How To Make $200 Per Day With Postmates – 10 Tips For Couriers

If you’re currently delivering for Postmates or thinking about making money as a food delivery courier, you’re certainly not alone!

Postmates is an incredibly popular gig economy job, and it’s a flexible way to make extra cash in your spare time.

But, as with any gig economy job, it’s important to consider the earning potential and how much you can make per day. After all, you want to ensure you’re hustling with a high-paying app and not missing out on income.

Anyway, one common question I’ve seen when looking into Postmates is if it’s possible to earn $200 per day as a courier.

So, today we’re going to look at some salary data and break down how to make $200 a day with Postmates if this is the income target you’re setting.

If you want some tips and tricks to boost your Postmates earnings, this is absolutely the post for you.

Let’s get to it!

Looking for other high-paying delivery gigs? Checkout:

• DoorDash – Deliver food for the leading food delivery services in North America!
• Instacart – Earn $15 to $25+ per hour delivering groceries in your city!

What Is Postmates

As you probably already know, Postmates is a food, grocery, alcohol, and everyday essential delivery platform.

On Postmates, people can order food, groceries, and other products right to their door.

As a Postmates courier, you’re responsible for picking up orders and safely transporting them to Postmates customers. You can do this via car, bike, scooter, and even on foot in some markets.

Currently, Postmates is available in over 3,000 U.S. cities, and you only have to be 18 or older to become a Postmates courier.

Overall, it’s a pretty flexible side hustle idea, and if you want to get paid to deliver things, it’s one of your best options.

But we’ve already covered how Postmates works before in posts like DoorDash vs Postmates.

Today, we’re breaking down how to make $200 per day with Postmates so you can really start to boost your monthly income.

How to Make $200 A Day With Postmates – The Math

Alright, first things first: is it even possible to make $200 a day with Postmates?

Well, let’s take a look at some Postmates pay statistics to get a better idea.

According to ZipRecruiter data, Postmates couriers earn $18 per hour on average.

If you want to make $200 a day with Postmates, this is approximately 11 hours of straight deliveries; hardly realistic or sustainable, especially since you’d end up delivering at some slower periods of the day, which hurts your earnings.

But as you can see, ZipRecruiter data shows the top Postmates couriers earn $31 per hour on average.

At this rate, it takes about 6.5 hours to make $200 in a day with Postmates, which is much more realistic.

And, if we look at examples on Reddit from successful Postmates couriers, you can find some pretty crazy earning results.

For example, this courier shares how they completed 153 deliveries in a week and earned $1,478.46 by delivering for Postmates:

I’m not sure if this courier took a day off or worked seven days straight, but even then, that’s an average of $211 per day from Postmates.

So, it’s clear that it’s possible to make $200 a day as a Postmates courier, although this isn’t the average.

Ultimately, this means the real focus should be on ways to maximize your Postmates earnings so you can hit your income goal!

Best Way To Make Money On Postmates – Advice For Postmate Couriers

If you want to make more money with this side hustle, there are numerous Postmates tips and tricks you can implement to start earning more per hour.

Some of these tips are similar to the tips we’ve shared in posts like DoorDash driver tips and tricks or Instacart Shopper tips. This is because a lot of gig jobs share similarities for how you can boost your income.

That said, let’s dive into some Postmates driver tricks you can use to get closer to that $200 per day mark.

1. Know Postmates Best Hours

Delivering at the right time for gig apps is absolutely critical, especially if you’re mostly delivering food.

This is very intuitive; people order food when they’re hungry, which generally means increased demand, orders, and potential tips around mealtimes.

Postmates actually outlines best hours to do Postmates to help couriers earn more money:

• Lunch: From around 11AM to 2PM
• Dinner/Late Night: 5:30PM to 9:30PM

The company also states that the best days to do Postmates are Friday and the weekend since this is when demand is highest.

Again, this is pretty much spot on with the best times to DoorDash or the best Uber Eats times…if you deliver when it’s busy, you can probably make more money.

So, try to time your shifts and breaks to work at optimal times. You can read our post on the best time to do Postmates for a breakdown.

If you want to make $200 a day with Postmates, start early so you get the entire lunch rush.

Then, take a break during a 4PM lull until 5PM and then get back to deliveries until you hit your income target.

If you find lunches are slow in your area, then it’s worth trying late night deliveries, especially if it’s the weekend.

