Rideshare Essentials
Uber
Uber is by and large the most popular and widespread rideshare service. It was the first contender in the market, and has been working to disrupt a system that hadn’t seen any major changes since the 1930s. With brand recognition and a host of premium vehicle choices, full-time and part-time drivers sign up to drive for Uber for the options it creates.
Drivers are also attracted to Uber for its large user base. Many drivers who use rideshare apps maintain Uber as an option. The rideshare industry is slowlyoutmatching taxi services with the number of active drivers, with no small part of that due to Uber. The demand for Uber rides is highest in cities, but the company continues to grow and the market continues to expand.
Lyft
Lyft is Uber’s fiercest competitor. Although its user base is smaller, Lyft can be just as useful to have in your driver’s arsenal as Uber. Maybe you won’t be getting back-to-back pings, but there is still significance to having Lyft. Many drivers even prefer using this service over the other competition.
For one, it can be less overwhelming to the rookiedriver. You can turn the app on and pick up passengers at a more leisurely rate, giving you time to take breaks and hone your driving practices. The sign-up bonuses vary from city to city, but Lyft (as well as most other rideshare services) does reward you for starting an account with them. There’s a lump sum after you’ve made your first 25-100 rides, but the benefits don’t stop there. Riders are allowed to tip you through the app on Lyft, and the express pay option gives you thechance to deposit the money you’ve earned on the same day.
Via
Via is about actually sharing rides. At only $5 for shared rides in premium vehicles, it may seem as though the money for drivers isn’t there. However, Via automatically gives you a 5-20% boost in pay for accepting other riders along your route, depending on how many passengers you pick up and how many “matches” you obtain. They operate in spaces where there is a lot of driver demand, putting fewer miles on your vehicle and eliminating the need for long-distance trips. The low 10% commission doesn’t hurt your wallet as much as Uber and Lyft, either. You’ll likely develop regulars and be able to build a relationship with your passengers. Since you typically work during commuter hours, your passengers are also easier to handle than night-time riders.
Gett
Gett’s major claim to fame is its worldwide accessibility. They’re dedicated to reducing harmful emissions in the the atmosphere through minimizing wasted time between fares. With the recent acquisition of Juno, a New York City-based ride hailing app whose driver-friendly culture gave Uber and Lyft a run for their money, the Volkswagen-backed Gett is set to make a huge impact on the rideshare economy.
Gett is currently available in many European cities, but has expanded to New York City and plans to take its business to other American cities. You need a higher level of driving expertise to be considered as a Gett driver, but the benefits rack up soon afterward. Sedans get $0.70/min net plus tip where SUV’s get about $0.85/min. With that and generous referral bonuses, the money you make is substantially higher with Gett than with driving for Uber or Lyft.
Curb
Curb is bringing professional taxi drivers into the 21st century. Rather than isolate CDL drivers from the ramp up of the rideshare economy, it caters to the long-time driving professionals. Passengers can hail yellow cabs in advance, and they can be tracked easily through the app. You as a taxi driver are fully covered under insurance and are paid based on how long the meter is running. Since your drives are metered, it’s easy enough to take detours at the passenger’s request. There’s no surge pricing option, but the fares are slightly higher and there’s a service fee up front to help recover costs.
Ztrip
Z-trip is an app-based taxi service that allows for customizable pickup options, sedan or professional vehicle options and up-front pricing. They are in over 30 cities operating with either a city-wide or airport only presence. It lets pre-existing taxicab drivers work through ride hailing and is available in many major cities throughout the US. Drivers can either use the Yellow Z service, which allows them to use their own car or they can lease a Ztrip car to prevent wear and tear on their personal vehicles.
Honorable Mentions
Summon
gives you all of the benefits and amenities of driving for other rideshare companies, but has no surge pricing. Instead, it has flat rates for busy times with heavy congestion such as events and rush hour.
Bridj
is an amped-up version of Via. Instead of a large host of SUVs and sedans for transporting multiple passengers, Bridj operates mass-transit 14-seat luxury shuttles complete with Wi-Fi. Average pickup times are under 10 minutes, and you make a guaranteed $15 per hour as an employee rather than a contractor.
Navigation Apps
Arguably the most important app for uber drivers and lyft drivers is navigation. The two main contenders here are Google Maps and Waze. They both do pretty much the same thing, but each one has loyal fans all the same. Here are a few differences:
Google Maps in action
Google Maps
A fan favorite, Google Maps offers a clean and easy-to-use interface without too much distracting info. It shows you real-time traffic and alternate routes, complete with ETAs. My favorite feature is that you can type a place name into the search bar (for example, “airport”) and Google will suggest addresses for you. This is a real time-saver when your passengers are too distracted to give you a full address.
Waze
Waze offers similar functionality, but with a few extra features. Waze users update your map with details about police activity, construction, and other traffic considerations in real time. You can even add your own observations to the map to help out other drivers. All this info is great, but it can be distracting when you’re trying to drive and chat up your riders at the same time. I like to use Waze when I’m doing personal driving or making deliveries, but when I’ve got passengers in the car, I find the extra features are a bit too much.
Mileage Tracking Apps
Mileage tracking is the second most-important app for Uber drivers and lyft drivers to have on-hand. Sure, you could tally your miles manually in a notebook after every shift – but this is time-consuming and personally, I often forget to do it. A mileage tracking app saves time – and serious money at tax time. You can deduct $0.54 from your taxable income for every mile you drive, which could add up to $100 or more in deductions for a single days’ work. Mileage logs also help you keep tabs on your profit margins and expenses, a critical component of any business.
Stride Drive
Stride Drive for iOS
The past few months have seen a host of new mileage tracking apps. Stride Drive (iOS and Android) is a cool (and free!) new option. It offers an automatic system that detects when you’re driving, so you can be sure to log every mile.
Hurdlr
Designed for self-employed individuals, Hurdlr offers similar functionality as Stride Tax. Drivers can use Hurdlr to record their mileage and expenses to get real-time estimates of their tax deduction. Bear in mind, Hurdlr comes with a lot of other items that are more geared towards individuals outside of the rideshare industry.
Additional services include bank account monitoring, invoicing and other extra features. This can bloat the app making it not ideal for everyone.
MileIQ
(Free for 40 drives per month, $5.99/month for premium)
MileIQ is another mileage tracking app. One of the defining differences is that MileIQ offers users a weekly generated report. These detailed descriptions are customizable and may be organized in any way users see fit.
Triplog.
We have been receiving a few reports from drivers saying they use Triplog to track their mileage and we wanted to pass the details along.
Apparently, the interface is not as clean as some of the other alternatives we have mentioned so far. Despite this, many drivers have reported that the app works flawlessly.
Triplog gives drivers a plethora of options on how to start mileage tracking, including plugging your phone into the car power outlet.
Sherpashare
Rideshare Timer
Rideshare Timer overlays a stopwatch and adds a quick text function to your Android
Don’t you hate when people request a ride and then never show up? Me too. Depending on your market, Uber says to wait 5 minutes (or two minutes for Uber Pool rides) before you’re allowed to cancel. In some markets you’ll also earn a cancellation fee. Rideshare Timer simplifies this process by overlaying a basic timer on-screen so you know when time’s up. It even includes a “quick text” feature which is super useful and can save you a ton of typing. Just set up customizable “arrival” and “departure” messages, and you’ll never have to peck out a “hey, your Uber is here” text again.
Rideshare Timer is Android-only for now, so if you’re on iOS, I’d recommend a simple stopwatch app instead so you can start grabbing those cancellation fees!
UZURV
where riders can reserve rides from specific Uber and Lyft drivers. We as drivers can create profiles and be available as UZURV drivers through the UZURV application.
RYDAR
You can monitor real time surge rates, you can track mileage, you can plan events, and you can also use it for navigation to find optimal pickup spots.
Detour
Detour is another excellent way to entertain your riders, especially travelers.
Picking up a tourist or traveler is a common occurrence in the ridesharing business.
As you share your city with new guests, why not entertain and educate them on all the area has to offer?
With that in mind, take a look at Detour, and:
Explore the world’s most fascinating places with the people who know them best.
Detour offers around 150 audio tours in major cities worldwide including
Finance For Drivers
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed helps you track all your rideshare expenses
QuickBooks Self-Employed is one of the best apps for uber drivers and lyft drivers. It syncs with your bank account so you can easily categorize your rideshare expenses. It even allows you to create rules that automate a lot of your expense tracking. You can log your mileage, take pictures of receipts, and make notes so you are ready come tax time. Not only will you have your mileage deduction ready to go, you’ll also be able to see whether deducting actual vehicle expenses like gas, maintenance and car washes will get you a bigger tax benefit versus taking the standard mileage deduction. (Check out this earlier post for more info on how deductions work.)
