If you love to drive or find yourself with an unused car sitting around, there a bunch of legit, flexible, and good-paying ways to make money with your car. You can deliver food, drive your car around covered in advertisement, and even make ~$700/month renting out your car!
Getting paid to drive isn’t new – taxis and pizza delivery guys have been around decades – but it’s a growing area for side hustlers. Because there are so many options right now, below is a list of our top recommendations, and you're going to learn how they work, how much you can make, and answers to frequently asked questions.
How to make money with your car in 2023
![]() Doordash | ![]() Instacart | ![]() HyreCar |
---|---|---|
Get paid to deliver food | Make money delivering groceries | Make money renting out your car |
Set your own hours | Work as an in-store or full-service shopper | Set your own rates and availability |
Make $15-$25/hour | Make $15-$25/hour | Make ~$700/month |
1. Deliver food with your car
The rise of on-demand food delivery services like DoorDash, Instacart, and Shipt has turned this into one of the most popular ways to make money with your car. Food delivery services are incredibly flexible because you can pick your own schedule and work when you want.
Here are the best delivery apps if you want to get paid to deliver food:
DoorDashDoorDash drivers deliver for restaurants and convenience stores, and DoorDash is now the largest food delivery service in the U.S. Drivers get paid for every order they take, and the base pay for each order ranges from $2-$10. There are also promotions and bonuses on top of your base pay, and drivers also keep 100% of their tips. Drivers earn an average of $15-$25/hour while on delivery. One thing many DoorDash drivers like is that they bring someone with them while they work.
Sign up for DoorDashFull-service Instacart shoppers accept grocery orders in the Instacart app, shop for the groceries, and then deliver them to their customers' homes. Instacart pays based on the size and difficulty of each order — large orders generally pay more — and you keep 100% of your tips. Shoppers average $15-$20/hour.
Check out InstacartShipt is an on-demand grocery delivery service that's owned by Target. If you want to make money with your car, delivering groceries for Shipt is a solid option because you choose your own hours and make keep 100% of your tips. You can make approximately $15-$20/hour delivering for Shipt.
Get started with ShiptThese companies all have really similar requirements for drivers — you must be 18 years old, have a clean driving record, and you will need to agree to a background check. Most drivers are working within one to two weeks after signing up to drive.
2. Rent out your car when you're not using it
Learning how to make money with your car doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be driving it. You can make somewhat passive income renting your car out on a peer-to-peer rental platform like HyreCar.
HyreCar is a platform where people who want to make money with their car rent their vehicles to rideshare and food delivery drivers. And HyreCar says you can make over $700/month which equals more than $8,000 annually!
The drivers renting your car have all completed criminal background and driving history checks. You can have peace of mind knowing these are safe drivers, and HyreCar also takes a deposit before renting out your car.
Make around $700/month with your car
Rent your car out on HyreCar and make somewhat passive income (that means minimal work from you!). You are in total control and can set your rates and mileage limits.
List your car on HyreCar
If you're a social person, working as a rideshare driver is one of the best ways to make money with your car. It's inherently flexible, and you get to meet a lot of interesting people throughout your day.
The two most popular companies are:
- Lyft: Most Lyft driver reviews put earnings around $12-$17/hour
- Uber: Drivers make anywhere from $5-$20/hour
This is a very people-centric side hustle. You’re meeting and driving around all kinds of different people. During the weekdays, you’ll be busy in the morning and early evening driving people to and from work. On the weekend, your busiest times are 7 pm to 1 am, when you’re driving people to and from restaurants, bars, parties, clubs, and concerts.
Rideshare companies have slightly stricter vehicle requirements because you make money driving people around (not food). This means you'll need a vehicle that's no more than 15 years old and in good cosmetic condition.
4. Start advertising on your car
If you’re someone who already drives a lot, you can make money driving your car wrapped in advertisements. Yep, this is a legit way to make money with your car!
What people like about this idea is how easy it is to make money driving. Carvertise is one popular company, and here’s how it works:
- Apply for Carvertise (you’ll need a 2008 model car or newer with a factory paint job).
- Carvertise will see if they can match you with a campaign – this depends on where you live and what advertisers are interested in, and you can turn down campaigns if you're not interested.
- Once you’ve been matched with a campaign, Carvertise sets you up with a professional auto wrapper to get your car wrapped.
- The installer takes the wrap off when the campaign is over.
- You get paid once a month via direct deposit for the duration of the campaign.
