Gig driving is on the rise and its economic impact is astounding. Gridwise Analytics quantified more than $4 billion in gig driver earnings in 2023, based on the more than 500,000 gig workers who have downloaded the Gridwise app.
But with earnings comes tax responsibilities, which are especially important for gig drivers and gig workers who operate as independent contractors. As you are solely responsible for paying taxes on their earnings, minimizing tax liability becomes crucial. One great way to achieve this is by tracking your expenses, with mileage often being a significant expense for gig drivers.
In this blog, we delve into the topic of the best mileage tracking app for gig workers and drivers, and we highly recommend Gridwise.
Here's what we cover:
Why do gig drivers obsess about mileage?
The single largest deduction for gig drivers is mileage. Let’s look at a hypothetical full-time gig driver who splits their time between DoorDash food delivery and Uber rideshare. Rather than just stick to Uber Eats, our savvy driver took a few minutes to read the Gridwise Annual Gig Mobility Report, and learned that DoorDash drivers make the most out of all food delivery drivers. Between the two platforms, our driver earned $62,000 in 2023—in case you’re new to the Gridwise blog, these earnings are possible for a high-performing driver, but they require a lot of work. The tax liability on $62,000 is $7,347 if you’re filing as head of household.
What about deductions as a gig worker?
As part of their job, our driver used the Gridwise tracker, the best mileage tracking app, and recorded 59,702 gig-related miles. Write off those miles using the standard business mileage deduction of 65.5 cents per mile in 2023, and our driver ends up with a deduction of $39,105. That drops taxable income down to $22,895. Add in more expenses— cell phone bill, charging cords, flashlight, mints, water for passengers, music subscription, and a subscription to Gridwise—and they’ve accrued an additional $2,000 in deductions. Now our driver’s taxable income is down to $20,895. If they file as head of household, the tax liability is $2,191.
Our driver paid less than $100 to use the Gridwise mileage tracker for a year, reducing their tax liability by more than $5,100. That’s a fantastic return on investment. In addition, they freed up time and reduced stress to concentrate on making more money as a gig driver. By using Gridwise, our driver also has a mileage record that stands up in an IRS audit.
The IRS demands an accurate mileage record
You can’t just give the IRS a guesstimated mileage record. Gig drivers know they need acceptable documentation in the case of an audit. The Gridwise mileage tracker provides it. Gridwise developers researched the IRS requirements as part of developing the tracker, and Gridwise fulfils all the requirements.
Debunking the gig-platforms’ mileage report myth
You’ve probably heard that most gig platforms include your mileage in your annual earnings statement. This is not the number you want to use.
The gig platforms track your mileage from the moment you accept the order or ride request, including the miles you drive to pick up the passenger or food orders and the miles until you drop off the passenger or deliver the food. But they don’t track the miles you drive between orders, the miles before your first order or ride request, or the miles you cover on your way home at night. Those miles are all deductible.
The Gridwise mileage tracker, which you can download now, records all those miles.
How does Gridwise work?
There are many mileage-tracking apps on the market, but they are not equal. The question to ask isn’t, “What’s the best mileage-tracker app?” but “What’s the best mileage-tracker app for gig drivers?” The following points describe how Gridwise works, and in understanding how it works, you’ll get an idea of the features needed for the best mileage-tracking app.
How Gridwise works
Developed for gig drivers. This cannot be emphasized enough. Businesses have specific needs, and gig drivers are no different. Gridwise developed its mileage tracker to address the challenges faced by gig drivers. Few other self-employed entrepreneurs face these challenges.
Gridwise syncs to your phone’s GPS. Turn on the Gridwise mileage tracker, which synchronizes with your phone’s GPS, and automatically track your miles. By the way, since your GPS operates via satellite, you know it’s accurate. It also runs in the background of your phone, so there’s no interference with other apps.
You don’t have to think about it. No worries if you forget to turn on the Gridwise mileage tracker at the beginning of your shift: it senses movement and sends you a message through your phone, reminding you to turn on the app. The same thing happens at the night’s end when you finish driving: Gridwise reminds you to turn it off.
Easy setup. The Gridwise mileage tracker takes just a few minutes to set up the first time, synchronizing it to all the gig platforms you work on. You only need to do this once.
Great reporting. Gig workers can download their data into a CSV file compatible with most tax programs. This information includes the days you drove those miles and when you were active as a food delivery driver.
