9 Best Delivery Apps to Work For: Ranked & Reviewed [2023]

If you like driving and want to make money from it, there’s no better time for you to shine!

There are now numerous apps where you can sign up and gain access to various gig delivery jobs. 

To help you find the perfect match(s), we’ve gathered nine of the best delivery apps to work for.

An Overview of the Best Delivery Apps to Work For

What Exactly Do Delivery Apps Do?

The idea behind delivery apps is to connect businesses with customers.

Using them, consumers can browse the store’s products, select what they want, and have it delivered to their doorstep. 

It may have started out with food delivery services, but there are now applications that do much more.

You’ll find apps that offer delivery services from grocery stores, liquor shops, convenience stores, and so on, giving you a wide range of opportunities.

Does Working for Delivery Apps Pay Off?

Yes, working for delivery apps will eventually pay off, but you need to ensure that you’re working for the industry’s key players.

Online ordering was already high in demand before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it gained even more traction afterward. 

For example, the estimated number of food delivery app users in the U.S. jumped from 36.4 million in 2019 to 53.9 million in 2023.

That’s why many gig workers make it their full-time job; after all, a delivery driver in the U.S. earns an average hourly wage of $18.

The Best Delivery App to Work For at a Glance

If you need a quick answer, we believe DoorDash is the best delivery app you can work for. 

It has a massive customer base and coverage, as it operates in over 7,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan. 

This app also provides several delivery opportunities because you don’t only get to deliver food but also groceries, flowers, and more.

It also offers competitive hourly rates and benefits to its drivers. 

Factors to Consider Before Working for a Delivery App

When looking for delivery services to work for, there are a few critical factors to keep in mind.

They’ll help you narrow down your search and bring you one step closer to boosting your earnings.

1. App Popularity and Reliability

The first thing to look for is the app’s demand in your area, as this will reveal the workload you’ll face and, thus, your potential income.

Take Favor as an example; it’s a great delivery app, but it’s more popular in Texas than in other regions. 

You’ll also need to assess the app’s reliability by reviewing its history and reading online reviews from other workers.

This will help you ensure you work for a company that fairly compensates you for your efforts.

2. Eligibility Requirements 

Delivery apps have different requirements for drivers that generally relate to age, work experience, and vehicle model.

Consequently, you should always read them thoroughly to save yourself the time and effort of applying when you may not be eligible. 

3. Compensation Structure

We can’t stress enough the importance of working for apps that have a transparent, detailed compensation structure.

Avoid those with vague or unclear pay rates because you may end up earning far less than expected!

Look for important information such as base pay, tips, bonuses, etc.

All of these details will help you decide whether or not an app aligns with your financial goals. 

4. Flexibility

If you’re planning to become a delivery driver only in your spare time, you should look into the app’s level of flexibility.

Some apps may have specific availability requirements, while others give you complete control over when to start and end your shift. 

5. Safety Measures

Unfortunately, the nature of this job can pose some risks to drivers, with the most extreme cases involving crime or assault. 

Many apps have recognized how dangerous these situations can be and developed safety features to help delivery drivers, so look for them before you begin working. 

DoorDash, for example, has an Emergency Assistance button that’ll silently dispatch police or ambulance services to your location. 

Best Delivery Apps to Work For: Our Top 3 Options [Ranked & Reviewed]

We’ll kick off our list with our top three picks for delivery apps to work for.

We’ll walk you through their main features, pros, cons, and pay, so let’s get started!

DoorDash – Our Pick

In 2013, a food delivery app was launched, and eight years later, it surpassed everyone’s expectations by becoming the largest local logistics company in the U.S.

That app is DoorDash, which now specializes in delivering a variety of items besides food. 

Honestly, its extreme popularity is one of the major factors that propelled it to the top of our list; talking numbers, over 20 million customers place orders on DoorDash monthly.

Key Features

• User-Friendly Interface: DoorDash did an excellent job of designing an easy-to-use app for its drivers, with clear instructions guiding them through each step.
• Transparent Earning Potential: This delivery service makes all of its payment information available for all potential candidates to review before joining the app; they don’t conceal any financial data.
• Flexible Working Hours: You can either schedule when you want to deliver or use their ‘Dash Now’ option if you want to start right away. There are no set hours or restrictions.
• Various Delivery Opportunities: You can deliver groceries, pet supplies, food, and various other things using this platform, so you’re not limited to just one type of delivery.
• Safety Toolkit: DoorDash developed a safety toolkit for its delivery drivers to assist them in getting help in emergencies. It also includes occupational accident insurance in case drivers are injured on the job.

