Postmates vs Caviar: Which is better? Complete Comparison for drivers and users
The Online food delivery market expands. The increased popularity of food delivery apps, notably Postmates and Caviar allows us to order any kind of food via direct delivery. For users, getting the food delivered is the perfect solution whether you’re too tired to cook or you want to try new food. For drivers, they are an opportunity to make money working as an independent contractor with flexible hours.
The question is: Postmates or Caviar? Caviar or Postmates? Which one is better? We have done this comprehensive comparison for Postmates and Caviar for drivers and users.
These two services both compete for delivering our food. If forced to choose just one, which one would you choose? Whether you’re a user looking for a food delivery service, or a Gig Worker looking for a way to boost your income, we have all the information you need to help you find the best food delivery App and make the right choice.
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If you know the etymology of the Gig Economy, this is a fairly recent term. It is born thanks to the creation of applications and websites that offer services 'on demand'.
In addition to being appreciated for their services as a user, Postmates and Caviar present themselves as the right solution for those who want to work as a delivery driver. Postmates and Caviar are two platforms and work respectively through Postmates App and Caviar App. But what are the differences?
Postmates is an easy and reliable way to get the food and merchandise you love delivered. You can order just about anything with the Postmates App. In fact, the main purpose of Postmates is to help people unlock the best of their cities – and their lives, with an insanely reliable on-demand “anything” network.
Caviar is a premium food delivery service. Caviar specializes in fine dining. Customers select food through the Caviar App or Caviar website from various retailers.
In August 2019 DoorDash bought the delivery competitor Caviar previously owned by the payments company Square since 2014. As a Caviar delivery driver, you have to pick up the food from the restaurant and deliver it to the customer. Like for Uber Eats, with Caviar, all the orders are placed and paid directly from the App.
Interpretation: This is the first big difference between Postmates and Caviar. While Caviar is only a food delivery App, with Postmates you can get anything you want wherever you are.
QUICK NAVIGATION
USERS
Let's start with Caviar. Caviar issues three fees on a user's payment:
Caviar does not apply small order fees, but there is a minimum order of $10. When it is busy and during high demand, Caviar may temporarily increase the minimum subtotal order in some areas.
Postmates fees include:
Postmates apply a small cart fee of $1.99 if your order is under $12. An exception is the city of Los Angeles where the minimum is $10. In LA the small fee will apply to your cart if your order is under $10.
There is good news that every Postmates and Caviar users should know. First of all, you'll always be able to verify and review your order on the checkout screen before requesting the delivery. Second, Postmates and Caviar have developed a system that will help you save money.
Have you already taken an Uber Pool for example? You saw how convenient it is! With the two apps, you can share a courier with a nearby order from popular restaurants and get free delivery.
In the Postmates platform this is called Party. If you are a Caviar user, just open the App and order from the restaurant with Free Delivery. Finally, are you a regular Postmates? You can sign up for a subscription plan that will allow you to save money.
Postmates Unlimited will give you $0 delivery fee on your order over $15. A monthly subscription will cost $9.99 per month and a yearly subscription costs $95.88 per year.
Winner: Postmates
Postmates and Caviar are two delivery services apps. They are both free and available on IOS and Android. You’ll need to download the app from the appropriate app store depending on the type of smartphone you own. To make it simple: you can find below the links for all the apps:
The good news is that the two Apps offer a discount for new users. For example, current Postmates new customer promotion offers $100 free delivery credit . Current Caviar new customer promotion offers get $10 off each of your next two delivery orders. If you have never downloaded the Caviar App before, this is the time to start.
From the end-user perspective: Caviar app and Postmates app are intuitive and easy to understand. You will not get lost ordering your food from your favorite restaurant. They both provide additional features including the choice between:
Winner: Tie
Both delivery options are continuously expanding to new cities. Postmates already covers 70% of the U.S Population and is available in +3,400 cities of the United States as well as Mexico, and provides access to over 250,000 merchants. You can take a look at this complete list of all the cities where Postmates is available. Caviar now operates in +30 US cities .
Winner: Postmates
For day-to-day use, Caviar and Postmates work well. However, you may have a question about your order, or everything breaks down once in a while... When that happens, how you get support matters. Here are some easy ways to reach customer service:
You just have to choose which is the best way for you to get help. Personally, I prefer to look for answers in the Help Portal. Here are the links you may need:
In other cases, the best way to communicate with a brand is through social media. The social media support is very fast and effective. If you are a Twitter user, you can find the link below for Caviar and Postmates accounts. Don't forget to take a look at our complete guide on how to contact Postmates customer service.
