With the rise of the gig economy, many Americans have taken up app-based delivery driving as a means of earning extra income (or even as full-time work). One of the most well-regarded of these delivery services is Amazon Flex Delivery.
Amazon Flex Delivery driving can be a great opportunity to earn money with only a few limited requirements. Namely, you’ll need a vehicle and the ability to pass the entry requirements. After that, you can start making deliveries!
Before you jump in and become an Amazon driver, you may be curious as to how much they make. In this article, we’ll discuss:
- The Amazon Delivery network
- Hourly, weekly, and monthly earning averages of Amazon drivers compared to other services
- A breakdown of the Amazon Delivery payment structure
- Other factors and expenses to consider.
Let’s get into it!
Amazon Delivery Network
Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce is unparalleled. Worldwide, there are over 310 million Amazon users, and in the United States, there are 148.6 million Amazon Prime memberships.
Getting all of the products from fulfillment centers to customers across the US requires a robust and efficient delivery network.
Amazon’s delivery network is made up of Amazon Delivery, Amazon Logistics, and Amazon Flex.
Amazon Delivery consists of small businesses that partner with Amazon and use Amazon technology to deliver products to customers. Amazon Delivery drivers work with these businesses to fulfill their deliveries.
As an independent, private driver, Amazon Flex provides the best opportunity to earn money by making deliveries.
Amazon Flex enables drivers to reserve a timeslot in which to make deliveries, and Amazon guarantees a minimum contribution of $15 to 19 per hour of scheduled time depending on your location.
This rate can increase during busier delivery hours, and drivers also stand to keep 100% of the tips they receive from customers!
Hourly Earnings Across Platforms: The Data
Amazon Delivery isn’t the only delivery game in town, and depending on your needs and capabilities, there is a wide variety to choose from.
With that being said, the bottom line is a key factor in deciding which service you should sign up for. Hundreds of thousands of independent workers use the Solo app to help optimize their schedule and maximize their earnings potential.
Based on national averages, Amazon Flex drivers earn $25.07 per hour worked, putting them at the top spot.
Just below, at $22.96, Uber drivers ferry customers about town. Instacart, UberEats, and DoorDash drivers earn $16.45, $16.37, and $13.55 per hour respectively for food and grocery delivery.
Earnings Per Trip
Given that your hours are spent delivering goods as an Amazon Flex driver, it can be useful to know how much each trip is worth to you in earnings.
These rates do fluctuate based on the time the trip takes place and the duration, but based on national averages we know:
- Amazon Flex drivers can earn between $18 to $26 depending on the variables discussed above
- Instacart Drivers earn on average $15.51 per trip. Uber drivers earn $12.70 per trip, and UberEats and DoorDash drivers earn on average $8.75 per trip and $7.78 per trip respectively.
From these numbers, we can see that other services have to perform more deliveries in an hour to match the Amazon Flex per-trip earnings.
Weekly Earnings Per Platform
Weekly earnings are measured based on the average driver’s overall earnings per week, and take into account variable hours and the distinction between full and part-time drivers.
It is also worth noting that Amazon Flex drivers book blocks of hours out, so their minimum earnings are set per block booked.
Here are the weekly earning averages for each app:
- Uber: $423.63/week
- Amazon Flex: $311.76/week
- Doordash: $199.36/week
- Instacart: $196.85/week
- UberEats: $170.31/week.
We can see that week over week, Uber drivers on average earn more than their Amazon Flex counterparts.
Monthly Averages
The monthly averages of different delivery drivers are similarly calculated based on national average earnings numbers. The same variables are at play with these numbers as others.
- Uber: $1,136.47/month
- Amazon Flex: $823.05/month
- Doordash: $535.77/month
- Instacart: $499.76/month
- UberEats: $431.38/month.
Similarly to the weekly earnings averages, Uber drivers are the highest earners month over month, with Amazon Flex drivers coming in second.
