- October 18, 2022
- Kaitlyn
5 Best Food Delivery Services
To Work For So You Can Make Money NOW!
If you’re wanting some extra cash immediately, consider becoming a food delivery driver. It’s flexible, pay is good and you can take people with you! There are lots of different food delivery services out there, so we’re going to break down the pros, cons, how much you could potentially earn and the requirements for being a food delivery driver!
Table of Contents
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Doordash
Doordash has become extremely popular over the past few years. It’s now the largest food delivery service there is! You can order from local restaurants and food chains and now even drugstores and convenience stores.
Requirements to Become a Dasher
- You have to be 18 years old
- You have to have a car, bike or scooter
- Must pass a background check
- Valid driver’s license
- Auto Insurance
How Much Can You Earn As a Dasher?
That really depends on your location and the time of day that you deliver. If you live in a rural area and dash at 3:00 PM, you may not make a lot of money. But if you live in suburbs or a city and dash during prime meal time, you could potentially make over $40/hour.
The average hourly rate a dasher earns is $23/hour. The hourly pay is calculated using average dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90 day period and includes compensation from peak pay, tips, and other incentives.
Pros of Becoming a Dasher
- Incentives and challenges that allow you to earn more than the average $3 base pay
- Default tip of 15% that encourage people to tip
- You can accept or decline any orders
- You can see how far away orders are before you accept them
- You can bring someone alone with you
- Lots of safety buttons to press in case of an emergency
- You can purchase insurances from them
- Daily and weekly cashout
- You can accept more than one order at a time
Cons of Becoming a Dasher
- No guarantee pay
- Must take into account gas and mileage
- Must do your own taxes
- You sometimes have to schedule ahead instead of just simply starting your dash
- Driver support only operates via chat
- Can only deliver in a certain radius
Check out this related article going over if Doordashing is really worth it. If you’re wanting to become a Dasher, sign up here!
GrubHub
GrubHub is one of the oldest food delivery services! It was founded in 2004 and is still going strong! Just like Doordash, you can deliver from local grocery stores and they are expanding into convenience stores and drugstore chains.
Requirements to Drive for GrubHub
- Must be 19 years old (but 21 in Las Vegas and Chicago)
- Have a valid driver’s license
- Auto insurance
- Have a cell phone with a data plan
How Much Can You Earn With GrubHub?
Most food delivery services will vary. Just like Doordash, it depends on your location. The more people and restaurants are around you, the most likely you will make about $15-$20/hour. The average hourly rate for GrubHub is $20/hour.
Pros of Being a GrubHub Driver
- Live phone support in case an emergency happens during your delivery
- Default tip of 15% that encourage people to tip
- Can accept and decline orders
- Very detailed information before you accept orders like location, payout, miles
- You can bring anyone with you!
Cons of Driving for GrubHub
- Not as many incentives as other delivery platforms
- Must drive in specific locations
- Must do your own taxes
- No guarantee pay
- Must take into account gas and mileage
Instacart
If you’re anything like me, you most likely have used at least Instacart once or twice since Covid-19 hit. Instacart is a different food delivery service. Instead of delivering from restaurants and food chains, they deliver from grocery stores. So if it’s late at night and you realize you don’t have any more toilet paper but don’t feel like driving only to get toilet paper, you can get it delivered!
Requirements to Become an Instacart Shopper
- Have access to a car
- Valid driver’s license
- Auto insurance
- Be eligible to work in the U.S.
- Be able to lift 40 lbs.
- Must complete a background check
How Much Can You Earn Being an Instacart Shopper?
As the other companies already mentioned, it depends on where you live. The average for full-service Instacart Shoppers is $12/hour but can be as high as $20/hour during busy times.
Pros of Being an Instacart Shopper
- Instacart Shoppers have two options for work: full-service and in-store shoppers (who don’t need a car to work)
- You can save money on gas by being an in-store shopper
- You can schedule your week in advance
- You can see estimated earnings and mileage before you accept orders
- Customers can raise tips up to 14 days after delivery
- You can purchase insurances
Cons of Being an Instacart Shopper
- Customers can reduce the tip up to 2 hours after delivered, so you may not earn anything and high orders may be deceiving
- Must do your own taxes
- Take into account gas and mileage
- No guarantee pay
- Can’t spontaneously work
- May have to carry heavy bags
UberEats/Postmates
UberEats is another popular food delivery service. Postmates was purchased from UberEats in 2020 and has since been transitioning all into UberEats. You can order from your favorite restaurants, food chains, grocery stores and convenience stores on UberEats
Requirements to Be an UberEats Driver
- Meet the minimum age to drive in your city
- Have at least one year of licensed driving experience (if you’re under 23 years old, you need 3 years of experience driving)
- A valid driver’s license
- An eligible vehicle
- Auto insurance
- Be able to provide proof of residency in your state
How Much Can You Earn Being an UberEats Driver
The average is $21/hour, but it really depends (again) on where you live, the time of day that you deliver and how long you are driving.
Pros of Being an UberEats Driver
- You can bring a friend
- Daily cashouts
- Challenges and bonuses
- Integrates well with Uber if you’re wanting to do rideshare
Cons of Being an UberEats Driver
- Fading out of the challenges
- Must do your own taxes
- Take gas and mileage into consideration
- Known to change pay amount which can be confusing
- No guarantee pay
Shipt
Just like Instacart, Shipt is an on-demand grocery store delivery service. If you’re wanting some chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the night and you have a grocery store open near you, check to see if Shipt delivers to you!
Requirements to Become a Shipt Driver
- Must be 18 years old
- Have a valid driver’s license
- Auto Insurance
- Have a reliable car (1997 or newer)
- Capable of lifting 40 lbs or more
- Must have insulated cooling bags
How Much Can You Make With Shipt
The commonality between all of these delivery services is that the pay depends on where you live! However, most people who deliver for Shipt say that the pay is lower on average because the pay takes many other things into account and doesn’t offer a base pay. This includes drive time, number of items in your order, time of day, and traffic. It does show an estimated earning amount before accepting an order though.
On average, people who deliver with Shipt make $15 – $20/hour.
Pros of Being a Shipt Driver
- Shipt Drivers get a free Shipt membership
- You can see how much you make before accepting your order
- You can shop for more than one person at a time
Cons of Being a Shipt Driver
- Not as widely available
- Must shop alone
- Must take into account gas and mileage
- Must do your own taxes
- No guarantee pay
Which Food Delivery Service Platform Should You Do?
I can’t make that decision for you! I hope that I was able to provide you with enough information for you to make the best decision for you and your circumstances.
If you are looking for more side hustle ideas, be sure to download our free ebook with 5 different resources for you to make $5k/month!
I havent heard of shipt but thank you for sharing this side hustle idea, this is super helpful for people interested in food delivery!! 🙂
Thank you!
I’ve seen some ads about it but never thought of taking it. REading your post give me more insight into it. I don’t think its good for not having guaranteed pay when we work hard.
No guaranteed pay is definitely a huge factor when choosing a side hustle!
I’ve wondered if these companies are actually worth working for, and this answers a few of my questions. Thanks for posting!
I’m glad this helped you! Thank you for reading!