When you are considering earning a bit of money, driving for a delivery company could be the best route to take. As long as you have a good, reliable vehicle and the time to put towards it, you may find that delivering is the perfect experience for you. There are a lot of delivery companies, and each one of them is a bit different in terms of what they do and how they operate. When you do a bit of research yourself, you may find these apps can provide you with exactly what you need – a fast and easy way to make money.
Keep in mind that you should read the details about each of these delivery app companies. Learn the costs involved and any rules they may have. Then, check out their pricing structure. In many ways, you will discover these apps can be very easy to get started with, even if you do not have any experience.
Here are our recommendations for the best driver apps out there and why. Remember, you can often work for more than one.
Uber Eats
For those who know the convenience of ordering take out and not having to go out to get it, you may want to help out others who are willing to pay a fee for the same experience. Uber Eats is an excellent tool that can help you do just that.
Uber is a ridesharing app, but Uber Eats is specifically designed to allow consumers to buy food through a variety of local restaurants and have it delivered to them through a team of drivers. You could be one of those drivers. You can choose the type of vehicle that works for you. Most often, that’s a car, but in some environments, like Downtown New York City, using a scooter or a bike works better.
You will work as an independent contractor, not an employee. You get paid for each delivery you complete. Keep in mind that you also get tips. You can cash out up to five times a day if you like. There are some rules. For example, you have to be at least 19 years of age and have a car that is a 2000 model year or newer.
DoorDash
Working as a Dasher can be an excellent way to make money. DoorDash delivers meals to customers who order through their app. It operates much the same way as Uber Eats. The two are competing in some markets, and in others, just one is present. DoorDash pays you a fee for the work you do of picking up and delivering the food. You will also earn tips in most cases. Most deliveries are about $2 to $10 plus the tips earned.
To work as an independent contractor for DoorDash, you have to be at least 18 years old. You cannot have more than three moving violations in the last three years or other major violations like a DUI on your record. You can use a scooter, motorcycle, bike, or other modes of transportation in some cities.
Keep in mind that to earn the big bucks, you have to work to reach a Preferred Status. That typically just comes from completing enough Dashes for customers.
Postmates
Another delivery service is Postmates. While much of its business centers around restaurant delivery – just like DoorDash and Uber Eats, Postmates also allows for other types of delivery. Sometimes that may include groceries picked up already packed from the grocery store or even the liquor store. This may allow you to make deliveries for more companies, and that could mean better pay.
The biggest drawback about Postmates is that it is not operational in all cities. When you visit the app, you can see which cities are available. These are mostly larger cities across the U.S.
To work through Postmates, you have to be at least 18 years of age. You also have to have a qualified vehicle, such as a bike, car, or scooter. The company does require a background check as well. The company states that its drivers earn as much as $25 per hour, but this really depends on the city and the amount you work.
Instacart
What if you want to deliver even more? Most cities have Instacart available. This is a way for people to shop just about anywhere through an app. There are several options here.
Most people choose to do full-service shopping. That means that you go to the grocery store, pick out the list of items that the shopper needs, and then deliver it to their home. You will need to be okay with picking up heavier items, and you will need to make buying decisions for the customer. Remember, the better the service is, the better the tip may be.
To work with Instacart like this, you have to be 18 and eligible to work in the U.S. You also have to have a reliable vehicle and be able to lift up to 40 pounds.
Another option with Instacart is to work just as a shopper. You can work in the store to shop from the customer’s list at the time of their order. Then, the customer arrives at the store to pick up their order. You put it into their car. This option is great for those who may not have their own vehicle. This service is available through a lot of stores and other locations in most U.S. cities.
Amazon Flex
Some cities have a delivery service called Amazon Flex. It allows you to operate as an Amazon delivery service. Most of the time, this means picking up customer orders from Amazon, as well as Amazon Prime and Amazon Fresh orders. You may need to travel to and from locations like Whole Foods (for Amazon Fresh orders) as well as to distribution centers.
The company requires that you have a mid-size or larger vehicle and be 21 years of age or older. You will need to block out time for this delivery service of 2 to 4 hours at a time.