You can also categorize transactions online, or right from the app! It even splits your deductions into quarterly or annual reports depending on your filing needs. QuickBooks Self-Employed does have a subscription fee, but you can try it free for 30 days – plus, you can get it bundled with TurboTax to make filing a snap. If you’re serious about making the most out of your tax deductions, this is one app you should definitely check out.
Stride Tax
similar to QuickBooks Self-Employed where it’s a one stop shop, one-stop app for tracking your expenses, your mileage. It’s an alternative QuickBooks Self-Employed and it is free.
Square
Square lets you accept credit card payments from anyone right on your phone. Some drivers may have products for purchase in their vehicle, or they may use Square to accept tips from riders that don’t have cash. Whatever you use Square for, it’s a handy tool to have and it doesn’t cost anything – there’s no monthly fee. Instead, Square keeps 3% of whatever charges you collect as a transaction fee. Sign up using our link, and you’ll receive some fee-free processing – plus a free card reader that plugs right into your phone. What you do with it is up to you! If you decide to give rides on your own, you can accept payment via the Square app, instead of needing to accept cash.
Wave (Free)
For drivers who prefer to spend as little excess money as possible, Wave is an ideal alternative to QuickBooks. Wave, a free finance app, offers users a way to track business expenses via their bank account and receipt imaging. They provide other services as well, such as invoicing and payroll, but users are free to use the software without restrictions or limits
CashApp
PayPal
Google Pay
Samsung pay
ApplePay
ActiveHours
ActiveHours lets you cash out earnings same-day
ActiveHours is sort of like Lyft’s “Express Pay” feature, but for Uber (and a variety of other employers). You enter your bank account info, and they’ll advance you up to $100 out of your next paycheck ASAP. Then when payday comes, the company will automatically deduct the amount they sent you. The service is free for now, but you can add a tip if you’re so inclined.
DailyPay is another popular service that works pretty much the same way – there’s no app yet though, so you’ll need a computer if you go with this option.
Earnin
Earnin (formerly known as ActiveHours) is an incredibly practical tool for managing your Uber earnings.
Earnin’s website lays the process out simply:
When payday rolls around, Earnin deducts the amount you requested from your account.
It’s a simple and free way to use your money as soon as you make it.
Gas Buddy
Rideshare Advertising And Tips
Vugo
Ever wished you could sell ad space in your car? A company called Vugo wants to help you do just that. They’re still in the startup phase right now, but in the future they hope to offer a revenue-sharing plan where drivers get paid up to $3 per hour (up to $500 a month if you’re driving full-time) in exchange for showing ads to your passengers. Here’s how it works: you provide a tablet running the Vugo app in the backseat. The app tethers to your phone, and uses your passengers’ destination to figure out the most relevant ads to show them. Your passengers can interact with the ads too. Most importantly, the Vugo app also gives passengers the ability to tip with a credit card – a feature many drivers have been asking for since the beginning! For more information about Vugo, check out our earlier article here.
Music
Music App
If you’ve already got a music collection on your computer, consider getting a microSD card for your phone instead. Mine supports microSD cards up to 64 GB, so I can take a good chunk of my collection with me for free. You may not be able to take song requests from passengers – but you’ll definitely save some dough.
Spotify (Free, $9.99/month for premium)
When it comes to streaming music, Spotify is king. Users can create their own playlist, find new tunes based on past music preferences, and listen to brand new tracks as soon as they’re released. They even have pre-generated song collections designed to compliment you or your passenger’s current mood.
As for drivers that are strapped for data every month, you may be interested in Spotify’s offline mode (premium only). Users can download customized playlists directly to their phone and play the content offline. By doing this, drivers are able to reduce the amount of data their smartphone uses each month.
Pandora (Free with ads, $3.99/month without ads)
One of the beautiful things about traditional radio is being able to simply turn it on and listen to music without having to fiddle with it. Unless, of course, a commercial comes on and you need to change the channel. Pandora successfully delivers this type of experience, but with more variety.
Users can select favorite songs or simply put in a song name to get Pandora to serve up groovy tunes that match the beat of your preferred drum. Interested parties can use Pandora for free with ads mixed in or go ad-free by paying $3.99 a month.
Soundcloud (Free with ads, $9.99/month for premium)
For underground music that hasn’t become mainstream enough to hit Spotify yet, check out Soundcloud. This music playground is where artists go to show off what they are made of. Soundcloud is also a popular place for artists to host live sets. Live sets are a great way to listen to an hour or more of music without interruption.
Equip your rideshare business with Soundcloud for free with ads or download Soundcloud GO to play music ad-free for $9.99 a month.
FULE
GasBuddy
Gas is a driver’s biggest expense. I drive a lot, and sometimes I have to fill up multiple times per day! Because this is an ongoing expense, saving a few cents per gallon really adds up over time.
In order to stretch your gas money further, check Gas Buddy for the latest prices in your area. You can compare results by location and even filter them by fuel type. Just be sure to check the cash vs credit price – that can get ya!
Weather App
Accuweather
When the weather is bad, no one wants to drive. And when no one’s driving, that means surge pricing. Keep an eye on the weather with a weather app. Then when the precipitation starts, head to your favorite hotspots to cash in. Personally, I use AccuWeather – it’s got relatively few ads, and it doesn’t ask for a ton of permissions before installing. It will also give you notifications if road conditions are especially bad. Just make sure your car is snow/bad weather equipped if you’re going to brave the storm. Safety should always be a priority.
Weather Underground (Free)
Weather Underground has a beautiful interface that is easy to navigate. Users can get up-to-date weather information or plan out the next week and a half with the fabulous 10-day forecast view.
Roadside Assistance
Honk
Honk (Free)
Honk offers drivers 24/7 roadside assistance. Members can expect help within 15-30 minutes to assist with common road issues, such as a flat tire. In the event that something a bit more drastic is required, Honk provides towing services as well.
There are no membership fees, however, there are packages available starting at $49.
Urgently (Free)
Dubbed the “Uber of roadside assistance,”Urgently provides drivers with useful services, such as lock-out assistance and fuel assistance.
The app is free to download and offers flat-rate, upfront pricing with no membership requirement or annual charges.
AAA
Airport Schedules
Airport runs are often the most lucrative trips around, so it pays to be up-to-speed on the latest developments at your local runways. Flightstats is a free, lightweight app that will allow you to see when flights are arriving and departing, so you’ll know the best times to post up and wait for a ride. If a lot of flights are delayed, people may be stuck waiting at the airport rather than travelling – so you can save time and avoid these periods when demand may not be as high.
FlightStats
fast, lightweight and easy to use
FlightView (Free)
A great alternative to consider is FlightView. This provides weather delay updates, flight tracking, and parking availability. The parking availability alone can help drivers find a prime location to eat lunch while waiting for passengers to depart.
Driver Focused
Uber & Lyft Passenger App (Free)
The Uber Driver app is not the only rideshare app you need. Having the Uber passenger app is absolutely essential.
Want to see if there are a lot of other Uber drivers in your area? Pop open the Uber app or Lyft App and look at the home screen to quickly see where cars are around you. If you find yourself in a sea of other drivers competing for pickups, try heading to another part of where there are fewer drivers.
The Uber Passenger App
Use the passenger app to scout out the competition.
If you work in a market where you have to compete for rides with lots of other drivers, the Uber passenger app is essential. Simply opening up the passenger app will show you up to eight drivers near your location. Since Uber hands out ride requests based on location, you likely won’t get any pings if you’re surrounded by other drivers.
I try to move to one side of any heavily saturated areas: That way, I can snag any requests that come from that direction. You can also drag the pin around to scout out less-saturated locations to post up and wait. When you’re away from the pack, get ready to watch the pings roll in.
SherpaShare ($5.99/month)
Dubbed the “Ultimate Rideshare Driver Assistant”, SherpaShareserves many of the functions mentioned on this list. Features include:
Drivers that swing between Uber and Lyft every day may find Mystro pretty useful. This Android-only app focuses on helping drivers operate multiple rideshare companies at the same time. This is intended to help drivers make the most money per hour by always having a passenger queued up in the area.
Most drivers claim they make about 30% more money using this automated software, however, Mystro is not free. Pricing packages are listed below.
If you’re a rideshare driver who prefers spontaneous, higher-earning drives to more conventional and potentially less lucrative ones, then Surge may be the app for you.
Surge gives you:
Restroom Finder
Flush & Good2Go
available in the Google Play Store.
