Last Updated on 2024-04-05
We worked with these active, experienced gig-workers to write this article and bring you first-hand knowledge.
8 years of experience working across DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, Uber, and Lyft
7 years of experience working across DoorDash, Lyft, Amazon Flex, and Instacart
4 years of experience working across Shipt and DoorDash
5 years of experience working across Shipt and Instacart
Experienced writer/researcher in the gig industry working alongside our gig-workers
Delivery driver apps, like DoorDash, Instacart, UberEats, and Shipt, provide a flexible way to earn money on your own schedule — that’s one of the main reasons the gig economy has exploded over the last few years.
But with over a dozen apps to choose from, it can be hard to figure out where to start.
Here’s the good news: you don’t have to pick just one. One of the benefits of gig work is that you can use multiple apps at a time (called “multi-apping”) to boost your income and develop multiple income streams.
The best way to find which apps work best for you is to sign up, give them a try, and see which ones you like and pay the best.
If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend signing up for DoorDash, Instacart, and Shipt, trying them out for a while, and seeing which ones fit best into your life.
If you want to see what other options there are, we’re going to break those down here. We’ll break our recommendation down into the following categories:
There’s no clear-cut winner among delivery apps when it comes to pay. How much you earn on any given app will mostly come down to:
The app you use will have some effect on your earnings, but not as much as you might think.
For example, imagine that app A pays $6 per order on average (this is referred to as the base pay), but there aren’t many customers using that app in your area, so you only get one order every hour. Meanwhile, app B pays $4 per order on average, but you can take two orders per hour. In this case, you’d make more money per hour using app B ($8/hour) than app A ($6/hour) despite the lower base pay.
Next, consider the impact of a good strategy — maybe you only accept orders over a certain threshold. In this case, you could use app A and only accept $8 orders, which would bring your hourly earnings in line with app B.
Now, add some chance into the picture: some days, there are a lot of $8 orders, and other days, there aren’t. Some days, you get a bunch of big tips, and some days, you get none.
When you add all these factors, you can see that the average base pay isn’t necessarily the most important aspect to consider.
Generally, there seems to be a consensus among gig workers that Shipt has some of the best base pay, but there’s a long waitlist in many areas, so it can be hard to get accepted in the first place. Plus, once you’re accepted, there’s no guarantee that it will pay better in your area specifically.
So, while it’s true that some apps may pay better than others, there’s no way to know which one will pay you the best without giving several of them a try. Luckily, sign-up is usually fast and easy, and there’s never any commitment to stick with one you don’t like.
Before we get started, we should make something clear: there are a lot of similarities between these apps. In this post, we’re only going to point out the differences. You can assume that, unless otherwise noted, the apps in this section all:
One other note: grocery and restaurant delivery are very different roles even though they both deal with food. Grocery delivery apps typically require you to shop for groceries yourself, which can take a while, whereas restaurant delivery apps usually only require you to run into a restaurant and grab a bag of food. So, keep those different workloads in mind when you look through these options.
In a nutshell: The highest earning potential but the toughest application process.
Shipt is owned by Target, but it’s surprisingly one of the least-known delivery apps. And that’s a shame — the platform offers some of the best base pay in the game, the company is known for treating its shoppers well, and it has some great perks and unique features that set it apart.
Shipt offers two roles: Shopper and Driver. Shoppers shop for and deliver grocery and convenience store orders (not restaurant food), and Drivers deliver packages (we’ll cover that role later on).
Shipt’s most unique feature is its Preferred Shopper program, which allows customers to select their favorite Shoppers and give them priority on orders. This helps Shipt Shoppers build up a list of clientele that they know are easy to work with and give good tips. In fact, many long-term Shipt Shoppers rely almost entirely on Preferred Shopper orders, essentially bypassing the open market.
Plus, Shipt gives all its Shoppers 16 different perks and discounts, including a free Shipt membership, which is a $99/year value and lets you order from Shipt without delivery fees.
But there’s one major disadvantage: Shipt isn’t as widely available, and even in the areas where it does operate, there’s often a long waitlist. Once you get off the waitlist, you’ll need to complete the Shipt interview, you still might not get hired even then.
