Hey there! If you‘re curious about how many people are using DoorDash these days to get meals delivered, you‘ve come to the right place.
As an experienced writer covering trends in food delivery and on-demand services, I‘ve got all the key DoorDash statistics you need for 2024. Whether you‘re interested in DoorDash‘s growth, market share, financials, or operations, this in-depth article will break it all down for you in a simple and easy-to-digest way.
By the end, you‘ll have a clear picture of DoorDash‘s massive scale and just how vital on-demand delivery has become to millions of consumers across America. Sound good? Then let‘s dive right in!
Contents
A Quick Overview of DoorDash
For those unfamiliar, DoorDash is a food delivery service that allows users to order meals from local restaurants straight to their doorstep. The company was founded back in 2013 in Palo Alto by four Stanford students: Tony Xu, Andy Fang, Evan Moore, and Stanley Tang.
The DoorDash app and website connect customers with delivery drivers (known as Dashers) who pick up orders from restaurants and deliver them. DoorDash makes money by charging restaurants a commission fee and charging consumers a delivery fee and service fee on each order.
Over the past few years, DoorDash has exploded in popularity by offering convenience, speed, and reliability. Especially following COVID-19, with people staying home more, DoorDash has become a lifeline for many consumers and restaurants.
Now that you‘ve got a quick primer on DoorDash, let‘s jump into the key stats!
At a Glance: Top DoorDash Statistics for 2024
Before we dig into the nitty-gritty details, here‘s a quick overview of some of the most important DoorDash numbers and metrics:
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20 million monthly active users
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450,000+ restaurants and merchants
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2 million Dashers (delivery drivers)
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329 million orders in Q1 2021
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$9.9 billion Gross Order Value (GOV) in Q1 2021
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57% market share of US meal delivery
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74% market share in San Francisco
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$1.08 billion revenue in Q1 2021
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$584 million total operating costs in Q1 2021
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3,886 employees globally
Let‘s now explore each of those DoorDash stats in further detail!
Diving Into DoorDash Usage Statistics
The growth of DoorDash comes down to its ever-growing base of happy customers. Here‘s a closer look at stats showing how people are using DoorDash.
DoorDash Has 20 Million Monthly Active Users
As of late 2022, DoorDash boasts over 20 million monthly active users. To break this down, monthly active users (MAUs) refers to the number of unique customers who have placed at least one order in the past 30 days.
This stat shows DoorDash‘s incredible reach – 1 in every 16 Americans now uses DoorDash every month!
And it‘s up from just 18 million MAUs in September 2020, indicating DoorDash has added 2 million new users in a span of 2 years. Impressive growth by any measure.
Over 450,000 Merchants Are on the DoorDash Platform
Here‘s another mind-boggling stat: DoorDash has partnered with over 450,000 merchants. These merchants consist of restaurants, convenience stores, grocers, and any other business that sells food.
To put this huge merchant count into perspective, McDonald‘s only has around 13,000 locations in the US. DoorDash has 35x more merchants than even giant global chains like McDonald‘s.
The massive merchant selection gives customers tons of choice. Pretty much any local restaurant you want, you can find on DoorDash. Being able to order meals from so many merchants is why customers love using the platform.
There Are 2 Million+ DoorDash Drivers
Of course, DoorDash couldn‘t fulfill all those orders without an army of drivers. DoorDash relies on over 2 million independent contractors (as of early 2021) to complete deliveries.
These drivers, referred to as "Dashers", use their own cars and bikes to transport meals from restaurants to customers. Many Dashers work part-time or sporadically on DoorDash to earn extra cash in a flexible way.
Without enough Dashers on the road, customers would face long wait times. So DoorDash needs to continually recruit new Dashers as user demand grows.
329 Million Orders Processed in Q1 2021
Here‘s a staggering stat that sums up DoorDash‘s sheer scale:
In Q1 2021 alone, consumers placed 329 million total orders on DoorDash.
To put that in perspective, that works out to over 3.6 million orders per day in Q1 2021. It‘s almost hard to conceptualize how many deliveries per hour that translates to!
And order volume was up a whopping 214% year-over-year – in Q1 2020, DoorDash processed 104 million deliveries. The pandemic poured rocket fuel on DoorDash‘s already-impressive growth.
Beyond its total order volume and user base size, DoorDash has also come to thoroughly dominate the U.S. meal delivery market.
According to market research firm Edison Trends, as of May 2021 DoorDash controlled a 57% share of all online meal delivery sales in the United States.
To visualize DoorDash‘s market lead, no. 2 player Uber Eats trailed far behind at just 23% market share. GrubHub and Postmates round out the top delivery apps – but with 12% and 5% share respectively.
DoorDash achieved this dominant market share through key advantages like offering more restaurants, affordable fees, membership programs, and faster delivery through its logistics algorithms. Consumers have voted with their wallets.
And DoorDash‘s market share lead continues expanding year after year…
Looking at DoorDash‘s market share growth trajectory shows their dominance is only increasing:
- 2018 – 18% market share
- 2019 – 35%
- 2020 – 48%
- Early 2021 – 57%
That‘s a stunning 34 percentage point gain in market share since 2018. And the growth is still accelerating in 2021, even as the food delivery market itself expands.
At this rate, DoorDash capturing 65%+ share seems imminent. Competitors like GrubHub have lost share as more users switch to DoorDash as their delivery app of choice.
