Looking for the best way to earn money in your spare time, and don’t mind driving? There are several different options, so you can choose one or several apps to work with. Here are some of the best driving side hustles to bring in a little spare cash:

Meal and grocery delivery side hustles

Food delivery is an option that can work really well if you’re available to work during popular meal times. The general lunch (11:00am – 1:00pm) and dinner (5:00 – 8:00) timeframes are when you’re most likely to get meal delivery work. If you’re not available during peak meal times, a grocery delivery side hustle is a great alternative. This means working with a service like Instacart, where you’ll take orders for groceries, go to the store and shop for them, then deliver them to the customer. 

These hours are more flexible, but grocery delivery apps are likely to have much fewer orders coming in early in the morning or late at night, so it’s best if you have at least some availability to work between about 7:30am and 9:00pm. If you don’t want to deal with restaurant meals or grocery shopping, or if you need more flexibility (especially for early morning or late night/overnight hours), then package delivery is your best driving side hustle option.

With food delivery, the amount of money you can make depends on your area and how many deliveries you’re assigned during the time you work. A food delivery driver makes an average of $17.31 per hour. 

Potential earnings: $346.20 for 20 hours

  • With Doordash, you can try to pick up work by setting yourself to ‘available’ in the app, or you can schedule your work hours up to 7 days in advance. This helps ensure you’ll be eligible to be assigned deliveries at your desired times.
  • Grubhub pays you for each delivery, and you keep any tips you earn. You can schedule your hours in advance. How far ahead you can schedule depends on your level in their Recognition program, which is based on things like your ratings and how many orders you accept or decline.
  • Instacart is focused on grocery shopping and delivery (instead of meals), as well as some other stores like PetCo. You get paid for each delivery, and you keep your tips.
  • With UberEats, you’ll pick up and deliver orders from restaurants. UberEats pays you for each delivery, and there are often bonuses you can earn for reaching certain goals. You’re also eligible to receive tips, and you can keep 100% of those.

Package delivery side hustles

Delivering packages is the most flexible of all driving side gigs. Unlike meals, or people, they don’t have a particular timeframe in which they have to be delivered. In most cases you can pick up packages from the distribution center and then deliver them anytime that day.

As with the other driving side hustles, the amount you can make varies. But the average is $18.52. Some of the delivery services to check out are GoShare, Roadie, and Amazon Flex.

Potential earnings: $370.40 for 20 hours

Rideshare side hustles

If you’d like a little social interaction in your side hustle, you’ll enjoy driving for a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft.

When you carry human cargo, as opposed to food, packages, or other inanimate objects, there are a few more qualifications you and your car have to meet.

  • What you need to qualify:
    • Your car:
      • Is 16 years old or newer
      • Has 4 doors
      • Is in good cosmetic condition (no damage)
      • Does not have any commercial branding (e.g. promotional wraps or decals)
      • Passes a vehicle inspection with Uber or Lyft’s inspection partner
  • Your driving qualifications/record:
    • A valid driver’s license in your state
    • Car insurance
    • No DUI within 7-10 years (exact number of years depends on your state)
    • No driving-related felony convictions in the past 7 years.
    • No more than 3 minor traffic violations in the past 3 years.
    • No major traffic violations in the past 3 years.
    • Willingness to submit to a background check

Rideshare companies have variable pay structures, and there are often special incentives. The area you live in, plus dynamic pricing also affect your earnings, you can expect to earn about $15.50 per hour as a rideshare driver.

Average potential earnings: $310.00 for 20 hours