The Best 7 Jobs Like DoorDash - Driving Side Gigs

DoorDash delivery driving is a great side hustle to earn money on the side, whether you’re a student, working the night shift, or just want to make an extra $100 a week. If you’re looking to add to your side hustle repertoire, or use your car to make money some other way, there are plenty of other options for side gigs that’ll get you some cash in your pocket.

Rideshare Driving with Uber or Lyft - $15-30 per hour

If you fancy trading pizzas for people, this is the job for you. If you’re something of a night owl, even better. You can earn a bit more with your vehicle than DoorDashing, and it can be an entertaining endeavour if you don’t mind a bit of late-night rowdiness (that’s when earning potential is at its highest).

It isn’t the best choice for off-peak hours - you could be sitting around for ages waiting for someone to call you up. You also put your vehicle at risk, as drunk passengers don’t necessarily care about those nice new carpets you’ve just installed as they throw up on them.

Still, if you know your local area and don’t mind driving around and seeing the sights a bit, it could be a perfect option to switch over to and keep using your vehicle just the same. You can sign up to Uber, Lyft, Bolt, or any other service popular in your neighbourhood.

Food Delivery (but with a different app) - $10-25 per hour

Is food delivery your bag but DoorDash doesn’t do it for you? There are plenty of alternatives. You can even use multiple apps at the same time if you’re feeling ultra-busy.

I was a Deliveroo rider in the UK for a time, and the earnings were solid if I fancied working a bit late at night when everyone wants their kebabs. I regularly got over $100 per shift, and that was by only using one app. So, if DoorDash’s high supply of drivers keeps pay low, you might be well-served trying another app out.

Some other apps to try out? Grubhub/Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats. It’s the best alternative here if you’re a cycling courier, but you’ll still have to deal with those pesky weather conditions. After all, a torrential rainstorm is exactly when I, and most others, order food to be delivered.

Deliver Amazon Packages with Amazon Flex - $18-25 per hour

Back in 2021, Amazon delivered an estimated 7.7 Billion parcels globally. Years later, that number has almost definitely gone up. They need drivers, and with Amazon Flex, you can deliver parcels with your own car.

As the name suggests, it’s a flexible way to earn, and you don’t have to deal with the DoorDash and rideshare peak times you’d need to be working. In some areas, shifts do get claimed quickly, and there’s limited work to go around, but with a good-sized and reliable vehicle along with a quick shift-claiming finger, you can make decent money in your own time.

Deliver Rapid Goodies with GoPuff - $14-20 per hour

Rapid delivery services have really taken off over the past few years. GoPuff has been the one to reign supreme though, with the likes of Gorillas and Getir falling by the wayside.

GoPuff’s unique aspect is that you aren’t picking things up from a customer’s favourite shop to deliver to them as they please. Rather, GoPuff has centralised warehouses you collect from, streamlining the process and allowing you to deliver much more quickly. That was honestly one of my biggest annoyances when I was a delivery rider. Having to sit in town strategically hoping to be selected for deliveries was always pretty exhausting, particularly when I wasn’t getting paid for it.

The signup process is pretty easy, too. Just make sure you’re based in a valid location before you start.

Deliver quickly with Roadie - $8-60 per delivery

Owned by delivery giant UPS, Roadie is a crowdsourced delivery service that connects drivers to deliveries that should take them the route they’re already on. Retailers like The Home Depot and airlines are Delta are some of the main users of Roadie.

It’s a bit of a bigger job, then. You’ll be handling urgent deliveries, valuable luggage, and other cargo worth quite a lot more than a delicious kebab. Make sure you have the physical strength to lift some of the heftier items and a vehicle that can carry a decent load, and you could well benefit from the lower competition Roadie drivers enjoy.

The signup process is fairly simple on Roadie’s site, and you should be able to get on the road nice and fast.

Deliver Groceries with Instacart, Shipt, or a Supermarket - $12-25 per hour

Going grocery shopping is one of my least favourite ways to spend my time. Especially when it’s busy and people are queueing in the wrong direction. I should really take advantage of this service more.

With apps like Instacart or Shipt, you can help people with this terrible chore by delivering groceries from local stores. It doesn’t have the ease of GoPuff’s ability to have one centralised pickup location, but the service of shopping for the groceries is also included, offering potential for extra earnings.

A more full-time alternative to signing up at Instacart or Shipt is becoming a delivery driver for a supermarket proper, perfect if you’ve mastered the art of driving and want to take it to the next level. In the UK, stores like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Asda regularly have roles open, so check it out and see if the right role near you is available!

Rent Out Your Car with Turo - $50-150 per day

This one is a lot less hands-on. If you don’t fancy using your car for a while, you can offer it up for rental on sites like Turo. Top hosts in the UK can earn around £6.5k a year per car, and it’s scalable if you end up making this into a business.

Of course, you’ll have to have a pretty fancy piece of kit to make this work. No one’s spending money to rent an old jalopy for the week. You’ll also have to take into account the potential repair and maintenance costs, as accidents happen and wear and tear is inevitable.

Still, it’s as close as you can get to passive income with your vehicle as you don’t need to actually drive it. Well worth a go if you have a nice ride but aren’t up for delivering anymore.