Ultimate Uber/Lyft Driver Gear, Gadgets, Tools, & Accessories List
Keep in mind that all of the items below are physical products you can have in your car. For a list of essential services, softwares, and apps that are useful to rideshare drivers, check out these articles:
UberEATS
UberEATS is a beast! When I’m out delivering, I treat Uber Eats as a separate animal.
The best earnings opportunities I’ve found with UberEATS are through pursuing incentives likeQuest and Boost. And since Quest offers require maintaining an acceptance rate, I’m unable to rock 3 or 4 delivery apps simultaneously and still meet that acceptance rate. So I usually save UberEATS for when there are great incentives offered and then just focus on UberEATS only (see example below of Uber Quest bonus earned through UberEATS deliveries).
The exception for me that would allow me to run UberEATS in addition to other apps would be if there’s a great Boost offered. Since Boost multipliers do not require a minimum acceptance rate, I could pursue UberEATS deliveries in addition to deliveries from other apps, while not worrying about an acceptance rate. (see example below of 2.4x Boost offer plus earnings from that day.)
You can sign up for UberEATS here.
DoorDash
Pros:
Cons:
Postmates
Pros:
Caviar
I’m signed up as a Caviardriver and often open the app while I’m looking for delivery requests, but I have not yet completed a Caviar delivery.
Pros:
GrubHub
Pros:
Cons:
OrderUp
OrderUp specializes in food deliveries. Currently, OrderUp operates in several states and is growing. You can be an OrderUp driver if you live in:
Deliv
Deliv offers same-day delivery to individuals and small businesses. Most Deliv drivers deliver items from local malls and retailers.
As a Deliv driver you might deliver clothes, flowers or alcohol. They even have a separate delivery program called Deliv RX for those who need pharmaceutical items delivered.
Deliveries are typically within a 15-mile radius of where you live. And you’ll generally deliver to residences, hotels and workplaces.
When you become a driver for Deliv, you use their app to tell them when you’re available. Then they’ll send you delivery jobs to complete.
Note that there are other qualifications Deliv drivers must have as well, such as:
Drivers who sign up ahead of time and submit their hours for the coming week get priority jobs. You have to have a motor vehicle to deliver for Deliv. An exception is if you live in New York City. New York City deliverers can use bikes or walk in some areas.
Deliv is available in multiple cities throughout the United States.
Eaze
If you live in California, you could become a delivery driver with Eaze. Well, you actually don’t work for Eaze, but for one of the dispensaries that Eaze works with.
You see, the Eaze app helps coordinate delivery of marijuana orders to customers. And they need drivers to make those deliveries.
When you drive for an approved dispensary using the Eaze app, you’ll generally work between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. You’ll get paid an hourly wage from the dispensary, plus mileage reimbursement for each delivery. Bonus: you may earn tips as well.
Favor Delivery
As with Postmates, Favor Deliverywill deliver what clients need in less than an hour. Favor’s “runners” can work part-time or full-time.
When you’re a runner with Favor, you’re more like a personal assistant. You might deliver groceries, a restaurant meal or pick up and deliver a dry cleaning order.
In order to be a runner, you have to be 18 years of age or older and have a reliable vehicle. You also need to have a clean driving and/or other record.
All scheduled hours have minimum guaranteed pay rates. Most runners earn between $10 and $18 per hour. Bonus: you get to keep 100% of your tips.
Favor is available in a variety of U.S. cities including:
Caviar
The Caviar app allows clients to get the food they love through delivery or pickup. When clients want food delivered, they need drivers like you to bring it to them.
If you start working as a Caviar courier, you’ll get paid up to $25 per hour for delivering food. You get to see earnings, pickup and drop off locations before you take a job.
Knowing where you’ll be going and what you’ll get paid helps you decide whether or not a job is right for you. Bonus: as a Caviar courier, you can choose to get paid after each and every delivery.
Also, Caviar has a dedicated support team in place that is ready to chat whenever you need them.
To be a courier for Caviar, you need to be 18 years of age or older and have a car, truck, scooter or other vehicle. Remember that each city has its own ordinances regarding what types of vehicles can be used for delivery.
And you have to have a working smartphone so that you can check for jobs on the Caviar app.
Instacart
Instacart shoppers deliver groceries to people at home. Their app makes it easy to get jobs and get paid fast. As a full-service shopper for Instacart, you’ll shop for peoples’ groceries based off a list Instacart gives you.
Then you’ll hop in your car and deliver the groceries to the client. As with DoorDash, when you sign up to be an Instacart full-service shopper, you choose the hours you work.
That means you have the pleasure of choosing your work schedule based on what’s best for you. You also get paid every week – plus you can earn tips as well.
To be a shopper/delivery person for Instacart, you need to meet the following qualifications:
This could be a fun side hustle for you if you like the idea of shopping/delivering groceries to people.
Favor Delivery
As with Postmates, Favor Deliverywill deliver what clients need in less than an hour. Favor’s “runners” can work part-time or full-time.
When you’re a runner with Favor, you’re more like a personal assistant. You might deliver groceries, a restaurant meal or pick up and deliver a dry cleaning order.
In order to be a runner, you have to be 18 years of age or older and have a reliable vehicle. You also need to have a clean driving and/or other record.
All scheduled hours have minimum guaranteed pay rates. Most runners earn between $10 and $18 per hour. Bonus: you get to keep 100% of your tips.
Favor is available in a variety of U.S. cities including:
Burpy
You can work with the company as a grocery courier part-time or full-time, depending on your needs.
Burpy customers place an order online, you receive the order on your smartphone, and then you shop for the items and deliver them to the customer.
To be a driver for the company, you have to be at least 18 years old and have a car.
You’ll need a smartphone too.
How much can you make delivering food for Burpy?
According to Burpy, you can make up to $25 per hour.
You receive payment via direct deposit and you can request a payout at any time for the deliveries you have made.
Tapingo
And, you could get paid to make these deliveries.
You can make deliveries using your car or bike.
Aside from a vehicle, you’ll also need to a smartphone.
Tapingo driver pay
With this company, you can make up to $25 per hour and you get paid weekly.
This is another company that allows you to set your own schedule.
Shipt Shopper
William DeShazer for The Penny Hoarder
If you sign up as a Shipt Shopper, it’s your job to pick and choose grocery orders to fill and deliver. Take notes from Destiny Frith, who used Shipt to earn up to $20 an hour when she was between jobs.
Here are more details:
Instacart Shopper
Instacart is different from other grocery-delivery services because it offers shoppers two different money-making opportunities.Your first option is to sign up as a full-service shopper, which requires you to shop and deliver groceries. Then there’s the in-store shopper option, which doesn’t require making any deliveries. The in-store shopper simply shops in the store and bags the items so they’re ready for pick-up.
To be consistent with the delivery trend we have going, we’ll focus on the full-service shopper.
Here are more details:
Deliver Alcohol
Saucey
Saucey offers 30-minute delivery of your favorite alcoholic beverages right to your door. When you become a Saucey courier, you get to set your own schedule. You use your vehicle to deliver to customers.
And you can choose to deliver in a part of town that you’re familiar with. This is important because Saucey operates in large cities. Saucey is currently operating in the following metropolitan areas:
Minibar Delivery
Customers can get booze delivered to them within 30 to 60 minutes.
And, you can earn cash for delivering it. Sometimes the company posts job openings for couriers on its career page. We link to this above.
How much can you make buying/delivering alcohol for Minibar?
Minibar Delivery doesn’t state how much it pays drivers.
So you will have to inquire when you sign up.
Drizly
You could earn money delivering this booze. Unlike many of the other companies on this list, Drizly doesn’t have a dedicated sign up page for delivery drivers. But, much like Minibar Delivery, it does have a careers page.
How much can you earn?
Since Drizly doesn’t have a specific page for drivers, it doesn’t state how much it pays them. When an opening for a courier does come up, however, you can find out more information about the company’s pay rate.
General/Miscellaneous Items
Roadie
It describes itself as an “On-the-way delivery network”.
The company states:
“Roadie matches people with stuff to send with drivers already headed in the right direction.”
You could earn cash for completing deliveries with Roadie.
What’s great about Roadie is that you get to set your own schedule and you can deliver stuff in whatever vehicle you want to.
You can also create a gig alerts, for the area where you’re interested in delivering to.
How much do roadie drivers make?
How much you can earn varies from delivery to delivery.
But, you can easily scroll through deliveries and view the price of each one, before you deliver the item.
Amazon Flex
And they do it good!
one of the benefits of paying for Prime is the free 2-day delivery.
And to make that happen, the company launched Amazon Flex.
This service helps them deliver packages even faster by partnering up with local drivers.
As a driver, you can get paid to deliver Amazon packages.
