Uber Eats is an American online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the ride-hailing company Uber in August 2014. It is one of the largest global food delivery services, competing with companies such as DoorDash, Grubhub, Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway.com.
In December 2020, Uber acquired the U.S.-based food delivery service Postmates for $2.65 billion, integrating its operations into the Uber Eats platform. However, Postmates continues to operate as an independent brand, with a particularly strong presence in the Western United States.
Uber Eats has faced criticism over issues such as worker classification, pricing practices, including hidden fees, misleading subscription benefits and potential antitrust violations.
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History
Uber Eats' parent company Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. The company began food delivery in August 2014 with the launch of the UberFRESH service in Santa Monica, California, where the subsidiary was led by Jason Droege. In 2015, the platform was renamed UberEats and the ordering software was released a standalone application initially launching in Toronto, Canada. In 2016, it commenced operations in both London and Paris.
In March 2018, Uber sold its ride-hailing and Uber Eats operations in Southeast Asia to rival Grab for a 27.5% stake; at the time, Uber Eats was active in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with plans to expand further in the region.
In August 2018, Uber Eats changed its flat $4.99 delivery fee to a rate that is determined by distances. The fee ranges from a $2 minimum to an $8 maximum. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the delivery fee is based on the value of the order. In February 2019, Uber Eats announced that it would reduce its fee from 35 percent of the order's value to 30 percent. As part of its expansion into foreign markets, the company announced its intention to open virtual restaurants in the United Kingdom. Sometimes called cloud restaurants or cloud kitchens, these are restaurant kitchens staffed to prepare and deliver food, either for existing brick-and-mortar restaurants wishing to move their delivery operations offsite, or for delivery-only restaurants with no walk-in or dining room service.
In November 2018, the company announced plans to triple its workforce in its European markets. As of 2026, Uber Eats is available in more than 6,000 cities across 45 countries worldwide.
In 2019, Uber Eats said it would deliver food to customers by drones from the Northern Hemisphere in the summer of 2019, and partnered with Apple on the release of the Apple Card. In July, Uber Eats began offering a dine-in option in certain cities that allowed customers to order food ahead of time and then eat in the restaurant.
In September 2019, Uber Eats said it would leave the South Korea market, with Reuters attributing this to the amount of competition for food delivery companies in the country. In October, Uber Eats launched the pick-up option. On October 15, 2019, the company said it would deliver Burger King fast food throughout the United States.
Lawsuits against Uber Eats and other controversies
Lawsuit for allegations of monopolistic behavior
In April 2020, a group of New Yorkers sued Uber Eats along with DoorDash, Grubhub and Postmates, accusing them of using their market power monopolistically by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs state that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge “exorbitant” fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks triple damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016 for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. The case is filed in the federal U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York as Davitashvili v GrubHub Inc., 20-cv-3000. Although a number of preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.
Antitrust lawsuit
In 2022, the company is facing a lawsuit for antitrust price manipulation, from forcing restaurants to charge the same price for delivery as for dine-in if the restaurant wants to be listed on the Uber Eats app, along with charging fees of 13–40% of revenue.
Courier pay protest
In February 2024, Uber Eats delivery drivers in the United Kingdom went on strike and stopped delivering between 5pm and 10pm as part of a protest organised by Delivery Job UK. The aim of the protest is to raise courier pay to a minimum of £5 per order. The strike is the largest to hit the platform in the UK.
AI bias settlement
In March 2024, a black Uber Eats courier received an undisclosed sum as a payout from the company after the app's AI-powered facial recognition denied him continued access to the app and later initiated his account's deletion in 2021. The company has been using AI for facial recognition since April 2020 to confirm that drivers' selfies match the pictures that Uber has on record for them, as a form of identity verification.
Whistleblower hoax
In January 2026, an anonymous Reddit user claiming to be an employee of a "major food delivery app" made a post outlining alleged unfair actions done by the platform, such as slowing down standard deliveries to make users pay for priority orders or giving all drivers a "desperation score" to pay the most desperate drivers as little as possible. The post quickly gained popularity, getting over 86,000 upvotes in a few days. While the author didn't directly name the app, they sent a photo of an Uber Eats badge to the journalists as proof of their words. An Uber Eats spokesperson commented on the allegations, denying them and suspecting that the post is made up. It was later confirmed that the post was fabricated, and the photo of the badge, as well as other documents the poster was presenting as evidence to journalist, were generated using AI.