DoorDash offers an “Earn by Time” mode that pays you an hourly rate instead of a per-delivery rate. You can switch to it directly in the Dasher app before or during a dash, though availability depends on your market. Here’s how the mode works, what it pays, and the rules you need to follow to stay in it.
How Earn by Time Mode Works
By default, DoorDash pays you per offer: each delivery has its own payout based on distance, order size, and other factors. Earn by Time flips this model. Instead of evaluating each offer individually, you’re paid a set hourly rate for the time you spend dashing. Customer tips are added on top of that hourly base, so your total earnings per hour can exceed the guaranteed rate.
The hourly rate DoorDash offers varies by market and can change based on demand. When you open the Dasher app and start a dash, you’ll see the option to choose between “Earn per Offer” and “Earn by Time” if the feature is available in your area. Not every zone has it, and DoorDash has been rolling it out gradually, so if you don’t see the toggle, it hasn’t launched near you yet.
The One-Decline-Per-Hour Rule
This is the biggest catch with Earn by Time mode. Because DoorDash is guaranteeing you an hourly rate, they expect you to accept nearly every order that comes in. You can decline or unassign from up to one offer per hour. If you decline a second offer within the same hour, DoorDash will give you a choice: end your dash entirely or switch back to Earn per Offer mode to keep working.
A few details matter here. If an offer times out because you didn’t tap accept or decline, that counts as a decline toward your one-per-hour limit. So ignoring an offer has the same consequence as actively turning it down. However, if you’re already in the middle of a delivery and additional offers pop up while you’re completing it, declining those extras does not count against you. The limit only applies when you’re free to take a new order.
This rule is the core tradeoff of hourly mode. You get income stability, but you lose the ability to cherry-pick only high-paying orders. If you normally skip low-tip or long-distance deliveries, you’ll need to accept most of them to stay in this mode.
When Hourly Mode Makes Sense
Earn by Time tends to work best in a few specific situations. During slow periods, when orders are infrequent and per-offer payouts are low, a guaranteed hourly rate protects you from earning next to nothing. It’s also useful if you’re newer to DoorDash and don’t yet have the experience to judge which per-offer deliveries are worth taking. The guaranteed floor removes that guesswork.
On the other hand, during peak hours with high demand, frequent orders, and strong tips, per-offer mode often pays more because you can complete several well-paying deliveries in a single hour. Many experienced Dashers switch between the two modes depending on the time of day and how busy their zone is.
How Tips Factor In
Customer tips are not included in the hourly base rate. They’re added on top. So if DoorDash is offering you a certain hourly rate and a customer tips $8 on a delivery, your total earnings for that hour go up by the full $8. This means tipped orders are still valuable in hourly mode, and your real take-home will usually be higher than the base rate alone.
Government-Mandated Minimums Are Different
Some cities have passed laws requiring delivery platforms to pay drivers a minimum hourly rate. These mandated minimums operate differently from the voluntary Earn by Time feature. They apply automatically to all deliveries in the covered area regardless of which mode you choose. The platform reviews your earnings (typically on a weekly basis), and if your DoorDash pay falls below the required minimum, you receive a pay adjustment to make up the difference. Tips are excluded from this calculation, meaning the minimum applies to base pay only, and tips come on top.
These government minimums can be substantially higher than standard DoorDash base pay. In areas where they apply, programs like Priority Access may not be available since the guaranteed floor already exists by law. If you dash in a city with such a mandate, you’re effectively already earning hourly whether or not you toggle Earn by Time mode in the app.
Switching Between Modes
You’re not locked into one mode permanently. You can switch between Earn per Offer and Earn by Time at the start of a new dash or, in some cases, during a dash. This flexibility lets you test both approaches and see which one nets you more money in your specific zone, at different times of day, and on different days of the week. Tracking your earnings for a few weeks under each mode will give you a clear picture of which one works better for your situation.