Incorporates an expense tracker. Besides mileage, there are other purchases you can deduct. The flashlight you bought to find addresses, the extra thermal bags for food delivery, and the gum and candy you keep in your car for when you switch to rideshare are all legitimate business expenses. Do you use a music subscription service to help curate an excellent playlist for your rideshare passengers? That subscription is deductible. The Gridwise mileage tracker lets you photograph receipts and enter the information in the app’s expense log. The Gridwise app stores all your information.
See for yourself how Gridwise performs. Download it now.
A look at the most popular mileage-tracking apps
There are many alternative mileage trackers, but only Gridwise was designed by gig drivers for gig drivers. Know what you’re buying.
Gridwise
- Google score: 4.7 Apple score: 4.9
- Versions: Free and paid ($9.99 a month with a 20% discount if paid annually)
Overall comments.
Gridwise is the only mileage-tracker app out there that came from the hands-on experience of veteran gig drivers. These were guys in the trenches grappling with all the other “solutions,” from written logbooks to the other mileage trackers. They found that these other mileage apps came up short in every case. They made a list of features that worked, another list of features they would like to have, and then created the best mileage tracker and best companion app for gig drivers.
| Gridwise Mileage and Expense Features | Available |
| Mileage tracker | Yes |
| On/off reminder | Yes |
| Expense tracker | Yes |
| Report downloads | Yes, into an easy-to-work-with Excel file |
| Weekly reports | Yes |
| Other Features: | Available: |
| Airport reporting | Yes |
| Sync gig earnings | Yes |
| Airport reporting | Yes |
| Events | Yes |
| Where to drive | Yes |
| When to drive | Yes |
| Messaging | Yes |
| Weather info | Yes |
Coming soon
Gridwise will soon be adding another automated feature to its mileage tracker. You’ll be able to record for mileage and, in seconds, designate whether it’s personal or business mileage. The next time you take your gig car for service or get it washed before a shift, you can designate it as business mileage.
Other comments
One of Gridwise’s long-term projects has been anonymizing and aggregating driver data. This data reveals incredible insights into the driver experience and points toward new features allowing drivers to earn more. Expect exciting new features in the next few months based on this data! Whether your gig driving passion is rideshare, food and grocery delivery, or parcel delivery, Gridwise will always point you in the best direction. You can read the first annual results of this mobility data now: download the Gridwise 2023 Gig Mobility Report.
Solo
Versions: 7-day free trial and paid plans ($6, $10, and $15). You pay additional for the pay guarantee feature.
Overall comments
The big claim to fame for Solo is their pay guarantee feature. The Solo app analyzes your driving habits, including the apps you drive, and produces a drive plan with a minimum hourly rate. Drivers report that the pay guarantee feature often lowballs earnings, and trying to claim it when it comes up short requires considerable back and forth with the company. Others report that drivers can easily exceed the pay guarantee earnings once they develop the strategic knowledge available through blog posts and YouTube videos from Gridwise and other sources.
| Solo’s Mileage and Expense Features | Available |
| Mileage tracker | Yes |
| On/off reminder | Yes |
| Expense tracker | Yes |
| Report downloads | Yes |
| Weekly reports | Yes |
| Other Features: | Available: |
| Earnings reports | Yes |
| Sync gig earnings | Yes |
| Airport reporting | Yes |
| Events | Yes |
| Where to drive | No |
| When to drive | No |
| Messaging | No |
| Weather info | No |
See a quick comparison of Gridwise vs Solo’s features here
Other comments
There is a question of accuracy. A November post by Entrecourier.com, a blog for self-employed workers, includes a Solo mileage tracker review. Solo had problems with missing trips, at one point failing to record 51% of trips. Eek! Solo also doesn’t provide all the trip information required by the IRS. You don’t want to miss these trips because the IRS standard mileage deduction for 2024 is 67 cents.
