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The gig economy has grown to include apps from Uber to Instacart. They don't all pay the same.Average hourly pay on the apps varied in 2025, according to data analytics company Gridwise, which analyzed about 1 billion tasks across ride-hailing, delivery, and other gig work apps.
Workers for Taskrabbit, a platform where users hire independent contractors for yard work, home repair, and other physical tasks, earned the highest hourly pay rate at $38.Spark, Walmart's delivery service, took second place at $23 an hour, with Uber just behind at $22.DoorDash's hourly pay was $11, the lowest of the apps Gridwise analyzed.Some companies say their workers earn higher hourly rates than Gridwise's estimates suggest. A Taskrabbit spokesperson said that its gig workers earn $49 an hour on average, although earnings vary by location. Uber said last year that the company's drivers earn $32 per hour while actively working on the app.Gridwise compiled the estimates for its annual gig mobility report, released last week. The hourly pay data includes base pay, bonuses, and tips that workers received.The data show that the best-known gig services don't always offer the best pay for workers, Ryan Green, CEO of Gridwise, told Business Insider.Walmart launched its Spark delivery service as a test in 2018, years after competitors such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. Spark drivers pick up or shop orders at Walmart stores, helping the retailer grow its delivery business quickly."They just snuck up on the market and have rapidly grown into this space," he said.Some gig workers have told Business Insider that it's harder to make money on apps like Uber and DoorDash than it was several years ago, due to higher competition and lower pay rates.Most gig workers are responsible for their own costs, such as car maintenance. As a result, some gig workers have decided to accept only the trips that pay them the most for their time.The price of gas, which has shot up in the past two weeks after the US started a war with Iran, is the latest cost pressure on ride-hailing drivers.Uber and Lyft increased prices last year — and passed on a fraction of that hike to the drivers who make their businesses possible.From December 2024 to December 2025, average customer ride prices on Uber and Lyft rose 9.6%, according to Gridwise. Over the same period, driver gross pay per trip increased 3.6%, and gross pay per hour rose 4.1%."We saw a modest increase on the driver side, and a much more substantial increase on the pricing side," Green said.Last year, Gridwise found that weekly pay on most ride-hailing and delivery apps fell in 2024.Delivery workers for services like DoorDash also saw an increase in per-hour pay last year — 3.2% — though their working hours on the platform rose about 17%, according to Gridwise.Were you a gig worker in 2025? Business Insider is gathering information on gig worker earnings for a coming story. Please fill out the survey below, and a reporter will get in touch to learn more.You can also contact Alex Bitter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501.
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