Uber appeared in the marketplace in 2009. The company was the first to develop a workable format to bring rideshare to everyday consumers, using a simple app for riders and passengers. Uber didn’t just enable rideshare, though. It enabled a new industry: people who make their living as gig drivers—anyone with a driver’s license could consider applying. You didn’t even need a car. You could rent one. More than a decade later, gig driving has spawned Uber rivals and entirely new gig sectors, notably food and package delivery. This first-to-market achievement has also earned Uber status as a crystal ball for the industry. Whatever Uber does, others will soon follow. This makes it logical to answer the burning question: How much do Uber drivers make?
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How much do Uber drivers make?
Before we answer this question, it’s essential to understand how the best gig drivers maximize their pay. They look at it from every angle possible. They don’t stop at asking, How much Uber drivers make a year? They want to know: How much do Uber drivers make in a day? How much do Uber drivers make an hour? And how much do Uber drivers make per trip? They want a breakdown of how much do Uber drivers make before tips and in bonuses.
By understanding each earning category, strategic Uber drivers know where they earn the most. They know that they can make more by boosting their tips, or if they can squeeze in an extra ride each hour. They also know where the rides are and when they are likely to earn the most.
These are the earning secrets we will address in this blog post.
How much do Uber drivers make per ride?
In the world of data and statistics, rides are referred to as tasks, which is why you see them listed as such. We still call them rides. At the end of 2023, Uber rideshare drivers averaged $14.39 per ride. Smart Uber drivers often prefer this number because it tells them how much more they can make if they squeeze in another ride each hour.
It’s handy to know your market and the extended area. Look at the destination before accepting and ask yourself how soon you’ll receive a ride from that location—or will you spend precious minutes driving to another area where you’ll get a ride? Often a handful of smaller rides in a high-traffic area will net more than one long ride that takes you to a low-traffic area.
Also, know that you are more likely to see surge pricing in high-traffic areas or close by. If a ride takes you to the suburbs, you’re less likely to benefit from surge pricing.
How much do Uber drivers make an hour?
In Q3 2023, Uber drivers were averaging nearly $19 an hour. Hourly earnings are heavily influenced by where and when you drive. Urban areas tend to have peak hours during morning rush hour, lunch, and throughout the evening, starting at about 4:00 pm (sometimes earlier depending on your region). Weekends tend to be the best for consistent rides, with Friday and Saturday nights the heaviest. There is also the phenomenon of Thirsty Thursdays, spurred by people who want to start the weekend early.
How much you make an hour as an Uber driver depends on how well you know your market and how well you utilize what you’ve learned from per ride earnings.
How much do Uber drivers make before tips?
This chart shows what the average driver makes daily in tips and bonuses. Be mindful that this number represents both full- and part-time drivers.
We can’t compare apples to apples here, but if you pencil out the numbers, you get an idea. If before tips the average driver makes $104.81 per day, based on an hourly rate of $18.99, they are working a little less than five and a half hours a day.
Generally, rideshare drivers realize about 10% to 11% of their income in tips. If you’re averaging more, then you’re doing something right. It’s also important to realize that these tips are received through the app. Drivers also receive cash tips; others get tips through third-party cash services such as PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo. These don’t reflect in the app. As one Southern California driver points out, “During one year, the largest tips I received were off the app, which included one for $150.”
How much do Uber drivers make a day?
How much do Uber drivers make per day? At the end of 2023, Uber drivers were averaging gross daily earnings of just under $117. Based on the preceding graph, it works out to about 10.4% in tips.
Another way to maximize daily earnings is to research events in the area. Sporting events are a no-brainer, but concerts, trade shows, and conventions are also places to find rides. Typically, passengers from the latter two events go to local hotels. This tactic will often keep you in the area so you can pick up more rides in an hour, increasing your hourly rate. The business people you pick up from trade shows and conventions are good passengers for another reason: they tip from their expense accounts, which means they’re generally higher.
How much money do Uber drivers make a month?
Again, keep in mind these numbers combine full-time and part-time drivers. Some drivers can earn more, depending on their regions and their strategies. Last year, Business Insider profiled a full-time driver who, after deducting money spent on fuel, oil changes, and tires, made about $22 an hour. This is a strategic driver and gives us a good insight into how much full-time Uber drivers make. His monthly earnings after expenses and before taxes were about $3,500, or about $42,000 a year.
Uber driver earnings compared to Uber Eats drivers
Many people ask, How much do Uber Eats drivers make? We can answer this by referring to a graph from a recent Gridwise article, “How Much do Uber Eats Drivers Make?”
Uber Eats drivers averaged $13.49 per hour in Q3 2023. Although not as much as Uber rideshare, for drivers who want to pull in extra, Uber Eats offers the opportunity to make additional money, especially for drivers who multi-app (or run both apps simultaneously). Drivers can take advantage of midday opportunities with Uber Eats (a prime time for food delivery), filling the gaps in rideshare.
How to increase Uber driver earnings
Here are some of our most useful tips for making more as an Uber driver.
Surges
The Uber app institutes surge pricing whenever there are more passengers than drivers. Depending on the imbalance, surges will increase fares by 50%, or sometimes 100% or 200%. Surge pricing is every day when significant events are let out or when the bars close at 2:00 am.
Driver Incentives
Most commonly seen as bonuses, these incentives encourage drivers to stay on the app. These include offers on the app for completing a certain amount of rides within a given time, such as three rides in a one- or two-hour period. If you turn off the app during this period or refuse a ride, the incentive disappears.
When and where you drive
Look for target-rich areas where you can find lots of rides. After driving for a while, you’ll notice patterns, such as when shifts change at a hospital or when classes let out at the local college or university. Also, check the When to Drive and Where to Drive features on the Gridwise app. They come in handy and are very accurate.
Large events
Sporting events and concerts have large amounts of attendees, and at the end, they all want to go home. Look at the Events tab on the Gridwise app for current information on what’s happening in your area.
Know your area
In large downtown areas and in the suburbs, find sources of rides that don’t show up on conventional sites. For instance, the after-hours scene in Los Angeles is often active all night on the weekends. There are many large warehouses hosting events that feature cheap liquor and decent music until dawn. Information like this can make you a lot of money when most other drivers have gone home.
Accurate earnings records
“What gets measured, gets improved.” Peter Drucker, a famous business theorist, said that, and it’s true. Download the Gridwise earnings tracker to track your income. Look at it regularly for dates, times, and places where you’ve earned a lot. Soon you will see patterns that help you earn even more.
Track mileage
Fuel is your biggest expense—a fact you can’t get around. You can, however, earn substantial tax write-offs at the end of the year by tracking your mileage. Don’t mess with pen-and-paper mileage logs. Download the Gridewise mileage tracker. It works passively, providing digital records you can download at tax time. Learn more with “How to Track Mileage for Taxes With Gridwise.”
Take out the family SUV
If you can seat six passengers, you can drive UberXL, increasing your rate by 50%.
How to increase tips as an Uber driver
We mentioned earlier that rideshare drivers average about 10% in tips. You can increase that number by doing some straightforward things.
Carry charging cords
Most drivers will tell you that very few shifts pass without at least one passenger asking to use a charging cord. It’s a good idea to have all the popular ones, including an iPhone charger and a USB-C charger for Androids.
Curate an in-demand music list
You should constantly be curating a playlist. Interestingly enough, jazz and big band are favorites. Sinatra is very popular, too. Nobody disses Frank. One driver tells how a passenger asked him to circle the block around his home twice so that he could listen to Nature Boy by Frank Sinatra. Music generates tips.
If there is a big concert in town, make sure that artist is on your playlist. There’s no better warm-up for a musical event than listening to the artist on your way to the venue. One driver tells how he was taking a group to the concert of a popular Latin band. He found the group on his music app. The passengers were so happy they left a healthy tip.
Stash gum, mints, candy, and water
Quite often, passengers are heading to meet friends, go on a date, or launch into a job interview. The last thing they want is the smell of their last meal on their breath. Carry some gum and mints.
Install cash apps
We discussed this earlier. Sometimes passengers, for whatever reason, don’t want to tip you through the app. It happens more often than you think. Have a few cash apps on your phone, and put them on your Uber business card. Consider PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and others.
Dress for success
Wear nice clothes. You’d be surprised at the drivers out there in cut-off sweats and sleeveless T-shirts. We’re not talking about a tie and button-down shirt (although we know of at least one driver whose signature move was a bow tie). People are more likely to respect you, and tip you look presentable.
Use the passenger’s name
People love to hear the sound of their name. You’ll know what it is from the app, so use it often. Make sure it’s the first thing they hear when they get in your car and the last thing when they get out.
Have a sign-off line
Make your sign-off line simple and memorable. When you get to the destination, turn to the passenger, say their name, and then add, “It has been a pleasure having you in my car.” This is just a suggestion. Make up your own, but make it memorable.
How Gridwise can increase Uber driver earnings
There is one more measure you can take to maximize earnings as an Uber driver, and that’s to subscribe to Gridwise. We mentioned some of the benefits earlier in this blog post, but they are worth mentioning again, along with some others:
- real-time weather, traffic, airport. and events information
- earnings insights
- deals and discounts
- tax help
- insurance and affordable health care options
- money-saving connections to automotive and financial services
Download the free Gridwise app to enjoy these benefits and features. Join Gridwise Plus for deeper discounts and more benefits!
You can also join the Gridwise community. Get support from other drivers, along with special contests, offers, and giveaways. Join our Facebook community and follow us on Instagram, and start earning more the next time you go out.
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 links to learn more about driving for Uber Eats, or to discover valuable Gridwise services.
