Uber Eats

How to make $1000 a week with Uber Eats

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Can you make $1,000 a week with Uber Eats? Yes you can! Admittedly, it’s a hustle, but the data we’ve got shows that it’s totally possible. All you need are tactics and strategies you can use to make Uber Eats more than just a casual gig. We’ll give you all of that right here in this post. 

We’ll cover the following topics to provide coaching and ideas to help you push your earnings up to that $1000 per week level:

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What do Uber Eats drivers do?

Uber Eats drivers deliver prepared food most of the time, but they also might shop for and deliver goods from convenience outlets and grocery stores. The job is pretty simple. You get a request for an order, you drive to the restaurant or store to pick it up, and then you deliver it to the customer. If you already drive for Uber, you can choose to take orders for Uber Eats delivery any time.

If you’re not an Uber Eats driver yet, it’s pretty easy to become one. This Gridwise post tells you what you need to do if you want to sign up and start making money Uber Eats style. Many rideshare drivers welcome the chance to deliver food rather than people. This article from Nerdwallet covers the Uber Eats gig from that angle.

There are some sweet advantages to working with Uber Eats. In lots of cities you don’t even need to have a car. You can use a bike or a scooter, or even walk, to make your rounds. If you do use a car, Uber Eats’ requirements are a lot easier to meet than they are for Uber rideshare driving.

You also have a lot of flexibility. You can shop and deliver convenience items and groceries, but you don’t have to. And, like most driving gigs, you can choose your own hours, and map out the locations where you want to work. 

Use Gridwise features When to Drive and Where to Drive to help you figure out what work hours and which specific areas will be the most profitable for you. Real data from real delivery people will show you earning patterns for drivers in your town.

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How much can you earn doing Uber Eats?

The honest answer to this question is: basically, as much as you want! It all depends on how many hours you put in and how strategic you are about your gig. Earnings vary from one area to another, as this article from Entrepreneur points out. To give you a baseline, let’s look at the earnings of Uber Eats drivers who tracked their earnings with Gridwise.

Remember that these numbers show us only average earnings. To make $1,000 a week with Uber Eats, you’re going to have to be better than average, and we’ll show you how. For now, though, it’s good to have these figures so you get a ballpark number of where to start.

How much do Uber Eats drivers make? Gridwise data tell us the following:

  • Monthly earnings average around $444.00 per month.
  • Gross earnings per trip are between $9.00 and $10.00.
  • Tips make up about 50% of most Uber Eats drivers’ income, which amounts to about $225.00 per month.

Is Uber Eats good money? It can be. While there are other gigs that pay more per trip, if you drive for Uber Eats, you’ll always be pretty busy. 

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You can also see that, unlike many other gigs, tips play a huge role in Uber Eats earnings.

Uber Eats pay structure graph

With these numbers as a baseline, what can we say about how to earn $1,000 a week with Uber Eats? As we said in the introduction, it’s going to be a hustle, but it’s really possible. To figure out how to make the most money with Uber Eats, let’s start by looking at how many trips these “average” drivers made each month.

We know that average gross earnings were $444.00 per month, and drivers got around $10.00 per trip. That means they took 44 or 45 trips per month, which breaks down to 11 trips per week. That’s not a lot of Uber Eats delivery, is it?

The fact that Uber Eats drivers averaged so few trips shows us that many drivers use more than one app at the same time. This is called multi-apping, and you can learn more about it in this Gridwise post. If you want to answer the question of how much you can make with Uber Eats, then you need to stick with the app and keep plugging away at those orders. You also need solid strategies, as well as some inside tips and tricks.

How to make the most money on Uber Eats: Delivery driving tactics

Getting to that $1,000 a week with Uber Eats isn’t so hard when you remember that the drivers we saw making about $111 a week were only taking around 11 trips in the same time period. That’s not much at all! If you work the Uber Eats app like a boss, you’ll soon have many more trips than that, easily reaching the number needed to get you to $1,000 a week. Now, let’s get to some tactics you’ll need to make that kind of bank.

  1. Stay with the Uber Eats app, and track your earnings. Gridwise can easily do that for you. Simply sync your Uber Eats app with Gridwise, and you’ll be able to see how much you’ve earned with Uber Eats, what times were most profitable, and your average hourly pay. Racking up trips with Uber Eats has other benefits, including perks and bonuses that are awarded to top drivers.
  1. Leverage surge pricing and promotions. Surge pricing is applied when there is a lot of demand. When surge pricing is in effect, many of the trips you make will pay more than usual. Promotions are offered to drivers who complete a given number of trips in a certain time period. High traffic volume days, nights, and times give you these chances to get extra earnings. Challenging yourself to complete the right number of trips for promotions will add to the number of trips you can count on for big bucks, too. Learn more about Uber Eats surge pay, boosts, and promotions in this Gridwise blog post.
  1. Say yes to doubling up on orders. With Uber Eats, you can get back-to-back orders or receive batched orders. Back-to-back orders happen when you receive a new request while you’re on the way to deliver an original order. The Uber Eats app routes these trips automatically, so you won’t be sent out of your way. 

Batched orders are Uber Eats’ way of bundling together orders from either the same restaurant, or two nearby eating establishments. You get money—and trip count credit—for all the orders you complete, plus customer tips, without having to make a bunch of separate trips.

  1. Turn on the charm and get bigger tips. Being nice really is part of the Uber Eats driver’s job, and getting tips is one way people who drive for Uber Eats make money beyond their basic pay.. Bring along those extra napkins and condiments, use equipment that keeps food and drinks at the right temperatures and prevents spilling, and consider your customers’ needs. If you deliver groceries, be extra careful with delicate items such as bread and eggs. 

And, most important, follow your customers’ directions, and stay in communication with them if you are going to be delayed, or if you have questions about their order. This Gridwise post will tell how to get bigger tips as a delivery driver.

  1. Use even more charm to keep your ratings high. As an Uber Eats driver, you will be rated by the restaurant or store where you pick up the orders as well as the customers who are waiting for the deliveries. This two-way rating system is designed to keep you on your toes, so Uber can keep people satisfied with your service. Don’t worry—you get to rate them, too. 

There’s another reason why your rating as a driver is important. It not only keeps you in good standing with Uber; it helps you to qualify for the Uber Eats Pro incentive program. To learn more about Uber Eats Pro, and what it takes to earn perks such as preferred services, discounts, and deals, check out this Gridwise blog post. 

Smart business moves that seal the deal

Now that you know how to gobble up the deliveries you need to make $1,000 a week with Uber Eats, it’s going to be a breeze to get there. Let’s make it even easier, with business moves that boost your earnings and shrink your expenses. If you use these, it will also be easy to say yes when people ask, “Can you make good money with Uber Eats?”

Minimize expenses. Avoid racking up big fast-food bills by bringing your own food and beverages. You might not think you’re hungry when you first start your Uber Eats run, but once the aroma of pepperoni pizza, premium cheeseburgers, and piping hot fries start wafting through your car, that might change. Bring a sandwich or other healthy food from home, and buy bottled water in bulk to save tons of cash compared to what it costs to buy single servings.

Maximize tax deductions. Another way to minimize your expenses is to maximize your tax deductions. Start by tracking mileage with Gridwise.

Gridwise App

Gridwise captures every deductible mile you drive, including the distance you cover between the trips your driving app records. Know what expenses you can deduct, and put them to work for you when tax time comes. Learn more about tax deduction strategies in the Gridwise Tax Guide for drivers.

Boost earnings with referrals

As an independent contractor, you’re probably looking for ways to make even more money than you can with Uber Eats. And most gig workers like you enjoy getting passive income. With Uber Eats, there’s a really easy way to do that—referrals

All you need to do is find friends and encourage them to deliver for Uber Eats. If they make a certain number of deliveries within a specified time, you will get paid for doing nothing more than having them sign up under your referral code! Rates of pay vary by city, so check your Uber Eats app to find out what the current deal might be, and learn more about the referral program on the Uber Eats website. 

Also remember: “friends” don’t have to be your best buds. Many delivery people carry cards with a QR code linking to their referral information, so just about anyone you encounter can join Uber Eats and boost your earnings. You could meet a source of passive income at the gas station, on social media, or at your high school reunion. The more you hustle, the more there is to gain, right?

Master the art of self-employment

As an Uber Eats driver, you’re an independent contractor. That means the company isn’t going to withhold your taxes, provide insurance, keep track of your earnings, or tell you about tax deductions. You’ll have to do all these things for yourself.

If you want to maximize your tax advantages, open an official business entity. You can incorporate (create a corporation) or you can work as a limited liability corporation (LLC). You can also work with a DBA (Doing Business As) arrangement, but the corporation or LLC will do a better job of protecting you from liability.

Establishing a corporation or LLC offers better tax advantages than being a sole proprietor. For instance, if you simply collect your earnings into your private account, you’ll be charged self-employment taxes in most states. And paying extra taxes is something we all want to avoid, within legal limits, as much as possible.

Every Uber Eats driver needs to learn about self-employment, and there are some great resources you can review. Check out the CareerOneStop website about self employment which will help explain the basics. You can also check with a professional tax accountant, or look other websites to learn more about actually creating a business.

Scope out your market

Look at the area around you to see where you’re likely to get the most deliveries. Where are all the restaurants? Where might people be more inclined to order deliveries? What hours do you want to drive? What activities might be going on around those times? Think about late-night and after-school times as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner times.

Be realistic about the potential for your area and aware of new services opening up. For example, in New York, there is already a tab on the Uber Eats app that allows customers to order groceries. In our article about the best food delivery service to work for you’ll see that Uber Eats stacks up well against other delivery companies, mainly because of its potential for expanded opportunities for drivers to earn.

So, is Uber Eats good money? As we said, it isn’t an automatic guarantee that everyone will make $1,000 a week with Uber Eats. Trying out the suggestions we give you here, though, should put you on the right track! Go out there and start stacking up those orders and raking in some impressive earnings!

