The highest paying delivery apps are not the biggest food delivery names. In U.S. earnings data, task and large-item apps pay the most per hour, Walmart Spark leads the delivery-only group, and DoorDash sits at the bottom of the major platforms. Your own number depends on your vehicle, your city and how many miles you burn per dollar.
Below you'll find the hourly figures, a side-by-side table, the costs that shrink every payout, and how to pick the right mix for your city.
TL;DR
- Task and hauling apps pay the most. TaskRabbit averaged $38 an hour against $11 for DoorDash in a Gridwise report.
- Among delivery-only apps, Walmart Spark has the top median: $21.74 an hour in trip pay.
- Food apps cluster lower: median hourly trip pay is $11.26 on DoorDash, $14.07 on Uber Eats and $15.38 on Grubhub.
- Gross pay is not take-home pay. The 2026 IRS mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile, a useful yardstick for what driving costs you.
- Fee structure matters too. Halen, launching in Philadelphia, charges drivers a flat weekly fee instead of taking a cut of each fare.
Table of Contents
- The short answer: who pays the most per hour
- Highest paying delivery apps compared
- Walmart Spark: the top delivery-only pay
- Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash: easy to start, lower floor
- Task and large-item apps: the barrier that pays
- Gross pay is not what you keep
- How to pick the best-paying mix for your city
- Our view: fees matter as much as headline pay
- Drive and earn with Halen in Philadelphia
- What the data can't tell you
- FAQ
- Sources
The short answer: who pays the most per hour
It helps to split the field into three tiers.
- Task, moving and large-item apps. These pay the most because they need a bigger vehicle, more effort, or both. That barrier keeps the driver pool small.
- Grocery and package apps. Walmart Spark is the standout here, with Amazon Flex and similar programs in the same neighborhood.
- Restaurant delivery apps. These are the easiest to start on, so they are the most crowded and have the lowest median pay.
That pattern matches what Gridwise CEO Ryan Green has said: the best-known gig services don't always offer the best pay, and the right choice depends on your vehicle and local demand (Business Insider Africa).
One caution before the numbers. Every figure below is a median or an average of gross trip pay reported by drivers who track their work in Gridwise. It is not net profit. Apps also dispute the data: in the same report, Taskrabbit said its workers average more than Gridwise estimates, and Uber cited its own, higher figure for time spent actively working. Treat the numbers as a ranking guide, not a promise.
Highest paying delivery apps compared
The table pulls together the figures published by Gridwise and the outlets that cite it. Pay per hour covers trip pay, and for the food apps it includes tips.
| App type | Example | Reported hourly pay | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasks and moving | TaskRabbit | $38 average | Car or truck, skills, tools |
| Grocery and retail delivery | Walmart Spark | $21.74 median trip pay, $22.57 with incentives | Car, phone, background check |
| Restaurant delivery | Grubhub | $15.38 median | Car, bike or scooter in some cities |
| Restaurant delivery | Uber Eats | $14.07 median | Car, bike or scooter in some cities |
| Restaurant delivery | DoorDash | $11.26 median | Car, bike or scooter in some cities |
Sources: Business Insider Africa for TaskRabbit; Gridwise on Spark; Gridwise on Grubhub for the three food apps.
The gap is wide. A median Spark driver earns almost double what a median DoorDash driver does. And the typical food app is not where the money is.
Walmart Spark: the top delivery-only pay
Based on 2025 data from more than 500,000 drivers, Gridwise reports that Spark has a median of $21.74 an hour in total trip pay. Add incentives and bonuses and the median gross rises to $22.57. The top 25% of Spark drivers earn $25.55 an hour or more, and the top 10% earn $30.26 or more.
Why does it pay better? Orders tend to be larger baskets, with grocery, general merchandise and sometimes bulkier items. That means fewer, bigger payouts per mile. The tradeoff is more effort per stop: you may be carrying heavy bags, and you'll want a reliable trunk and cooler bags.
Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash: easy to start, lower floor
Food apps dominate because anyone with a phone and a car can start quickly. That is also their weakness.
- DoorDash: median hourly trip pay of $11.26 in 2025 data. Drivers on Reddit say it can pay well on a good day but is oversaturated in many places.
- Uber Eats: median of $14.07 per hour in total trip pay including tips, of which tips are $6.26. On averages rather than medians, Uber Eats drivers grossed $18.06 an hour in 2025, up from $17.87 in 2024.
- Grubhub: the highest median of the three at $15.38, and Gridwise notes its drivers see the highest tips of any delivery platform.
Notice how much of Uber Eats pay is tips: about $6.26 of a $14.07 median. When you compare apps, check how much of the number comes from the customer and how much from the platform.
Task and large-item apps: the barrier that pays
TaskRabbit's $38 an hour average is the top figure in the Gridwise report. Large-item and hauling platforms report ranges well above food delivery, often $42 to $64 an hour according to a ranking by a delivery-platform publisher. We'd treat that last range as a ceiling, not a typical week.
The reason is simple. Moving a couch needs a truck or van, strong lifting and time. Fewer people can do it, so competition stays low. If you already own a pickup or cargo van, this is the first tier to look at. If you drive a compact sedan, it isn't an option, and Spark-style grocery work is a better target.
Gross pay is not what you keep
Hourly figures hide the cost of the car. The IRS sets the 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 2025. That rate is what the IRS lets many self-employed drivers deduct, and it bundles gas, wear, insurance and depreciation into one number. It is a fair rough proxy for what each mile costs you.