QuickBooks
Versions: A sliding scale of monthly fees ($15, $30, $45, and $100)
Overall comments
In the Uber Drivers Forum, where there is much discussion on the best mileage-tracking app for Uber, several drivers found the QuickBooks mileage tracker to short mileage between 3% and 5%. That may not seem like a lot, but when you start talking 50,000 miles a year, that’s some serious tax deductions. It’s enough to make you think twice.
| Quickbooks Mileage and Expense Features | Available |
| Mileage tracker | No |
| On/off reminder | Yes |
| Expense tracker | Yes |
| Report downloads | Yes. |
| Weekly reports | Yes |
| Other Features: | Available: |
| Sync gig earnings | No |
| Airport reporting | No |
| Events | No |
| Where to drive | No |
| When to drive | No |
| Messaging | No |
| Weather info | No |
Other comments
Many refer to QuickBooks as the gold standard for bookkeeping for the self-employed, but this program is much too general for gig drivers. Gone is any customized data on airports, weather conditions, events, rideshare messaging, and more. Like many other programs and apps, by trying to be everything to everybody, QuickBooks doesn’t provide customized features for gig drivers that you can get from an app like Gridwise.
Everlance
Overall Comments
Versions: Free, $10, and $33
Everlance is another mileage-tracking app that offers lots of bells and whistles but nothing customized for the gig driver. Reviews on GetApp talk about inaccurate tracking, unannounced shut-offs, and billing that wants to nickel-and-dime you for every feature. The bell and whistles probably don’t matter to gig drivers because they just want a mileage tracker for rideshare and food delivery without the extra clutter and useless functions.
| Everlance Mileage and Expense Features | Available |
| Mileage tracker | Yes |
| On/off reminder | Yes |
| Expense tracker | Yes |
| Report downloads | Yes |
| Weekly reports | Yes |
| Other Features: | Available: |
| Sync gig earnings | No |
| Airport reporting | No |
| Events | No |
| Where to drive | No |
| When to drive | No |
| Messaging | No |
| Weather info | No |
Other comments
In a Gridwise vs. Everlance matchup, customization is the delineating factor. Few apps provide gig drivers with accurate mileage records and the tools they want.
Stride
Versions: The Stride mileage tracker cost is free (but you get what you pay for)
Overall comments
Let’s start with one of the more essential features: Does Stride automatically track miles? The features say yes, but it’s a headache. A review on Google Play observes that the Stride mileage app is “Difficult to manually start mileage tracking when it doesn’t automatically start. Also it sometimes auto-starts when I’m walking through the house with my phone. [I] Just updated, and all my 2023 transactions are gone….It also really, really wants to be a full bookkeeping/tax app. I already have that…” Other reviews mention Stride’s intermingling of mileage and other business expenses into one file. You have to sort it out manually.
| Stride Mileage and Expense Features: | Available: |
| Mileage tracker | Yes |
| On/off reminder | Yes |
| Expense tracker | Yes |
| Report downloads | Yes, in one large file, which is difficult to separate |
| Weekly reports | No |
| Other Features: | Available: |
| Sync gig earnings | No |
| Airport reporting | No |
| Events | No |
| Where to drive | No |
| When to drive | No |
| Messaging | No |
| Weather info | No |
Other comments
In a Gridwise vs. Stride matchup, it is once again apparent that Gridwise is a gig driver’s app. The Stride mileage app gives gig drivers much more than they need and is confusing.
Gridwise comes out on top
If you’re looking for a mileage tracker that meets the needs of gig drivers as well as gig workers, Gridwise is your best option. It’s the only mileage tracker specifically designed for the challenges of working on the gig platforms. The mileage tracker provides accurate records for tax time, and the automatic reminder means you don’t miss an opportunity to track your miles.
The Gridwise app also empowers drivers to branch out and work on additional gig platforms. Keeping track of all your gig platform activities in one centralized companion app allows you to see all your gig-related activity side-by-side, making it possible to detect trends and opportunities that are difficult to discern otherwise. The 2024 Gridwise Gig Mobility Report highlights one Los Angeles driver, a Gridwise user, who worked an astounding ten gig platforms in a single week during March 2023. Gridwise helped him accomplish this remarkable feat.
Many gig drivers also branch out, earning money through other income streams. Some have taken the knowledge they have gained of their region and written about little-known local attractions and scenic drives for print and online publications. Others have found a voice in YouTube videos about gig driving. There are those who dabble in activities unrelated to gig driving, but found their motivation after learning—as a gig driver—that they could make a living outside of the constraints of a nine-to-five job. For those entrepreneurs, Gridwise also works, allowing them to easily keep track of the miles they travel in those pursuits, and the expenses the incur along the way.
As a Gridwise user, you can also take advantage of many products and services:
- 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
Gridwise Plus
Earn more and keep more. Try free for 14 days.
Plus members earn 30% more on average within their first month.
Check out these Gridwise pages to learn more about the Gridwise mileage tracker:
