Earnings

How much can I really make driving?

Real numbers from real drivers — not advertised hourly rates. After gas, after wear, in 2026.

Drive conditions in your area

Weather is the single biggest signal for surge pay. Enter your ZIP for today's forecast + demand outlook.

Realistic hourly ranges

What net hourly looks like by hour-type, on a 0–$30 scale.

Typical busy hoursDoorDash + Uber Eats + Instacart in most markets

$14–$22/hr

Peak hours, big marketsFri/Sat dinner, late-night, sporting events

$18–$28/hr

Slow times / saturatedIf consistent, fix is more apps or new hours

$8–$12/hr

$0$10$20$30

By market

Where you drive matters as much as which app.

Top markets

Phoenix · Tampa · Houston · Dallas · Atlanta · Denver · Charlotte

Lower COL, less driver saturation. Strong $/hr after gas.

Mid markets

Most of the Midwest, the Southeast, Texas mid-cities

Reliable $14–$20/hr. Decent tips. Less peak-hour competition.

Tougher markets

SF Bay · LA · NYC · Seattle · Boston

Higher gross but gas, parking, and saturation eat in. Be smart about apps and hours.

By platform

Net hourly range by app, with the one-line reason.

Platform	Net pay / hour	Why
DoorDash	$15–$22/hr	Highest order volume in most cities
Uber Eats	$14–$20/hr	Pairs naturally with DoorDash
Instacart	$18–$30/hr	Higher per-batch, big tips on full shops
Spark (Walmart)	$16–$24/hr	Bigger orders, less competition in suburbs
Grubhub	$13–$18/hr	Use as 3rd app, slower in 2026

Beyond the apps: trucking & courier pay

The non-app side of driving pays differently — and often better.

Trucking

$0.40–$0.75+ per mile

Road trucking quotes cents per mile, not hourly — weekly miles matter as much as the rate. Local and regional runs trade some pay for home time. See CDL & trucking jobs.

Courier

$24–$32/hr industry-reported

Medical and lab courier routes pay above the delivery apps because the qualified driver pool is small. See courier jobs.

Parcel

$18–$25/hr advertised

Package blocks in your own car, or W2 van routes with steady weekly hours and no wear on your vehicle. See parcel jobs.

The honest math

A typical full-time gig driver runs 30,000–50,000 miles/year. At the IRS standard mileage rate (67¢/mile in 2026), that's $20,000–$33,000 in deductions. Actual cash outlay for gas + maintenance is usually 40–55% of that.

A driver grossing $50K typically nets around $35–$40K after expenses, then owes self-employment tax on what's left. See the full tax breakdown.

This is why drivers who track mileage carefully and run multiple apps make significantly more than the rest.

See what you'd qualify for →

Earnings shown are typical ranges from public driver-reported data and are not a guarantee.