The hours are flexible, which is great!
You can choose to schedule ahead or pick up any available block of time.
Delivery opportunities are available seven days per week.
So if you are looking to fit delivering stuff into your schedule, then this a really great option.
How much do you earn on Amazon Flex?
You can earn between $18 to $25 an hour.
This is definitely a great choice if you’re looking for a good part-time or even full-time income.
You can even track your earnings with the Amazon Flex app.
PeerShip
With it, Facebook users can request deliveries or list items that they want to ship.
Each user offers their price for the service.
Unlike the other companies on this list, PeerShip has a much more social element.
It’s more designed for friends, neighbors and other people in your local community.
Like Roadie, it’s an on your way delivery network.
Here are a couple of examples to illustrate how it works:
It varies from user to user.
The person who needs an item delivered will put an offer out there.
You can choose the offers that best suit your needs. With PeerShip, you get to keep 100% of the profits. You get paid automatically after you deliver an item.
Payments are made via PayPal and you must have a minimum of $10 in your account before you can cash out.
Favor
And you could get paid for making these deliveries.
It calls its delivery drivers, “personal assistants.”
You can choose to work part-time or full-time as a delivery driver.
How much can you earn?
As a driver for Favor, you could earn between $10 and $18 per hour.
Plus, you get to keep all of your tips.
You can also make extra cash by referring your friends to be drivers.
Shyp
Where to apply:https://www.shyp.com/couriers
Shyp is a shipping and fulfillment service company.
The brand collects items and delivers them via:
The company occasionally posts job openings for couriers.
How much can you earn?
Shyp doesn’t state how much it pays its couriers.
So if you choose to apply for a position, then make sure that you inquire about the pay rate.
Burro
With your truck, you’re responsible for delivering everything from furniture from garage sales to items for businesses that need same-day delivery.
And, you can view and select delivery requests straight from the brand’s handy app.
You will need a full-size truck that includes a bed that’s at least nine feet long when the tailgate is down, is 48 inches wide between the wheel wells and has the capacity to hold items that are seven feet tall.
But, don’t worry, if you drive a Tacoma, Colorado or car you can still work with the company as a driver helper. Just contact the company for more information.
How much can you make driving for Burro?
What’s great about this company is how much it pays.
As a truck driver for Burro, you can earn up to $45 per hour! The minimum payment per delivery is $40. Plus you get to keep 100% of the tips you make.
According to the company, some of its independent contractors make $1,600 per week!
Deliv
You could become a Driver Partner at the company and earn cash for making deliveries.
You just need to pick stuff up and drop it off.
To work with Deliv, you will need to:
With this company you get paid based on the time the delivery takes and delivery miles.
The company will outline your hourly block rate in your contract.
Each week, you will receive a statement of your earnings and you also get paid weekly.
CitizenShipper
It sort of works in a similar way to Roadie, where it matches people who need an item shipped with couriers that are driving in that direction anyway.
A person who needs something shipped can place a listing for the shipment on the site.
Then, divers can offer a bid for the shipment.
You can become a driver for the company and deliver anything from small items to large items.
Just bid on the deliveries you want and pick up as many or as few as you want. You receive email alerts when new shipments and bids are posted.
How much can you make with CitizenShipper?
How much you earn varies from delivery to delivery. This is because you get to put your own bid in for each shipment that’s posted.
So, you can charge what you want, within reason of course.
Grabr
Shoppers can select the item they want from any online store and post a delivery request. You can browse these delivery requests and if you’re heading to the customer’s city, then you can make a delivery offer.
How much can you make delivering for Grabr?
As with CitizenShipper, at Grabr, you can make your own offer. So how much you get paid per delivery is really up to you.
You get paid once you have made the delivery.
GoShare
You could get paid as a driver for the company, if you own a:
How much can you earn with GoShare?
As a driver for GoShare, you can earn between $47.52 and $71.52 per hour, depending on the type of truck or van that you have. Plus you get to keep all of the tips thatyoumake.If you don’t own a van or a truck, so work as a GoShare helper instead, you can earn up to $33.12 per hour.
You get paid via direct deposit
Uber
Uber is by and large the most popular and widespread rideshare service. It was the first contender in the market, and has been working to disrupt a system that hadn’t seen any major changes since the 1930s. With brand recognition and a host of premium vehicle choices, full-time and part-time drivers sign up to drive for Uber for the options it creates.
Drivers are also attracted to Uber for its large user base. Many drivers who use rideshare apps maintain Uber as an option. The rideshare industry is slowlyoutmatching taxi services with the number of active drivers, with no small part of that due to Uber. The demand for Uber rides is highest in cities, but the company continues to grow and the market continues to expand.
Lyft
Lyft is Uber’s fiercest competitor. Although its user base is smaller, Lyft can be just as useful to have in your driver’s arsenal as Uber. Maybe you won’t be getting back-to-back pings, but there is still significance to having Lyft. Many drivers even prefer using this service over the other competition.
For one, it can be less overwhelming to the rookiedriver. You can turn the app on and pick up passengers at a more leisurely rate, giving you time to take breaks and hone your driving practices. The sign-up bonuses vary from city to city, but Lyft (as well as most other rideshare services) does reward you for starting an account with them. There’s a lump sum after you’ve made your first 25-100 rides, but the benefits don’t stop there. Riders are allowed to tip you through the app on Lyft, and the express pay option gives you thechance to deposit the money you’ve earned on the same day.
Via
Via is about actually sharing rides. At only $5 for shared rides in premium vehicles, it may seem as though the money for drivers isn’t there. However, Via automatically gives you a 5-20% boost in pay for accepting other riders along your route, depending on how many passengers you pick up and how many “matches” you obtain. They operate in spaces where there is a lot of driver demand, putting fewer miles on your vehicle and eliminating the need for long-distance trips. The low 10% commission doesn’t hurt your wallet as much as Uber and Lyft, either. You’ll likely develop regulars and be able to build a relationship with your passengers. Since you typically work during commuter hours, your passengers are also easier to handle than night-time riders.
Gett
Gett’s major claim to fame is its worldwide accessibility. They’re dedicated to reducing harmful emissions in the the atmosphere through minimizing wasted time between fares. With the recent acquisition of Juno, a New York City-based ride hailing app whose driver-friendly culture gave Uber and Lyft a run for their money, the Volkswagen-backed Gett is set to make a huge impact on the rideshare economy.
Gett is currently available in many European cities, but has expanded to New York City and plans to take its business to other American cities. You need a higher level of driving expertise to be considered as a Gett driver, but the benefits rack up soon afterward. Sedans get $0.70/min net plus tip where SUV’s get about $0.85/min. With that and generous referral bonuses, the money you make is substantially higher with Gett than with driving for Uber or Lyft.
Curb
Curb is bringing professional taxi drivers into the 21st century. Rather than isolate CDL drivers from the ramp up of the rideshare economy, it caters to the long-time driving professionals. Passengers can hail yellow cabs in advance, and they can be tracked easily through the app. You as a taxi driver are fully covered under insurance and are paid based on how long the meter is running. Since your drives are metered, it’s easy enough to take detours at the passenger’s request. There’s no surge pricing option, but the fares are slightly higher and there’s a service fee up front to help recover costs.
Ztrip
Z-trip is an app-based taxi service that allows for customizable pickup options, sedan or professional vehicle options and up-front pricing. They are in over 30 cities operating with either a city-wide or airport only presence. It lets pre-existing taxicab drivers work through ride hailing and is available in many major cities throughout the US. Drivers can either use the Yellow Z service, which allows them to use their own car or they can lease a Ztrip car to prevent wear and tear on their personal vehicles.
Honorable Mentions
Summon
gives you all of the benefits and amenities of driving for other rideshare companies, but has no surge pricing. Instead, it has flat rates for busy times with heavy congestion such as events and rush hour.
Bridj
is an amped-up version of Via. Instead of a large host of SUVs and sedans for transporting multiple passengers, Bridj operates mass-transit 14-seat luxury shuttles complete with Wi-Fi. Average pickup times are under 10 minutes, and you make a guaranteed $15 per hour as an employee rather than a contractor.
Navigation Apps
Arguably the most important app for uber drivers and lyft drivers is navigation. The two main contenders here are Google Maps and Waze. They both do pretty much the same thing, but each one has loyal fans all the same. Here are a few differences:
Google Maps in action
Google Maps
A fan favorite, Google Maps offers a clean and easy-to-use interface without too much distracting info. It shows you real-time traffic and alternate routes, complete with ETAs. My favorite feature is that you can type a place name into the search bar (for example, “airport”) and Google will suggest addresses for you. This is a real time-saver when your passengers are too distracted to give you a full address.
