
Wait Time Compensation
No delivery app is perfect and waiting at a restaurant for your order is all but guaranteed at some point during your courier journey.
Skip compensates you for wait times over 7 minutes at a rate of $0.25 per minute (this varies by city slightly). This makes longer pickup wait times less painful. And if you believe that you’ll never have to wait longer than 7 minutes for an order to be made… you are sorely mistaken!
DoorDash offers no comparative incentive, but remember, as discussed above, the orders tend to be more optimized for driver pickup.
The winner? Clearly, Skip The Dishes is the more generous company when it comes to compensating you for excessive wait times.
Peak Delivery Times Incentives
Most gig companies offer some sort of incentive payment system to get more drivers on the road during especially busy times. Uber calls it Surge/Boost, Skip calls it shift bonuses and DoorDash has peak pay.
DoorDash has peak pay bonuses that overlay on your delivery area, showing you exactly where the “hot” areas are with, supposedly, greater numbers of orders. Each completed order in this zone earns the driver an extra $1-$5. This means that even orders that don’t have an included tip can be very well worth delivering, as long as there is a decent peak pay incentive attached to the order.
Skip doesn’t have a similar structure in place. It does offer shift bonuses, but these tend to be quite underwhelming, like an extra $5 per hour. Your mileage can and will vary, but Skip incentives for busy periods are nothing to write home about.
DoorDash takes the cake here, and with distinction, for better-compensating drivers during peak times in “hot” areas.
DoorDash vs Skip the Dishes Acceptance Rates
Acceptance rate essentially measures the percentage of orders that you accept out of the total number of orders that you are given. Maintaining a certain acceptance rate percentage can be an important element for certain delivery companies and irrelevant for others.
DoorDash is quite forgiving with acceptance rates. You can reject as many orders as you want, within reason, with no real enforcement or penalization by the company. Anecdotally, some drivers have complained that they were reached out to and warned about their low acceptance, but this isn’t common.
SkipTheDishes requires a minimum 80% acceptance rate in order to maintain good driver status on the platform. You will not be banned or removed for having a rate lower than 80%, but you will be punished in crucial ways that will affect your nightly earning levels. Namely, you will receive significantly fewer orders until you are able to get your acceptance rate above 80% again. This is problematic if you like cherry-picking orders based on strict criteria, like distance and payout.
The definitive winner here is DoorDash. Skip has a very harsh penalty for not accepting enough orders. If you’re looking for a company that allows you to freely accept and reject orders as you please, consequence-free, DoorDash is the clear winner.
Order Pickup Efficiency
Not every platform is equally efficient when it comes to coordinating the logistics of order pickup. Basically, the timing between when the food is ready to be picked up vs still being made is crucial to a driver. Better optimization can save valuable time and there’s nothing more frustrating than standing around a restaurant, twiddling your thumbs.
DoorDash sends you to a restaurant when an order is almost finished, assuring you less waiting time when it’s time to swing by. Skip, on the other hand, sends you to the restaurant when the order has just started being made, which spells out potentially waiting at the restaurant for an excessive amount of time and wasting your time.
DoorDash wins this comparison for having a better-timed system between restaurants and drivers, promising a more efficient delivery process.
DoorDash vs Skip The Dishes…Winner?
It’s time to weigh out all the different factors that we’ve discussed above and pick out an overall winner. As you can clearly see, not all these companies are cut from the same cloth and offer the same benefits.
With that said, which company should you deliver for?
Are you the kind of person that values consequence-free order rejection, a more efficient pickup process, lives close to a “hot” delivery area with good peak pay, and loves the idea of an uncapped, “unicorn” (super high) tip? Go with DoorDash.
Do you value a more predictable and constant hourly rate with a guaranteed minimum payout per order, and a company that compensates you for those inevitably delayed orders? Go with Skip.
I hope this comparison guide has been useful to you on your journey of becoming a driver within the Canadian delivery gig market. Hopefully, you are now better armed to make an informed decision about which company is right for you.
Take care and as always… drive safe!
