Are Postmates and Uber Eats the Same? How the Two Apps and Courier Networks Fit Together

Are Postmates and Uber Eats the same? Not quite: they belong to the same company, but they remain two separate consumer apps. Uber announced on December 1, 2020 that it had completed its acquisition of Postmates Inc. in an all-stock transaction, and its release said the consumer-facing Postmates and Uber Eats apps would continue to run separately, supported by a more efficient, combined merchant and delivery network.^[1] This guide looks at ownership, what customers see, and what changed for the people who deliver. It leaves out pay and age rules, which depend on the courier program and have their own guides.

What did Uber’s purchase of Postmates actually change?

The release is short on detail, and it is the clearest statement of what the deal meant. Two things are stated: the apps stay separate for customers, and the work behind them is shared. A restaurant or store on the combined network can be reached by delivery people who sign in through Uber, while a customer opens whichever app they prefer.

So when someone asks whether Postmates is the same as Uber Eats, the exact answer has two layers. Same owner and a shared pool of delivery people: yes. Same app, same sign-in and same storefront: no, at least according to the official pages.

What is still different for customers?

Postmates is still an active site. Its page offers food, drinks, groceries and more delivered, plus a pickup option, and lets you enter an address, search for places and buy gift cards.^[2] Its sign-up-to-deliver link points to Uber’s delivery page, not to a separate Postmates courier program. For background, see what Postmates is and how it works.

Membership shows another dividing line. Uber’s Uber One page offers savings and benefits on Uber and Uber Eats, and says they apply to eligible stores and rides marked with the Uber One icon where Uber operates.^[3] If you are comparing Postmates vs Uber for subscription savings, confirm in the app what applies to your order.

Questions such as “whats cheaper, Uber Eats or Postmates” cannot be answered from an official source, because neither company publishes a price comparison. Fees, minimums and promotions show at checkout and change by address, so the only fair test is to build the same order in both apps and compare the totals. If you are ordering, here is how to tip a Postmates courier.

How did the change reach Postmates couriers?

For couriers the merger was a migration. Uber’s Postmates help page, written during the 2021 transition, says Postmates and Uber Eats “joined forces”, that customers and delivery requests switched to the Uber app on June 7, 2021, and that to keep delivering, couriers had to link their Postmates account to Uber.^[4] Several rules from that page still explain how the two networks relate:

• As of August 9, 2021, a Postmates account can no longer be linked to an Uber account; someone who wants to deliver through Uber creates a new account.
• Couriers who could not migrate needed an Uber driver account in good standing to keep accepting deliveries.
• Promotions are tied to the platform where they are eligible and do not carry over.
• Account bans are reviewed case by case, so a block on one account does not always mean a block on the other, though access can be restricted on both.
• Completed deliveries count toward the lifetime total on the Uber profile, but the trip details of old Postmates deliveries remain in the Postmates app.

The page also says tax information for 2020, including the 1099, stays available through the Postmates delivery app. It is written for the 2021 transition, so use the current sign-in screens as the final word.

What do couriers do today?

Someone starting from scratch does not apply to a separate Postmates program. Uber’s delivery basics page sends new couriers through its own sign-up and the Driver app, where they select Go on the home screen to receive requests once the account is active.^[5] The Work Hub in the app’s menu shows which delivery types you are approved for, which is where any difference between the two brands would show up in practice.

Because of that, the difference between Uber Eats and Postmates for a courier is mainly branding on the customer side. The person who collects the order is working through the same Uber account either way, according to Uber’s pages.

Is Postmates or Uber Eats better, then?

Is Postmates better than Uber Eats? The question assumes a rivalry that the official pages no longer describe. The practical choice for a customer is which app lists your restaurant, shows the better total for the same basket, and honors the membership you hold. For a courier it is a non-choice, since both apps run on Uber’s delivery side.

If you are choosing between Uber Eats or Postmates for ordering tonight, a two-minute check helps:

1. Search the same restaurant in both apps and see whether it appears in each.
2. Add the same items and compare the total before tipping.
3. Look at whether your membership, if you have one, names that app.
4. Choose by the total and the delivery estimate, not by the brand.

Whether a given merchant appears in one app or both is not listed on any official page. The only reliable list is the one each app shows for your address.