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Want to earn some extra cash? Being a food delivery driver may appeal if you have a car, a license, and want to work flexible hours. There’s a certain attraction to being able to open the app and put in a couple of hours at a time that suits you.
If you want to be your own boss and are OK with braving the traffic to make those deliveries, experiment to find the right app — or combination of apps — for you.
Here’s how top delivery apps stack up, wage-wise
Once you’ve decided to put your rubber to the food delivery road, you might wonder which delivery app pays the highest wage. After all, if you’re going to use up your time, car, and gas, it makes sense to earn top dollar for it. Unfortunately, so many factors influence delivery app earnings that it’s hard to be sure which one pays the most. A lot depends on factors like tips, where you’re based, the types of jobs you take, and the times of day you work.
In an attempt to compare apples with apples, we compared hourly wages on the Indeed job site. It shows that you can expect to earn between $17 and $20 an hour, which is a mix of the base pay plus tips. If you’re able to work for five or six hours a week, that can add up to a decent boost to your checking account balance.
However, there’s no single “best” delivery app. Indeed’s data put Uber Eats on top, but it only based the salary on input from three employees. DoorDash, which some sites say is the best food delivery company to work for, ranked lowest, pay-wise, based on data from 124 salaries.
| Food delivery app | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| Uber Eats | $20.00 |
| Grubhub | $18.12 |
| Amazon Flex | $18.09 |
| Instacart | $18.00 |
| DoorDash | $17.03 |
How to pick the right food delivery app to work for
One of the biggest obstacles when you first sign up to become a delivery driver is that a lot of services have waitlists. The idea is to avoid driver oversaturation, but it’s frustrating for all involved. If you’re eager to get to work as soon as possible, try signing up for more than one app. That will likely be worthwhile regardless of waitlists — many financially successful delivery drivers work for more than one company.
Beyond waitlists, each app is different. Here are some features to look out for:
- Instant payment: Some apps will let you get paid on the day rather than waiting for the end of the week (or two weeks).
- Drivers earn 100% of tip: The best delivery apps will pay you all of your tip money.
- Quantity of work: Newer apps may have fewer customers, which may not generate enough jobs.
- Scheduling vs. work when you want: With some apps, you can log on and work when you have the time, where others want you to make a schedule in advance.
- Bonus money: Some apps will pay higher rates at peak times or pay extra if you complete a number of orders in a set amount of time. Others set the default tip higher, which can help you to earn more.
Make the most of your delivery cash
If you’re used to earning a salary, it can be easy to forget about some of the extra costs that come with side hustles. You have to declare any earnings of over $400 a year to the IRS. Be prepared by putting money aside each month. If you put a percentage of your extra earnings directly into a savings account, the cash will be there come tax season.
On top of this, there are other work-related costs to consider. Keep records of your expenses, particularly gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and insurance — small business accounting software can help. And a top budgeting app can help you ensure you’re covering these costs and also earning enough to make your bills.
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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Emma Newbery has positions in Amazon and Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