You can sign up for Shipt here.
In a nutshell: The most reliable option to get hired fast and earn money anywhere you go.
DoorDash is probably the best-known delivery app, and for good reason: it’s widely available, offers a variety of different order types, has flexible vehicle requirements, and provides some solid perks to boot.
DoorDash only offers one role: the Dasher. Dashers primarily deliver restaurant food, but you can take grocery orders, too. This gives you a bit more order variety to choose from, allowing you to better develop your order selection strategy to optimize your earnings.
DoorDash is the most popular food delivery app in the U.S., so you’ll usually have lots of orders to pick from.
If you don’t have a car, you can still work for DoorDash: it allows bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters.
You can sign up for DoorDash here.
In a nutshell: Widely available grocery delivery with flexible vehicle options.
Instacart is more similar to Shipt than it is to DoorDash: it offers grocery and convenience store delivery, not restaurant delivery.
Instacart offers two roles, the Full-Service Shopper and the In-Store Shopper, but only the Full-Service Shopper is widely available. Full-Service Shoppers receive customer grocery orders, shop for them, and deliver them (In-Store Shoppers only do the shopping part).
Instacart has begun implementing a program similar to Shipt’s Preferred Shopper program, but it’s not as fleshed out yet. It may become more developed in the future.
Instacart has relatively flexible vehicle requirements: you can deliver in a car or on an e-bike, motorcycle, moped, scooter, or, if you live in NYC, as a walker.
Currently, NYC residents who want to deliver on an e-bike or moped can get a $500 bonus after signing up .
You can sign up for Instacart here.
In a nutshell: The best option for those also interested in ridesharing — accept food delivery orders and Uber ride requests all from one app.
Uber Eats offers both restaurant and grocery and convenience delivery. It’s one of the most popular delivery apps thanks to its connection with Uber, which has become a household name.
Uber Eats only offers one role: the Uber Eats Delivery Driver.
If you already drive for Uber, then you get an extra benefit from Uber Eats: you can use the same Uber app to receive ride and delivery requests. Plus, if you already drive for Uber, you don’t need to sign up separately.
Overall, Uber Eats is more similar to apps like DoorDash than it is to apps like Shipt or Instacart. Restaurant delivery is where Uber Eats started, and most orders on the app will likely come from restaurants.
Uber Eats has flexible vehicle requirements: you can use your car or (in some cities) a bike or scooter.
Uber acquired Postmates in 2020, so Postmates deliveries are now carried out via Uber Eats.
You can sign up for Uber Eats here.
In a nutshell: An efficient shopping experience that’s great for those near a Walmart.
Walmart Spark offers grocery and general merchandise delivery from Walmart stores only. Although this might seem like a negative at first glance, shopping at only one store can improve your efficiency — you’ll get to know the store layout, making shopping faster and easier the more you do it.
In addition to shopping and delivering, Walmart Spark Drivers also pick up customer returns and bring them to Walmart stores.
There’s one role available: the Walmart Spark Driver.
Walmart doesn’t allow any alternative vehicles: you must use a car.
You can sign up for Walmart Spark here.
In a nutshell: Best for those who don’t want to shop and want to deliver non-food items, too.
Amazon Flex operates a bit differently from other food delivery apps on this list — in fact, it’s not entirely accurate to call it a “food delivery app,” as that’s just one part of what it offers. Most of the orders you take as an Amazon Flex delivery partner will not be food items, but you do have the option to accept grocery pickup orders, so the app deserves a slot here (we’ll cover the other order types in the non-food delivery app section further down).
Unlike other grocery delivery apps, Amazon Flex delivery partners don’t shop for groceries on their own. Instead, they pick up pre-bagged items from Amazon delivery stations or Whole Foods stores and drive them to customers.
Amazon Flex delivery partners don’t have quite as much scheduling flexibility — you sign up for delivery blocks in advance, which typically last 2-4 hours. During that block, you can choose which orders you accept or decline, just like any other delivery app. The blocks that include grocery deliveries are Amazon Fresh and Prime Now blocks — all other delivery blocks are for non-food items. You can choose which type of delivery block you want to do, so if you want to mainly deliver groceries, you can do so.
