Successful gig drivers judge their earnings, in part, based on how much they save at tax time. There are a lot of savings out there, and not all drivers take advantage of every tax write-off.
This is why expense-tracking apps for Uber and Lyft drivers and food delivery drivers are so important. They allow you to track everything and track it accurately.
In this blog post, we look at two of the more popular: Gridwise vs. Solo expense trackers. The bottom line is that Gridwise is dedicated to helping gig drivers be successful. A key part of achieving success is providing you with vital knowledge about the best available tools.
Here's what we cover:
The section which addresses Solo’s Pay Guarantee feature is an important one. The app analyzes the rideshare, food, and package delivery apps that you drive for and produces a plan of how to work those apps for maximum return. While Solo promise an hourly wage guarantee and compensation for underperformance, Solo’s Pay Guarantee feature may not deliver on its promises. We will explore this further.
Gridwise and Solo apps: What are they?
Gridwise and Solo both offer a companion app used by gig drivers. Along with a handful of other gig driver apps, these are some of the most popular on the market. They help gig drivers earn more, and they allow more of that money to stick to you. Using these apps, drivers can
- monitor earnings across all platforms
- see patterns that result in greater profits
- connect mileage tracking to tax software like TurboTax
- import CSV files from multiple gig platforms into Gridwise or Solo
- download expense reports in CSV format from Gridwise or Solo
Drivers are freed from the mundane, time-consuming tasks of recording expenses to do what they do best: transport passengers, food, and packages from point A to point B.
Why are apps for gig economy independent contractors so important?
As a gig driver, you’re self-employed, and that means many things—independence, control, freedom, flexibility. It also means you pay quarterly taxes. Therefore, you must track expenses so that your tax deductions at the end of the year are well-documented and as all-inclusive as possible. Every dollar you avoid paying the government because of a legitimate deduction is a dollar in your pocket. Rideshare expense tracker apps and delivery driver expense management apps are essential because they allow you to save the maximum amount of money.
As Gridwise pointed out in a recent blogpost, What Records Do Gig Drivers Need to Keep Track of for Taxes?, tracking expenses is vital, and can save gig drivers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in taxes.
Strategies and tactics. Whether they provide rideshare or deliver food, the best gig drivers rely on strategies and tactics to maximize their income. Where are the rides? When will they peak and surge? What food orders should you take, and which don’t fit your earning plan? A good companion app helps you answer these questions.
Mileage. Many gig drivers wonder why it’s crucial to track mileage. At first glance, it appears as if the gig companies do that for you. The truth is that the gig companies don’t track every mile you cover as a gig driver. The rideshare companies track your mileage only when you’re en route to a pickup or have a passenger in the car.
The mileage you incur when you’re on your way to where you drive, all the miles you cover between rides, and the miles you travel when you go home at night are also deductible. This is also true for food and package delivery. Yet the gig companies don’t record these miles.
Mileage tracker apps designed for independent gig-driving contractors log these miles. Better yet, as an app on your phone, they do it passively, using your phone’s GPS or triangulation and pinging software. When you turn on your app at the beginning of your shift, you also turn on your mileage tracking app. The best mileage trackers for gig workers allow you to download the reports into a database file so that you can present the IRS with a copy if requested.
Expenses. At first glance, tracking expenses as a gig driver is simple. Everything you purchase for your gig driving is deductible. That part is easy. Keeping track of the soup of receipts is not, and having to make sure all those receipts get recorded is also a chore.
The best expense tracking features allow you to photograph the receipt. Then you can enter the information manually in the app’s expense log. Again, you have copies of all your receipts ready to print out in electronic format for hard copy. For more information, refer to this explanation by the IRS. One area of expenses that gig drivers need to pay particular attention to is the depreciation of their cars. Are you depreciating yours properly? Check out the Gridwise blog post Car Depreciation Tax and Gig Driving: How Does It Work?
What is Solo?
A quick look at Solo:
App Store Rating: 4.7
Google Play Store Rating: 4.4
A quick look at Solo:
Solo is a companion app for gig drivers to use in unison with the various apps or platforms they drive, including rideshare, food and grocery delivery, and package delivery. What’s included in the app?