Winner: Tie
Having a system of ratings and reviews definitely helps to build trust among users. So, do you really know how ratings work for Postmates and Caviar? Following the footprints of Youtube that in 2009 changed the five star rating system for a binary thumbs-up, thumbs-down, Postmates recently announced a new rating system . At the end of every delivery Postmates users are able to leave feedback on the order.
They can choose between a thumbs up for a positive experience or a thumbs down for a negative experience. Caviar ratings are much more complex. At the end of the delivery, the customer is prompted to rate their experience with Caviar on a scale of 1-5 stars, 5 being the best.
Winner: Postmates
Drivers
More and more employees are looking for gig work, either in addition to a full-time job or as a primary career. Driving for Postmates or Caviar is a delivery job and an opportunity to make extra money. You can choose to drive part-time, full-time whenever is more convenient for you.
The driver requirements are very similar, you must be 18 years old for both companies. So, Which company offers better pay to the drivers? Which company offers better benefits and incentives? Here is a list of everything you should take into consideration before to sign up for your next gig job.
Related Article: Caviar Driver Requirements, Postmates driver requirements
Let's make a start with Caviar. Caviar offers promotions to delivery drivers but does not always offer a sign up bonus to new drivers. Furthermore like Doordash referral code, Caviar referral program applies restrictions:
So, how much do Caviar drivers really make? Even for the best data analyst consultants, this is a difficult question to answer. Here are some important points about Caviar driver pay:
A Caviar driver in San Francisco does not earn the same as a Caviar driver in Dallas. According to Indeed the average hourly pay for a Caviar driver is $25.00.
Furthermore, Postmates offers instant payouts to all the fleet delivery drivers, while Caviar couriers can receive instant payments only via cash app.
According to Indeed.com the average hourly pay for a Postmates delivery driver is $24.97 per hour. That is an impressive 58% above the national average.
Postmates is focused on growth and offers huge sign up bonuses to new drivers to help them make more money.
Postmates drivers keep 100% of the tips. Check out our complete guide to Postmates driver pay.
Want to sign up for Postmates? Sign up and get started here .
Winner: Postmates
While you drive for Postmates or Caviar your pay does not include vehicle expenses. Postmates and Caviar do not pay for gas. These are factors you need to keep in mind when you want to know how much drivers really make.
Postmates and Caviar allow bike delivery in a lot of markets and you have the ability to switch your vehicle type directly in the app whenever you want. Postmates and Caviar allow walkers in a lot of cities. For a detailed list, take a look at our guide to Postmates vehicle requirements . Learn how to use the Caviar Courier App and how easily is to switch from a vehicle option to another.
Winner: Tie
So, you do not like strangers in your car but you are looking for a way to make some extra money during your spare time. Driving for Postmates and Caviar is an opportunity to make cash. Unlike Uber and Lyft drivers you do not have to deal with passengers.
The two delivery services may seem interchangeable, but there are differences in the way they work. In particular:
Very similar to DoorDash drivers, Caviar couriers have access to a system of schedule. Drivers that were already scheduled get priority pings over drivers who just "Go Online" whenever. With Postmates you do not need to schedule yourself for deliveries, all the drivers have the same priority.
The second main difference between the two delivery apps is that with Caviar all the transactions are handled within the app. Postmates couriers pay the orders with a prepaid card they receive from Postmates. We suggest you check out our guide to Postmates Fleet App.
Here are the basics of making deliveries with Postmates and Caviar:
Winner: Postmates
Postmates and Caviar drivers can get help through:
Postmates and Caviar offer their drivers phone support only during an active delivery. Postmates does not offer in-person support. Check out our complete guides to Postmates Fleet support. The only delivery company currently offering in-person support is Uber. If you like the idea to receive in-person support, you should probably sign up for Uber Eats. We suggest you consult our complete guide to Uber driver support.
Winner: Tie
If you are a user the decision of whether to use Postmates or Caviar App isn’t simple. Both platforms are good choices. You will probably switch between Caviar and Postmates depending on factors such as availability, convenience, and cost...
If you are looking for a job, one of the main benefits of the gig economy is that it allows you to work for multiple companies at once (generally). In our personal experience, Postmates offers a higher sign up bonus than Caviar. The Postmates rating system and the freedom to go online whenever is more convenient for you without having to schedule in advance, making the Postmates driver job more interesting.
*The bonus is location/time dependent. Depending on when and where, your bonus will vary.
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