There’s one role available with Amazon Flex: the Delivery Partner.
Amazon Flex doesn’t allow you to use alternative vehicles: cars are the only accepted vehicles.
You can sign up for Amazon Flex here.
In a nutshell: Ideal for those who want to do restaurant delivery on a bike.
Grubhub provides restaurant, grocery, and convenience delivery. However, the company started out with restaurant delivery, and that’s what most of its customer base still uses it for. So, most of your time on Grubhub will be spent delivering from restaurants.
Grubhub has one role available: the Grubhub Delivery Partner.
Grubhub allows its delivery partners to use cars or bikes for their deliveries. But it’s a bit more restrictive when it comes to licensing: if you’re 18 and using a car, you must have had your license for at least one full year, and if you’re 19 or older, you must have had your license for at least two years.
You can sign up for Grubhub here.
In a nutshell: For Texans and H-E-B fans who want to do restaurant, grocery, and convenience store delivery.
Favor is a delivery service owned by H-E-B that only operates in Texas. It previously operated in a few cities outside the Lone Star state but has since pulled out of those markets. The platform offers restaurant, grocery, and convenience store delivery.
There’s one role available with Favor: the Runner.
Favor allows Runners to deliver with cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scooters. Bikes are only allowed in Downtown Austin.
You can sign up for Favor here.
In a nutshell: Focused on quick convenience store and alcohol deliveries.
GoPuff is a smaller delivery service that operates in relatively few cities. The service offers grocery and convenience store delivery but not restaurant delivery.
There’s one role available with GoPuff: the GoPuff Delivery Partner.
GoPuff allows cars, mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters, but bikes are not allowed.
You can sign up for GoPuff here.
Want to join the gig economy but don’t have a car? You’ve still got options. The following delivery apps accept alternative vehicles:
If delivering food isn’t your cup of tea, there are still a bunch of great options available to you. Here are delivery apps that won’t ever make you set foot in a grocery store or restaurant.
In a nutshell: A reliable income stream that offers lots of varied deliveries.
As we mentioned in the previous section, Amazon Flex primarily handles non-food items, even though you can choose to deliver groceries as well.
You need to be 21 or older to sign up for Amazon Flex.
Amazon Flex is based around delivery blocks: you sign up in advance for delivery blocks, which typically last between 2-6 hours depending on the block, during which you’ll pick up and deliver packages to customers.
There are three non-food delivery blocks:
Amazon advertises pay that ranges from $18-$25/hour. However, this depends on your location, how well your customers tip, how long it takes you to do your deliveries, and more, so this pay isn’t guaranteed.
You can sign up for Amazon Flex here.
In a nutshell: Great for those who live near a Target.
Like Amazon Flex, Shipt is another app that’s making a reappearance, but for almost the opposite reason: Shipt primarily focuses on grocery delivery, but it has a separate, lesser-known role for package delivery (the Driver).
Shipt has a lower age requirement than other package delivery apps: you only need to be 18 to sign up.
Shipt Drivers sign up in advance for delivery routes. At the start of your route, you’ll pick up your packages from Target and deliver them to your customers.
The length of your route and the number of packages you can pick up depends on your vehicle size:
Shipt also offers 16 different perks and discounts, including a free Shipt membership (a $99/year value), which lets you order from Shipt without delivery fees.
Shipt offers instant pay options so that you can get paid faster.
You can sign up to become a Shipt Driver here.
In a nutshell: High pay but very few job opportunities.
Roadie is a crowd-sourced delivery platform owned by UPS. It focuses on urgent, same-day, and local next-day delivery.
Roadie is more flexible with its age requirements: you only need to be at least 18 years old to sign up.
Unlike the other non-food delivery apps we’ve covered so far, you don’t need to sign up for deliveries in advance with Roadie. Instead, you look at a map of available “gigs” (deliveries), choose one that interests you, and submit an offer. You’ll be notified within 15 minutes if you’ve been accepted for the gig. Gigs can be for just one item and one delivery location, or multiple items with multiple drop-off points.