Waze
Waze offers similar functionality, but with a few extra features. Waze users update your map with details about police activity, construction, and other traffic considerations in real time. You can even add your own observations to the map to help out other drivers. All this info is great, but it can be distracting when you’re trying to drive and chat up your riders at the same time. I like to use Waze when I’m doing personal driving or making deliveries, but when I’ve got passengers in the car, I find the extra features are a bit too much.
Mileage Tracking Apps
Mileage tracking is the second most-important app for Uber drivers and lyft drivers to have on-hand. Sure, you could tally your miles manually in a notebook after every shift – but this is time-consuming and personally, I often forget to do it. A mileage tracking app saves time – and serious money at tax time. You can deduct $0.54 from your taxable income for every mile you drive, which could add up to $100 or more in deductions for a single days’ work. Mileage logs also help you keep tabs on your profit margins and expenses, a critical component of any business.
Stride Drive
Stride Drive for iOS
The past few months have seen a host of new mileage tracking apps. Stride Drive (iOS and Android) is a cool (and free!) new option. It offers an automatic system that detects when you’re driving, so you can be sure to log every mile.
Hurdlr
Designed for self-employed individuals, Hurdlr offers similar functionality as Stride Tax. Drivers can use Hurdlr to record their mileage and expenses to get real-time estimates of their tax deduction. Bear in mind, Hurdlr comes with a lot of other items that are more geared towards individuals outside of the rideshare industry.
Additional services include bank account monitoring, invoicing and other extra features. This can bloat the app making it not ideal for everyone.
MileIQ
(Free for 40 drives per month, $5.99/month for premium)
MileIQ is another mileage tracking app. One of the defining differences is that MileIQ offers users a weekly generated report. These detailed descriptions are customizable and may be organized in any way users see fit.
Triplog.
We have been receiving a few reports from drivers saying they use Triplog to track their mileage and we wanted to pass the details along.
Apparently, the interface is not as clean as some of the other alternatives we have mentioned so far. Despite this, many drivers have reported that the app works flawlessly.
Triplog gives drivers a plethora of options on how to start mileage tracking, including plugging your phone into the car power outlet.
Sherpashare
Rideshare Timer
Rideshare Timer overlays a stopwatch and adds a quick text function to your Android
Don’t you hate when people request a ride and then never show up? Me too. Depending on your market, Uber says to wait 5 minutes (or two minutes for Uber Pool rides) before you’re allowed to cancel. In some markets you’ll also earn a cancellation fee. Rideshare Timer simplifies this process by overlaying a basic timer on-screen so you know when time’s up. It even includes a “quick text” feature which is super useful and can save you a ton of typing. Just set up customizable “arrival” and “departure” messages, and you’ll never have to peck out a “hey, your Uber is here” text again.
Rideshare Timer is Android-only for now, so if you’re on iOS, I’d recommend a simple stopwatch app instead so you can start grabbing those cancellation fees!
UZURV
where riders can reserve rides from specific Uber and Lyft drivers. We as drivers can create profiles and be available as UZURV drivers through the UZURV application.
RYDAR
You can monitor real time surge rates, you can track mileage, you can plan events, and you can also use it for navigation to find optimal pickup spots.
Detour
Detour is another excellent way to entertain your riders, especially travelers.
Picking up a tourist or traveler is a common occurrence in the ridesharing business.
As you share your city with new guests, why not entertain and educate them on all the area has to offer?
With that in mind, take a look at Detour, and:
Explore the world’s most fascinating places with the people who know them best.
Detour offers around 150 audio tours in major cities worldwide including
- Boston
- Charleston
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- New Orleans
- NYC
- Portland
- San Fransisco
- Savannah
- Washington D.C.
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- London
- Marrakech
- Paris
- Rome
- Seoul
- Tokyo
Finance For Drivers
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed helps you track all your rideshare expenses
QuickBooks Self-Employed is one of the best apps for uber drivers and lyft drivers. It syncs with your bank account so you can easily categorize your rideshare expenses. It even allows you to create rules that automate a lot of your expense tracking. You can log your mileage, take pictures of receipts, and make notes so you are ready come tax time. Not only will you have your mileage deduction ready to go, you’ll also be able to see whether deducting actual vehicle expenses like gas, maintenance and car washes will get you a bigger tax benefit versus taking the standard mileage deduction. (Check out this earlier post for more info on how deductions work.)
You can also categorize transactions online, or right from the app! It even splits your deductions into quarterly or annual reports depending on your filing needs. QuickBooks Self-Employed does have a subscription fee, but you can try it free for 30 days – plus, you can get it bundled with TurboTax to make filing a snap. If you’re serious about making the most out of your tax deductions, this is one app you should definitely check out.
Stride Tax
similar to QuickBooks Self-Employed where it’s a one stop shop, one-stop app for tracking your expenses, your mileage. It’s an alternative QuickBooks Self-Employed and it is free.
Square
Square lets you accept credit card payments from anyone right on your phone. Some drivers may have products for purchase in their vehicle, or they may use Square to accept tips from riders that don’t have cash. Whatever you use Square for, it’s a handy tool to have and it doesn’t cost anything – there’s no monthly fee. Instead, Square keeps 3% of whatever charges you collect as a transaction fee. Sign up using our link, and you’ll receive some fee-free processing – plus a free card reader that plugs right into your phone. What you do with it is up to you! If you decide to give rides on your own, you can accept payment via the Square app, instead of needing to accept cash.
Wave (Free)
For drivers who prefer to spend as little excess money as possible, Wave is an ideal alternative to QuickBooks. Wave, a free finance app, offers users a way to track business expenses via their bank account and receipt imaging. They provide other services as well, such as invoicing and payroll, but users are free to use the software without restrictions or limits
CashApp
PayPal
Google Pay
Samsung pay
ApplePay
ActiveHours
ActiveHours lets you cash out earnings same-day
ActiveHours is sort of like Lyft’s “Express Pay” feature, but for Uber (and a variety of other employers). You enter your bank account info, and they’ll advance you up to $100 out of your next paycheck ASAP. Then when payday comes, the company will automatically deduct the amount they sent you. The service is free for now, but you can add a tip if you’re so inclined.
DailyPay is another popular service that works pretty much the same way – there’s no app yet though, so you’ll need a computer if you go with this option.
Earnin
Earnin (formerly known as ActiveHours) is an incredibly practical tool for managing your Uber earnings.
Earnin’s website lays the process out simply:
- Connect your bank
- Connect your Uber account
- Cash out whenever you want
When payday rolls around, Earnin deducts the amount you requested from your account.
It’s a simple and free way to use your money as soon as you make it.
Gas Buddy
Rideshare Advertising And Tips
Vugo
Ever wished you could sell ad space in your car? A company called Vugo wants to help you do just that. They’re still in the startup phase right now, but in the future they hope to offer a revenue-sharing plan where drivers get paid up to $3 per hour (up to $500 a month if you’re driving full-time) in exchange for showing ads to your passengers. Here’s how it works: you provide a tablet running the Vugo app in the backseat. The app tethers to your phone, and uses your passengers’ destination to figure out the most relevant ads to show them. Your passengers can interact with the ads too. Most importantly, the Vugo app also gives passengers the ability to tip with a credit card – a feature many drivers have been asking for since the beginning! For more information about Vugo, check out our earlier article here.
Music
Music App
If you’ve already got a music collection on your computer, consider getting a microSD card for your phone instead. Mine supports microSD cards up to 64 GB, so I can take a good chunk of my collection with me for free. You may not be able to take song requests from passengers – but you’ll definitely save some dough.
Spotify (Free, $9.99/month for premium)
When it comes to streaming music, Spotify is king. Users can create their own playlist, find new tunes based on past music preferences, and listen to brand new tracks as soon as they’re released. They even have pre-generated song collections designed to compliment you or your passenger’s current mood.
As for drivers that are strapped for data every month, you may be interested in Spotify’s offline mode (premium only). Users can download customized playlists directly to their phone and play the content offline. By doing this, drivers are able to reduce the amount of data their smartphone uses each month.
Pandora (Free with ads, $3.99/month without ads)
One of the beautiful things about traditional radio is being able to simply turn it on and listen to music without having to fiddle with it. Unless, of course, a commercial comes on and you need to change the channel. Pandora successfully delivers this type of experience, but with more variety.
Users can select favorite songs or simply put in a song name to get Pandora to serve up groovy tunes that match the beat of your preferred drum. Interested parties can use Pandora for free with ads mixed in or go ad-free by paying $3.99 a month.
