Wealthy PotHow Much Do Grubhub Drivers Make in 2026? Pay, Tips and What You Keep
Grubhub does not publish an average hourly pay, a per-mile rate or a per-order range for its drivers. It describes how pay is built: base pay set by mileage, delivery type, time and your local market, plus bonuses, Missions and 100% of tips. Its "minimum guaranteed rate" applies only when you are on a scheduled block and meet its Offer Commitment Rate criteria, and Grubhub does not publish that rate either. App pay is also not what you keep. In our hypothetical example, a driver with $20.00 an hour of app pay keeps about $13.31 an hour after car costs and federal tax.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Base pay: Grubhub says it "accounts for factors including mileage, delivery type, time spent delivering, and your local market." It publishes no dollar range.
- Minimum guaranteed rate: only when you toggle on for a scheduled block and meet the Offer Commitment Rate criteria. The amount is shown in the app, not on Grubhub's site.
- Tips: Grubhub says you keep 100% of tips from completed deliveries.
- Getting paid: weekly direct deposit on Thursdays, or Instant Cash Out up to $500 a day, free for Chase customers and $0.50 each for other banks.
- Pay floors by law: New York City ($22.13 per active hour before tips), Seattle (PayUp) and California (Prop 22).
- What you keep: in our hypothetical example, $20.00 per hour of app pay becomes about $13.31 after car costs and federal tax.
How Grubhub Pays Drivers
Grubhub lists four parts of total pay: delivery pay, the Grubhub contribution, tips, and Missions and special offers.
Delivery pay
Grubhub says the amount you earn per delivery is your base pay plus any bonuses, and that base pay reflects mileage, delivery type, time spent delivering and your local market. Time and mileage estimates are set when you receive the offer.
Scheduled blocks and the minimum guaranteed rate
This is the part most drivers ask about. Grubhub calls it the "Grubhub contribution": a top-up to "a minimum guaranteed rate for your local market when you toggle on for a scheduled block and meet Offer Commitment Rate criteria." Three conditions sit inside that sentence:
- You must be on a block. Blocks are time slots you reserve in the app. Grubhub says they run from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more, depending on the market. Driving without a block ("Taking offers") is allowed depending on the market, but the guarantee applies to blocks.
- You must meet the Offer Commitment Rate (OCR) criteria. Grubhub says OCR is based on how many offers you accept and follow through on, and how many you unassign after accepting, over your last 14 days. It does not publish the OCR you need.
- Only in some markets. Grubhub says contributions "are subject to specific markets and time periods." Its help center adds: "If Grubhub offers an hourly minimum in your market," you are paid based on that market's minimum.
Block access also depends on your driver level (Partner, Pro or Premier), which Grubhub updates every Monday from your stats over the last 14 days. Higher levels get blocks first. Grubhub says it may restrict scheduling if you regularly drop blocks within 72 hours of the start.
Tips, Missions and other extras
Grubhub says you keep 100% of tips from completed deliveries, and you can see the tip after accepting an order. Missions are extra pay for reaching goals within a set time. Grubhub does not publish their amounts.
When and how you get paid
| Option | Timing | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly direct deposit | Every Thursday. Money not cashed out by 11:59 pm CST Monday goes into this payment. | None stated |
| Instant Cash Out to a bank account | Any time, up to $500 a day. Delivery pay and tips are available 15 minutes after the delivery. | Free for Chase customers; $0.50 each for other banks |
| Instant Cash Out to a debit card | Same limits | $0.50 per transaction |
Source: Grubhub, "Driver Pay" page and driver FAQ, read 2026-10-20. Grubhub's help center adds that fees can vary by market (check Earnings > Wallet in the app) and that money arrives right away only if your bank supports real-time payments.
Grubhub Earnings Calculator
Enter your weekly payout from the Grubhub for Drivers app (including tips), hours logged in and miles driven. It is pre-filled with the hypothetical example below. The full version is our gig earnings calculator.
From App Pay to What You Keep
This example is hypothetical. The inputs are round numbers we chose to show the math. They are not typical Grubhub earnings, and Grubhub publishes no average to compare them with.