- Solo expense tracking features
- mileage tracking
- ability to download reports as CSV files for tax purposes and review
- driving plans (known as Pay Guarantee) based on driver history and data points
- income tax projection
Solo designed their app for all gig workers and freelancers, not just gig drivers. You can also add income from non-app sources, such as dog walking, website building, freelance writing, freelance caretaking, or other income streams. That’s a nice feature, given that so many gig workers engage in multiple gigs to meet their income goals.
A post by Entrecourier.com, a blog for self-employed workers, includes a Solo mileage tracker review. According to the review, the Solo app has problems with missing trips and doesn’t provide all the trip information required by the IRS. Those are two major sticking points. In a test conducted by Entrcourier, Solo missed 51% of trips.
What is Gridwise?
A quick look at Gridwise:
App Store Rating: 4.9
Google Play Store Rating: 4.6
Gridwise is a gig driver app, designed by gig drivers for gig drivers. Gig drivers are getting an app designed exclusively by people who understand their challenges. Highlights include
- Gridwise expense tracking features
- Gridwise mileage tracking
- Where to Drive
- When to Drive
- Airport information
- Gridwise My Trends
- Gridwise messaging
- Gridwise gas discounts—save up to 2 cents per gallon
- Gridwise benefits
Gridwise mileage tracker. Any Gridwise mileage tracker review includes high praise for this feature. You simply turn on the tracker when you turn on your rideshare app. You can also use the tracker to record mileage for other business-related driving that’s not gig-related.
Many drivers consider it the best mileage tracker for gig workers.
Gridwise messaging. Gridwise communicates to drivers in real-time about local events, concerts, sporting events, and other factors. If a baseball game goes into extra innings, you know that you don’t need to head to the rideshare area just yet. If a musician makes multiple encores, Gridwise can give you that information.
My Trends. Gridwise’s My Trends feature lets you link all your gig activities—rideshare, food delivery, grocery delivery, and package delivery. Drivers can view their earnings in their entirety or compare activities and see which ones are more profitable. As a gig driver, the Gridwise app lets you know what is working best for you, allowing you to assemble a custom work schedule based on what you know works for your market.
Taxes made easy for Gridwise. Gridwise expense tracking features and the Gridwise mileage tracker make paying the government easier because you can maximize your deductions. You also rest more easily knowing your records are complete and that you have taken advantage of every deduction. Gridwise has a relationship with KeeperTax, allowing you to get income tax projections throughout the year and helping you forecast quarterly payments so you don’t encounter a huge surprise on April 15.
Gridwise benefits. Gridwise’s goal is to provide gig workers with benefits that are difficult to come by when they’re self-employed as gig workers. A quick review of the Gridwise benefits page reveals a host of services that are either free or low cost. These include
- health insurance
- dental insurance
- vision insurance
- life insurance
- disability insurance
- disability coverage
- accident coverage
- tax help
- auto insurance marketplace
- no-cost and low-cost life coverage
- accidental death coverage
- identity theft protection
- chiropractic and alternative medicine benefits
- telemedicine and teletherapy
- credit and debt counseling services
Gig workers of all types can use The Gridwise mileage tracker
Gridwise is genuinely committed to gig drivers and gig workers of all types. You can see it in the benefits we offer, and we are developing new ones daily.
Many gig drivers, motivated by the success and freedom they found as rideshare drivers or in food delivery, have also developed other streams of income. They have found their voice and passion in producing YouTube videos, guest blog posts, and scores of other entrepreneurial pursuits. The Gridwise mileage tracker, and the other expense tracking features of the Gridwise app, have allowed them to better track their finances without making these tasks complicated.