If you’re accepted, you’ll go to the location, pick up the items, and follow the instructions for drop off.
Roadie advertises up to $13 per local trip and more for multi-stop deliveries. Roadie offers instant pay options.
There are no minimum vehicle standards, but depending on your vehicle, you can get certified for additional gig types, such as oversized deliveries (if you have a cargo trailer) and eco-friendly deliveries (if you have a hybrid or electric vehicle).
Unfortunately, there are very few deliveries available on Roadie. That may change in the future, but as of now, it’s hard to find gigs to accept.
You can sign up for Roadie here.
In a nutshell: For anyone over 25 who lives close to a Veho warehouse.
Veho is similar to Amazon Flex and Shipt: you schedule delivery routes in advance, pick up packages from a Veho warehouse, and deliver them to customers.
You must be 25 or older to sign up.
One unique feature of Veho is that it provides optional Occupational Accident Insurance to all its drivers at no additional cost.
Veho doesn’t offer instant pay, but it pays its drivers twice per week.
You can sign up for Veho here.
In a nutshell: Best-suited to experienced drivers looking to develop additional income streams.
Frayt is a package delivery app that‘s geared more towards experienced delivery drivers — it has stricter requirements than most.
The requirements to apply to Frayt include:
You also need to pay a $35 application fee, and you’re expected to have equipment that will keep packages secure while moving.
Frayt doesn’t offer instant pay, but it does pay the next day after a delivery.
Fray says that its drivers earn an average of $20-30/hour.
Fray also offers its own Preferred Driver Program, which, like Shipt’s Preferred Shopper Program, lets customers select their favorite drivers and send deliveries straight to them.
Overall, Frayt is a good option if you’re already experienced with making professional deliveries or have a full-fledged delivery business that you want to expand, but it may be a bit intimidating for those just starting out.
You can sign up for Frayt here.
In a nutshell: A car delivery app that provides a unique experience — especially for car enthusiasts.
Draiver stands out from the rest of these apps because it’s a car delivery service — think of it like an on-demand valet.
The sign-up requirements are pretty minimal: you just need an updated driver’s license, a clean background, a clean driving record, and to be legally eligible to work in the country you’re applying in.
If you’re into cars, you’ll probably have a good time getting paid to drive a wide variety of vehicles.
Draiver offers some nice perks: you get Avibra AD&D (accidental death and dismemberment) insurance as well as WebDoctors access for as low as $35/month. The more you drive, the lower the price goes, eventually dropping to $0/month.
You can sign up for Draiver here.
This next batch of apps gives options for long-distance package deliveries. These apps are great if:
If either of these apply to you, here are a few apps worth your consideration:
We asked four of our Gig Pros to share some of their experiences with different apps and give some advice to people getting started. Here’s what they said.
Scott Jones has been doing DoorDash, Lyft, Amazon Flex, and Instacart since 2018. He’s also opened his own eBay store. Here’s what he has to say about delivery driver apps:
“I would advise that a new gig worker get all the gig apps they feel comfortable doing. Open your options up and try everything. Some people are going to be comfortable doing lots of driving with little physical labor — they might do better at Lyft or Uber. For those who want more action and have constant activity, they are going to want Shipt, Uber Eats, Doordash, and Instacart.
And, even within each of those apps, plan your strategy. By that, I mean you can try to make more money by doing more, by striving for more tips, or by doing extra dashes. For me, I found I like getting paid on my mileage; it's guaranteed, no tip-baiting, and our weather in Oregon is subpar for 6 months of the year, which means I get to primarily be in my car, listening to music, just doing long drives. Most people hate those, but I prefer them.