Here is a worked example, using made-up round numbers to show the method:
- You earn $20 in an hour and drive 15 miles.
- At 72.5 cents a mile, those miles carry about $10.88 in vehicle cost.
- Your rough margin before taxes is about $9.12 for the hour.
Now take a $14 hour with only 6 miles. That is $4.35 in mileage cost and about $9.65 left. The lower-paying hour nets slightly more because the miles were short. That's why experienced drivers work out profit per mile before they accept an order, not just hourly pay.
Two more things to track:
- Self-employment tax and income tax. Gig income is generally reported as self-employment income. Ask a tax professional or use IRS guidance for your situation, especially if you claim the mileage deduction.
- Downtime. Waiting for an order at a slow restaurant counts as unpaid time in most apps.
Our own breakdown of delivery driver earnings in 2026 and your real take-home walks through these deductions step by step.
How to pick the best-paying mix for your city
Pay is local. A platform that is slow in one city can be busy in the next. Gridwise's data suggests that experienced drivers rarely rely on a single app; they run several at once and cherry-pick the best offers in their own market.
Try this process:
- Match the app to your vehicle. Sedan: food and grocery. SUV or hatchback: grocery and packages. Truck or van: large-item and task work.
- Sign up for two or three apps in your area. Keep them all open during your best hours.
- Set a floor. Decline orders below a dollars-per-mile number you pick, based on the mileage math above.
- Track one week. Log hours, miles and payouts. A spreadsheet or a tracking app works.
- Drop the weakest app and add a new one. Repeat each month.
That is the practical version of creating your own surge: you ignore the low-value orders that keep newer drivers busy.
New to this? Our guide to starting to drive and deliver this week covers the legal, tax and safety basics. For a wider look at pay by app, see our post on the highest paying food delivery apps for U.S. drivers.
Our view: fees matter as much as headline pay
When drivers compare apps, they look at the hourly number and stop there. We think the structure behind that number deserves equal attention.
Most platforms take a share of each fare or pay you a figure they set. We built Halen differently. Drivers pay a flat weekly platform fee and keep 100% of their fares, minus third-party fees. For customers, prices are upfront and there are no surge charges. The idea is simple: you should be able to see what you earn on each ride or delivery, and know your cost to work is the same whether you have a slow week or a busy one.
There is a real tradeoff in any flat-fee model, and we'd rather say it plainly. A weekly fee is a fixed cost, so you want enough hours to cover it comfortably. If you only drive a few hours a month, per-order commissions may suit you better. If you drive a lot, a flat fee means each extra fare adds to your income instead of being shared.
We're launching rides and package delivery in Philadelphia first, with food, groceries and travel to follow in one app. We have not published the weekly fee amount yet, so we won't quote one here.
— Halen
Drive and earn with Halen in Philadelphia
If you drive in Philadelphia and want a flat weekly fee in place of commission cuts, take a look at Halen. One app covers rides and package delivery now, with more services planned. You can also see how our model works for customers in our post on rideshare for packages.
Run a restaurant, grocery or retail shop and want deliveries? We have partner pages for restaurants, grocery stores and retail stores.
What the data can't tell you
A few limits to keep in mind as you read any ranking, including this one:
- Self-reported and app-tracked data. Gridwise users are drivers who track their work. That skews toward more serious drivers.
- Median versus average. Medians tell you what a typical driver makes; averages get pulled up by top earners. Uber Eats shows the gap: a $14.07 median and an $18.06 average.
- Timing. Pay varies by season, day and hour. A lunch rush in Center City looks very different from a Tuesday afternoon.
- Company claims. Companies publish their own hourly numbers, which are often higher because they count only active time. Neither view is wrong; they measure different things.
If you are also thinking about the customer side, know what the fees look like. Our guide to U.S. food delivery fees and the new rules explains why orders often cost much more than the menu price, and why drivers' pay and customer cost don't always move together.
FAQ
What delivery app pays the most per hour?
TaskRabbit has the highest reported average in Gridwise data at $38 an hour, followed by large-item and package apps. Among delivery-only apps, Walmart Spark has the top median at $21.74 an hour in trip pay. Food apps such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub sit lower, between about $11 and $15 at the median.
Which delivery app pays the most per delivery?
Large-item and grocery apps usually pay the most per job, since orders are bigger and take longer. Per-delivery pay matters less than pay per mile and per hour, though. A big payout with a long drive can net less than a small one that's close by.
Can I make $1,000 a week delivering?
It is possible but not typical on food apps. At a $14 median hourly rate, you'd need around 70 hours before costs. Higher-paying categories reduce the hours needed, and vehicle costs still apply: at 72.5 cents a mile, 800 miles a week carries about $580 in cost by the IRS yardstick.
Is it worth using more than one delivery app?
For most drivers, yes. Running two or three apps lets you accept the best offers and skip weak ones. Just make sure you track your miles and income per app so you can see which one earns its place.
Sources
- How Much Do Spark Drivers Make? (Gridwise)
- How Much Do Grubhub Drivers Make? (Gridwise)
- How Much Do Uber Eats Drivers Make in 2026? (Gridwise)
- How much gig workers earn per hour across Uber, Grubhub, and similar apps (Business Insider Africa)
- IRS sets 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile