What does it take to be Top Dasher? What exactly is Top Dasher?
Doordash delivery drivers who complete 100 deliveries in a month, accept 70% of offers and meet some other requirements can achieve a special status with Doordash called Top Dasher.
Somehow Top Dasher status has become a big controversy among Dashers. It's a badge of honor or gold star for some drivers, a source of scorn for others.
So what is the deal with Top Dasher. Why all the emotion on both sides of the issue?
We'll take a look at what it means to be Top Dasher. We'll examine the Top Dasher requirements, what it offers, and discuss how to determine whether it's worth it. And we'll talk about why there's so much controversy.
This article is part of a larger series of articles on being a Doordash driver. We'll link to other articles along the way, and have a list of the entire series at the end.
Hang with me as we talk about:
- What is Top Dasher?
- What are the Top Dasher requirements?
- Are there benefits?
- Is Top Dasher worth it?
- Why is Top Dasher so controversial?
- Frequently asked questions about Doordash Top Dasher
What is Top Dasher?
The Doordash Top Dasher program is an incentive program for their independent contractors. It's intended to encourage Doordash food delivery drivers to perform well, according to Doordash's idea of performing well.
Here's how Doordash describes it:
The Top Dasher program is our way of recognizing and rewarding the best Dashers! Qualifying Dashers will receive special benefits to recognize their drive to go above and beyond for DoorDash customers.
DoorDash's answer to “What is the Top Dasher Program?”
Let's be real. This isn't about recognition. It's not truly a reward program, because Doordash isn't the type of company to offer a reward just because you deserve a reward. They want something in return. It's about incentive.
Top Dasher is like programs from other food delivery apps (Grubhub premier or Uber Eats pro). It's all about trying to get Dashers to accept more delivery requests. It's a carrot on a stick.
Why is this important? It's about the use of the independent contractor.
Doordash cannot require contractors to accept deliveries. They cannot require a certain acceptance rate of delivery offers they send through the Dasher app. It's illegal for a company to control the work of gig economy workers who are independent contractors.
That's because Dashers are self-employed, providing services as businesses. If Doordash controls contractor work too much, they can be sued for misclassification of employees. That would be a huge blow to their business model.
But what they can do is offer incentives. Doordash created a program that offers some incentives for Dashers who meet the requirements. If by the end of a given month a Dasher has met some minimum ratings and has taken enough deliveries, they can get a package of benefits as Top Dasher.
What are the Top Dasher requirements?
If you meet a certain number of performance standards as of 11:59 PM local time on the last day of each month, you qualify for Top Dasher for the following month.
Here are the requirements Door Dash has for Top Dasher (as of the update of this article in June, 2022). At the end of the month you must meet the following criteria:
- Customer rating of at least 4.7
- Acceptance rate of at least 70%
- Completion rate of at least 95%
- 100 completed deliveries during the last month
- At least 200 lifetime deliveries completed.
To their credit, Doordash is good about letting Dashers know where they stand on each of these. You can go to the Doordash delivery app, tap the menu bar, select Ratings, and see your acceptance rate, customer rating, completion rate and how many lifetime deliveries you've completed.
The only metric that isn't so readily available is how many deliveries were completed in a month. However, you can go into the earnings summary and see how many deliveries were completed on a week by week basis.
Understand that Doordash may change the eligibility requirements of the Top Dasher program at any time. To my knowledge, I've only ever seen one change in the specific requirements. When the program was introduced in the fall of 2019, the 70% acceptance rate requirement wasn't part of the criteria. That was added in November, 2019.
Breaking down Doordash's Top Dasher requirements.
As I said, I like that Doordash is pretty clear about what they require. That said, there's a bit of confusion as to how good ratings work, so I want to clear some of that up.
Doordash bases their ratings on the last 100 events. The first three criteria are averages but it's easier to understand if you look at it this way: How many times did it happen out of the last 100 times?
Customer rating of at least 4.7.
You need high customer ratings (4.7 or higher average) to qualify. However, in practice this is usually not hard to achieve. If you provide good customer service, you can usually hit that number.
A Door Dash Customer can rate your delivery, on a 1 to 5 scale. The last time I ordered from Doordash, they asked me two simple questions: How was the food? How was the delivery? (I'm not 100% sure this is the exact wording).
It's the question about the delivery that you're rated on.
Doordash will take the last 100 ratings you received and calculate an average rating. It's really pretty easy to figure out: Add up the last 100 ratings and divide by 100. If your last 100 ratings added up to 470, your average rating is 4.7. If you haven't received 100 ratings yet, the total number is divided by the number of ratings you did receive.
In my experience, the Doordash customer rating is the one metric that moves the most slowly. A lot of customers don't go back into the app to rate you.
Acceptance rate of 70%
What this means is you have to have accepted 70 or more of the last 100 delivery offers Doordash sent to you. Doordash sends an offer to your phone and you have the choice to accept or reject it. Acceptance rate is the number of times out of the last 100 order requests you accepted.
This needs to be the acceptance rating as of 11:59 PM on the last day of the month. That means it is possible to have an extremely low acceptance rate the entire month and then accept enough over the last few days to bring the rate up to 70%
Completion rate of at least 95%
Some people confuse completion rate and acceptance rate.
Here's what completion rate means: Out of the last 100 deliveries that you accepted, how many of those did you complete?
There are times where you may choose to back out of a delivery. Maybe you hit the accept button by accident. Perhaps you discover that the wait at certain local restaurants is far too long to be profitable. You have the option to change your mind.
However, if you do that too often, you miss the top Dasher requirement. You need to complete 95 out of the last 100 deliveries you accepted to qualify for Top Dasher.
Completed deliveries
You have to have completed 100 deliveries in the last month, and 200 deliveries lifetime.
For regular Doordash drivers, 100 deliveries requires about 40 to 50 hours worth of delivery time in a month. That's ten to fifteen hours per week. It's not a difficult amount to reach but still requires a time commitment.
Much of this is designed to encourage someone to be a regular dasher, rather than just a very occasional side hustle for a little extra money. The time commitment isn't huge but it's enough to require a little bit of a commitment.
What are the benefits of meeting Top Dasher Requirements?
The main benefit is the ability to Dash anytime. In fact, as of June, 2022 Doordash that's the only benefit listed on the Doordash Top Dasher page.
Dash anytime means you can go available at any time, in any zone, regardless of whether any busy zones have openings for additional Dashers at that moment.
Here's how it works. With Doordash, you have to log in to a delivery zone. Doordash puts a cap on many Dashers can be logged into a zone at any given time. If there are too many couriers logged in, you are normally unable to go available in that particular zone.
However, as a Top Dasher, you can “Dash Now” in any zone at any time. This gives you the freedom to log into any zone on the fly, as opposed to having to schedule or to wait for a driver slot to come open.
If you are in a busy market or working busy hours where the number of Dashers trying to get on outnumbers the available slots in peak times, this is a great way to ensure you can deliver any time.
Does Top Dasher mean better orders?
When they announced the program, they also suggested you could get more deliveries.
When things are slower, you will be prioritized for new orders. That means that if we have two nearby Dashers who can take on an order, we will break the tie in your favor.
Doordash explanation of Top Dasher benefits (page has since been taken down)
In May of 2021 this popped up on my phone in the Dasher app:
Doordash is now promising more access to high dollar orders for Top Dashers.
Is it a real perk? Or a carrot on a stick?
Here's what Doordash has to say on the link in the message:
This new Top Dasher perk will prioritize nearby Top Dashers for high-value orders (those with subtotal value above $35). This means that if we have two nearby Dashers who can take on a high-value order, we will break the tie in favor of the Dasher with Top Dasher status. This not only benefits Top Dashers, but merchants and customers as well, as high value orders are typically larger and more complex, and Top Dashers are some of our highest-quality, most reliable, and most experienced Dashers.
Doordash answering the question “How will the new perk work” in a page since deleted.
Many Dashers took this to mean delivery orders would improve. But Doordash's explanation only promised to break ties in a Top Dasher's favor. As of June, 2022, Doordash's Top Dasher page doesn't list this perk.
I put the question to the test with a 200 delivery challenge to see if Doordash really offers better deliveries to Top Dashers. Spolier alert: Offers weren't any better as Top Dasher.
Is Top Dasher worth it?
I'm not going to tell you here if Top Dasher is worth it for you. Neither will I tell you that it's never worth it. That's because there are too many variables involved here.
In the end, it depends on what you are looking for and whether the one benefit of Top Dasher (Dash anytime) is something you need.
Anytime you want to evaluate if something is worth it, you have to weigh two things: What is the cost, and what are the real benefits? Is the benefit worth the cost?
While Top Dasher rewards can change, right now the only thing Doordash promises is the ability to dash anytime. Any reference to priority on delivery offers has been taken off the Doordash website.
In my area, Dash Anytime is a nice perk. It's not necessary, as I can usually get on at about any time. Doordash also lets you schedule access.
In some markets that becomes a bit more enticing. If your delivery zones are usually greyed out on the app, and if it's difficult to log in, the ability to “Dash Now” may be more important to you.
Weighing the benefit against the cost.
There is a cost within the Doordash Top Dasher requirements.
That cost lies in the 70% acceptance rate. Doordash sends out a lot of offers with a low base pay and little or no tip. In many instances it's far better to reject more deliveries than to accept. I've found how much you can make on Doordash is much higher when you're more selective with delivery offers.
When Doordash originally announced the program, they only had the completion rate, customer rating and number of deliveries. A high acceptance rate wasn't a part of it. I think the Doordash Customer Rating requirement is easily achievable in most cases, and completing the deliveries I said I would complete is not an issue.
When they added the 70% order acceptance rate to the Top Dasher requirements, that's when things changed for me. In my experience, a 70% acceptance rate means somewhere in the range of five dollars per hour lower profit rates.
Then you have to ask, are there any major benefits? Without confirmation that there really are higher-paying orders, then it all comes down to Dash anywhere. Is that enough of a perk to be worth potential lower pay.
Wrapping up the “is it worth it” discussion:
It's your decision.
It all depends on how you see the cost of the requirements. Especially the order acceptance rate. One Dasher will see 70% as unreasonable and decide they can do much better with a much lower rate. Another Dasher will feel perfectly comfortable with what they are making at 70% or higher.
Those two can even be in the same market.
Neither one is wrong.
And that's the important thing. I've given my opinions and experiences a lot here. But the thing is, it's my experience. That doesn't mean it will be yours.
If your need to have that ability to Dash now, any time, any place is high enough, Top Dasher may be worth it for you. Don't let any #DeclineNow person or blogger or anyone else tell you otherwise. You're smart enough to evaluate the cost of the requirements and the value of the benefits FOR YOU.
If you think that you'll improve how much money you get working as a free agent, declining way more offers than you accept, and bouncing over to other delivery apps at any time, you may find that Top Dasher cramps your style way too much. For you, the cost is far more than the benefit. Don't let any militant Top Dasher tell you how to do things.
It's your decision.
The main thing I ask of you is to think it through. Don't just go for Top Dasher because you like the title. Doordash isn't paying you as an employee. Don't give up profits for a status. But don't pass up on a benefit because of someone else's opinion.
Make your own business decision.
Why is Top Dasher so controversial?
There's a lot of emotion on both sides of this issue in the Dasher community.
In short, people want to think that their way of doing business is the best or only way. It gets to the point where they begin to insist others do things exactly as they do.
Unfortunately that creates a very toxic environment in many of the delivery groups and forums.
One side feels like accepting too many deliveries leads to Doordash keeping offers low and rewards those who leave low or no customer tips. The other side insists that they get better deliveries for their good stats and that there's a responsibility to accept more deliveries.
The sense of superiority on either side just throws gas on the fire.
I do believe that Top Dasher is mostly a way for Doordash to manipulate Dashers into taking more offers by appearing to promise more for doing so without really doing so. You can probably tell by the way I refer to it as them dangling a carrot.
However, I also understand there are legitimate reasons for someone to keep Top Dasher status, especially if it's hard to get on a Dash without it. Even when I might do things differently myself, I respect the right for each Dasher to run their business in the way they choose to run it.
Frequently Asked Questions about Top Dasher and its Requirements
Some of these questions have been addressed above. However, I wanted to address them all separately because that may be the easiest way to find the answers you're looking for.
- Does Acceptance Rate matter with the Doordash platform?
- Do Top Dashers actually get better deliveries?
- Will I become Top Dasher the moment I meet the requirements?
- Are the Top Dasher requirements the only way to get the status?
- Can I lose Top Dasher status if my numbers drop below the requirements?
- Does Top Dasher guarantee access to deliver whenever I want?
- Does Top Dasher guarantee more deliveries?
- Do Top Dashers make more money?
- Does being Top Dasher lead to sub minimum wage earnings?
- Do you need to be Top Dasher to deliver full-time?
- Can Top Dasher status result in a low customer rating?
- Do I need to be a Top Dasher to get early access scheduling?
- When do I know if I made Top Dasher?
- How do I know if I'm Top Dasher?
- Why didn't I get Top Dasher?
Does Acceptance Rate matter with the Doordash platform?
The only place that acceptance rate matters with Doordash is eligibility for Top Dasher. You cannot be deactivated or punished for having a low acceptance rate. A 70% order acceptance rate, combined with other requirements, would give you more access to time slots in busy times and markets, and possibly more deliveries.
Do Top Dashers actually get better deliveries?
Doordash never promised that. All they ever promised, in their words, is that “we will break the tie in favor of the Dasher with Top Dasher status.” As of June 2022, Doordash doesn't even list that perk on their site.
I did an extensive test early in 2022 on this. I took every delivery for 200 straight orders. The first 100 were in February, when I was not Top Dasher. The next 100 were in March after achieving Top Dasher status. There was no evidence of better opportunities as Top Dasher, and in some ways they were slightly worse.
Will I become Top Dasher the moment I meet the requirements?
No. Top Dasher is based on your stats at the end of the day on the last day of the previous month. If you meet Top Dasher requirements by mid month, you will need to maintain those requirements.
Are the Top Dasher requirements the only way to get the status?
No. Doordash has often temporarily given out Top Dasher status at different times even to those who haven't met the requirements. It seems like the idea is to get Dashers accustomed to the ability to “Dash Anytime,” which would encourage them to meet the requirements in future months.
In one test, Doordash said “New Dashers in selectmarkets are added into the program automatically aspart of a test, and they will retain Top Dasher status for 2 weeks thereafter.” When Doordash announced Top Dasher priority for high pay offers in May 2021, they offered a special two week window in select cities in which Dashers could meet the requirements within 25 deliveries instead of 100.
Can I lose Top Dasher status if my numbers drop below the requirements in the middle of the month?
No. Top Dasher status remains for the entire month after you've met requirements. The status does expire at the end of each month. If you fall below any of the requirements during the month, you still have until the end of the month to meet the requirements in the next month.
As a result, a common strategy for Dashers is to accept and decline offers as they normally would, often at a very low acceptance rate, and then accept as many offers as necessary in the last few days of the month in order to qualify for the next month.
The only time you would lose Top Dasher status any time other than the end of the month is if you had temporary status as described above, and the terms of that status expired early. For example, in the test where new drivers were given Top Dasher status right away, the term of that status was only 2 weeks.
Does Top Dasher guarantee access to deliver whenever I want?
Yes. This is a legitimate benefit. You may Dash now in any zone in your market at any time. This can give you more flexibility in choosing the best times to deliver for Doordash.
Does Top Dasher status mean more deliveries?
At one time Doordash promised priority access on all deliveries. Later they promised priority on high dollar orders. Their definition clarified “priority” to mean that a tie is broken in favor of Top Dasher if all other things were equal. Those promises are no longer listed on their site and pages that held them have been removed.
Even if Dashers were to get a tie broken in their favor, the question has to be asked: Is there ever really a tie? I would think that in order for the algorithm to work well and not get hung up, it has to be set up where there really is no tie. That's just my speculation.
Do Top Dashers make more money?
They may or may not. In some markets, accepting a high percent of deliveries may make financial sense. In markets where it's hard to get an available schedule spot for Dashing, Top Dasher may mean more opportunities to earn. Top Dasher may also mean accepting a higher percent of inefficient or low paying orders.