We compare Gridwise vs. Solo apps side by side
The following table looks at premium features available on paid Gridwise vs. Solo apps.
| Features | Gridwise | Solo |
| Google score | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Apple score | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| Cost | $9.99 a month, $99.95 if paid annually (a $19.93 savings). | $10, $15, and $20 a month, depending on the plan. Discounts available for an annual payment. Additional charge for Pay Guarantee.* |
| Free version | Yes, with limited features. Or 7 day free trial and Plus plan pricing applies. | 7 days and then subscription pricing applies. |
| Plan scope | One plan includes all benefits and services. | Benefits and services depend on which plan you choose. |
| Ability to link gig accounts |  | Paid version only after 7-day trial. |
| Assigns earning categories | | No |
| Earnings trends | | Paid version only |
| Mileage tracker | | Paid version only |
| Earnings tracker | | |
| Expense tracker | | |
| When to drive | | |
| Where to drive | | |
| Live activities info | | |
| Messaging of special events and opportunities | | No |
| Provides wage earning info based on real-time analytics of more than 500K drivers | | No |
| Shows typical earnings in area | | No |
| Airport status | | |
| Vehicle info | | No |
| Weather info | | No |
| Affordable health insurance plans | | No |
| Life insurance | | No |
| Disability insurance | | No |
| Accident insurance | | No |
| Gas savings | | No |
| Tax help | | |
| Legal help | | No |
| Traffic alerts | | No |
| Perks designed specifically for gig drivers | | No |
*The FAQ page uses different prices: “After 14 days, users can opt to subscribe to Solo via either the Basic ($10/mo), Pro ($15/mo), or Pro Plus ($20/mo) plans. For those in eligible cities, you can guarantee your daily pay using Solo’s credit system ($.50/credit).
Why don’t more drivers use Solo’s Pay Guarantee feature exclusively?
One of the significant features of Solo is their Pay Guarantee. Solo collects data points from your gig driving history, including the times you drive and the platforms you use, and develops a schedule, indicating which apps and times are optimum for you. Drivers who adhere to that schedule receive a pay guarantee or hourly rate they should make (visit the Solo website for specific details). If you stick to the plan and come up short, Solo will make up the rest.
There are several challenges when drivers adhere to a predetermined regimen from Solo:
- Different platforms offer incentives, bonuses, and surges, depending on demand and other factors. Solo’s Pay Guarantee doesn’t always consider these factors when developing a driving plan. Drivers may want to choose one platform over another based on these variables and their potential earnings.
- Some events generate an inordinate number of rides, but they fly under the radar. Downtown Los Angeles, for example, often surges because of unpredictable events at after-hours establishments. Knowledgeable drivers see the heat overlays on the app and recognize the opportunity, but the Solo app may not pick up on this chance for greater earnings.
- An oversaturation of drivers, often unpredictable, leads to increased competition for rides and orders, potentially lowering earnings.
- Drivers may choose to work for platforms that offer better benefits or are driver-friendly, even if it means potentially lower earnings.
- The Solo app does not always understand the strategy a rideshare or food delivery driver uses. On a Reddit post, one food delivery driver explained it this way: “You end up being forced to take all the dozens of low offers [for] every hour you scheduled [on Solo], at which point you will easily make more than the measly $15 or so per hour they ‘guarantee.’”
- New drivers can become over-reliant on Solo and fail to develop the knowledge and instincts experienced drivers use to earn substantial money.
These are examples of why a pay guarantee feature might work against drivers. There are undoubtedly others. While Solo’s pay guarantee feature is available in most major metro areas, it is not available everywhere.
Why Gridwise comes out on top
The big difference between Gridwise and Solo is that Gridwise is an app developed by gig drivers for gig drivers. Gridwise recognizes that there is a learning curve involved in becoming a high-performing gig driver. Many new drivers never get past this learning curve, quitting before they learn the lessons, or continuing to drive and earn substandard wages. With the support they find in the the Gridwise app, they quickly start earning more, and keeping more of it in their pocket.
Gridwise features such as Where to Drive, When to Drive, airport reporting, special event notifications, messaging, and other perks of the Gridwise app help rideshare and food delivery drivers find areas where demand is the greatest. They also prevent aimless driving, limiting unneeded miles on your car and saving on gas. In addition, regular visitors can access the Gridwise blog, featuring some of the best tips for profitable gig driving.
Ready to take your gig work to the next level?
Download Gridwise, the app that helps you track your expenses and maximize your earnings
Check out these Gridwise articles to learn more about the Gridwise mileage tracker:
- 8 Strategies for Maximizing Rideshare and Delivery Tax Deductions
- 9 Must Have Apps for Gig Drivers
- Gig Car Rental: A Guide to Car Rentals for Gig Workers
- Download the Gridwise app for free!
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