Inputs: $400 a week of app pay, of which $150 is tips; 20 hours logged in; 240 miles a week; 48 weeks a year; $10 a week of other costs (phone share, insulated bag); single filer with $40,000 of W-2 wages from a main job. Car cost uses AAA's 2026 figures for gas, maintenance and the extra wear from driving more: about 38.7 cents a mile.
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| App pay including tips | $19,200.00 |
| Car cost (gas, maintenance, extra wear) | -$4,460.54 |
| Other costs | -$480.00 |
| Federal tax caused by the gig (self-employment + income tax) | -$1,479.49 |
| What you keep | $12,779.97 |
| Per hour logged in: app pay | $20.00 |
| Per hour: after car and other costs | $14.85 |
| Per hour: what you keep | $13.31 |
Our calculator engine (the same one as the calculator above), 2026 federal rules. State and local income tax not included.
How the tax line works. Self-employment tax is $1,436.47. Profit for tax purposes is $10,166.40, after the IRS mileage deduction of $8,553.60 (72.5 cents a mile to June 30, 76 cents from July 1). The example assumes all $7,200.00 of tips qualify for the 2026 tips deduction, which lowers income tax but not self-employment tax. The model suggests setting aside 7.7% of app pay, about $369.87 a quarter.
Two things move the real result most:
- Time off a block. The per-hour figures divide by hours logged in. Grubhub's minimum guaranteed rate covers only scheduled blocks where you meet the OCR criteria. Waiting time outside a block has no floor at all, except where a city or state law sets one.
- Unpaid miles. Pay is set from the estimated miles in the offer. Driving back toward restaurants or home after a delivery costs the same per mile and is not in the offer.
Costs You Pay as a Grubhub Driver
Grubhub says delivery partners "are responsible for all costs associated with driving, such as gas, vehicle maintenance and insurance."
- Car, cash basis. AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study puts gas plus maintenance, repair and tires at 29.04 cents a mile; with the extra loss in value from driving more, about 38.7 cents. The full cost of owning a new car, at 15,000 miles a year, is 85.75 cents a mile.
- Car, tax basis. The IRS business rate is 72.5 cents a mile from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents from July 1, 2026. That is a deduction, not money Grubhub pays you.
- Insurance. Grubhub requires car drivers to have auto insurance. Its Delivery Partner Agreement says the policy must cover delivery activity and meet state and local rules. Ask your insurer whether your personal policy covers delivery.
- Cash-out fees. $0.50 per Instant Cash Out unless you bank with Chase.
- Parking and tolls. Deductible on top of the mileage rate, per the IRS.
Taxes for Grubhub Drivers
Grubhub drivers are independent contractors, so no tax is withheld from pay. The IRS says all gig income is taxable, even without a tax form.
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, owed once net earnings reach $400. See self-employment tax 2026.
- Your 1099: Grubhub's help center says drivers paid $600 or more in the prior year get a 1099-NEC, in the app and the Driver Portal from February. That was the IRS threshold through 2025. For payments made after 2025 the IRS threshold is $2,000; Grubhub's page still shows $600. You owe tax either way.
- Forms: income and expenses go on Schedule C; the tax on Schedule SE.
- Tips: for 2025 to 2028 you may deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips. App-based delivery is a qualifying job, but the tips must appear on a 1099, and the deduction lowers income tax only. See no tax on tips 2026.
- Quarterly payments: 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. See estimated tax payments 2026 or the 1099 tax calculator.
Minimum Pay Laws for Grubhub Drivers
| Place | 2026 floor | How Grubhub applies it |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | $22.13 an hour of active time, before tips | From the first pay period on or after April 1, 2026 (was $21.44). Grubhub counts active time from accepting an offer to delivering it and pays any shortfall at the end of the weekly pay period. |
| Seattle (PayUp) | $0.47 a minute + $0.80 a mile, or $5.34 per offer if higher | For offers that start in Seattle. Grubhub's Seattle pages still list the 2024 amounts ($0.44, $0.74, $5); the city's 2026 figures are higher. |
| California (Prop 22) | 120% of the local minimum wage for active time + $0.37 a mile | With the $16.90 state minimum wage, $20.28 per active hour where no higher local minimum applies. Tips do not count. Grubhub makes up any shortfall at the end of the pay period. |
Sources: NYC DCWP; Seattle Office of Labor Standards; Prop 22 text and California DIR. The $0.37 per-mile figure is from Grubhub's help center article on Prop 22 (DoorDash's California page gives the same 2026 rate); Grubhub's older Prop 22 page on its driver site still shows $0.34. We could not read the State Treasurer's page that publishes the rate.