Your Doordash tips for making the most money is to decide your own criteria and make your own decisions. Top Dasher isn't for your benefit, it's all about Doordash getting their orders fulfilled.
Does being Top Dasher lead to sub minimum wage earnings?
It may or it may not. Many who qualify for Top Dasher earn quite well. A 70% acceptance rate leaves quite a bit of wiggle room. The very worst of deliveries can be rejected.
In some markets, the percentage of low-paying orders is higher than in others. Long distance trips may be more frequent. There is no hard and fast rule that Top Dasher means either higher or lower earnings. It depends widely on one's market and how they operate their deliveries.
Do you need Top Dasher to deliver full time?
Doordashing full-time does not require Top Dasher status. A full-time delivery person would need to weigh the benefits and the costs. In some markets, the ability to Dash anytime might make more sense. Others who see Doordash as just one of several customers may determine that the high acceptance rate isn't worth pursuing.
Can Top Dasher status result in a low customer rating?
There's potential that it could. Low paying deliveries are often associated with orders that have little or no customer tip attached. If a customer is not tipping because they've been unhappy with previous service, they may be more likely to find a reason to complain the next time around.
Some customers have learned they can get a refund or credit if they complain about not getting their food or about the quality of the delivery. Someone who lies in order to get a free meal is not likely to add a tip to the order in the first place.
The higher the acceptance rate, the greater likelihood of coming across either of these issues, which could lead to a lower customer rating. Sometimes the best way to keep your Doordash customer rating up is to avoid the lowball delivery offers.
Do I need to be Top Dasher to have early access scheduling?
No, but some of the requirements are similar. Early access scheduling lets you schedule dashes up to six days in advance. If you are not Top Dasher, it may be the best way to get good shifts at the best times for you. It's a good way to set your own schedule.
You qualify for the early access system if you have a customer rating of 4.6, a 95% completion rate, and either accepted five or more deliveries in the past week or have 500 or more lifetime deliveries.
No acceptance rate is required at this moment, although Doordash says that qualifications can change.
It's possible to be Top Dasher and not qualify for early access. That can happen either if you don't have at least 500 lifetime deliveries and didn't meet the minimum five delivery requirement. It can also happen if in the middle of the month your completion rate or customer rating drops. That's because scheduling access requirements are a week by week qualification, as opposed to monthly for Top Dasher.
When do I know if I made Top Dasher?
Doordash ssays they will usually inform you that you made Top Dasher on the 2nd of the month. I've noticed the announcement happening most months around mid day on the first of the month. The announcement can be delayed by a day or two.
How do I know if I'm Top Dasher?
Doordash sends an email to notify you within the first couple of days of the month. They also notify you via an in app notification that congratulates you for being Top Dasher.
You can also go into the account tab in the Doordash driver app and if you are Top Dasher, there will be a place that tells you your Top Dasher benefit.
Why didn't I get Top Dasher?
Obviously if you were not meeting Top Dasher requirements at the end of the month, you won't get Top Dasher status. Some make the mistake of thinking that they have up until the time that Top Dasher is announced to meet the eligibility requirements. This is not the case. If you didn't qualify until 1 AM the next day, you likely won't qualify.
Language on the Doordash website in the past referred to Top Dasher being available in select cities or made references to having limited spots in a given market. I no longer see any such references.
If you meet the criteria on the last day of the previous month, you will be considered a Top Dasher this month!
Doordash Top Dasher reference page, as seen on June 16, 2022.
Doordash seems to have taken out the ambiguity. However, if you are certain that you met the requirements at the end of the last day of the month, and you have not received Top Dasher by the end of the month, you may want to contact Doordash driver support.
Is Top Dasher the same thing as the 50% Acceptance Rate reset program?
In late 2022, Doordash rolled a new program out in several markets, offering priority on high paying orders (some call them diamond orders) for high acceptance rates. This is not the same thing as Top Dasher. Doordash no longer appears to offer priority orders for Top Dashers, and instead is suggesting you'll get better offers if your acceptance rate is over 50%.
However, I tested the priority program and found that orders did not improve at all when my acceptance rate was over 50%. In fact, the average order quality dropped when I exceeded 50%, and orders were better when I accepted fewer orders.