Ready to take your gig work to the next level?

Download Gridwise, the app that helps you track your expenses and maximize your earnings

Get more inside information on Uber Eats in these posts from the Gridwise blog:

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18 Responses

  1. Interesting that this post actually doesn’t provide a strategy for making $1000/week. No discussion on optimal driving times, being flexible with the market, optimizing your hourly rate, and most importantly, which orders to accept/reject

    1. It’s actully easy to make a 1000 a week. If you do your full 12 hour shift on Uber you make anywhere from 240 to 340 a day. So Monday-Friday boom 1000.00. Honestly I have better luck when I double dip on the weekdays. On weekends I can normally just do ubereats and clear 300.00

      1. It also depends on the market you drive in you couldn’t make $50 a day if you set your car 12 hours a day in Ocala.

  2. Hi this is John, Very nice to read this article. Yes, UberEats is a Big business. So many business strategies and unique delivery techniques made us to earn good income over UberEats.
    On the other hand UberEats Clone Script also enables us a customized framework for our better business growth.

  3. It also depends on the actual market here Uber eats is just a tiny tiny thing. Maybe 25 restaurants participating in the entire city of Ocala. And delivery range doesn’t go much further outside of Ocala. Where Orlando there’s got to be thousands of restaurants a market 50 miles wide… And tourism.

    1. Well I drive in a small market. Billings montana. I still make easly 200 a day on weekdays and 300 on Saturdays. Been doing Uber for 6 years. Figure out you busiest restraunts and hang out next to it. Also if Uber is slower that day then on DD or Grubhub and do both at the same time. I guarantee you can make more then 50.00 in 12 hours. Gotta try harder. Try different things. I’m in Montana 25 restraunts is a ton of restraunts compared to what we have.

        1. If you need any advice I’m always open to help out. I’ve been doing Uber for 6 years. When it first came to Billings MT. I understand some days are slower then others. If you want to make the money. You need to work the system right. Don’t get up at 10 am and expect to be done by 5pm. If you want to make the money get up at 6 be out the door by 6:30. Make sure you got your gas and snacks clock in by 7am. Breakfast is usually pretty busy I can clear 60.00 by noon. Most orders are from McDonald’s or Taco bell but 5.00 to 15.00 orders add up when you get a few. Always stick around the busy restaurants if you wait longer then 15 minutes for an order. That area most likely died out so move on. 1000.00 a week is pretty simple but you gotta be willing to work. No breaks eat on the run. 7 days in a week say you go out for 12 hours starting at 7am so your 12 hours sometimes won’t end tell 9 or 10 pm at night. All you need to make is 142.00 a day to get to 1000. That’s not hard to do if you actully work for it. Don’t expect it to be easy. Don’t expect to be done at 5 like a normal job

  4. I’ve been an Uber Eats driver for a long time, and the most you can make is two to three per hour, which is about $20 an hour. After your fuel costs, you make about $16-17 an hour, and I have a four-cylinder vehicle that gets about 30 miles per gallon. If you have a 20 mpg car, you’ll make about 12- 13 hours an hour, and if you have a big V8 truck, you’ll only make about 9 or $10 an hour,

  5. I really get tired of these pie in the sky articles about goo-gobs of money you can make. Yes, it depends on your market and yes, it depends on what’s happening at the moment. People just made really good money over Christmas and New Year’s because it’s a major holiday. But you’re not going to be making $4-500 a day every day of the year. Also let’s talk about oversaturation and the number of stupid rude people who have no customer service skills that are jumping on the app and making it bad for everybody else. Let’s talk about the non-accountability the apps present, where people don’t even have to have a high school diploma or experience. There are no interviews, there’s no real vetting other than the background check, so you got all sorts of people looking all kinds of ways running around doing delivery. I’ve seen some looking homeless even. Great that people have a way to make money when they’re desperate even..but it really has gotten to be too much and it’s becoming very aggressive and competitive to the point of drivers big obnoxious even at their pickups. With all the companies now who are short of workers if you can find a job doing something else do that unless you really just have to be independent and want to deal with the craziness of food delivery. Not to mention the wear and tear on your car or on your body if you’re on a bike or walking. A lot of people get starry eyed at the totals they sometimes make but they’re also working excessive hours, often over 50hrs a week chasing after the money. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. I’ve seen a lot of people burn out already.

  6. What perks are you talking about in the double dipping sections. I’m the highest ranking for their points system and all I get are some discounts on dental plans. Oh, I almost forgot. You also get free snacks WITH PURCHASE at 7-Eleven. Multiapp if you can because the Uber perks aren’t worth it and this article doesn’t know what they are talking about.

  7. I just started – finished my 6th delivery and Uber eats is stealing money from us! I just wasted 60 min driving picking up orders then trying to find the places – waiting for people to come to door and Uber ears paid me LITERALLY 2.00 x ride! What a joke this company is!

    I’ve made 37 bucks on 6 rides and it’s only because 2 amazing humans tipped me 13.71 and 9.52!

    I’m in Scottsdale AZ it’s BS what a scam for us. They take so much of the money!