New York City in practice. Grubhub says drivers who are not on a block can toggle on only when there are enough offers, so blocks matter more there. It may also share pay for total "inactive" time across all drivers in the market, but individual drivers are not entitled to it; Grubhub says drivers with high levels and stats have more chance of getting a share.
Everywhere else, the only Grubhub floor is the block guarantee described above, with a rate Grubhub does not publish.
Requirements to Start
Grubhub says all delivery partners must be 18 or older (21 or older in Las Vegas), have a valid Social Security number, a smartphone with a data plan and a checking account for direct deposit. Car drivers need a valid driver's license (at least 2 years of driving history if you are 18) and auto insurance. Bike delivery needs a valid ID instead. Grubhub runs an identity check and a background check, and some markets have a waitlist.
FAQ
How much does Grubhub pay per hour?
Grubhub does not publish an hourly average or an hourly rate. Its minimum guaranteed rate applies only on scheduled blocks when you meet the Offer Commitment Rate criteria, and the amount is in the app. Third-party apps such as Gridwise publish estimates from their users, but those are not Grubhub figures.
Do Grubhub drivers keep their tips?
Grubhub says drivers keep 100% of tips from completed deliveries. In New York City, Seattle and California the legal minimums are counted before tips.
How often does Grubhub pay?
Weekly by direct deposit on Thursdays, or any time with Instant Cash Out, up to $500 a day. Instant Cash Out is free for Chase customers and $0.50 each for other banks, per Grubhub.
Is Grubhub income taxed?
Yes. You owe self-employment tax once net earnings reach $400, plus income tax, whether or not you get a 1099. Mileage and other business costs lower the profit you are taxed on.
Sources & Methodology
All sources were checked on 2026-10-20. We did not drive for Grubhub and have no earnings data of our own; every Grubhub figure is attributed to Grubhub. For how Grubhub compares with other apps, see our side hustles comparison, DoorDash pay and Instacart pay.
- Grubhub, Driver Pay: pay components, Grubhub contribution, tips, Missions, Instant Cash Out, Thursday deposits, driving costs.
- Grubhub, Driver FAQ and Scheduling: requirements, Monday cutoff, block lengths, driver levels.
- Grubhub driver help center: offer commitment rate, pay on a block with few offers, Instant Cashout, requirements, 1099-NEC, Prop 22, Delivery Partner Agreement.
- Grubhub city pages: New York City guaranteed pay, Seattle, California Prop 22.
- NYC DCWP, Minimum Pay Rate: $22.13 from April 1, 2026.
- Seattle Office of Labor Standards, PayUp: 2026 minimums.
- Prop 22 text (California Secretary of State) and California DIR: $16.90 minimum wage for 2026.
- IRS: standard mileage rates, Topic 554, Topic 510, 1099-NEC instructions, gig workers and tips, Form 1040-ES.
- AAA Your Driving Costs 2026: 29.04 cents operating cost, 85.75 cents total per mile.
Method notes. The worked example comes from our gig calculator engine with the inputs shown. Federal tax is the extra tax the gig income adds on top of the $40,000 job, including self-employment tax, the 2026 tips deduction and the IRS mileage deduction. It excludes state and local tax. Where Grubhub's own pages disagree with each other or with the law (Seattle amounts, California per-mile rate), we show the regulator's figure and say so.
This article is educational and is not tax, legal or financial advice. The worked example is hypothetical, not a prediction of what you will earn. Wealthy Pot is not affiliated with Grubhub. Pay rules change often; check the Grubhub for Drivers app and Grubhub's pages before relying on any figure. Figures were checked on 2026-10-20.
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"How Much Do Grubhub Drivers Make in 2026? Pay, Tips and What You Keep." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/how-much-do-grubhub-drivers-make/