Pros of DoorDash

• Achievable Requirements: DoorDash’s requirements aren’t restrictive at all. They accept Dashers starting from 18 years old with any type of vehicle (car, scooter, etc.) and basic documentation such as a valid driver’s license; no work experience is required.
• Control Over Orders: You’ll get to review the order details before deciding whether to accept or reject it. This level of control allows you to make the most of your dashing time.
• Work Whenever and Wherever: You’re in charge of setting your work schedule and could even work in any city where DoorDash operates.

Cons of DoorDash

• Inconsistent Pay: Dashers’ income is unpredictable and inconsistent as it depends on multiple factors. The most important one is tips; if you have several non-tipping customers, your earnings will suffer greatly. 
• Associated Expenses: DoorDash, like most delivery services, treats its delivery drivers as independent contractors. This means you’ll be responsible for your own expenses, such as gas and vehicle maintenance.
• Increased Competition: Over 2 million Dashers were recorded to work for this platform in 2021. This level of competition makes it challenging to find high-paying orders, especially during peak times.

DoorDash Income

If you decide to become a DoorDash driver, a.k.a Dasher, here are the three main components of their compensation plan:

• Base Pay: From $2 to $10 and up per delivery. The exact fee is determined by the order’s distance, estimated time, and desirability. For example, long-distance deliveries have a higher delivery fee.
• Promotions: Promotions allow you to increase your delivery earnings. They include Peak Pay, where you earn extra money delivering on busy days, and Challenge Bonuses, where you’re rewarded for achieving specific goals.
• Tips: Dashers keep 100% of the customer tips.

Conclusion: Should You Choose DoorDash?

Numerous couriers used this delivery service app at some point in their careers.

That’s because DoorDash is incredibly simple to get started, has no vehicle or experience requirements, and allows you to choose when to work and what orders to work on. It’s definitely worth a shot!

Instacart – Runner-Up

Moving on to Instacart, a renowned grocery delivery app with 9.6 million active users in the U.S. 

This delivery service is special in that it allows customers to have someone shop and deliver their groceries on the same day.

And it has even expanded beyond groceries as it now delivers other items like ready meals, alcohol, and office supplies. 

Key Features 

• Different Types of Shoppers: With Instacart, you can choose to be an in-store or full-service shopper. Working the first role entails collecting the shopping list from a store, whereas the second role involves both shopping and delivering the items. 
• Convenient Schedules: You’ll have flexible working hours in both roles. In-store shoppers are treated as part-time employees, with shifts assigned based on their preferences. Full-service shoppers are more like independent contractors, so they get to set their own working hours.
• Cart Management: This platform provides organization features for shoppers to ensure that each item is placed in the correct customer’s cart. 
• Support and Safety: Instacart offers excellent assistance, like providing live phone support to speak with care representatives. It also has multiple safety features, such as emergency assistance, which allows agents to see your location and other important information when you initiate an emergency call.
• Cart Star Rewards: This program rewards top shoppers by offering them various benefits that differ by category. For instance, if you enter the Diamond Cart, you’ll have priority access to batches (orders).

Pros of Instacart

• Select High Paying Days: By using their Peak Earning Days feature, you can view the days with the highest pay per batch a week in advance so you can plan accordingly.
• In-Store Navigation: To save time while shopping, Instacart offers a unique in-store navigation, which shows you where the items in the batch are located within the store. This is now available in more than 80 stores across North America.
• Decent Earning Potential: You have a good chance of earning relatively high pay if you pay attention to bonus opportunities and work on peak days.

Cons of Instacart

• Physical Requirements: Because of the nature of the job, you must be able to exert some effort in the form of walking and carrying. In fact, one of the eligibility requirements at Instacart is the ability to lift 40 lbs.
• Time-Consuming: It can sometimes be time-consuming and unprofitable because you might have to wait in traffic and long lines at the stores for a single order.
• Rating Dependent: Shoppers with ratings less than five stars have fewer work opportunities than those with the highest ratings. 

Instacart Income

If you’re wondering how much Instacart shoppers make, especially full-service roles, take a look at their payment structure:

• Batch Payment: $7-10 for full-service batches and $5 for delivery-only batches.
• Bonuses: Bonuses are occasionally available, such as during peak times and for successful referrals.
• Tips: Shoppers get to keep all tips.

Conclusion: Should You Choose Instacart?

If you enjoy burning a few calories while working, Instacart is a fantastic option for you.

Even on days when you don’t feel like driving, you can still make money as an in-store shopper. 

And the eligibility requirements are fairly basic, like being 18 years old and having legal authorization to work in the U.S., and the registration process is quite simple.

Grubhub – Also Great

When we talk about one of the best food delivery services to work for, we must mention Grubhub.

