In this article, we're going to conduct an experiment and compare the services of two of the biggest food delivery services in the market right now: DoorDash and UberEats.

If you're ready to continue working in your cubicle (or watching Netflix on your couch) rather than driving out to get your lunch, then sit back, take out your wallet, and get ready to order.

Ordering Food From Uber Eats

I've actually ordered many times from Doordash before, but never UberEats. I had a friend who ordered from UberEats one day, so I decided to try it myself.

Actually, I decided to take it one step further and do a head-to-head comparison of delivery time, website and mobile technical features, and professionalism for both food delivery services.

When you first visit the UberEats website, you'll find a search field where you can enter your address.

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According to the website, UberEats is available in more than a dozen major US cities. They're also looking to expand to up to 40 cities in the UK as well. If you live in or near any major city in the US, the odds are pretty good it's available. Type in your delivery address and find out.

Ordering the Food

The first thing I noticed when I did, is a much shorter restaurant selection than I expected. There was only a single page of restaurants listed in Indianapolis, a city that's bustling with countless fast food and sit-down restaurants.

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Thankfully, I noticed one of my favorite restaurants was listed on the page: Denny's. My goal was to order from Denny's at the same time of day, from each service, and see which service performed better.

When you click on the restaurant you want, you'll find a pretty comprehensive menu that includes pretty much everything that's on the regular in-restaurant menu, as far as I can tell.

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I went with the Chicken & Sausage Quesadilla, and a bowl of soup for a few bucks extra. Considering the price of this appetizer is only $6.99, that means I could potentially get a pretty affordable lunch, depending on what the UberEats delivery charge and tip comes to (should you tip your delivery driver?).

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I added the one item to the cart, and then opened the cart to see what the damage to my wallet would be.

On the summary page, I found taxes accurately calculated, and a $4.99 delivery (booking) fee. This fee nearly doubled the cost of my order -- but that's the price you pay when you don't want to go outside in the cold and the snow.

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Applying the order, I was provided with a delivery estimate of about half an hour.

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This is actually pretty standard for any of these premium delivery services. In my experience, if you're ordering from a restaurant, you can expect a wait of up to an hour to get your food. If it's a fast food place, you may possibly get your food in 30 minutes.

Getting Your Food Delivery

The one feature that I really love about UberEats is the GPS tracking. Once you order, you'll see a map that pinpoints where the restaurant you ordered from is located in relation to you.

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Once your driver picks up your food, you'll see a small car icon showing where the driver is at any given moment. This was so convenient that once the driver pulled into the driveway of my offie building, I decided to just walk downstairs to the front door to save him the trip.

You're provided with the phone number of the driver, so if you have any issues you can just give them a call.

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This is exactly what I did, asking the driver just to wait outside and I'd come and get my food. This isn't necessary though. Typically the delivery folks for these food delivery services will carry the food right to your doorstep. Or if you work in an office, right to your desk.

The Bottom Line

My experience with UberEats was as follows:

  • The restaurant selection list was much shorter than Doordash
  • The delivery fee was reasonable
  • The delivery was prompt
  • The food was hot
  • The driver was very polite and professional

Overall I'd give UberEats a 3 out of 5. However once they increase their restaurant library, this would likely be a 4 out of 5.

Ordering Food From Doordash

Doordash is a service I've used before, so nothing here was too much of a surprise. What I've always liked about Doordash is just how many choices you'll find when you browse the main page -- assuming you live in an area with a lot of options.

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The menu that you'll find for Denny's at Doordash is identical to the menu available on UberEats. Lots to choose from, so I opted to order the same thing I had ordered from UberEats previously.

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Just like with the UberEats order process, with Doordash you can also offer some extra instructions if you have special needs or specific requests.

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The starting price of the food is compariable to UberEats. Just like the last order with UberEats, I went with two food items for a reasonably priced lunch.

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The delivery fee (or "booking fee" as UberEats calls it) was actually a dollar less with Doordash. With Doordash, the fee actually depends on which restaurant you decide to order from. So if you stick to restaurants with a fee under $4.99, you're already ahead of the game by going with Doordash.

Next you just fill out your credit card info (or select it, if you've ordered from Doordash before), and click Place Order.

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Unlike UberEats, Doordash doesn't give you a map with the GPS location of your order. Instead, you'll see a live progress bar that updates as your order is cooked, picked up by the delivery person, and finally delivered to you.

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One benefit of Doordash is you can edit the delivery instructions on-the-fly even after the order is submitted. With UberEats, the only way to provide a delivery correction is to pick up the phone and actually call the driver.

After every order, Doordash gives you the opportunity to provide feedback on both the restaurant, and the delivery person. I recommend you do this because the drivers tend to take it very seriously. One even reminded me to fill out the review, so I suspect they get incentives based on their ratings.

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For this delivery, I received the food much faster than the estimated delivery time (by at least 15 minutes). The food was hot and it tasted good.

Related: Pro Tips to Earn More as a DoorDash Driver

The Bottom Line

My experience with Doordash was as follows:

  • The restaurant selection list was much longer than Doordash
  • The delivery fee was lower than UberEats for cetain restaurants, higher for others
  • The delivery was prompt
  • The food was hot
  • The driver was very polite and professional

Overall I'd give Doordash a 4 out of 5. The one point higher than UberEats is the fact that there's a larger selection, and it's possible to get a more affordable delivery charge if you choose wisely.

Keep in mind that not every delivery experience will be the same. I once ordered breakfast from Denny's at 9:30 in the morning using Doordash, and I didn't receive the order until 11:30. To make matters worse the food and coffee was cold. However, out of 10 orders with Doordash, that was my only bad experience. Rate those drivers poorly, and that should flush them out.

Making Your Own Choice

I would recommend trying out both services first, if you're new to the whole buying-from-a-food-delivery-service thing. Make your own decision based on your own experiences. It can be super-convenient, and on cold winter days it's well worth the delivery fee to stay warm. The odds are pretty good that you'll enjoy it too.

While you're waiting for your food to be delivered, have fun with these cooking games on your phone.