DoorDash Dominates Big Cities Like San Francisco
Drilling down into specific metro areas, DoorDash utterly dominates some major markets:
- In San Francisco, DoorDash has a 74% market share.
- In Houston, DoorDash has 64% share.
- In Dallas, it has 56% share.
Given DoorDash was founded in Silicon Valley, it makes sense that it has its strongest foothold in San Francisco. But gaining 64% share in a huge metro area like Houston is similarly impressive.
DoorDash still has its work cut out in NYC and Chicago where GrubHub maintains a strong customer base. But give it a few years, and DoorDash may conquer those cities too.
Financial Performance and Growth
Of course, all these usage statistics and market share gains directly translate into phenomenal revenue and sales for DoorDash.
DoorDash Reached $9.9 Billion in Gross Order Value in Q1 2021
In Q1 2021 alone, the total value of all orders on DoorDash was $9.9 billion. This metric is known as Gross Order Value (GOV) – it encompasses the food, tips, taxes, and all other components that make up each order‘s dollar value.
To put $9.9 billion GOV into context, that means DoorDash facilitated almost $110 million worth of delivery sales every single day in Q1 2021.
And Q1 is historically DoorDash‘s slowest quarter given it falls in the winter. Summer months are likely to be far higher.
Revenue Soared 226% Year-Over-Year to $1.08 Billion in Q1 2021
With all those new users and orders pouring in, it‘s no surprise DoorDash‘s financials have soared.
Specifically, DoorDash generated $1.08 billion in revenue in Q1 2021. That‘s up a staggering 226% from $362 million in revenue in Q1 2020.
When you consider DoorDash brought in $2.8 billion in revenue for all of 2020, they are on pace to easily surpass $5 billion in 2021 based on Q1‘s results.
As long as order volumes and Gross Order Value continue rapidly climbing, DoorDash‘s top-line revenue growth will continue unabated. Profitability is further off in the future, but the trajectory is very positive.
DoorDash Operations and Company Size
Fueling this growth requires huge investment in DoorDash‘s operations, technology, and workforce. Here‘s a look at how big DoorDash‘s operations now are:
DoorDash Spent $584 Million on Operating Expenses in Q1 2021
Despite booming revenue, DoorDash spends heavily to propel expansion. In Q1 2021 alone, DoorDash‘s operating expenditures totaled $584 million.
The outlays are broken down as:
- $82 million on research & development
- $333 million on sales, marketing, promotions
- $169 million on general & administrative costs
Customer acquisition costs are especially high right now as DoorDash fights for market share. But this sizable spending will continue across all fronts as DoorDash pursues growth.
DoorDash Employed Almost 4,000 Workers at End of 2020
How big is DoorDash‘s actual corporate team? As of December 2020, DoorDash employed approximately 3,886 workers.
The large majority are based in the United States, with additional employees in Canada, Australia, and Japan. Many are software engineers, data scientists, and other technical roles that power DoorDash‘s platforms and apps.
And employee headcount grew over 600 in the latter half of 2020. So DoorDash is scaling its workforce rapidly to match is business growth. But it remains lean compared to giants like Uber.
Key Takeaways: DoorDash By the Numbers
Let‘s recap the key insights into DoorDash‘s scale and market position:
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Monthly active users now exceed 20 million – that‘s up from ~15 million before the pandemic, showing DoorDash has retained many new users.
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An astounding 450,000+ restaurants now take orders through DoorDash – it has more "locations" than even the largest restaurant chains.
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DoorDash has over 2 million Dashers delivering orders. Its strength is world-class logistics and fulfillment.
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In Q1 2021 alone DoorDash handled 329 million deliveries – growth is skyrocketing.
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Total order value reached $9.9 billion in Q1 2021 – it‘s facilitating commerce between restaurants and consumers at massive scale.
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DoorDash now has 57% market share of all online meal delivery, and share gains are accelerating year-over-year.
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In cities like San Francisco and Houston, DoorDash has 60 – 70%+ market share – it‘s winning crucial markets.
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Revenue soared to $1.08 billion in Q1 2021, which likely puts DoorDash on track for $5+ billion in revenue in 2021.
The verdict? DoorDash has become essential daily infrastructure for millions of consumers. It‘s well on its way to capturing at least 60% of the U.S. meal delivery market in the near future.
While competitors like Uber Eats, GrubHub and newcomers will all vie for market share, DoorDash has emerged as the dominant force in food delivery. Its growth and statistics are simply unmatched.
The Future Is Bright for DoorDash
Thanks for sticking with me through all those DoorDash stats! I hope this breakdown clearly answered your questions about how many people use DoorDash and their incredible growth.
Right now, all signs point to continued rapid growth in 2022 and 2024 for DoorDash. The pandemic may have supercharged growth temporarily, but consumers have formed new habits and DoorDash‘s platform effects are kicking in.
As restaurants and Dashers continue joining the ecosystem, DoorDash becomes an even more compelling one-stop shop where you know you‘ll find any cuisine you want delivered ASAP. Network effects fuel future growth.
While risks like regulations and driver shortages remain, DoorDash management has executed brilliantly so far. They will keep adapting and evolving.
So in summary, DoorDash sits in the catbird seat to capitalize on the flourishing meal delivery market. Expect user numbers, order totals, and revenues to keep breaking new records.
Of course, please share any thoughts or reactions to these DoorDash statistics in the comments below! I‘m happy to keep the conversation going.