Carvertise pays drivers up to $300/month to have their car wrapped. You're paid per campaign, and you can make $450-$1,500 total per campaign.
Make up to $300/month advertising on your car
For high mileage drivers who want to learn how to make money with your car, Carvertise is a great option. You car is professionally wrapped in advertisements, and you can approve or deny any campaign you're matched with.
Learn more about Carvertise
5. Make money driving kids around
For working parents, one of their largest struggles is childcare, and that doesn't stop when they start school because your children still need rides to and from school.
That’s where this side job comes in, and there are a couple of different companies you can work with:
- Care.com offers a wide range of services for independent childcare providers, and you can sign up and offer nanny driving services. Families browse listings on the platform and contact you if they’re interested.
- HopSkipDrive partners with families, school districts, private and charter schools, and counties to provide safe transportation for kids. You might be driving kids to and from school, providing extra transportation support for kids with special needs, or transporting youth in foster care.
Both platforms have a stringent vetting process that ensures families can trust you with their children. This involves a background check and requirements for previous childcare experience.
Nanny Drivers on Care.com average $15.75/hour and it's available across the U.S. HopSkipDrive is limited to California, parts of Colorado, the D.C. area, Arizona, Texas, and Washington state.
6. Help people move boxes, appliances, or furniture
If you have a truck or van, you can make good money helping people move large items. These could be assisting people who are moving homes, buying a new appliance, picking up furniture, etc. Most people simply don't have a vehicle that's large enough to do it on their own.
This is probably obvious, but you’ll have to be able to lift heavy things if you want to help people move.
TaskRabbit is a popular platform if you’re interested, and you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, go through a background check, and pay a one-time $25 registration fee to create a profile and list your services.
Movers on TaskRabbit list their services in the range of $25-$30/hour.
You can set your own prices and list the kinds of services you offer – TaskRabbit is for way more than just moving. Taskers can list services like assembling Ikea furniture, mounting TVs, baby proofing, cleaning, etc.
7. Deliver for Amazon Flex
Amazon Flex is a service that outsources delivery drivers for Prime Now and some of their other delivery services, like AmazonFresh. Here’s how it works:
- Download the Amazon Flex app and apply to drive (you need to be at least 21 years old, have a reliable vehicle, go through a background check, and have a smartphone with an iOS 10 or Android 4.4 or newer).
- Once you’re approved, you use the app to schedule blocks of time, usually between 3-6 hours.
- You use the app to get delivery directions, scan packages when you load them in your vehicle, and deliver them.
- Get paid – Amazon Flex pays out twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays
Amazon says drivers make anywhere from $18-$25/hour. Driving a larger vehicle will help you earn more because you’ll be able to carry more packages. And if you deliver for Amazon Fresh, you’ll be able to earn tips.
Amazon Flex jobs aren’t as widely available as some of these other companies that pay you to drive, because they are only actively recruiting in cities where drivers are needed. In some ways, this is good because they’re only allowing people to sign up if there’s a need.
You can check the Amazon Flex site to see where they’re actively recruiting, but Amazon recommends downloading the app anyway. They will alert you when openings are available in your area.
The final word on how to make money with your car
Your car is an asset if you want to make extra money. There's something out there for everyone, but we believe that on-demand delivery is one of the best options because it's flexible and pays $15-$25/hour with companies like:
- DoorDash: Deliver restaurant takeout and convenience store items. Schedule your hours in advance or Dash Now when the app is busy. DoorDash allows you to bring someone with you while delivering, which can make this a really fun way to make money with your car.
- Instacart: Deliver groceries for one of the largest grocery delivery services nationwide. Drivers are paid based on the size and difficulty of every order.
- Shipt: This Target-owned grocery delivery service pays drivers for every order they deliver, and you keep 100% of your tips.
FAQs
It all depends on what you’re doing. You can make $15-$25/hour delivering for services like DoorDash, Instacart, and Shipt. Driving for rideshare services pays closer to $12-$20/hour.
Our definitive list of how to make money driving offers 10 legit options.
Food delivery and rideshare drivers are considered independent contractors, meaning you have to pay self-employment taxes. You can learn more in our article: How to Handle Taxes for Your Side Hustle.
No, the ideas on this list of ways to money with your car are 100% legit and legal. You may want to check with your car insurance company first, and there is special insurance you can get if you make money driving.
Yes, there are over a dozen apps where you can make money driving your car! Food delivery apps DoorDash, Instacart, and Shipt are our top recommendations.