The 5 highest-paying food delivery jobs out there today
Are you looking for some side income or a new part-time job?
Delivering food can be a great way to increase your income, whether you work directly for a restaurant or for a food delivery app.
Let’s discuss the highest-paying food delivery jobs available for you today, as well as what a delivery driver does and how much they make.
What exactly does a food delivery driver do?
Food delivery drivers are responsible for delivering takeout meals, groceries, and other foods from local restaurants to paying customers at their homes and offices.
Delivery drivers often receive tips from customers for taking their delivery to them on time.
Some delivery driver jobs require a valid driver’s license, but there are some side gigs you can do without a car. Those deliveries are fulfilled using your bike instead.
What’s the difference between getting hired by a restaurant and a delivery app?
You can apply for a food delivery job at a restaurant or grocery store, or you can take up a side hustle in the gig economy on a delivery app so you can set your own schedule.
When you get hired by a food establishment directly, you’ll likely have set hours and an hourly rate, plus tips.
Your employer will retain taxes from your paycheck. Depending on how the restaurant works, you may also have to pool your tips and share a fraction of them with other employees.
Plus, when you’re hired by a restaurant, you’ll usually need a valid driver’s license. That’s because restaurants expect you to deliver meals within a certain amount of time.
Some restaurants will offer you a company car to drive during your delivery shift.
Driving for a delivery app is very different. First, you don’t have set hours or an hourly wage. You make your own schedule and your own hours. You make a certain amount of money per delivery plus tips instead of making an hourly pay.
You can make more money (known as surge pricing) when you pick up and deliver food during rush or peak hours. But if there are only a few orders happening while you decide to work, you’ll likely make less money.
With these side gigs, you’re in charge of your own taxes because you’re an independent contractor. You also get to keep 100% of your tips.
Most delivery apps also pay out their food delivery drivers weekly instead of on the bi-weekly schedule most employers use.
How much do food delivery drivers make?
On average, food delivery drivers from restaurants and other eating places make $12.47 per hour. This works out to $25,940 per year if you work full-time.
For food delivery drivers using delivery apps for their side hustle, earnings per hour can vary significantly depending on where you live.
It’ll also vary depending on whether you’re using a bike or a car.
When you’re driving a vehicle, you’ll have to factor in the cost of gas (which you pay for as a gig driver) when you calculate your earnings.
In cities with lots of car traffic, you may also be able to make faster deliveries on a bike. But in cities with longer distances, a car may be the fastest way to deliver food.
These apps usually make direct deposits into your bank account, so they’re a great way to make money quickly.
5 highest-paying food delivery jobs
When you work during peak hours and deliver food quickly, you can make a great living or side income using delivery apps to work instead of having a traditional job. These driver apps almost always accept new drivers.
Here are the five best food delivery apps that you can use to earn some extra money.
1. Doordash
Doordash is available in more than 4,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
Doordash also acquired Caviar, another food delivery service app. So, dashers can receive Caviar and Doordash delivery opportunities when they use this app.
You need to be 18 or older with a valid driver’s license number to become a Doordash driver. You’ll also need to consent to a background check and have a clean driving record.
Plus, you’ll need a car, scooter, or bicycle in certain cities.
Doordash lets you know how much you’ll make for a delivery before you accept it. They’ll also show you peak pay periods if you want to plan your deliveries around those times.
2. Grubhub
Grubhub accepts drivers that are 19 years or older. You can get car decals and warming bags from the company, or you can use your own if you prefer.
They even have optional onboarding tools to teach you tips and tricks for delivering food.
With Grubhub, some orders are Place and Pay. This means that you can get a Grubhub Driver Card and pay for the order directly at the restaurant. You always get reimbursements for these orders.
3. UberEats
UberEats recently acquired Postmates, which is another high-paying delivery app. If you’re already a driver for the rideshare app Uber, or if you’re already a Postmates driver, you can start delivering food almost instantly.
Age requirements for UberEats drivers vary by city if you want to deliver by car, but you’ll need to be at least 18 years old to make drop-offs by bicycle and 19 years of age if you use a scooter.
They also run a background check using your Social Security number.
4. Shipt
With Shipt, you deliver groceries and other household essentials to customers. You need to be at least 18 with a valid driver’s license to become a Shipt shopper.
Unlike meal delivery apps, you need a reliable vehicle with Shipt since groceries take up more space.
5. Instacart
Instacart is another grocery delivery app. When you work for Instacart, you become a full-service shopper for people in your delivery area.
To become an Instacart shopper, you need to be at least 18 years old, have consistent access to a vehicle, and also be eligible to work in the U.S.
With this gig, you’ll shop for customers and deliver the groceries to their homes.
Because you also take care of the shopping as opposed to just picking up the groceries, earnings are higher for this job than other food delivery jobs.
But it can also take longer to fulfill each order.
Food delivery jobs hiring right now
Food delivery apps are always hiring. That’s because they’re not technically hiring you.
You work for yourself when you become a driver for gig delivery companies. So, if you live in a city that these apps operate in, you can download them in the iOS or Android app store and sign up to become a delivery driver.
These services are usually popular in major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Dallas.
But while working for yourself can be an excellent way to make some side income, there are several benefits to getting a job working directly for a restaurant as a delivery driver.
These include steady pay and possible employee benefits like vacation time or insurance.
You can find these types of full-time or part-time food delivery jobs on Jobcase. If you’re interested in a specific type of delivery, such as pizza delivery, you can search for that specifically, too.
Start earning money by delivering food
If you like driving and working in a fast-paced environment, a food delivery job could be a great way for you to earn a living.
You can find a food delivery job by searching on Jobcase.
For more information on what it’s like working a gig delivery job, how to apply and benefits, be sure to check Jobcase’s resource pages on each of these companies:
Well worth pursuing if you live in a college town or medium size to large city. Easy app setup. Must be customer service oriented and friendly