Soundcloud (Free with ads, $9.99/month for premium)
For underground music that hasn’t become mainstream enough to hit Spotify yet, check out Soundcloud. This music playground is where artists go to show off what they are made of. Soundcloud is also a popular place for artists to host live sets. Live sets are a great way to listen to an hour or more of music without interruption.
Equip your rideshare business with Soundcloud for free with ads or download Soundcloud GO to play music ad-free for $9.99 a month.
FULE
GasBuddy
Gas is a driver’s biggest expense. I drive a lot, and sometimes I have to fill up multiple times per day! Because this is an ongoing expense, saving a few cents per gallon really adds up over time.
In order to stretch your gas money further, check Gas Buddy for the latest prices in your area. You can compare results by location and even filter them by fuel type. Just be sure to check the cash vs credit price – that can get ya!
Weather App
Accuweather
When the weather is bad, no one wants to drive. And when no one’s driving, that means surge pricing. Keep an eye on the weather with a weather app. Then when the precipitation starts, head to your favorite hotspots to cash in. Personally, I use AccuWeather – it’s got relatively few ads, and it doesn’t ask for a ton of permissions before installing. It will also give you notifications if road conditions are especially bad. Just make sure your car is snow/bad weather equipped if you’re going to brave the storm. Safety should always be a priority.
Weather Underground (Free)
Weather Underground has a beautiful interface that is easy to navigate. Users can get up-to-date weather information or plan out the next week and a half with the fabulous 10-day forecast view.
Roadside Assistance
Honk
Honk (Free)
Honk offers drivers 24/7 roadside assistance. Members can expect help within 15-30 minutes to assist with common road issues, such as a flat tire. In the event that something a bit more drastic is required, Honk provides towing services as well.
There are no membership fees, however, there are packages available starting at $49.
Urgently (Free)
Dubbed the “Uber of roadside assistance,”Urgently provides drivers with useful services, such as lock-out assistance and fuel assistance.
The app is free to download and offers flat-rate, upfront pricing with no membership requirement or annual charges.
AAA
Airport Schedules
Airport runs are often the most lucrative trips around, so it pays to be up-to-speed on the latest developments at your local runways. Flightstats is a free, lightweight app that will allow you to see when flights are arriving and departing, so you’ll know the best times to post up and wait for a ride. If a lot of flights are delayed, people may be stuck waiting at the airport rather than travelling – so you can save time and avoid these periods when demand may not be as high.
FlightStats
fast, lightweight and easy to use
FlightView (Free)
A great alternative to consider is FlightView. This provides weather delay updates, flight tracking, and parking availability. The parking availability alone can help drivers find a prime location to eat lunch while waiting for passengers to depart.
Driver Focused
Uber & Lyft Passenger App (Free)
The Uber Driver app is not the only rideshare app you need. Having the Uber passenger app is absolutely essential.
Want to see if there are a lot of other Uber drivers in your area? Pop open the Uber app or Lyft App and look at the home screen to quickly see where cars are around you. If you find yourself in a sea of other drivers competing for pickups, try heading to another part of where there are fewer drivers.
The Uber Passenger App
Use the passenger app to scout out the competition.
If you work in a market where you have to compete for rides with lots of other drivers, the Uber passenger app is essential. Simply opening up the passenger app will show you up to eight drivers near your location. Since Uber hands out ride requests based on location, you likely won’t get any pings if you’re surrounded by other drivers.
I try to move to one side of any heavily saturated areas: That way, I can snag any requests that come from that direction. You can also drag the pin around to scout out less-saturated locations to post up and wait. When you’re away from the pack, get ready to watch the pings roll in.
SherpaShare ($5.99/month)
Dubbed the “Ultimate Rideshare Driver Assistant”, SherpaShareserves many of the functions mentioned on this list. Features include:
- Driver to driver chat
- Mileage tracking
- Expense tracking
Drivers that swing between Uber and Lyft every day may find Mystro pretty useful. This Android-only app focuses on helping drivers operate multiple rideshare companies at the same time. This is intended to help drivers make the most money per hour by always having a passenger queued up in the area.
Most drivers claim they make about 30% more money using this automated software, however, Mystro is not free. Pricing packages are listed below.
- Annually – $99.95 per year
- Monthly – $11.95 per month
- Per Use – $.20 per ride
If you’re a rideshare driver who prefers spontaneous, higher-earning drives to more conventional and potentially less lucrative ones, then Surge may be the app for you.
Surge gives you:
- Notifications when a surge time hits for premium users
- Compilation of graphs mapping recent surges for basic users
- Constant background monitoring of surges
- Surge data on 1 custom location for basic users or 10 of your custom locations for premium users
- Elimination of the need for Uber partner app for tracking surges
Restroom Finder
Flush & Good2Go
available in the Google Play Store.
Ultimate Uber/Lyft Driver Gear, Gadgets, Tools, & Accessories List
Keep in mind that all of the items below are physical products you can have in your car. For a list of essential services, softwares, and apps that are useful to rideshare drivers, check out these articles:
- 12 Must Have Apps for Uber and Lyft Drivers
- 8 Best Apps to Track Mileage for Tax Deductions
- Insurance for Rideshare Drivers by State
- Software and Services for Uber & Lyft Drivers
- Resources for Uber and Lyft Drivers
- How to rent a car to Drive for Uber and Lyft
- Phone Mount
- Car Charger Hub and Charging Cables
- Dash Cam
- All Weather Floor Mats
- Towels (for cleaning and for service dogs)
- Seat Covers
- Illuminated Uber/Lyft Window Sign
- Car Cleaning Supplies(interior and exterior)
- Tip Jar (with a funny picture/message)
- Emesis Bags (for throw up/vomit/barf)
UberEATS
UberEATS is a beast! When I’m out delivering, I treat Uber Eats as a separate animal.
The best earnings opportunities I’ve found with UberEATS are through pursuing incentives likeQuest and Boost. And since Quest offers require maintaining an acceptance rate, I’m unable to rock 3 or 4 delivery apps simultaneously and still meet that acceptance rate. So I usually save UberEATS for when there are great incentives offered and then just focus on UberEATS only (see example below of Uber Quest bonus earned through UberEATS deliveries).
The exception for me that would allow me to run UberEATS in addition to other apps would be if there’s a great Boost offered. Since Boost multipliers do not require a minimum acceptance rate, I could pursue UberEATS deliveries in addition to deliveries from other apps, while not worrying about an acceptance rate. (see example below of 2.4x Boost offer plus earnings from that day.)
You can sign up for UberEATS here.
DoorDash
Pros:
- DoorDash provides the pickup location, dropoff location and total value of the order (NOT total payout like GrubHub) with the incoming order request. This allows a driver to “guestimate” what the tip might be, although there’s no way of actually knowing the exact amount (see example below).
- DoorDash customer app encourages generous tipping at the the time the order is placed (see example below).
- Per-job incentives are offered at the busiest times, sometimes as much as $3 extra per order with a minimum acceptance rate.
Cons:
- Delivery payouts are a low flat rate. Anytime there is a flat rate payout, someone is getting the short-end of the stick, and it’s usually the drivers. Because of this, I focus on orders with higher values since the tips will likely make the work worthwhile.
- Driver support is through a chat function in the app and in my experience has been unhelpful and too slow.
- Wild swings in demand in my market. Sometimes I’ll receive 2 requests a minute from DoorDash. Other times I’ll go 90 minutes without a request.
- Scheduling is required: DoorDash’s scheduling system limits the number of drivers in a certain area at a certain time. If it’s busy enough, the app will allow me to go online whenever I want. But if it’s not busy, advanced planning and scheduling is required.
Postmates
Pros:
- The most order requests of any app in my market (see example below).
- Postmates couriers can go online and work in any Postmates market at any time.
- The app encourages generous tipping post-delivery. I’ve received tips as high as $50 with Postmates because customers were pleased with the service I provided.
- Deliveries are paid based on waiting time and mileage, plus the Blitz price-multiplier will be activated at times of high demand, increasing earnings potential.
- Support is essentially non-existent. If there’s any confusion or problem, it’s best to get out of that delivery if you can because Postmates isn’t gonna help you. I’ve contacted Postmates a number of times for support over the years and can’t remember a single time they actually helped me or resolved an issue.
- The app encourages generous tipping post-delivery. Yes, I included this as both a pro and a con. Since the Postmates app encourages tipping after the order is delivered, it creates an easy out for customers to leave no tip, since they’ll never have to see the driver again. Because of this, I find I earn more total tips with GrubHub and DoorDash, which require the tip to be added at the time the order is placed.
- In addition to having the most order requests, Postmates also has the most “bad” order requests: Orders from Starbucks for one coffee, grocery stores, drug stores… These orders are generally time-consuming and not profitable, which is why I usually decline these jobs.
