DoorDash is preparing to increase its service fees for customers in Seattle, citing newly enacted city regulations that the company says are driving up operating costs and forcing them to pass expenses onto users. The price hike, which will take effect later this month, adds to Seattle’s reputation as the most expensive city in the U.S. for food delivery.
The company attributes the latest fee increase to a new law set to take effect on July 31, 2025. This regulation mandates more rigorous oversight of worker account deactivations and expands protections for app-based delivery drivers. DoorDash says compliance with these new rules will require significant resources and staffing, further complicating operations in a city where costs are already steep.
“Seattle law already requires platforms to pay delivery workers nearly $30 an hour before mileage and tips,” the company stated. “Now, additional costly regulations, including a drawn-out and intensive review of any Dasher deactivations, are pushing us to adjust pricing again.”
This move follows a similar response in 2022, when DoorDash added a flat $5 service fee on all Seattle orders after the city passed legislation guaranteeing minimum wage protections for app-based gig workers. The company claims that these measures have negatively impacted both delivery workers and the platform’s performance in the city.
According to DoorDash, the number of delivery offers received by Dashers in Seattle has been halved since the implementation of the city’s minimum wage rule, while wait times for orders have tripled. The company says these conditions have led to a more than 20% drop in average hourly earnings for delivery workers in Seattle from late 2023 through the end of 2024 — a decline that reportedly continues in 2025.
The impact, according to DoorDash, isn’t limited to workers. The company revealed that it operated at a loss in Seattle throughout 2024 despite generating over $10.7 billion in national revenue. Additionally, DoorDash says local businesses have experienced a 2% decline in revenue, in contrast to cities like Denver, Portland, and San Francisco, where business has grown by as much as 10% and service fees remain lower.
DoorDash argues that while the regulations aim to protect workers, the unintended consequences include fewer job opportunities, reduced earnings, and higher costs for customers and restaurants alike. The company also warns that additional regulatory burdens may discourage investment and growth in the city’s gig economy.
Although DoorDash has not disclosed the exact amount by which fees will increase, Seattle customers should prepare for higher prices by the end of July. Meanwhile, the company continues to call for more balanced regulation that it says would support both worker protections and economic sustainability.