Ultimately, your success comes down to longevity, don't start Ubering people in your car if you hate having people in your car/space. Be prepared to lift cases of water, soda, and juice, if you are going to do any of the Gig apps that do grocery orders. It has been my experience that, many people opt for a gig worker to shop for them specifically when it is going to be arduous, heavy, and/or awkward to deliver. A common complaint I see from people is that they don't want to do the work, so set up realistic expectations. This is going to be work, hard work, for small pay, in bad weather, with expenses, and if that is not what you want, then sign up for something else. But, remember, there is a lot of money out there to be made.”
Catherine Meyers has 5 years of experience on Instacart and 2 years of experience with Shipt. She’s also used other apps, including DoorDash and Amazon Flex. Here’s what she said:
“For me, I paid attention to the types of services I’d seen as most popular at local restaurants and local stores. I worked in grocery for a long time, so I was exposed to Instacart and Shipt through that and was able to ask local shoppers their opinions before getting into it. For people who aren’t able to reach out to local shoppers/drivers/food delivery workers, I’d recommend Reddit as a good local resource to either ask about the most popular delivery services around you, or just look up existing posts.
My general advice is to sign up for basically as many of them as will take you, and try to whittle down your options to what makes you the most money and what you feel you’re best at. Multi-apping isn’t always the best choice, but it maximizes your earning potential.
At one time, I was doing Instacart, Shipt, DoorDash, UberEats, and Amazon Flex intermittently to determine what I felt was giving me the most money for my time and effort. Personally, I don’t like food delivery services because people are much more likely to be messaging you often and sometimes the apps set up the delivery routes in ways that don’t make sense, putting you at risk for delivering food that’s not as hot as it should be, even with insulated bags. I much prefer grocery delivery because it feels like it translates to an easier hourly wage calculation, and has less driving than food delivery. Find what works for you and what fits into your schedule.”
James Tuliano has 4 years of experience with Shipt and DoorDash. He’s also used other apps, like Grubhub. Here’s what he had to say:
“If you're just starting out and not sure what to try first, and you're just doing this part-time or while in-between jobs, I would suggest applying to DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Having options allows you to work different apps depending on if one is busy and one isn't, and also there is usually a waiting list, so this will ensure that you have all of your bases covered.
If you're looking for something that is going to be more of a long-term solution, Shipt has the biggest income potential of all of the apps here that I've used. You must be good at customer service and have a general idea of where things are in the grocery store (though you could always take small orders to learn the layout without any risk, or begin working orders early with plenty of time for error). Shipt allows you to build a list of repeat clients that you know tip well, so you'll have a more consistent income over time, but it can take a while to get there.
DoorDash and Uber Eats are great for quick money with pretty little effort. Do you have a vacation you want to go on? Want to pay off debt? Want money for Christmas presents? You can work a weekend and easily walk away with $200-350.
Also, be prepared for tax time. Start tracking your miles from day 1 (you can just write your starting mileage in your notes app and your ending mileage and find the difference) and make sure you save and pay quarterly estimates. It's super easy to do and will save you a lot of headaches.
Finally, make sure that you are using a practical car if you're going to do delivery apps. Gas can really eat your bottom line. I use a 2015 Toyota Prius and get 40-50 MPG, and maintenance is very affordable. If you just have a pickup truck, SUV, or something similar, it probably won't be worth the gas and wear/tear on your vehicle.”
Faith McLaughlin has 8 years of experience with Uber and Lyft, 6 years of experience with Postmates (now part of Uber Eats), 3 years of experience with Instacart, and 2 years of experience with DoorDash. Here’s her advice:
“To the new kid looking to bust into the delivery driver industry, let me give you some hard-earned advice before you get going:
1) Do your research first on what app is paying in your area before choosing one! There’s nothing worse than seeing a hopeful newbie get the wind knocked out of his/her enthusiastic sails because there’s either too many drivers or not enough business for their area.
2) Try out the practice delivery available in the app (most of them have it). This will give you an idea of how things will go once you accept a real offer.
3) If all else fails, just start with DoorDash first (because they are pretty easy and straightforward), and when you’re comfortable enough, add another app to your repertoire.
4) Don’t overthink it! While strategy is good and effective later on, in the beginning stages of your hustle, it’s important to just get good and comfortable by repetition first.
5) Don’t be afraid to ask for help!”