- The only order information provided is the pickup location and the order contents (order contents visible if motorcycle mode is enabled.)
Caviar
I’m signed up as a Caviardriver and often open the app while I’m looking for delivery requests, but I have not yet completed a Caviar delivery.
Pros:
- Delivery payouts seem fair and are displayed in advance of accepting or rejecting an order (see example below).
- Extra pay is added to deliveries at times of high demand.
- Low order volume and very few restaurant partners = minimal earnings opportunities in my market. Though I have received a number of order requests from Caviar, none have made sense for me to accept based on my situation at the time. I’ve always been too far away or too busy with better options to accept a Caviar order request. Hopefully, Caviar will grow to the point that it’s a more viable option in my city.
GrubHub
Pros:
- GrubHub provides extensive order info with the incoming request: pickup location, dropoff location and total payout to the driver, including tip (see screenshot below).
- Customer app encourages generous tipping at the time the order is placed (see screenshot below).
- Live & helpful US-based phone support while you’re on a delivery.
- Consistent order volume at meal times in my city.
- All orders are prepaid.
Cons:
- I’ve never been offered any type of incentive from GrubHub. This is fine with me as I like their system, but I know some drivers prefer to pursue incentives.
- Scheduling: GrubHub encourages its drivers (almost to the point of misleading them to believe it’s required) to sign up for scheduled blocks. Being on the schedule guarantees minimum hourly earnings (only $11 in L.A.) but requires an 85% acceptance rate for the day. I never sign up for the schedule because I prefer the flexibility and independence of working when I want and accepting the jobs that make sense for me.
- Drivers are limited to a delivery zone chosen at initial registration. The zone I work in is huge, so it hasn’t been a big problem for me. But there have been times when I found myself outside the zone and wish I could deliver.
OrderUp
OrderUp specializes in food deliveries. Currently, OrderUp operates in several states and is growing. You can be an OrderUp driver if you live in:
- California
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Virginia
Deliv
Deliv offers same-day delivery to individuals and small businesses. Most Deliv drivers deliver items from local malls and retailers.
As a Deliv driver you might deliver clothes, flowers or alcohol. They even have a separate delivery program called Deliv RX for those who need pharmaceutical items delivered.
Deliveries are typically within a 15-mile radius of where you live. And you’ll generally deliver to residences, hotels and workplaces.
When you become a driver for Deliv, you use their app to tell them when you’re available. Then they’ll send you delivery jobs to complete.
Note that there are other qualifications Deliv drivers must have as well, such as:
- You must be 18 years of age or older and have a smartphone with a data plan
- Your vehicle must be 1998 or newer
- You’re required to speak English fluently and have great customer service skills
- You must be able to lift up to 50 pounds
- And you must have at least one year of driving experience and be able to pass a background check.
Drivers who sign up ahead of time and submit their hours for the coming week get priority jobs. You have to have a motor vehicle to deliver for Deliv. An exception is if you live in New York City. New York City deliverers can use bikes or walk in some areas.
Deliv is available in multiple cities throughout the United States.
Eaze
If you live in California, you could become a delivery driver with Eaze. Well, you actually don’t work for Eaze, but for one of the dispensaries that Eaze works with.
You see, the Eaze app helps coordinate delivery of marijuana orders to customers. And they need drivers to make those deliveries.
When you drive for an approved dispensary using the Eaze app, you’ll generally work between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. You’ll get paid an hourly wage from the dispensary, plus mileage reimbursement for each delivery. Bonus: you may earn tips as well.
Favor Delivery
As with Postmates, Favor Deliverywill deliver what clients need in less than an hour. Favor’s “runners” can work part-time or full-time.
When you’re a runner with Favor, you’re more like a personal assistant. You might deliver groceries, a restaurant meal or pick up and deliver a dry cleaning order.
In order to be a runner, you have to be 18 years of age or older and have a reliable vehicle. You also need to have a clean driving and/or other record.
All scheduled hours have minimum guaranteed pay rates. Most runners earn between $10 and $18 per hour. Bonus: you get to keep 100% of your tips.
Favor is available in a variety of U.S. cities including:
- Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth Texas
- Washington DC
- Arlington and Falls Church, Virginia
- Eugene, Oregon
- Brooklyn, New York
Caviar
The Caviar app allows clients to get the food they love through delivery or pickup. When clients want food delivered, they need drivers like you to bring it to them.
If you start working as a Caviar courier, you’ll get paid up to $25 per hour for delivering food. You get to see earnings, pickup and drop off locations before you take a job.
Knowing where you’ll be going and what you’ll get paid helps you decide whether or not a job is right for you. Bonus: as a Caviar courier, you can choose to get paid after each and every delivery.
Also, Caviar has a dedicated support team in place that is ready to chat whenever you need them.
To be a courier for Caviar, you need to be 18 years of age or older and have a car, truck, scooter or other vehicle. Remember that each city has its own ordinances regarding what types of vehicles can be used for delivery.
And you have to have a working smartphone so that you can check for jobs on the Caviar app.
Instacart
Instacart shoppers deliver groceries to people at home. Their app makes it easy to get jobs and get paid fast. As a full-service shopper for Instacart, you’ll shop for peoples’ groceries based off a list Instacart gives you.
Then you’ll hop in your car and deliver the groceries to the client. As with DoorDash, when you sign up to be an Instacart full-service shopper, you choose the hours you work.
That means you have the pleasure of choosing your work schedule based on what’s best for you. You also get paid every week – plus you can earn tips as well.
To be a shopper/delivery person for Instacart, you need to meet the following qualifications:
- You have to be 18 years of age or older
- Be eligible to work in the United States
- Have consistent access to a vehicle (including insurance)
- Be able to use efficiently and have consistent access to a newer model smartphone
- Have the physical capability to lift between 30 and 40 pounds without assistance
This could be a fun side hustle for you if you like the idea of shopping/delivering groceries to people.
Favor Delivery
As with Postmates, Favor Deliverywill deliver what clients need in less than an hour. Favor’s “runners” can work part-time or full-time.
When you’re a runner with Favor, you’re more like a personal assistant. You might deliver groceries, a restaurant meal or pick up and deliver a dry cleaning order.
In order to be a runner, you have to be 18 years of age or older and have a reliable vehicle. You also need to have a clean driving and/or other record.
All scheduled hours have minimum guaranteed pay rates. Most runners earn between $10 and $18 per hour. Bonus: you get to keep 100% of your tips.
Favor is available in a variety of U.S. cities including:
- Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth Texas
- Washington DC
- Arlington and Falls Church, Virginia
- Eugene, Oregon
- Brooklyn, New York
Burpy
- Where to apply:https://shoppers.burpy.com/join-as-shopper
You can work with the company as a grocery courier part-time or full-time, depending on your needs.
Burpy customers place an order online, you receive the order on your smartphone, and then you shop for the items and deliver them to the customer.
To be a driver for the company, you have to be at least 18 years old and have a car.
You’ll need a smartphone too.
How much can you make delivering food for Burpy?
According to Burpy, you can make up to $25 per hour.
You receive payment via direct deposit and you can request a payout at any time for the deliveries you have made.
Tapingo
- Where to apply: https://home.tapingo.com/careers-courier/
And, you could get paid to make these deliveries.
You can make deliveries using your car or bike.
Aside from a vehicle, you’ll also need to a smartphone.
Tapingo driver pay
With this company, you can make up to $25 per hour and you get paid weekly.
This is another company that allows you to set your own schedule.
Shipt Shopper
William DeShazer for The Penny Hoarder
If you sign up as a Shipt Shopper, it’s your job to pick and choose grocery orders to fill and deliver. Take notes from Destiny Frith, who used Shipt to earn up to $20 an hour when she was between jobs.
Here are more details:
- Locations: Shipt is currently available in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, and expanding throughout the rest of the country. An easy way to see if it’s in your area is to enter your zip code here.
- Pay: The Shipt site says shoppers can earn up to $25 an hour. Shoppers are paid per order, so that’ll vary by order count and tips.
- Schedule: Flexible, though peak days are Sunday and Monday, according to the driver application.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Have a reliable vehicle that’s less than 15 years old.
- Have an iPhone (iOS 8 or newer) or Android (4.4.2 or newer) phone.
- Have a valid U.S. driver’s license and auto insurance with at least a year of driving experience.
- Pass a background check.
- Own an insulated cooler bag.
- Know your way around the produce section.
- Be able to lift at least 25 pounds.
- Be able to avoid smoking on the job.
