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 than their single-platform counterparts. At the same time, specific platforms have emerged as central hubs in this interconnected ecosystem. 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 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 multiapp to stay busy — they do it strategically to grow their income of course.
Earnings Rise with Each Additional App
Gridwise Analytics data confirms what many drivers have long known: working across more services leads to higher weekly earnings. This isn’t about luck — it’s about volume, flexibility, and the ability to stay busy.
- Drivers using four or more services earn nearly $700 per week across all major platforms.
- In contrast, single-platform drivers earn significantly less, ranging from just $210 to $550 per week, depending on the service.
The progression is clear and consistent:
- Two-service drivers earn more than single-service drivers
- Three-service drivers earn more than two
- The highest earnings go to drivers juggling four or more platforms
For drivers, the strategic takeaway is simple: diversification pays.
Platform Patterns Within the Multi-App Climb
While earnings rise with platform count, not all apps scale equally as drivers expand.
- Lyft drivers earn the most on a single platform (~$400/week), but their advantage disappears as other platforms catch up through multi-apping.
- Uber drivers consistently demonstrate strong earnings, leading in both the two- and three-platform categories.
- By the time drivers reach the 4+ app tier, earnings converge across all services, with each platform clustering around $690–$710/week.
This convergence suggests that multi-apping levels the playing field. Once drivers are operating across a diverse app mix, platform-specific advantages become far less important than a driver’s ability to stack opportunities efficiently.
Why This Matters: Rideshare Outpaces Delivery
This pattern also helps explain broader earnings differences across service types. As the next section shows, rideshare platforms like Uber and Lyft consistently pay more than delivery platforms like DoorDash or Instacart — a key reason why rideshare drivers often start stronger, even before multi-apping comes into play.
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.
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 entire chart. Uber Eats drivers also frequently pair with Uber (36%), and Instacart drivers show a notable 20% overlap with Uber.
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.
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, 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.
