Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip all pay Canadian couriers per offer, plus 100% of tips, and none of them publishes a fixed hourly wage outside the provincial minimums in Ontario and British Columbia. The real differences are who can sign up (Uber Eats wants car couriers to be 21, DoorDash says 18, Skip uses your province’s age of majority), how each app builds the offer, and which app has the restaurants on your streets. Pick the app with the busiest restaurants in the zone you will actually drive, and add a second only after your own log says it is worth it.
This is a comparison, not a how-to. The full start-up steps are in how to start food delivery in Canada, the gear budget is in food delivery startup costs, and the first logged shifts are in your first week of food delivery.
How do Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip compare for couriers in Canada?
Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip compare most clearly on minimum age, vehicle rules, and how the offer is calculated, and every line below comes from the app’s own Canadian page. Confirm the checklist inside the app for your zone, because city pages can be stricter than the national one.
| Check | Uber Eats | DoorDash | Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 21 with a car (Uber Eats Canada). The Toronto grocery page lists 19 by car. | 18 (Dasher Canada) | Age of majority in your province (Becoming a courier) |
| Car rules | 2-door or 4-door, 1990 or newer nationally. The GTA vehicle page says 20 years or newer (1998) for Uber Eats in Toronto. | “Any car” with a valid licence and insurance | A reliable vehicle, licence, insurance, and registration |
| Other ways to deliver | Bike, scooter, and walking in select cities | Car, scooter, or bicycle in select cities | Bike or car, depending on zone |
| How pay is built | Earnings shown before you accept, plus tips | Base pay of about $2 to $10+ per offer, plus promotions and tips | Transit Pay from estimated distance and time, plus tips and incentives |
| Tips | 100% to the courier | 100% to the Dasher | 100% to the courier |
| Weekly payout | Weekly automatic transfer | Weekly direct deposit, usually by Wednesday night | Thursday direct deposit for the previous week |
| Faster cash-out | Instant Pay, up to 5 times a day (terms apply, per the Toronto page) | Fast Pay, with a fee in Canada | Not described on the pay page; check the Courier App |
How does each delivery app calculate courier pay in Canada?
Each delivery app in Canada shows the offer before you accept it, but the formula behind that number is different, and none of the three is an hourly wage outside the provincial minimums. Read the offer as gross pay for the time from acceptance to drop-off, not including the drive back.
Uber Eats
Uber’s Canadian delivery page says you see how much you will be paid before you accept an order, customers can tip in the app, and 100% of tips are yours. Earnings move to your bank account weekly. Uber does not publish a per-kilometre or per-minute rate card for Canadian couriers on that page, so the offer screen is the number you judge.
DoorDash
How Dasher Pay Works says base pay ranges from $2 to $10+ per offer when you earn per offer, rising for longer, slower, or less popular offers. Promotions such as Peak Pay, Challenges, and Streaks are added on top, and tips never change the base pay. The acceptance screen is described as the minimum guaranteed amount for that offer. DoorDash also offers an Earn by Time mode in select cities, which pays a guaranteed rate for active time instead of per offer.
Skip
How Courier Pay Works says Transit Pay is set by estimated driving distance and time, tips are never used to subsidize Transit Pay, and tips are not pooled. You see the total, the pickup and drop-off, and the estimated distance before you accept. Deposits go out every Thursday for the previous Monday to Sunday.
What minimum pay rules apply to delivery couriers in Ontario and B.C.?
Ontario and British Columbia both set a floor for app couriers, measured only on the time between accepting and finishing an order, and tips do not count toward it. Other provinces do not have an equivalent rule on the pages this guide checked, so outside those two the offer is the only number.
- Ontario: the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act page says workers must be paid at least the general minimum wage for work assignments, checked per assignment or per pay period, with tips excluded. Waiting between offers is not part of a work assignment.
- British Columbia: the province’s minimum wage page lists $21.89 per hour of engaged time for online platform workers as of June 1, 2026, plus at least $0.35 per km for delivery by any transport other than walking.
Both floors apply to every app operating in the province, so they do not make one app better than another. They do mean a slow week can be topped up. Check the weekly statement rather than assuming.
Who should pick Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Skip in Canada?
Pick by eligibility first, then by restaurant density in your zone, then by how you want offers built. The verdict below is a decision rule, not a ranking of which app pays more, because none of the three publishes average earnings for Canadian couriers.
| If you are… | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 20 and delivering by car | DoorDash, or Skip if your province’s age of majority is 18 | Uber Eats lists 21 for car couriers nationally |
| Driving an older car in Toronto | DoorDash or Skip, after checking the app | Uber’s GTA page asks for 1998 or newer for Uber Eats |
| Someone who wants a predictable rate for active time | DoorDash Earn by Time, where offered | It pays a guaranteed rate for active time instead of per offer |
| Someone who wants to judge every offer on distance | Skip or DoorDash per offer | Both describe distance and time as the core of the offer |
| Already driving rideshare | Uber Eats | Same Uber Driver app and account |
| Delivering by bike in a dense core | Whichever app offers bike in your city | All three limit bike delivery to some cities |
If two apps both qualify, run each for two short shifts in the same window and compare your own net per hour. That is the only comparison that counts in your zone.
