Updated: 08.23.2026
Delivery apps are one of the most accessible side hustles available, low barrier to entry, flexible hours, and you can start earning within a week. They’re also one of the most misunderstood. What you see advertised and what you actually take home after expenses are very different numbers.
Short version: DoorDash is the easiest starting point, Amazon Flex offers the most predictable guaranteed rate, and multi-apping meaningfully boosts hourly income once you have experience. Across every platform, net pay after fuel, mileage, and taxes runs noticeably lower than the gross number advertised, and the mileage deduction that helps close that gap actually shifted mid-year in 2026, worth knowing since it directly affects your tax math.
What You Need to Get Started
To make money with delivery apps you’re generally required to be at least 18 years old, have a reliable vehicle, and have insurance coverage for your vehicle. Most platforms also require a smartphone, a valid driver’s license, and a background check. Requirements vary slightly by platform, Instacart, for example, requires drivers to be able to lift at least 50 pounds for grocery orders.
The vehicle requirement is the main barrier, but in dense urban areas, several platforms allow bike or scooter delivery. See our guide: Side Hustles Without a Car
The Main Platforms – What Each One Pays
DoorDash – Best for Beginners
DoorDash is the largest food delivery platform in the US and the best starting point for most new drivers. It has fast activation, typically 1-2 days in most markets, the highest order volume, a relatively forgiving acceptance timer, and the most transparent pay display of the major platforms.
Gross pay varies a lot by market and how selective you are with orders, current driver-reported data commonly lands in the $13-20/hour gross range, with net pay after gas, mileage, and vehicle wear running meaningfully lower, often $11-13/hour for drivers who accept most orders without cherry-picking. Cherry-picking higher-value orders and working peak hours pushes that considerably higher.
DoorDash typically offers sign-up bonuses for completing a certain number of deliveries in your first month, terms and amounts shift regularly, so check current offers in your market rather than assuming a specific number.
Beyond food, DoorDash also offers a Shop & Deliver service where you shop for and deliver groceries, good for adding variety to your shifts.
Uber Eats – Best for Cities
Uber Eats is strongest in dense urban areas where surge pricing kicks in during peak hours. Pay varies significantly by market and time of day, with surge and boost promotions capable of meaningfully lifting hourly earnings during busy windows.
The catch for beginners: Uber Eats has a short acceptance window that’s unforgiving for new drivers still learning the flow. The surge system rewards experienced drivers significantly, but newcomers often struggle with the pace before they know their zones.
Add Uber Eats as a second app once you have 1-2 weeks of DoorDash experience. It helps fill gaps between DoorDash orders and can meaningfully boost combined hourly earnings.
Instacart – Best Hourly Pay
Instacart is different from DoorDash and Uber Eats, you’re shopping for groceries, not picking up prepared food. Instacart often offers strong hourly pay, especially if you’re comfortable shopping and don’t mind the extra time per order.
The trade-off is that orders take longer, you’re walking a grocery store, not just picking up a bag. But the earnings per hour often justify it, particularly near wealthier neighborhoods where order sizes and tips tend to run higher.
Apply for Instacart during your first week of delivery work, by the time you’re approved, you’ll likely have DoorDash mastered and can start running both simultaneously.
Amazon Flex – Best Guaranteed Rate
Amazon Flex is a different model entirely. Rather than accepting individual orders, you book delivery blocks, typically 3-5 hour shifts with a guaranteed rate shown before you accept. Amazon states most drivers earn $18-25 an hour, and that figure is well corroborated by current driver data, making it the most predictable base pay of any major delivery platform.
The catch: blocks sell out fast, beginners struggle to secure consistent hours until they learn refresh timing. And that $18-25 is gross, not net, current driver data suggests real take-home after gas, mileage, and heavier package loads often runs closer to $11-15/hour on a typical route. It’s still a strong, predictable option, just go in knowing the guaranteed number isn’t the same as your actual profit.
Grubhub – Best for Scheduled Shifts
Grubhub is the oldest food delivery platform in the US. It focuses on restaurant partnerships and allows drivers to schedule delivery blocks, one of the more predictable options for drivers who want regular working hours.
Order volume is generally lower than DoorDash in most markets, but the ability to schedule shifts rather than waiting for orders makes earnings more predictable. Worth adding to your app stack in markets where Grubhub has strong restaurant coverage.
Shipt – Best for Grocery Specialists
Shipt is Target’s grocery delivery platform, similar to Instacart but focused on Target and a smaller selection of partner retailers. Pay is generally competitive with Instacart and the customer base tends to be loyal. Worth adding if you have a Target nearby and enjoy grocery delivery over restaurant runs.
The Most Important Strategy – Multi-Apping
Multi-apping, running DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Grubhub, or Amazon Flex simultaneously (though not two platforms during the same active block or delivery), is consistently identified as the single most effective way to boost hourly income as a delivery driver. Current data suggests experienced multi-app drivers can meaningfully outpace single-app earnings, often landing in the $22-28/hour net range during peak windows compared to $13-20/hour for single-platform driving.
The logistics: accept a DoorDash order, pick it up, then accept an Uber Eats order with a similar drop-off direction on the way. You’re earning from two orders in the same time it would take to complete one. This requires some experience to execute smoothly, master one platform first, then add a second. One exception worth knowing: Amazon Flex specifically discourages running another app during an active block, since late deliveries hurt your standing and can affect your access to future blocks.
The recommended progression: Week 1-4, start with DoorDash only. Week 5+, add Instacart or Shipt as a second platform. Month 3+, consider adding Uber Eats once you have a feel for delivery timing and zone positioning.
What You Actually Take Home – The Real Math
Gross earnings and net earnings are different numbers. Before celebrating your hourly rate, account for:
Mileage and fuel – your car is your tool and it depreciates with every mile. The IRS standard mileage rate actually changed mid-year in 2026, a rare adjustment. It started the year at 72.5 cents per mile, then the IRS raised it to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026, citing rising fuel costs. That’s the rate that matters for your tax deduction now, not a flat number for the whole year. Track every mile from the moment you go online to the moment you log off, not just miles during deliveries, and note which half of the year each trip falls in if you’re calculating your own deduction by hand.
That per-mile rate isn’t the whole story, though. You actually have a choice between deducting the standard mileage rate or tracking your vehicle’s actual costs instead, gas, insurance, repairs, the works, and whichever one you use in your car’s first year of delivery work locks you into that method for as long as you’re driving it for the app. The full breakdown, along with what still counts as a deductible mile beyond just delivery legs, is in Business Mileage Deduction: Standard Rate vs. Actual Expenses. And since nothing’s withheld from delivery income, Quarterly Estimated Taxes covers the actual 2026 deadlines and how much to set aside instead of guessing at 25-30%.
Vehicle wear – oil changes, tires, brakes. Delivery driving puts serious miles on a vehicle. The standard mileage rate is meant to cover this along with fuel, but heavy delivery use can outpace what the flat rate accounts for, budget accordingly.
Taxes – delivery income is self-employment income. No tax is withheld. The 25-30% rule of thumb above is a reasonable starting guess, but the Quarterly Tax Estimator can give you the real number based on your actual delivery income instead of a flat percentage, then make quarterly estimated payments if you’re earning consistently.
The honest net hourly: current data across multiple platforms consistently shows net pay landing well below advertised gross figures, often in the $11-15/hour range even when gross looks like $18-22/hour, once fuel, mileage, and self-employment tax are factored in. That’s not a reason to skip delivery work, it’s a reason to track your actual numbers from day one rather than budgeting off the gross figure the app shows you.
How to Maximize Your Earnings
Work peak hours. Lunch and dinner windows have the highest order volume and best tips. Weekends outperform weekdays. Bad-weather days and holidays are consistently cited as the highest-earning windows of the year, since demand spikes while other drivers stay home.
Cherry-pick orders. A commonly cited rule of thumb: decline anything paying less than roughly $1.50-2 per mile. Once you know the basics, declining low-value orders can meaningfully lift your effective hourly rate. A $4 order requiring 8 miles of driving is rarely worth your time.
Know your zones. The drivers earning the most know their market, which restaurants are fast, which areas tip well, where traffic slows you down. This knowledge builds over weeks and makes a significant difference in orders per hour.
Track everything. Use a mileage tracking app from day one. Every mile is a tax deduction, and with the mileage rate having changed mid-year, an automated tracker that applies the correct rate to each trip is worth more this year than most.
Is Delivery Worth It?
For flexible, immediate income with no experience required: yes. You can sign up today and be earning within days. The ceiling is real, drivers who multi-app effectively and know their market can genuinely reach $22-28/hour net or more, especially during peak and bad-weather windows.
The honest trade-off: it’s active income, not passive. You earn when you drive. Your car absorbs the wear. And the work is physical and repetitive in ways that affect how sustainable it is long-term.
For a side hustle that requires no special skills, starts fast, and pays decently once you track the real numbers instead of the advertised ones: delivery apps earn their place on the list.
Related: Side Hustles Without a Car – 8 Real Options That Actually Pay
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost always gross. Current driver-reported data across every major platform shows net pay, after gas, mileage, and self-employment tax, running well below the advertised figure, often $11-15/hour even when the app shows $18-22/hour. Track your own numbers rather than budgeting off the gross rate.
It’s not one flat number this year. The rate was 72.5 cents per mile from January through June 2026, then the IRS raised it to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026, a rare mid-year adjustment due to rising fuel costs. Use the correct rate for the half of the year each trip falls in.
Amazon Flex, hands down, for predictability. You see the block’s guaranteed pay before accepting, typically $18-25/hour gross, rather than earning per-order like DoorDash or Uber Eats. The trade-off is competing for limited block availability, and net pay still runs lower than the gross figure once expenses are factored in.
For most experienced drivers, yes. Running two compatible apps at once (like DoorDash and Uber Eats) fills gaps between orders and commonly pushes net pay meaningfully higher than single-app driving. It takes real experience to execute smoothly, so master one platform first before adding a second.
25-30% of gross earnings is a reasonable starting point, since no tax is withheld and you’re responsible for self-employment tax on top of regular income tax. Make quarterly estimated payments if you’re earning consistently, and track mileage carefully since that deduction meaningfully reduces your taxable income.
DoorDash, typically approved within a couple of days in most markets. Instacart and Amazon Flex generally take longer, Instacart’s approval commonly runs several days to a week or more, and Amazon Flex often has waitlists in busier markets.
Sources:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-sets-2026-business-standard-mileage-rate-at-725-cents-per-mile-up-25-cents
https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-29_irb
https://earnifyhub.com/learning-guides/doordash-driver-earnings-real-data-2026