The Best Gig Apps To Make Money in 2024

If you want to make extra money, gig app jobs are among the most lucrative and flexible alternatives at your disposal.

Gig apps to make money have soared in popularity, owing to the potential to earn up to $25 per hour for a side gig and thousands for a full-time project.

Let’s jump into our list of some of the best-paying gig apps to help you start earning money.

How Much You Can Earn With Gig Apps

Gig apps can provide lucrative opportunities for freelancers, side hustlers, and employees.

Some apps offer manual or skilled work and pay by the hour or per project. Other apps are about renting out services to consumers and businesses at varying rates.

One of the most popular gig apps used today is Fiverr. While its gigs are typically priced at $5 each, some projects pay up to $995 per project.

Airbnb, another widely used gig app, has earned $5.6 billion in Canada alone.

Gig apps are of various types and offer different money-making methods, ranging from rendering services to renting out property.

Your earnings from using these apps depend on several factors, such as the tasks or projects you get, the rates you set, and your diligence in finding and landing gigs.

Best Gig Apps To Make Money

Gig apps offer numerous ways to make money, from completing simple tasks to filling out surveys and earning cash back.

Here are the best apps to find such income-earning opportunities:

1. TaskRabbit

With the TaskRabbit app, you can earn money by completing local jobs that fit your skills and schedule. You get to keep 100% of what you charge and the tips, too.

If you are at least 18 years old, own a smartphone and have a checking account, you are all set to become a Tasker.

Car washing, babyproofing, furniture assembly, and event staffing are some of the task categories to choose from.

2. Instacart

Instacart, which dubs itself as the largest online grocery service, offers money-making opportunities by being an Instacart full-service shopper or an in-store shopper.

Apply for shopper gigs if you are 18+ years old, are eligible to work in Canada, own a car that you can use for deliveries, and have a bank account.

As an Instacart shopper, you get an Instacart payment card to use at checkout registers wherever you shop.

3. Rover

If you love animals and caring for them, consider signing up for Rover pet sitting and walking jobs.

Establish your rates, schedule and prices. Offer combined pet care services and set work preferences that suit you.

Payments for rendering Rover pet services will be ready for withdrawal two days after you have completed a task.

4. Airbnb

Airbnb, one of the best-paying gig apps, lets you earn around 167 CAD a night or 1,172 CAD in 7 nights by being an Airbnb host and renting out your space.

Create an Airbnb account to list your space and provide all the necessary details about your place to give your potential tenants a clear idea of what you are offering.

To become a Super Host and earn higher, maintain regular communication with your tenants and prospective clients, and hire professional cleaning services between stays.

5. Care

Sign up at Care.com to work as a carer and provide services like child care, senior care, housekeeping, pet care, tutoring, and special needs.

Care is an online venue that connects care seekers with carers. The site provides tools that allow carers to post their profiles to help care seekers find the assistance they need.

When applying, create your profile and provide your rate to get matched with jobs. 

6. Gigwalk

Gigwalk is an app where you can find opportunities to earn a little spending money up to an entire paycheck.

Use the Gigwalk app to find quick jobs, or gigs, in your area. Each gig appears as a pin on the map in the app. Tasks can take anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours.

Once you complete the work and submit it through the app, you can earn anywhere from $3 to $100.

7. Handy

Handy is a platform that connects individuals seeking household services with pre-screened independent service providers.

Find and secure jobs through the app’s 60-second booking process. Handy jobs include home cleaning, handyman, plumbing, electrical, moving, painting, furniture assembly and more.

With the Handy app, you can choose between a full work schedule and some jobs on the side. Payments are via direct deposit, plus you can earn bonuses and tips.

8. Wonolo

Wonolo is an on-demand staffing platform where you can browse and apply for hourly or daily jobs, such as housekeeping, delivery, chef, cook, picker packer, forklift operator openings, etc.

The app helps you find temporary and permanent job prospects in your neighbourhood and lets you decide when to work and get paid.

Once you complete your job and your client approves it, Wonolo will process your payment.

9. Job Spotter

Job Spotter is an app owned by job marketplace Indeed and rewards you with Amazon gift cards for taking pictures of “Help Wanted” signs in your area and submitting them to the app.

Take photos of the hiring sign and the storefront with the store name. The advertised jobs must accept applications via email or in person.

When Indeed approves your submission, you earn 50 points. Every 100 points is equivalent to a $1 Amazon gift card.

10. Field Agent

Field Agent is a gig app that pays you to collect photos and information about products and in-store shopping experience, answer surveys, try out new products, and leave online reviews.

To start earning, create your profile, reserve a job, review the job summary, and get paid between $5 and $10.

The cashout minimum is $15.00. All cashouts are sent to agents through Interac e-Transfer.

11. Instawork

Instawork is a flexible, on-demand staffing app that connects hospitality businesses with go-to hourly workers in the area.

Use this app to view all open positions near you and choose the shifts you want to work.

Complete your Instawork profile to start viewing job opportunities, choose your schedule, and receive weekly payments to your bank account. 

Best Driving Gig Apps

Below are apps that pay you to drive, helping you earn money while driving your car during your free time.

12. Uber

If you like to spend your free time earning while driving people to their destinations, then use Uber, one of the best driving gig apps today.

Set your hours and decide when and how often you drive. To calculate your earnings, visit this page. During payment, Uber automatically transfers your money to your bank account.

To work as an Uber driver, you must have at least three years of driving experience, pass a background check, and your car must pass Uber’s standards.

13. UberEats

UberEats, the food delivery service by Uber, lets you earn extra income driving around your neighbourhood delivering food in your car, scooter or bike.

For pick-up and deliveries, you will usually receive a flat fee. For longer trips, you will get a per-mile rate from the restaurant to your customer’s location on the most efficient route.

If you choose to use a car or a scooter, you must get approval by submitting a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and insurance.

14. DoorDash

Earn reliable money working as a DoorDash delivery driver. Choose to work when you want, whether or not to accept orders, and make deliveries immediately or schedule them later.

To start working as a Dasher, you must be 18 or older, have a full-class driver’s license, own a vehicle (car, scooter, or bicycle), and pass a background check.

As a DoorDash delivery driver, any delivery you make will earn base pay, calculated based on the distance, order desirability, and estimated time.

Related: UberEats vs Doordash.

15. Amazon Flex

Amazon Flex, one of the best apps to work for, lets you earn extra cash by delivering Amazon orders as an independent contractor.

Earn CAD $20-$25 per hour based on your delivery area. Payments are made via direct deposit to your bank account.

As an independent contractor, you will be responsible for parking, mileage, tolls and other expenses related to your Amazon Flex gig.

16. Lyft

Lyft is a rideshare app that lets you earn cash by bringing passengers to their destinations or delivering groceries, medical supplies and other items.

To work as a Lyft driver, complete your application, and pass a Lyft vehicle inspection and background check.

Earnings are primarily based on your upfront pay or the fare you get for each ride you provide. Tips from passengers are yours 100%. Bonuses are also offered during the busiest times.

Best App Jobs To Make Money From Home

Earning money from home is also convenient with the help of these apps:

17. Upwork

Whatever skill set you possess, Upwork is among the best app jobs to make money and find freelance work opportunities, such as web development, graphic design and content writing.

Find freelance work by creating a free account at the Upwork website and highlighting your skills and experience.

Upwork freelancers can earn between $20 and $70 per hour, depending on the profession. More technical work equates to higher rates.

18. Fiverr

One of the most popular platforms, Fiverr provides the best app jobs to make money by connecting you with clients seeking services like graphics and design and digital marketing.

Sign up, create your profile and post your specialty and skills to help customers find your services.

The typical starting rate is $5 per project, but it will increase as you accept more projects or tasks and receive favourable reviews.

19. Freelancer

Freelancer is a freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace where you can find virtual work in various professions.

The site does not offer any jobs but provides a system that enables freelancers to find jobs.

To get started, create a free account and browse the available jobs. When you find potential work or projects that fit your skill set, submit a bid on it. Earnings depend on your job type.

20. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a paid survey site that rewards you for completing surveys, online shopping, playing video games, and doing web searches.

Rewards are points you can redeem for cash back from PayPal or gift cards from Amazon or Walmart.

When shopping through Swagbucks, use online coupon codes to earn cashback and save money.

21. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys rewards you when you answer online surveys. With every completed survey, earn points and redeem them for gift cards or cash via PayPal or Branded Pay.

Sign up and create your profile by answering questions about your life. The more details you provide, the more surveys you can potentially get.

Each survey will indicate how long it will take and how many points you can earn. The surveys cover broad subjects, from employment to leisure and travel.

Related: Sites like Branded Surveys.

22. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is another site that rewards you for sharing your views. Answer surveys to receive points you can redeem for PayPal cash or gift cards.

Sign up and complete your general profile and category-specific profiles to get started. Complete three surveys daily and earn up to $40 monthly.

Survey categories include food and beverage, entertainment, home, personal care, apparel, travel, financial services, and healthcare.

23. Dolly

Earn up to $50 on average with Dolly, an on-demand delivery app that connects independent contractors with local people and businesses needing help lifting or transporting heavy items.

Helpers must have a pick-up truck, cargo van, box truck, or SUV with a trailer. If not, you can join as a Hand and assist Helpers with moving or take labour-only Dolly tasks.

The average hourly earnings of Helpers and Hands are $50 and $35, respectively. Both positions keep 100% of customer tips. Payment is twice a week via PayPal.

24. Turo

Earn up to $1,365 monthly by becoming a host and renting out your car via Turo, the largest car-sharing marketplace in the world.

Create an account, get approved to drive, and meet the requirements to list your vehicle. These include having valid car insurance and meeting legal and insurance standards in your region.