Understanding Amazon’s Payment Structure
Amazon Flex has a payment structure different from most other apps. The key factors are minimum contributions guaranteed by Amazon, the booking of hours, and 100% of tips kept by drivers.
Base Compensation
Amazon guarantees all Flex drivers a base return on their hours booked. Depending on where they are located and what time the hours take place, that rate varies from $15.00 to $19.00 an hour.
Incentives and Bonuses
Amazon Flex drivers are granted access to a wide variety of perks and benefits through Amazon Flex Rewards.
These include cashback on Amazon purchases, preferential scheduling, and thousands of discounts on Amazon products. Flex Rewards points are earned simply by making deliveries.
Tips
Amazon Flex drivers retain 100% of tips given to them by customers. Amazon does not ever take a cut!
Handily, Amazon provides tip data to drivers when they schedule a delivery block based on recent trips to that area and the tips received for those trips.
Block Rates
Because Amazon Flex drivers schedule blocks of hours to work, those blocks are assigned different guaranteed pay rates based on time, location, distance, and other variables.
The base pay guaranteed by Amazon will never drop below $15.00 per hour, however.
Other Factors Influencing Earnings
While the standard hourly, weekly, monthly, and per-trip earnings averages give a good indication of how much you stand to earn as an Amazon Flex delivery driver, there are other factors to take into account when assessing your potential earnings:
Number of Trips
Delivery drivers earn more when they have more deliveries to make because they are more likely to collect more tips!
If you have an hour with 25 deliveries to make, you stand to earn a lot more than during an hour with only 10 deliveries. Be sure to factor this into your estimations.
Seasonal Fluctuations
People are more likely to have things delivered when going out to collect them is a hassle or particularly unpleasant.
For this reason, the height of summer or cold winter often sees more people needing projects to be delivered in order to save themselves the trip. This means that there is some seasonal variability in your earnings.
Efficiency and Speed
The more efficient you are, the more trips you can perform in your allotted Amazon Flex block.
Further, the more prompt and efficient your deliveries are, the better feedback you will get from customers (and the more highly regarded you will be).
Delivery Locations
Drivers earn more based on location-based demand. The highest-earning metro areas are as follows:
Amazon Flex: Seattle, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Atlanta
Doordash: New York, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas
Instacart: Seattle, Atlanta, LA, New York, Chicago
Uber: New York, Seattle, LA, San Francisco, Miami
Uber Eats: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, LA, Chicago
Expenses to Consider
Amazon Flex drivers are independent contractors, which means the tools of their trade are purchased and maintained out of their earnings and not provided by Amazon.
Factors like gas, parking, internet access, cell phone plans, and any other day-to-day costs of delivery work need to be covered by your earnings.
You can use the Solo app to track your expenses so you can save big come tax time. The Solo app allows you to track all of your expenses, and even allows you to take photos of receipts, bills, etc. to ensure you’re not missing any potential tax deductions.
Net Earnings: What to Really Expect
You have to pay taxes and deduct operating costs from your earnings as an Amazon Flex driver. The benefit is that you have a guaranteed pay rate based on the blocks you schedule, so you will always have a minimum amount to make these important operational deductions from.
All things being equal, it is important to understand these costs and factor in the reality of net earnings as opposed to reading solely into gross income potential.
The Bottom Line
For dedicated, full-time drivers in one of the top 5 metro areas for Amazon Flex, being an Amazon Flex driver is a great opportunity to work flexible hours, enjoy good earnings, benefit from great perks, and have a guaranteed minimum income.
In less in-demand areas (or any area with lower average earnings), Amazon Flex could still be a great full-time job provided the cost of living is low enough.
In any case, Amazon Flex pays the most per trip and per hour of any delivery app as part-time supplementary work. Therefore, it may be the perfect opportunity to help you reach your financial goals or supplement your regular earnings! Download the Solo app to access earnings information in your city and see if Amazon Flex may be a potential fit for your schedule.
