Compare gig apps · 2026
Instacart vs DoorDash vs Uber Eats vs Shipt
Here's an honest, side-by-side look at the four biggest grocery and delivery gig apps in the US and Canada. What you actually do all day. Whether you need a car. How pay and tips work, and where a new-shopper sign-up bonus is on the table.
Side-by-side comparison
The figures below are general and they shift over time. Treat pay as rough ranges, not guarantees. What you take home depends on your market, your hours, batch demand and tips.
| Instacart | DoorDash | Uber Eats | Shipt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Shop groceries off a store list, then deliver them (Full-Service). There's also an In-Store role that's shopping only. | Pick up prepared food, retail or grocery orders and deliver them. | Pick up restaurant and food orders and deliver them. Some grocery in select areas. | Shop groceries and household items from partner stores, then deliver. |
| Vehicle needed | Full-Service needs a car. The In-Store role doesn't. | Car, bike or scooter in many markets. Walking in some dense cities. | Car, bike, scooter or on foot in select cities. | Reliable car required for the delivery role. |
| How pay works | Per-batch pay set by the order (items, distance, effort), plus tips. | Per-order base pay plus promotions and peak pay, plus tips. | Per-trip fare covering pickup, drop-off and distance, plus promotions and tips. | Per-order pay based on the shop, plus tips. |
| Tips | Keep 100% of customer tips. | Keep 100% of customer tips. | Keep 100% of customer tips. | Keep 100% of customer tips. |
| Flexibility | No set shifts. See available batches and pick when you work. | Schedule dashes or Dash Now when it's busy. Mostly on-demand. | Fully on-demand. Go online whenever you want. | Claim open order windows. You can reserve schedule blocks too. |
| Sign-up bonus | New-shopper bonus offered in many markets. Enter BEAN85579C at sign-up. Amount varies. | Sometimes runs new-driver guarantees or bonuses. Varies by market. | Occasional new-driver promotions. Varies by city. | Periodic new-shopper offers. Varies by market. |
| Best for | People who like grocery shopping and want batch-based work with a possible new-shopper bonus. | Anyone who wants the widest delivery availability and the most vehicle options. | People already driving or riding who want fully on-demand food delivery. | Shoppers who'd rather claim scheduled grocery windows in supported cities. |
A closer look at each app
Instacart
Instacart is a grocery-shopping gig first, a delivery gig second. As a Full-Service Shopper you accept a batch, shop the items in the store, and deliver them. That's why you need a car and the muscle to lift around 50 lbs. Picture a warehouse run with a 24-pack of water, a big bag of flour, and a couple of gallons of milk going into your trunk, and the rule makes sense. The In-Store Shopper role is shopping only, so no car and no delivery, where it's offered. Pay is set per batch based on the number of items, the distance and the effort, and you keep 100% of tips. Lots of markets run a new-shopper bonus once you finish a set number of batches inside a window. New US and Canada shoppers can enter code BEAN85579C during sign-up so the referral offer is tied to their account. The exact amount and the requirements vary and change over time, so confirm the current offer in the Shopper app before you count on it.
DoorDash
DoorDash, or "Dashing," is mainly food and retail delivery. You pick up a prepared order and drop it off. It has some of the widest availability of these apps, and in a lot of cities you can deliver by car, bike or scooter. In dense areas you'll sometimes go on foot. Pay is a per-order base plus promotions like peak pay, plus 100% of tips. New-driver guarantees and bonuses pop up from time to time, but they swing a lot by market and season.
Uber Eats
Uber Eats is the most purely on-demand of the bunch. Go online whenever you feel like it and take trips as they show up. In select cities you can deliver by car, bike, scooter or on foot, which helps if you don't own a car. Pay is a per-trip fare built on pickup, drop-off and distance, plus promotions and 100% of tips. New-driver promotions show up now and then, and they differ city to city.
Shipt
Shipt is the closest thing to Instacart here, because it's also grocery shopping plus delivery, usually for a membership-based customer base. You'll generally need a reliable car, and it often uses claimable order windows that some shoppers like for planning ahead. Pay is per order based on the shop, plus 100% of tips. Availability is thinner than the other three and hangs on which partner stores operate in your area.
Why new Instacart shoppers use code BEAN85579C
Decided Instacart is your pick? The referral code exists so a new-shopper bonus offer gets linked to your account when you sign up. Entering BEAN85579C at registration costs you nothing and doesn't touch your pay or fees. It just flags your account for the new-shopper promotion wherever one is running. Instacart alone decides who's eligible, how much the bonus is, and whether it pays out after you hit the batch requirements. Since offers change by city and shift often, treat any figure you see online as an estimate and check the live terms in the Instacart Shopper app.
- Adding the code is optional and free. There's no downside to entering it.
- Instacart pays the bonus, not this guide, after you finish their required batches.
- Amounts vary by market and promo period. No fixed number is guaranteed.
- Compare the apps all you want first, but the code has to go in at sign-up. You can't add it later.
Ready to start with Instacart?
Sign up on Instacart's official page, then enter code BEAN85579C so the new-shopper offer attaches to your account.
Compare in more detail
How Instacart works
Full-Service vs In-Store, batches, and what a shopping day actually looks like.
Read the guide →Requirements
Age, phone, ID, bank account, the background check and the lifting.
See requirements →Earnings explained
How per-batch pay and tips stack up, with honest, hedged ranges.
Understand pay →Head-to-head comparisons
Want a one-on-one breakdown instead? These dig into a single matchup.
Instacart vs Uber Eats
Grocery batches vs on-demand food delivery, plus pay and vehicle needs.
Compare →Frequently asked questions
Which app pays the most, Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats or Shipt?
There's no single winner. All four price each job on its own and add 100% of tips, so what you actually earn comes down to your market, the hours you put in, how much demand there is, and how far you drive. A lot of people run two apps for a couple of weeks, then keep whichever one pays better after taxes and vehicle costs where they live.
Do I need a car for all of these?
Not always. Instacart's Full-Service role and Shipt generally want a car, but Instacart's In-Store role needs none where it's offered. DoorDash and Uber Eats let you use a bike or scooter, and you can even walk in some dense cities. So they can work if you don't drive.
What's the difference between a shopping gig and a delivery gig?
Instacart and Shipt are shopping gigs. You walk into a store, pick the items on a list, then deliver them. DoorDash and Uber Eats are mostly delivery gigs, where you grab an order someone else already made and drop it off. Shopping gigs take longer per job, but they usually pay accordingly.
Do I keep the tips on these apps?
Yep. Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats and Shipt all let you keep 100% of customer tips on top of the base or per-batch pay.
What does the Instacart code BEAN85579C do?
Entering BEAN85579C when you sign up as a new Instacart shopper links a new-shopper bonus offer to your account wherever one's available. It's free and doesn't affect your pay or fees. Instacart decides eligibility, the amount, and payment once you complete the required batches. Offers vary by market, so confirm the current terms in the Shopper app.
Can I work more than one of these apps at once?
Plenty of gig workers run two or more apps to cut down on dead time, though you can only actively work one order at a time. Check each app's terms. And remember, you're on the hook for your own taxes and expenses across all of them.