In listing your car, set the daily price and the rules for your renters. Upon the return of your car, earn 70% of the trip price. Payment processing is by Stripe and is available in three business days.

25. eBay

Take advantage of the millions of eBay users worldwide and use the eBay app to make money selling items like video games, jewelry, or toys.

Upload a photo of the item you want to sell, choose where to sell it and put a price on it. You can set a fixed price or use the auction feature at eBay.

Choose how you want to be paid (in cash, via PayPal, credit or debit card).

26. Kijiji

Earn cash from things you no longer need by selling them at the Kijiji online marketplace via the Kijiji app. It can be anything, from old cell phones and clothes to furniture or even a car.

Create an account at Kijiji for free and finish the registration process to start selling. Take pictures of the item you want to sell, set a price, write a description, and post the ad.

Do this for all the unused but still functional items in your house to earn money.

27. Etsy

Another excellent online site to sell your things for cash is Etsy, where you can use the app to manage orders and respond to customers.

Register at Etsy for a free account and set your shop location and currency. Create your listing and select a payment and billing method.

Etsy charges a listing fee of 0.20 USD per item and a transaction fee of 6.5% of the total order amount (including shipping and gift wrapping).

Related: Etsy alternatives.

28. Rakuten

Shop at over 3,500 online stores using the Rakuten app, get cash back, and get paid via PayPal or check.

Earn cash back every three months when you purchase items like clothes and electronics and through restaurants and ride-sharing.

When you join Rakuten, you also get a $30 welcome bonus after spending your first $30. In 2020, the average cash back per Rakuten member was $63.50.

What Are Gig Apps?

Gig economy apps and platforms are tools that allow freelancers to make money as contractors by providing on-demand services or goods to consumers and businesses.

The gig economy refers to the free labour market system where individuals perform freelance, on-demand, short-term contract jobs instead of conventional long-term employment.

Gig apps are web-based tools and digital platforms that gig workers use to find short-term, project-based tasks and get paid on the side.

These tools enable gig workers to work online from their homes or within close range of their residences.

They can be on-demand apps that allow employers to post tasks for particular projects or find talents for open positions.

The apps can also be platform-based tools that let gig workers post their profiles and set their rates and availability for easy access by consumers and businesses looking for their services.

How Gig Apps Work

Gig apps work by connecting gig workers to individuals and employers hiring talent to provide contract services.

These non-standard contract services are typically short-term, flexible, and project-based tasks outside the regular, long-term 9-5 work.

In this setup, companies hire self-employed people, or gig workers, instead of employees to perform specific jobs or projects.

Gigs apps offer opportunities through different platforms that feature a range of money-making prospects, from manual labour to skilled work and rental gigs.

Gig apps can be classified into three types: freelance, on-demand, and platform-based.

Freelance Apps

Freelance apps provide gig workers a venue to advertise their niche and specialized skills.

These apps will typically require gig workers to fill out their profiles to attract the attention of potential clients.

TaskRabbit and Fiverr are well-known examples of freelance apps.

On-Demand Services

This type of gig app offers users access to on-demand services. It is also ideal for employers needing individuals to fill vacant positions.

Consumers and businesses typically post their requests and corresponding rates for particular services on the app and sends them out to registered gig workers.

Doordash, Amazon Flex and Uber are examples of apps that provide on-demand services.

Platform-Based Apps

Gig economy apps under this category offer gig workers opportunities to market their services by creating profiles on their platforms and setting their prices in exchange for a commission.

With this type of app, the platform acts as a middleman for gig workers who use the platform to find gigs.

Examples of platform-based apps are Airbnb and Turo.

Gig apps and platforms typically pre-vet their workers to ensure they offer first-rate services to users or members.

As a gig worker, you can render a set amount of hours or provide work by project. When you finish a task, you move on to the next gig.

To get started, download the apps from the Apple Store or Google Play and complete the registration process.

Pros and Cons of Gig Economy Apps

Gig economy apps come with the following advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:

• Convenience and ease of access
• Numerous job opportunities
• Flexibility in schedule and hours
• Greater independence
• Ability to set rates
• Variety of tasks and clients
• Availability of full-time and part-time positions

Cons:

• No benefits
• Tax obligations and expenses
• Unexpected jobs changes
• Inconsistent pay

Are Gig Economy Apps For You?

Signing up on gig economy apps can get you numerous ways to earn extra money or supplementary income you can use for personal expenses or toward savings.

One remarkable advantage the gig economy offers is that it is not exclusive to part-time gigs but also provides full-time positions.

With the help of gig apps, you can find sources of income that give you more free rein and present countless opportunities for earning money on the side or full-time.

Since the gig economy does not provide much stability, it is critical that you handle your finances well. Consider saving for retirement by opening an IRA and contributing regularly.

FAQs

Related: High-Paying Jobs For 18-Year-Olds With No Experience