How should you compare the apps with your own numbers?
Compare delivery apps in Canada with a two-week log of gross pay, tips, hours online, and kilometres, then subtract a per-kilometre vehicle cost you calculate yourself. The illustrative example below shows the arithmetic. It is not a forecast.
Illustrative example
Suppose a courier runs the same Friday dinner window on two apps. On app A, the log shows $62 in offers and $18 in tips over 3 hours and 45 km. On app B, it shows $55 in offers and $24 in tips over 3 hours and 38 km. Suppose the courier’s own vehicle cost estimate is $0.30 per km (fuel, wear, and a share of insurance, worked out from their own bills).
- App A: $62 + $18 = $80 gross. 45 km × $0.30 = $13.50. $80 − $13.50 = $66.50, or about $22.17 per hour online.
- App B: $55 + $24 = $79 gross. 38 km × $0.30 = $11.40. $79 − $11.40 = $67.60, or about $22.53 per hour online.
These are assumed numbers for teaching, not a quote, an average, or a typical result. The point is that the app with the bigger offers was not the better shift once kilometres were counted. Tax is not subtracted here.
A spending account that keeps payouts apart from rent makes this log easier. KOHO TODO-AFFILIATE is one Canadian option. Any separate account works.
What mistakes do couriers make when choosing between delivery apps in Canada?
Couriers in Canada most often choose the app by sign-up bonus, run three apps at once in week one, or skip the insurance call. A promotion has an end date; the restaurant mix in your zone does not change as fast.
- Stacking apps too early. Juggling offers from three apps while learning the zone leads to late orders and cancelled offers.
- Ignoring the city page. Uber’s national 1990 car rule is not the Toronto rule.
- Not telling the insurer. Business use of a personal car is a change in risk. Get the answer in writing before the first shift.
- Counting the offer as profit. Fuel, parking, and the drive home are not in the offer.
Which tax rules apply to delivery app couriers in Canada?
Delivery income from Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Skip is generally self-employment income reported on Form T2125, whichever app you pick. Food delivery follows the CRA’s $30,000 small-supplier test for GST/HST, not the first-dollar rule that applies to drivers carrying passengers.
If you deliver on two apps, add both together for the small-supplier test and for your return. Keep each app’s weekly statements. The kilometre log that helped you compare apps is the same log you need for vehicle expenses for delivery and rideshare. How much to hold back is in how much tax to set aside.
This is not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
Which guides sit next to this delivery app comparison?
The comparison sits inside the food delivery cluster and next to the other app-driving hustles. Start with food delivery in Canada, then startup costs and the first week. If you want passengers instead of bags, read Uber vs Lyft for drivers in Canada. If you would rather shop than carry takeout, read Instacart vs Uber Eats for grocery shoppers. Browse more in gig apps.
What are the common questions?
Which delivery app pays the most in Canada?
None of Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Skip publishes average courier earnings for Canada, so there is no sourced answer to which pays most. Each shows the offer before you accept and passes on 100% of tips. Run the same time window on two apps and compare your own net per hour after kilometres.
Can I deliver for Uber Eats at 18 in Canada?
Uber's Canadian delivery page lists 21 for car couriers, and its Toronto grocery page lists 19 by car and 18 or 19 by bike depending on the province. DoorDash lists 18, and Skip uses the age of majority in your province. Confirm in the app for your city.
Do Ontario and B.C. guarantee a minimum wage for delivery couriers?
Yes, for engaged time only. Ontario requires at least the general minimum wage for work assignments, with tips excluded. British Columbia lists $21.89 per hour of engaged time as of June 1, 2026, plus at least $0.35 per km for delivery. Waiting between offers is not counted in either province.
Can I use Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip at the same time?
The apps describe couriers as independent contractors, and Uber's page says you can also deliver for other apps. Running two apps at once can lead to late orders, so learn one zone on one app first. Add both apps' income together for tax.
Do delivery couriers charge GST/HST from the first dollar?
Usually not. Food delivery follows the CRA's $30,000 small-supplier test. The first-dollar GST/HST rule is for drivers who carry passengers for a ride-sharing platform.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- Become a delivery driver using Uber Eats — Uber
- Vehicle requirements in Canada (Greater Toronto Area) — Uber
- Grocery delivery jobs in Toronto — Uber
- Sign up to deliver with DoorDash in Canada — DoorDash
- How Dasher Pay Works — DoorDash
- Becoming a courier — SkipTheDishes
- How Courier Pay Works — SkipTheDishes
- Rights and protections for digital platform workers — Government of Ontario
- Minimum wage (online platform workers) — Province of British Columbia
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency