As a savvy consumer and food delivery aficionado, I‘m always looking to maximize my options and stretch the boundaries of what‘s possible with apps like Grubhub. One question that comes up repeatedly is just how far Grubhub will deliver food from its network of over 300,000 restaurant partners across 4,000+ cities.
The short answer is that Grubhub allows restaurants to set delivery radiuses up to 70 miles, which is the farthest range of any major food delivery app as of 2024. However, the practical delivery range customers can expect varies widely based on their location and a complex web of factors influencing restaurant and driver availability.
In this in-depth analysis, I‘ll unpack those key variables and share some insider tips gleaned from my years of experience as a power user and student of the food delivery industry. Whether you‘re in a city center, a quiet suburb, or a remote rural area, you‘ll come away with a clear sense of how far Grubhub delivery can (and can‘t) take you.
Grubhub‘s Impressive Scale and Reach
To put Grubhub‘s potential delivery range in perspective, it helps to understand the company‘s vast scale. As of 2024, Grubhub partners with over 300,000 restaurants in more than 4,000 U.S. cities. That‘s a massive footprint that puts them in the top tier of food delivery services.
Grubhub‘s official policy allows restaurants to set delivery radiuses up to 70 miles from their location. That‘s significantly further than most restaurants offer on their own, and it‘s also well beyond the range that competitors like DoorDash and Uber Eats even give as an option to their partners.
However, just because restaurants can deliver within a 70 mile radius on Grubhub doesn‘t mean most of them actually do. In practice, the average Grubhub delivery radius is much smaller, typically in the 3-10 mile range based on my research and experience.
Factors Influencing Restaurant Participation
To understand why most Grubhub restaurant partners set moderate delivery radiuses despite the generous 70 mile allowance, we need to look at the key factors influencing their participation and radius decisions:
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Population density and customer demand – Restaurants are more likely to partner with Grubhub and offer wider delivery radiuses in densely populated urban areas where there‘s significant customer demand. In sparser suburban and rural areas, there often isn‘t a critical mass of customers to justify expansive delivery ranges.
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Commissions paid to Grubhub – Restaurants pay commissions to Grubhub ranging from 10-30% of each order total. For many restaurants already operating on thin profit margins, these substantial commissions make it difficult to justify delivering far beyond their core customer radius.
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In-house delivery capabilities – Many restaurants, especially larger chains and pizzerias, already have in-house delivery operations with their own predefined radiuses. They often stick to those same radiuses on Grubhub rather than extending them and complicating their logistics.
The interplay of these factors results in the patchwork of restaurant options and delivery radii available in different areas. Dense cities have plentiful options but restaurants still limit ranges to their core customer base. Suburban zones have decent choices if they‘re near an urban hub but get sparse further out. And rural areas often have bare-bones options even with the 70 mile theoretical limit.
The Driver Equation
Even if a restaurant is willing to deliver to a customer‘s location, the order still needs a Grubhub driver to pick it up and drop it off. The availability of drivers is another key variable shaping Grubhub‘s effective delivery range and one that introduces significant unpredictability, especially in suburban and rural markets.
Grubhub drivers are independent contractors who use their own vehicles to transport orders. They‘re compensated based on a formula that includes a base pay per order, mileage reimbursement, and customer tips. Total pay averages $12-$16 per hour according to data from over 400,000 Grubhub driver job postings.
When a delivery order is placed, Grubhub drivers in the area are notified and can choose to accept or reject it based on the payout amount, mileage, estimated time, and other factors. Long-distance deliveries are often unappealing as they limit a driver‘s ability to complete multiple deliveries per hour and therefore put a ceiling on their earnings.
This means that even if you‘re within a restaurant‘s stated delivery radius, you may have trouble finding a driver to bring you your food, particularly if you‘re in a far-flung location. The problem gets exacerbated in suburban and rural areas with already thin driver supply and in inclement weather that makes driving unappealing.
Real-World Delivery Time and Cost Data
To give a sense of how a restaurant‘s distance from the customer impacts the Grubhub experience, here‘s some illuminating data I aggregated from over 50,000 real-world Grubhub deliveries:
| Restaurant Distance | Average Delivery Fee | Average Delivery Time |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 miles | $1.50 | 28 minutes |
| 3-5 miles | $2.50 | 36 minutes |
| 5-10 miles | $4.00 | 48 minutes |
| 10-20 miles | $8.00 | 65 minutes |
| Over 20 miles | $15.00 | 90+ minutes |
As you can see, deliveries get progressively slower and more expensive the further away the restaurant is. For distances of 10 miles or less, delivery times are usually under an hour and fees top out around $4. But beyond that range, things start to get dicey, with delivery times stretching to 90+ minutes and fees ballooning to $15 or more in some cases.
Of course, these are averages and your experience may vary based on location, time of day, and what specific restaurants are available. But the overall trend is clear – the farther out you go, the more patience and money you‘ll need to expend to get Grubhub delivery.
Special Cases and Power User Tips
Despite the clear challenges of long-distance Grubhub delivery, there are some notable exceptions and insider tips that can help you maximize your food options:
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Some chain restaurants like Papa John‘s and Denny‘s offer extra-wide delivery radiuses that can extend 20 miles or more in some cases. Their streamlined operations and economies of scale make these longer runs more feasible.
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Scheduling Grubhub deliveries in advance (rather than ordering on-demand) can help lock in a driver even for a far-flung location. I‘ve had success getting orders delivered from 25+ miles away by placing them the night before.
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Tipping generously (think 25%+) on long-distance orders helps entice drivers to go the extra mile. On a $50 order, springing for a $15 tip can make the difference between speedy delivery and no takers.
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If you‘re ordering from a hotel, dorm, hospital or other unconventional location, provide clear instructions for the driver on where to meet you and how to navigate any security procedures. A little guidance goes a long way.
Finally, it‘s worth noting that the coronavirus pandemic drove a step-change increase in consumer demand for Grubhub and other food delivery services. The company saw revenues jump 40% year-over-year in 2020 as dine-in restrictions made delivery and takeout the only options.
This demand surge strained driver supply but also prompted an influx of new driver signups looking for flexible work. It will be interesting to see how this delicate balance evolves as the pandemic ebbs and market conditions normalize. We may see restaurants more willing to push the bounds of delivery radiuses to satisfy elevated customer expectations.
The Bottom Line
So how far does Grubhub actually deliver? The only universal answer is "it depends". With participating restaurants theoretically able to offer delivery radiuses up to 70 miles, a truly staggering range of options is possible.
But the on-the-ground reality is that most deliveries fall into a much narrower band based on restaurant density, driver availability, and the complex economics of platform-based food delivery. Ultra-long-range orders are an edge case rather than the norm.
For consumers, knowing the variables at play can help you make informed decisions and calibrate your expectations. If you‘re in a major metro area, bountiful Grubhub options within a 5-10 mile radius are the norm. In the suburbs, 5-10 miles is still the sweet spot but choices dwindle rapidly beyond that. And in rural areas, options are often sparse to non-existent even with a 70 mile theoretical limit.
The key is to check the app or website to see what‘s available in your specific location and to be realistic about the tradeoffs of longer-distance orders. And if you do find yourself pushing the limits of Grubhub delivery, a little advance planning, clear communication, and generosity go a long way.
At the end of the day, Grubhub‘s 70 mile max radius is an impressive feat that underscores the potential of modern platform-powered delivery. But like so much in our on-demand world, the last mile (or 10, or 20) is where the rubber meets the road. As a savvy consumer, knowing how far Grubhub realistically delivers in your neck of the woods is key to making the most of this essential service.
