The gig economy has evolved far beyond single-platform loyalty. Today’s most successful drivers strategically navigate multiple platforms, maximizing earnings through what industry insiders call “multi-apping.” According to Gridwise Analytics data spanning January 2024 to December 2024, this practice has become a defining characteristic of the modern gig workforce, with profound implications for both drivers and the platforms competing for their attention.
The data reveals a compelling narrative: drivers who embrace multi-apping consistently earn more in total per week than their single-platform counterparts. At the same time, specific platforms have emerged as common denominators among drivers who multi-app. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for platform operators, investors, and anyone seeking to comprehend the strategic forces reshaping gig work.
Here's what we cover:
Multi-Apping Leads to Higher Pay
It’s no surprise that drivers switch between apps to increase their earnings, but what’s It’s no surprise that drivers switch between apps to increase their earnings, but what’s striking is how effectively they do it. Gridwise Analytics data confirms that multi-apping isn’t just common, it works. Drivers who diversify across platforms earn more, and the specific combination of services they use can shape how much that income grows.
The data reveals two key dynamics:
- Earnings rise steadily with each additional app used
- Platform-specific patterns influence how those earnings scale
Together, these insights show that drivers don’t just multi-app to stay busy, they do it strategically to grow their income of course.
Multi-Apping Helps Drivers Earn More, But the Data Tells a Deeper Story
At first glance, the chart below shows that earnings rise neatly as drivers add more apps. And that’s true—to a point. Weekly pay increases as drivers transition from using one service to two, then three, and eventually four or more. But what’s happening behind the scenes is more nuanced than a clean step-by-step climb.
The bars for each app—Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and others—don’t represent entirely separate groups of drivers. Instead, they often include the same drivers counted multiple times, just grouped differently depending on the number of platforms they used that week.
Here’s what that means:
- A driver who used Uber and Lyft in a week is inc luded in both the “Uber + 1” and “Lyft + 1” bars.
- If that same driver adds DoorDash to their rotation, they show up again in the “Uber + 2,” “Lyft + 2,” and “DoorDash + 2” categories.
- By the time we reach the “4+ apps” group, most drivers are included in nearly every bar, because working 4 or more out of the 6 listed apps means you’re showing up in at least four of the bars.
So while the data shows that drivers who work across multiple apps earn more, that convergence in the “4+” tier doesn’t mean the platforms themselves are paying more equally—it just reflects that we’re mostly seeing the same high-earning drivers across each platform’s data.
In short, this isn’t a story of platform pay leveling out. It’s a story about the power of diversification, how the most active, strategic drivers stack opportunities across multiple apps to reach higher total earnings. What we’re seeing is less about parity between platforms and more about how a small, ambitious subset of drivers is pushing their income ceiling by showing up everywhere.
How Drivers Combine Apps to Earn More
The multi-app landscape reveals distinct patterns of platform affinity and strategic positioning. Gridwise Analytics data shows which platform drivers are most likely to combine, creating a map of the gig economy’s interconnected ecosystem.
Uber’s Central Position in the Multi-App Economy
Uber emerges as the most connected platform in the multi-app ecosystem. Lyft drivers show the highest cross-platform usage rate, with 49% also working for Uber — the most substantial single-platform overlap in the multi-app ecosystem. Uber Eats drivers also frequently pair with Uber (36%), and Instacart drivers show a notable 20% overlap with Uber Eats. There are many other services who multi-app with Uber Eats.
This positioning reflects Uber’s strategic advantage as a multi-modal platform. Drivers can seamlessly transition between rideshare and delivery services within the same ecosystem, reducing friction and maximizing utilization. The data suggests that Uber has successfully created platform gravity, attracting drivers from competing services into its broader ecosystem.
DoorDash’s Isolation Challenge
In contrast, DoorDash drivers exhibit low multi-hopping rates compared to other major platforms. Only 18% of DoorDash drivers also work for Uber Eats, and just 4% work for multiple apps, including Uber, Grubhub, or Instacart. This relative isolation may reflect DoorDash’s market dominance in food delivery, where drivers can achieve sufficient earnings without needing to combine platforms.
However, this isolation also represents a strategic vulnerability. If DoorDash drivers begin seeking additional income sources or flexibility, they may gravitate toward other platforms.
Peak Hours Drive Multi-App Strategy
The timing of multi-apping reveals sophisticated driver strategies that align with demand patterns across different services. Gridwise Analytics data shows how multi-apping behavior fluctuates throughout the day, peaking during high-demand periods. This highlights how drivers actively balance platforms to maximize earnings during lunch, dinner, and rush-hour rideshare windows. The data reveals distinct patterns across platforms.
Rideshare Drivers Earn More Than Delivery Drivers
The earnings advantage seen in multi-apping is also reflected in the underlying economics of individual services. As shown in the table below, rideshare platforms like Uber and Lyft consistently offer higher weekly gross earnings than food and package delivery platforms, even when drivers aren’t multi-apping.
Chart from Gridwise Analytics 2025 Annual Gig Mobility Report
For drivers who don’t or can’t multi-app aggressively, platform selection alone can significantly impact earning potential. Rideshare’s higher revenue per hour and per mile provides a natural earnings floor, a key factor in driver strategy, especially in markets with fewer multi-app options.
Retention Dynamics: Long-Term Platform Loyalty in a Multi-App World
While multi-apping drives higher earnings, platform retention remains a critical factor for long-term driver engagement. Gridwise Analytics data reveals significant differences in how platforms retain drivers over extended periods.
Rideshare Platform Retention Patterns
While both Uber and Lyft start with strong initial retention, the gap widens over time. By month 11 of a driver’s tenure with the service, Uber retains 33% of its drivers compared to Lyft’s 25%, a modest but meaningful edge. Still, the broader picture is clear: long-term retention across ridesharing remains low, highlighting ongoing challenges in driver engagement and platform loyalty.
Delivery Platform Retention Patterns
The delivery sector shows even more pronounced retention differences. Gridwise Analytics data tracking cohorts from January to April 2024 reveals distinct performance patterns across major delivery platforms.
Instacart emerges as the retention leader, maintaining 41% of drivers after 11 months. This superior retention likely reflects the platform’s focus on grocery delivery, which offers more predictable demand patterns and higher average order values compared to restaurant delivery.
Grubhub follows with 32% retention, while DoorDash and Uber Eats show lower retention rates at 20% and 18%, respectively. These differences highlight the importance of platform design, compensation structure, and market positioning in maintaining long-term driver engagement.
Data-Driven Insights for Strategic Decision Making
Gridwise Analytics provides the operational intelligence necessary to comprehend the competitive landscape of a multi-app economy. From revealing how platform stacking boosts driver earnings to identifying where retention strategies succeed or falter, our data surfaces the trends that matter most to operators and investors. As gig platforms vie for loyalty in an increasingly fluid landscape, insights into driver behavior, peak-time strategies, and cross-platform affinities are crucial for driving growth, enhancing retention, and establishing a long-term strategic advantage.
If you want to learn how these insights can inform your platform strategy and retention efforts, connect with our team.