The biggest downfall with Amazon Flex is that you cannot pick and choose when to work. Rather, you choose the blocks of time you want to work, and they will schedule you for it. Most of the drivers will earn between $18 and $25 per hour. The company’s drivers sometimes earn tips as well.
Shipt
Shipt is a lot like Instacart in that you are able to work the times you want, shopping for and delivering groceries to customers. Often, stores partner with Shipt, such as Costco, HEB, GNC, and CVS, as well as many others. You will obtain a customer’s order, walk through the store to shop for everything they need, and then take it to their home. It is not just groceries, though. Shipt also does things like go to the pet store or office supply store as well.
To work with Shipt, you have to be 18 years of age, have a car that is a 1997 model year or newer, have a driver’s license and auto insurance that is valid, and be able to lift up to 40 pounds. You also need to be able to have an Android or iPhone (newer models may be necessary).
Grubhub
Another of the options available to you is Grubhub. If you want one of the best delivery driver apps to use for food delivery services, Grubhub may be the choice for you. The company is present in many states across the country and has ties to some 225,000 restaurants. It is a type of on-demand delivery service.
Grub Hub does request that drivers schedule their shifts in advance. In addition to this, it is possible to just open the app and drive when you have availability without a schedule, as long as orders are available for you to pick up.
There are some requirements to working with Grubhub. For example, you have to be at least 19 years of age and sometimes older, depending on where you live. You have to have a mobile phone with iOS 11 or Android 5.0 or higher. You also have to have both car insurance and a valid driver’s license.
It is hard to know how much you could earn using this app because it depends significantly on where you live. However, drivers typically earn $12 to $15 an hour and may make more with tips.
Caviar
One of the lesser known options for delivery driver apps is called Caviar. When the company first launched its app, it was designed to deliver higher quality and fine dining foods right to the doors of customers. However, in 2019, the company was bought out by DoorDash. Now, it is part of the Door Dash empire, though some people still use the Caviar app rather than others.
At the same time, it is no longer just fine dining focused. Consumers can easily find a wide range of products to select from, including everything from fast food to donuts.
Drivers have to be 18 years of age and must have a valid driver’s license. In addition to this, they need to have auto insurance. The only way around this is to deliver using a bike or scooter, which is only available in some of the company’s delivery markets.
It is true that you could be delivering high end food, but you are still employed by Door Dash. The tips can be good in some areas, with Caviar couriers earning between $15 and $20 per hour. There are also lots of ways to motivate drivers, such as challenges which could offer a reward for you if you deliver a certain number of deliveries in a set amount of time.
Saucey
If you are looking for a way to do a bit of a different type of delivery service, consider signing up for Saucey. The company is an alcohol delivery company. That means that you go to the alcohol store of the customer's choice, pick up their order, and drop it off right at their home.
The biggest limitation with Saucey is that it is not available throughout the U.S. It is present in most of the big cities, but you will find that there are not a lot of options in some areas.
In order to work with Saucey, you have to be at least 21 years of age or older. You also have to have a reliable vehicle that is a 2007 model year or newer with insurance. The company also requires all drivers to have a clean driving record. You’ll also need a smartphone to do this type of work through the app.
Saucey has limitations on where it is available, and not as many people know about it. However, many drivers earn $10 an hour or more for doing this easy work.
goPuff
Another of the smaller delivery driver apps in the U.S. is goPuff. The company has a bit of a different makeup in terms of the products that consumers can have delivered. It is one of the best apps for snacks, cleaning supplies, groceries, essentials, as well as electronics and medications (you cannot have prescriptions delivered through it, though). The company is newer and still growing in the U.S., which can mean it is not as readily available as some of the other options out there.
Here's what makes the company a bit different. With goPuff, customers go to the app and place their orders. The products come from one of the over 200 warehouses throughout the country. That means that drivers do not have to go and shop the orders. Rather, drivers are able to take product from the warehouse to customer homes, all of which are within 30 miles of the warehouse itself.
To work at goPuff, you have to be 21 years or older, have access to a vehicle with license, insurance, and registration, and have a background check completed. You also need a smartphone to use the service.