2. Aim For $1 Per Mile

Unlike many gig jobs, Postmates is super transparent about how they pay couriers.

In case you’re unaware, earning calculations include:

• Rate per pickup
• Rate per dropoff
• Rate per minute
• Rate per mile

In the above example, you can see you’re earning $0.61 per mile you drive, plus the other three earning calculations.

Now, one massive downside of Postmates compared to apps like Instacart and DoorDash is that Postmates shows you your earnings after you complete a delivery.

But, you can see how far you’re driving, so if you research the rate per mile, you have a pretty solid idea of how much you’re making before tips.

And, as a general rule of thumb, you should aim for around $1 per mile to make a delivery worth your time.

Extra Reading – 28 Apps That Pay You To Drive.

3. Leverage Sign Up Bonuses

If you’re new to delivering or haven’t signed up yet, sign up bonuses are one of the best ways to make $200 a day with Postmates.

In many markets, Postmates pays new couriers a bonus for completing a certain number of deliveries in a set amount of time.

You can also make money by inviting other drivers to the platform.

For example, in Fresno, California, you can earn a guaranteed rate of $525 plus bonuses for completing 65 deliveries in 30 days.

You also earn $150 for referring new drivers if they complete 65 deliveries in 30 days.

Granted, these boosts don’t last forever, but if you want to make more money with Postmates out of the gate, make note of any sign up promos.

4. Prioritize Blitz Pricing

During peak hours when demand is high, Postmates can pay couriers Blitz Pricing, which is a bonus on every order for delivering during busy periods.

In other words, if you work during super busy periods, you can automatically earn more per delivery you make, which really adds up!

According to Postmates: “When you receive a delivery offer, it will also indicate if Blitz pricing is in effect for that specific delivery. Please note that if you go online while Blitz is on, this does not guarantee that your next delivery will offer Blitz as it is on an order-by-order basis.”

As you can see in the screenshot below, some orders have a 1.5X Blitz pricing multiple, and some even have a 2X multiple!

Note: Blitz pricing is much less common these days on Postmates than it used to be, so keep this in mind. If you can score a bonus, great, but don’t count on this.

5. Be Selective With Orders

Again, you should be aiming for orders that pay at least $1 per mile if possible.

Additionally, don’t think declining order requests tanks your chances to make serious money with Postmates.

Many delivery drivers worry that canceling too many orders hurts their rating and means they get less orders.

This isn’t true, and besides, you’re better off waiting anyway for higher-paying deliveries from better restaurants than taking cheap gigs just to try and maintain your acceptance rating.

6. Work For Tips

Postmates couriers keep 100% of all tips.

And like most gig economy jobs, tips play a massive role in how much money you make.

So, if you want to learn how to make $200 each day with Postmates, increasing the likelihood you earn decent tips is a step in the right direction.

Some simple strategies you can use to land more Postmates tips include:

• Communicate With The Customer. Text the customer if you’re encountering difficulties, traffic, or anything that slows down delivery. You can also text them when you’re on the way, and don’t be afraid to add some humor or personality into your messages.
• Be Friendly. Always smile and be friendly or crack a joke when dropping off a delivery.
• Grab Extras. If you’re picking up food, go the extra mile and pick up extra dipping sauces, napkins, and cutlery.
• Double-Check Orders. This is a standard food delivery tip, but always double-check orders so you catch any mistakes the restaurant makes.

All of these little things can add up. Besides, Postmates encourages customers to tip up tp 25% when they process an order, so their minds are already debating if they should tip you and how much:

Extra Reading – How Do Postmates Tips Work?

7. Learn Which Restaurants Are No-Gos

It might be difficult to make $200 with Postmates per day when you’re first starting out since you don’t know which orders and restaurants are worth it.

But as you gain experience, you can create a list of absolutely ‘no-go’ food joints and stores you never accept orders from.

Some places always make mistakes or have the type of food that takes a long time to prepare, so they’re regularly backed up and force you to wait.

Whatever the case, start paying attention to orders that are truly a bad experience and make a running list of places to avoid (and ones to prioritize).

8. Be Careful With Fast Food

This is largely dependent on your area, but one common piece of advice for Postmates drivers is to avoid cheap fast food orders.

Sometimes, a fast food order looks enticing; if you can make a quick $6 by delivering a burger 1 mile away, why not take the delivery?

