Compared to Doordash, Uber Eats’ pay model is a bit more sophisticated. With so many things factored into an order’s pay, it can be a little confusing to couriers. A big part of your earnings is, of course, the tip. Unfortunately, they took a note out of Doordash’s book and hide a portion of the tips as well. But don’t worry, we will explain everything there is to know about Uber Eats’ compensation and how to spot the orders with larger tips.
Uber Eats Fare
When you open up the Trip Details, you can click on “Fare” to see the complete breakdown of your earnings for a completed order. Within this dropdown menu, you will always see a “Base” payment and, sometimes, “Trip Supplement” and “Surge.”
Base
“Base” pay is the basic amount that Uber gives you for the order. Many factors go into calculating this such as your payment for picking up and dropping off the order, the distance you must drive, and the estimated time it will take you to complete the trip. Despite so many variables, the “Base” pay value will most likely be in the range of $1.50 to $3.00. This category is slightly higher for Californians due to Prop 22.
Trip Supplement
A “Trip Supplement” is extra earnings that Uber gives drivers due to a multitude of reasons. This could be anything from an order taking longer than expected, a large quantity of food, a late order, or a grocery deliver you must shop for. Nevertheless, Uber does not disclose the reason why there may be a trip supplement attached to the order. There also seems to be no floor or ceiling for just how much the trip supplement can be. Some couriers have seen them as little as $0.50 and others as much as $15.00.
Surge
The final part of your “Fare” that may appear is the “Surge” pay. You’ll generally receive this pay when your market is very busy, like during lunch or dinner. Uber Eats actually displays the “Surge” bonus on the map within the app. During the day, they appear in shades of yellow, orange, and red. When night hits or if you only work in dark mode, the app presents them in shades of blue, purple, and magenta.
If you or the restaurant is located in a “Surge” area when you receive an order, you’ll get the bonus pay. There are times where you and the restaurant are in different “Surge” zones. In this instance, you’ll only get the pay of the higher value.
For most markets, this promotion is usually only a couple of dollars. However, some people have shown it to be in the double digits. But Couriers Beware! When the “Surge” gets extremely high it is usually due to dangerous delivery conditions like extreme weather or civil unrest. No matter how juicy the bonus looks, it is not worth risking your life over someone’s McNuggets.
Other Uber Eats Promotions
The second section of “Trip Details” menu is the “Promotions” tab, which includes “Boost+” and “Quests”. To see if your area has any upcoming “Promotions”, click the three bars in the top left corner of the map screen, then click “Promotions”.
Boost+
“Boost+” is another way that UE gives drivers a small bonus on each order. It is essentially a multiplier of your “Base” pay. For example, if your base pay for an order is $2, and the “Boost+” value in your area is 2.0x, then your total “Base” will be $4.
To see what the “Boost+” is in your area, just take a look at your map. In the app, your area may be split up into several blue sections with small banners noting the value of the “Boost+.” It can range anywhere from 1.1x the “Base” pay to a maximum of 3.0x. On some rare occasions, it can exceed the max if delivery conditions warrant it.
Quests
“Quests” are challenges that Uber Eats occasionally offers drivers. It usually entails delivering a certain amount of orders within a timeframe for additional earnings. They don’t occur very often and some markets almost never see them. You can find completed or expired “Quests” in the “Earnings Activity” page of the app. If you do complete a challenge, the bonus payment will appear here too.
How Tips Work on Uber Eats
The last portion of your order payout is the tip. A good way to understand how you get tipped is by looking through the Uber Eats customer app. Depending on the pickup location, the default tip options can vary between percentages or whole dollar amounts. You can see a few examples below.
When you receive an offer from UE, the total you see on the screen is the “Fare” plus any promotions and the “expected tip.” Once you complete the delivery, you will have to wait one hour for the tip to finalize. This is because customers can alter their tip within an hour after drop-off. Depending on how the delivery went, this can either result in a larger or smaller tip.
Hidden Tips on Uber Eats
Unfortunately, UE is similar to Doordash in the realm of tip hiding. The threshold for hidden tips begins at $8. If the final total is higher than your original offer, then the customer tipped you more than the hidden threshold.
In these situations, Uber Eats likes to present a message that the “customer tipped you even more after delivery.” However, most of the time this is untrue. It is generally uncommon for a customers to tip more after the delivery unless your service is really above and beyond. You can find an example of this below.
Here we have an order that includes an $8.18 tip. When we add the “Fare” and “Promotion” sections, we get $4.73. Adding $8 to this total brings us to the initial offer of $12.73. The app states that the customer tipped me more after the delivery (eighteen cents to be exact). How likely is it that the customer tipped a full $8 beforehand, then only $0.18 after the delivery? Not likely at all.
To see if a completed delivery has a possible hidden tip, just add the “Fare” and “Promotion” portions together, and then add $8 to it. If that total is equal to the initial offer you received, it is pretty likely that you are in for some hidden tip action.
How to Earn More on Uber Eats
By combining everything you’ve learned in this post, you can give your UE earnings a nice boost. Let’s recap!
1. Feel the Surge!
Some areas in your zone are very susceptible to getting a “Surge” bonus from UE. Make sure you get familiar with the places and the restaurants within them. The same goes for “Boost+.”
2. Check for Promotions!
Uber Eats will often let you know about your zone’s upcoming promotions days in advance. With this info, you can plan out your weekly schedule to maximize your earnings.
3. Challenge Yourself with Quests!
The quests that UE offers can be extremely lucrative. We’ve seen ones that offer a $100 bonus when you complete 10 deliveries. That’s an extra $10 per order! Quests are pretty uncommon, but you won’t want to miss out if you get one for your zone.
4. Play Tip Hide and Seek!
Now that you know about the hidden tip structure, you can use it to your advantage. Look for orders with values that fit the formula: “Fare” + “Promotion” + $8.
5. Provide Exceptional Customer Service!
Since customers can alter the tip in your favor, you will want to do right by them. Though it’s rare for it to occur, it’s not impossible. The added tip not only boosts your earnings, but your mood as well!
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