- How to apply: Fill out the short online application. Shipt will email you with more details within 24 hours. You’ll have a virtual interview, either through your computer or on your phone. Shipt says it takes approximately 15 minutes.
Instacart Shopper
Instacart is different from other grocery-delivery services because it offers shoppers two different money-making opportunities.Your first option is to sign up as a full-service shopper, which requires you to shop and deliver groceries. Then there’s the in-store shopper option, which doesn’t require making any deliveries. The in-store shopper simply shops in the store and bags the items so they’re ready for pick-up.
To be consistent with the delivery trend we have going, we’ll focus on the full-service shopper.
Here are more details:
- Locations: There’s a big ol‘ map of Instacart’s service areas. Enter your zip code to get more details about your area.
- Pay: Instacart doesn’t share any average earnings, though you’re paid per delivery. Some recent Indeed reviews of Instacart have mentioned $9 an hour in Indiana. In a bigger area, like San Francisco, one independent contractor cited making $15 to $20 an hour.
- Schedule: Flexible, no note of popular times.
- Be 18 years or older.
- Be eligible to work in the U.S.
- Have reliable access to a vehicle and two or more years of driving experience.
- Have a smartphone (iPhone 4S or Android 4.0 or newer).
- Be able to lift 30 to 40 pounds.
- How to apply: Enter basic information here. Then, attend an assigned in-person group session, where you’ll get an overview of Instacart, its app and your next steps.
Deliver Alcohol
Saucey
Saucey offers 30-minute delivery of your favorite alcoholic beverages right to your door. When you become a Saucey courier, you get to set your own schedule. You use your vehicle to deliver to customers.
And you can choose to deliver in a part of town that you’re familiar with. This is important because Saucey operates in large cities. Saucey is currently operating in the following metropolitan areas:
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Chicago
- San Diego
- Sacramento
- Oakland
Minibar Delivery
- Where to apply:https://minibardelivery.com/careers
Customers can get booze delivered to them within 30 to 60 minutes.
And, you can earn cash for delivering it. Sometimes the company posts job openings for couriers on its career page. We link to this above.
How much can you make buying/delivering alcohol for Minibar?
Minibar Delivery doesn’t state how much it pays drivers.
So you will have to inquire when you sign up.
Drizly
- Where to apply:https://jobs.lever.co/drizly
You could earn money delivering this booze. Unlike many of the other companies on this list, Drizly doesn’t have a dedicated sign up page for delivery drivers. But, much like Minibar Delivery, it does have a careers page.
How much can you earn?
Since Drizly doesn’t have a specific page for drivers, it doesn’t state how much it pays them. When an opening for a courier does come up, however, you can find out more information about the company’s pay rate.
General/Miscellaneous Items
Roadie
- Where to apply:https://www.roadie.com/roadies
It describes itself as an “On-the-way delivery network”.
The company states:
“Roadie matches people with stuff to send with drivers already headed in the right direction.”
You could earn cash for completing deliveries with Roadie.
What’s great about Roadie is that you get to set your own schedule and you can deliver stuff in whatever vehicle you want to.
You can also create a gig alerts, for the area where you’re interested in delivering to.
How much do roadie drivers make?
How much you can earn varies from delivery to delivery.
But, you can easily scroll through deliveries and view the price of each one, before you deliver the item.
Amazon Flex
- Where to apply:https://flex.amazon.com
And they do it good!
one of the benefits of paying for Prime is the free 2-day delivery.
And to make that happen, the company launched Amazon Flex.
This service helps them deliver packages even faster by partnering up with local drivers.
As a driver, you can get paid to deliver Amazon packages.
The hours are flexible, which is great!
You can choose to schedule ahead or pick up any available block of time.
Delivery opportunities are available seven days per week.
So if you are looking to fit delivering stuff into your schedule, then this a really great option.
How much do you earn on Amazon Flex?
You can earn between $18 to $25 an hour.
This is definitely a great choice if you’re looking for a good part-time or even full-time income.
You can even track your earnings with the Amazon Flex app.
PeerShip
- Where to apply:https://drivers.peership.io/
With it, Facebook users can request deliveries or list items that they want to ship.
Each user offers their price for the service.
Unlike the other companies on this list, PeerShip has a much more social element.
It’s more designed for friends, neighbors and other people in your local community.
Like Roadie, it’s an on your way delivery network.
Here are a couple of examples to illustrate how it works:
- You plan to visit your local grocery store. Through PeerShip, another user states that they need a gallon of milk delivered to them. You get this milk for them and drop it off to them on your way back from your own shopping. The person pays you for doing so.
- You are at the dry cleaner to collect some of your clothes. Then a neighbor says that they have some of their clothes waiting to be collected at the same dry cleaner. They offer you cash to pick them up. So at the dry cleaner, you pick up your neighbor’s clothes, along with your own. And then you deliver them to the person on your way back.
It varies from user to user.
The person who needs an item delivered will put an offer out there.
You can choose the offers that best suit your needs. With PeerShip, you get to keep 100% of the profits. You get paid automatically after you deliver an item.
Payments are made via PayPal and you must have a minimum of $10 in your account before you can cash out.
Favor
- Where to apply:https://apply.favordelivery.com/
And you could get paid for making these deliveries.
It calls its delivery drivers, “personal assistants.”
You can choose to work part-time or full-time as a delivery driver.
How much can you earn?
As a driver for Favor, you could earn between $10 and $18 per hour.
Plus, you get to keep all of your tips.
You can also make extra cash by referring your friends to be drivers.
Shyp
Where to apply:https://www.shyp.com/couriers
Shyp is a shipping and fulfillment service company.
The brand collects items and delivers them via:
- USPS
- UPS
- FedEx
The company occasionally posts job openings for couriers.
How much can you earn?
Shyp doesn’t state how much it pays its couriers.
So if you choose to apply for a position, then make sure that you inquire about the pay rate.
Burro
- Where to apply: https://www.getburro.com/drivers.html
With your truck, you’re responsible for delivering everything from furniture from garage sales to items for businesses that need same-day delivery.
And, you can view and select delivery requests straight from the brand’s handy app.
You will need a full-size truck that includes a bed that’s at least nine feet long when the tailgate is down, is 48 inches wide between the wheel wells and has the capacity to hold items that are seven feet tall.
But, don’t worry, if you drive a Tacoma, Colorado or car you can still work with the company as a driver helper. Just contact the company for more information.
How much can you make driving for Burro?
What’s great about this company is how much it pays.
As a truck driver for Burro, you can earn up to $45 per hour! The minimum payment per delivery is $40. Plus you get to keep 100% of the tips you make.
According to the company, some of its independent contractors make $1,600 per week!
Deliv
- Where to apply: http://www.deliv.co/drivers/
You could become a Driver Partner at the company and earn cash for making deliveries.
You just need to pick stuff up and drop it off.
To work with Deliv, you will need to:
- Own a car with air conditioning.
- Have a smartphone with a data and text plan.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Have at least a year of driving experience.
- Be able to lift up to 50 pounds.
With this company you get paid based on the time the delivery takes and delivery miles.
The company will outline your hourly block rate in your contract.
Each week, you will receive a statement of your earnings and you also get paid weekly.
CitizenShipper
- Where to apply: https://www.citizenshipper.com/new-drivers/
It sort of works in a similar way to Roadie, where it matches people who need an item shipped with couriers that are driving in that direction anyway.
A person who needs something shipped can place a listing for the shipment on the site.
Then, divers can offer a bid for the shipment.
You can become a driver for the company and deliver anything from small items to large items.
Just bid on the deliveries you want and pick up as many or as few as you want. You receive email alerts when new shipments and bids are posted.
How much can you make with CitizenShipper?
How much you earn varies from delivery to delivery. This is because you get to put your own bid in for each shipment that’s posted.
So, you can charge what you want, within reason of course.
Grabr
- Where to apply: https://grabr.io/en/travel
Shoppers can select the item they want from any online store and post a delivery request. You can browse these delivery requests and if you’re heading to the customer’s city, then you can make a delivery offer.
How much can you make delivering for Grabr?
As with CitizenShipper, at Grabr, you can make your own offer. So how much you get paid per delivery is really up to you.
You get paid once you have made the delivery.
GoShare
- Where to apply: https://www.goshare.co/drivers/
You could get paid as a driver for the company, if you own a:
- Pickup Truck
- Cargo Van
- Box Truck
How much can you earn with GoShare?
As a driver for GoShare, you can earn between $47.52 and $71.52 per hour, depending on the type of truck or van that you have. Plus you get to keep all of the tips thatyoumake.If you don’t own a van or a truck, so work as a GoShare helper instead, you can earn up to $33.12 per hour.
You get paid via direct deposit