With over 32 million active consumers and 745,000 orders per day, it’s certainly one of the industry’s titans!

Key Features 

• Select Delivery Slots: As an independent delivery contractor working with Grubhub, you can deliver whenever you want. What makes it more special is that you can book the time slots you’ll be working on or select your availability, and they’ll create a schedule for you.
• Delivery Boundary: You can use the app’s delivery boundary feature to customize the zones or areas you want to deliver to. This even includes delivery on military bases. This gives you more control over your route.
• Locate Hotspots: You can easily locate the high-demand areas through the app’s Hotspots feature. That way, you’ll be able to see where you can go to boost your earnings!
• Recognition Program: Grubhub has a driver recognition program with three levels: Partner, Pro, and Premier. The further you progress in this program, the more benefits you’ll receive, like more offers and first access to scheduling.
• Safety Council: Along with the safety measures offered by this food delivery app, their Safety Council gives drivers a voice on safety-related issues.

Pros of Grubhub

• Special Rewards and Discounts: Grubhub has lots of special offers to its drivers from various businesses, like 15% off most services at Jiffy Lube, an automotive service center.
• View Estimated Mileage: Before accepting an order, the app will show you an estimated total mileage to see if it fits your plans for the day.
• Accept Offers Automatically: If you don’t have specific delivery preferences, you can toggle the auto-accept button to add more orders to your queue without having to do so manually while driving.

Cons of Grubhub

• Declining Affects Rating: Grubhub takes order rejections pretty seriously, and if you do it a few times, your rating and prioritization will drop significantly. 
• Restaurant Wait Times: As with any food delivery service, you’ll face restaurant wait times that are completely out of your hand but can take a lot of your time and result in an angry customer.
• Lack of Support: We read plenty of reviews from delivery workers complaining about not receiving adequate support from Grubhub’s driver support center.

Grubhub Income

This food delivery service bases its drivers’ delivery fees on several variables, such as miles driven, duration, and tips.

That said, according to Indeed, the average Grubhub driver in the U.S. earns nearly $16 per hour. 

It’s worth noting that you get to keep the tips, and there are additional bonuses you can benefit from.

Conclusion: Should You Choose Grubhub?

Thanks to its large customer base, Grubhub has a plethora of food delivery jobs to offer its drivers.

We believe their pay is competitive, but common setbacks like canceled orders and scammers can get in the way. 

Finally, you should know that they provide a guaranteed minimum wage in limited regions to compensate drivers on slow days.

Notable Mentions: Other Delivery Apps to Check Out

Uber Eats – Best for Delivering Various Items

Uber Eats is another leading food delivery service, and it recently acquired Postmates, a well-known logistics app, in 2020. 

This means that if you drive for Uber Eats, you’ll also be working for Postmates.

We think this is fantastic because it exposes delivery drivers to more customers and different kinds of deliveries.

Why Is Uber Eats a Great Option?

You can make money working for this app by driving, riding a scooter, cycling, or even walking! 

If you want to use your car or scooter, you must be 19 years old and have a valid driver’s license.

Whereas if you want to use the other delivery options, you can apply as early as 18 years old. 

Uber Eats is also well-established in the market, making it a dependable organization to work with.

It has a large audience, which translates to more orders to fulfill.

Drawbacks to Uber Eats

The main disadvantage of working with this app is that it’s not profitable in all regions.

You see, in large cities with frequent orders, you may have a better chance of earning more money than in small ones.

Check out their list of the top cities to work in the U.S.

Uber Eats Income

Your earning potential with Uber Eats is highly dependent on several aspects, including location and performance. 

However, the national average hourly pay for Uber Eats drivers is $19.

To give you an idea of their compensation plan, it includes base pay of $2-4, bonuses, and tips that you keep.

Gopuff – Best for Delivering Goods From a Single Location

Gopuff is an online delivery company that allows customers to have their daily necessities delivered to them in a relatively short time, from groceries to alcohol, personal care items, and more.

This app has more than 200 local facilities scattered across the U.S., which are stocked with almost everything, including snacks, drinks, cleaning supplies, and more!

Why Is Gopuff a Great Option?

If you’re not a fan of standing in long lines, you’ll love working for Gopuff.

You won’t have to go shopping for the order or get stuck in waiting lines as they have their own micro fulfillment centers where all orders are prepared.

Drawbacks to Gopuff

To drive for Gopuff, you must be 21 years old, which is inconvenient if you’re a younger delivery person looking to supplement your income.

The earning potential is also not that great when compared to other delivery apps. 

And if your area has a sufficient number of divers, you may not always find openings.