But the thing is, many fast food joints are ironically slow. If you have to go through the drive through or if it’s a late-night rush, you’re probably waiting at least 10 minutes for the order to be ready.

Again, test this out, but be cautious with these sorts of low-paying orders.

Extra Reading – How To Make $50 A Day.

9. Use A Food Delivery Bag

If you’re a bike courier, you absolutely need an insulated food delivery bag to complete orders with.

But, even drivers should have a food delivery bag so they can separate hot and cold items from one another or just keep food at the right temperature in general.

Again, better customer service helps you land more tips, getting you closer to your goal of $200 a day with Postmates.

You also don’t need anything too expensive; in our post on DoorDash vs Uber Eats, my friend Grant explains how he made money with his cheap food delivery biking setup:

You can find affordable food delivery bags on Amazon for around $25 to $40, and trust me, this will make life a whole lot easier.

10. Use Apps Like Postmates To Get More Orders

Do you want to make $200 a day with Postmates, or do you just want to make $200 period?

The reality is that order volume can get slow on any delivery app. This is why many couriers double-app to increase how many order requests they get.

The idea is to turn on two delivery apps simultaneously and to cherry-pick the best orders and get more orders in general.

By doing this, you can increase the odds you’re always delivering and ultimately make more money.

Some apps like Postmates you can consider using include:

• DoorDash
• Grubhub
• Uber Eats
• Caviar
• Just Eat
• Shipt
• Instacart

As long as you’re experimenting with one other gig app, you have more flexibility in the jobs you accept and will likely earn more money.

Extra Reading – Grubhub vs DoorDash 2021.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re still wondering if you can make $200 a day as a Postmates driver, I think this list of answers to common questions people have will help!

1.How Much Can You Make With Postmates In A Week?

As mentioned earlier, some Postmates couriers regularly clear $200 each day and make over $1,000 per week.

But as an average, it seems like couriers earn around $16 to $18 per hour.

So, if you work 40 hours for Postmates, this is about $720 per week in income.

I found another useful Reddit thread where one Postmates courier shares how they make $7.50 per delivery and complete 75 deliveries per week.

This takes them 35 hours each week, so they earn approximately $562 per week from delivering for Postmates.

As you see, another courier shares similar numbers and earns $15 per hour on average.

Again, part of this depends on your market, but I think implementing some Postmates tips and tricks can help boost your earnings.

2. How Does Postmates Pay?

As mentioned, Postmates pay is calculated using the formula: pickup rate + dropoff rate + per-minute waiting rate + per mile rate + tips.

You get paid weekly through direct deposit for deliveries you completed the previous week between Monday and Sunday.

Typically, it takes two to three days for payments to actually reach your bank account, but Postmates has an instant deposit feature that lets you cash out instantly for a $0.50 fee.

3. Do You Make A Lot Of Money With POstmates

I think you can certainly make extra money each month by working for Postmates.

But, do you make a lot of money?

Well, this somewhat depends on your definition of what “a lot” of money is, of course.

However, there are couriers who claim that they earn a few thousand dollars per month by working for Postmates.

This courier claims they earn $5,000 per month with Postmates, which is definitely more than $200 per day.

The bottom line is that I think on average, Postmates is a several hundred dollar per month side hustle for most people. Some outliers earn $200 a day or even more.

4. Can I Make $500 A Week With Postmates

Yes, you can make $500 per week with Postmates in many markets if you put in the effort.

At the $18 per hour average, this is roughly 27 hours of work per week.

If you earn more because of tips or driving efficiently, this time requirement cuts down.

Final Thoughts

If you’re wondering how to make $200 per day on Postmates, I hope the math in this post at least shows you that it’s possible for some couriers.

I wouldn’t expect this as an average amount, especially when you’re starting out and learning the ropes.

Plus, I also think it’s worthwhile to double-up on apps and to try other delivery gigs to see what pays the most in your market.

But, as long as you apply some Postmates tips and tricks and keep at it, I think this is a reliable side hustle idea to try.

Just remember to track your mileage and fuel consumption so you have an accurate idea of your real earnings and can monitor vehicle depreciation.

If you currently make money with Postmates, I’d love to know if you’ve ever made $200 in a single day before or what your highest payday was.

I’ll catch you guys in the next one!

Extra Reading:

• The Best Websites & Apps Like TaskRabbit.
• 10 Best Side Jobs For Busy People.