What’s The Difference Between Seamless And GrubHub?

When it comes to food delivery services, it seems as though your choices are always expanding. Whether you are a consumer, delivery driver, or both it can be difficult to discern which food delivery services are best for you. One of the options you may be considering is Seamless vs Grubhub. If so, you are in the right place.

Here, we will explore the differences and similarities between these two food delivery services. Keep reading to learn more about Seamless and Grubhub. Our goal is to help both drivers and customers understand both Grubhub and Seamless in order to make an informed choice.

One Company: Two Food Delivery Services

Even though they are marketed as entirely separate entities that offer food delivery, both GrubHub and Seamless are owned by the GrubHub brand. Initially, Seamless was the larger, more well-known brand that was founded in New York City by two lawyers. GrubHub was smaller, and based in Chicago. Both companies merged in 2013, a move that was announced by GrubHub.

However, a decision was made to maintain Seamless as a separate entity as far as branding and marketing were concerned. This was because Seamless was already very well-known, and had a large market share as a food delivery service. It simply made sense to allow the brand to exist on its own. However, both brands have a similar business model. Grubhub and Seamless make it easier for customers to find restaurants and order food for delivery.

Main Differences Between GrubHub And Seamless

So, what are the differences between these two, popular food delivery services? Let’s take a look at the most important considerations for customers and drivers. These are:

• The App Experience
• Cost
• Availability in Cities
• Restaurants That Use Each Service For Deliveries
• The Difference For Drivers

The App

If you go to order food delivery from GrubHub or Seamless from your desktop, you won’t see much difference between the two websites at all. In fact, only the names are interchanged for the most part. For example, both sites offer GrubHub + and Seamless + respectively. When it comes to the delivery app, you won’t see much difference there either. Seamless and GrubHub both offer a virtually identical online experience to the customer. There may be some slight differences between the screens, but overall, customers see the same thing when ordering through both delivery apps.

How Much do They Cost?

When comparing GrubHub and Seamless, customers understandably focus on delivery fees and other costs. If you’ve ever comparison shopped between services like Uber Eats and Postmates, you understand that customer choice largely depends on fees and menu prices. Of course, restaurant choice is important as well, but more on that later.

The good news for customers is that each food delivery service is identical when it comes to price. There may be different delivery fees depending on the restaurants customers select. However, this will not change from one app to the other. Of course, menu costs may vary in different cities as well.

Availability in Cities

Even though GrubHub began with a much smaller market share, they are now available everywhere Seamless is offered. Similarly, you can find Seamless in every city where GrubHub is available. Although, the GrubHub website states that Seamless is for New York City Boroughs. The truth is that you can go to the Seamless website for all cities, and receive restaurant deliveries. Presumably, the benefit of this is that customers in the U.S. can order from the delivery apps that are most familiar to them, even if they have traveled to other cities.

Restaurants That Use Each Online Service

Both GrubHub and Seamless offer Food delivery from a wide range of local and chain restaurants. Customers may use their delivery apps to determine which restaurants are specifically in their area. As they make their selection, they should be aware that fees can vary from restaurant to restaurant. In some cases, franchisees in one city may charge different rates than those in another.

If a restaurant is available on Seamless, it is also available on GrubHub. Customers may save money on delivery fees by subscribing to either Seamless or GrubHub +.

Customers should keep in mind that availability of restaurants can change without notice. In addition to this, both Seamless and GrubHub have a policy of adding non-partnered restaurants to their apps and website. This means that the restaurant has not voluntarily entered into an agreement with either delivery service. Instead, the driver places the order on behalf of the customer, and delivers it to them. This can occasionally cause issues. For example, the GrubHub menu for a restaurant may have items that are no longer available, or have incorrect days and hours listed. However, it should be noted that Postmates, DoorDash, and other delivery services have similar policies going on.

What’s The Difference For Drivers

Clearly food delivery from Grubhub and Seamless are the same from the perspective of the customer. Let’s take a closer look at the driver experience with both entities. You may be surprised to learn that food delivery drivers can’t work for Seamless exclusively. In fact, if you click an ad or link to drive for Seamless, you will be routed to the GrubHub website. Drivers also use the same app to accept and execute deliveries for Seamless and GrubHub. Essentially, if you work for one delivery service, you work for the other.

Are there downsides a driver should consider before working with GrubHub or Seamless? Since there is no significant difference between the two apps, gig workers should focus on comparing these apps to other services such as Postmates, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. Of course, many drivers opt to install apps for all of these services in order to maximize their earnings. Remember that some food delivery services are more popular than others depending on the area in which you are working.

Now for some positives about Seamless and GrubHub:

• Both brands are part of a stable company with a big market share.
• Delivery drivers can find work through both services all over the country.
• Seamless and GrubHub pay competitive wages to drivers.
• The companies are connected with a wide range of restaurants in various cities.
• Their system for placing online orders is intuitive.

Conclusion

Even though they are treated in some ways as different companies, GrubHub and Seamless are truly one and the same. The only difference is that customers can access a separately branded app and website for each entity. For drivers, the differences disappear completely. If you sign up to drive for GrubHub, you also work for Seamless.

The good news is that you don’t have to fret about using one of these companies or the other. Instead, you can make your decision using other factors, such as delivery fees for customers, or average pay for delivery drivers. You should also compare them to competing services like PostMates, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. Then, choose your favorite app, or use all that are available to you.

One last tip! No matter which delivery services you use, make sure you have a reliable car! Drivers who make the most money have a reliable car that gets great gas mileage, along with a newer mobile phone. No car? No worries! HyreCar can connect you with a reasonably priced rental that is specifically designed to meet the needs of independent delivery drivers.