Gopuff Income

This app’s compensation scheme includes variable base pay, weekly bonuses, offers, and tips.

According to Indeed, Gopuff driver’s pay is approximately $14.84 per hour. 

Hungry – Best for Catering and Delivery Services

Hungry brings something new to the table as it connects customers with top local chefs.

It’s great for catering businesses, live events, group orders, and other similar services. 

That’s why working as a driver for such a platform has a unique twist.

You can work as a delivery captain or a catering captain; the former involves dropping off meals, while the latter entails delivering and setting them up.

Why Is Hungry a Great Option?

We believe the platform is doing a good job compensating its drivers for their time.

It’s also known for cultivating positive relationships with employees, such as saving some food for them.

Drawbacks to Hungry

Deliveries can be stressful because most of the time, you’ll be going to events with many hungry people.

Food spills and stains are also common issues with this job, especially since cleaning the car isn’t compensated. 

Hungry Income

Hungry delivery drivers could earn $15-20 per hour.

But catering captain can make $25-36 per hour. 

Roadie – Best App for Delivering All Sorts of Products

One of the names that stand out in the gig economy is Roadie, a UPS company.

Customers can have almost anything they want to be delivered to them using this nationwide service; motorcycles, lawnmowers; you name it.

Why Is Roadie a Great Option?

Roadie driver requirements aren’t difficult, and they accept applicants as young as 18 years old.

You also get to choose when you work and have plenty of discounts on food, rentals, and repairs from companies like Waffle House and Zipcar.

Drawbacks to Roadie

Since the types of products customers can deliver are virtually limitless, this can come at the expense of the driver.

You may be required to lift and deliver heavy items on occasion.

But the good news is that you can view orders before accepting them.

Roadie Income

A Roadie driver makes an average of $13 per trip and even more on orders with longer distances. 

Saucey – Best Alcohol Delivery App

If you want to steer clear of delivering food and groceries, working for an alcohol delivery service like Saucey might be just what you need.

You’ll enjoy it even more if you prefer working late at night, as they operate from 8 am to 2 am.

Why Is Saucey a Great Option?

You can schedule your preferred delivery times in advance or start working in your free time. 

The idea of having alcoholic beverages delivered to your doorstep in 30 mins (Saucey’s tagline) piqued the interest of many customers, and that’s why orders usually pour in.

We’ve also read on several websites that Saucey’s users are generous tippers.

Drawbacks to Saucey

Since the requirements for becoming a Saucey driver are somewhat strict, not everyone is eligible to apply.

For example, you must be 21 years old, drive an insured vehicle, and have a spotless driving record. 

Additionally, you’re responsible for checking the customer’s ID before handing over the order, which can be challenging with difficult customers or minors. 

Saucey Income

As a Saucey delivery driver, you can expect to earn an hourly pay of $10 or more. 

Amazon Flex – Best Platform for Package Delivery

Amazon Flex was designed to attract gig workers to deliver Amazon packages in their spare time.

It’s among some of the most popular package delivery apps since it’s owned by one of the world’s largest online retailers.

Why Is Amazon Flex a Great Option?

Since you’ll only deliver packages, the job is pretty straightforward, and there’ll be little interaction with customers, which we know can be exhausting when delivering food or groceries.

It also offers excellent scheduling flexibility and competitive pay. 

Drawbacks to Amazon Flex

Shifts at Amazon Flex aren’t consistent, so you may not always be able to find a delivery job.

You must also be at least 21 years old and drive a mid-size or larger vehicle.

Plus, tipping is generally low when delivering packages, as you don’t always get to see the customer.

Amazon Flex Income

Amazon Flex delivery drivers can earn between $18 and $25 per hour, depending on a few factors, such as location and delivery time.

Other Ways to Supplement Your Income

We’ve compiled a few similar gig opportunities that are worth looking into:

• Bike Delivery Jobs: Discover the best ways to turn your cycling hobby into cash!
• Become a Driver With Lyft: Earn money by picking up and dropping off people in your spare time with Lyft.
• Best Driving Jobs: Explore some of the top driving jobs you can apply for.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are several frequently asked questions about this topic; we’ve chosen two of the most common ones to answer:

Wrapping Up

You’re now well aware of the best-paying delivery jobs currently available, along with their major benefits and drawbacks.

DoorDash is ideal for anyone who wants to handle diverse types of deliveries and receive orders on a regular basis.

It’s also great for beginners, thanks to its minimal eligibility requirements. 

Alternatively, if you know your way around grocery stores and have a knack for shopping, Instacart is certainly the way to go.

What did you think? Tell us in the comments if you’ve used any of these apps before!