I’m Kayla. I wanted extra cash without wrecking my weekends. So I tested side hustle apps for six months. Groceries, dogs, packages, odd jobs, tiny online tasks — I did them all. I even logged every win and fail in a deeper breakdown you can skim right here if you like the nitty-gritty numbers. Some days were great. Some days felt like pushing a cart with a bad wheel. You know what? I learned a lot.
Recent research backs up why I jumped in: a Bankrate survey shows that more than one-third of U.S. adults now run a side hustle, pocketing an average of $891 a month.
Below is what I used, what I earned, and how it felt in real life.
DoorDash — fast food, fast mood
- Where: North Austin
- Gear: big hot bag, phone stand, water bottle
- When: dinner rush, Thu–Sun, 5–8 pm
What I made: My best night was a Friday during football season — $86 in 3 hours ($28/hr), six short trips, tips were strong. A slow Monday was rough — $31 in 2 hours.
What I liked: Quick wins. Pick up. Drop off. Done. I stacked two orders a lot. I also liked the map heat zones during storms. Rain equals hungry people.
What bugged me: Low-ball orders. $3 for 6 miles? Hard pass. I learned to wait for higher pay and short miles. It’s a patience game.
Tiny tip: Keep ketchup packets in your car. I’ve saved more “where’s the sauce?” texts than I can count.
Instacart — big carts, big tips (sometimes)
- Where: H-E-B and Costco
- When: Sat mornings, 9 am–noon
What I made: A single Costco batch paid $32 plus a $10 tip for 45 minutes. Felt great. Then I did a 60-item H-E-B with 9 replacements — $18 total and sore shoulders. So yeah, swings.
What I liked: Nice customers who tip well. Holiday weeks were hot — November and December paid better.
What bugged me: Out-of-stock stress. I’m texting, waiting, swapping items. Time melts away.
Tiny tip: Bring reusable bags and a tiny Sharpie. Label bags by aisle. You move faster and look pro.
Amazon Flex — steady blocks, heavy boxes
- Where: East side station
- When: 2-hour blocks, weekday mornings
What I made: $72 for a 3-hour block with 28 stops. Route was tight, so I finished in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Felt like a win.
What I liked: Clear plan. You know the block and base pay before you go. I liked the quiet car time with a podcast.
What bugged me: Stairs. Three-story walk-ups with cases of water will humble you. Also, apartment gates can eat time.
Tiny tip: Wear real shoes. Not cute shoes. Real shoes.
If your delivery routes ever carry you through southern Oregon and you’re hunting for a quick way to relax between blocks, take a peek at the candid spa listings on Rubmaps Grants Pass — you’ll find user-generated reviews and details that help you book a legit massage without wasting any of your hard-earned gig cash.
Rover — pets and peace
- What I did: 30-minute dog walks, weekend sitting
- When: weekday lunch, weekends
What I made: $20 for a 30-minute walk, plus repeat clients. A three-night dog sit paid $120, and the dog slept like a log. I did too.
What I liked: Fresh air and calm. Dogs never ask for ETA screenshots. I left notes and pics. Pet parents love that. If you’d rather earn just by racking up steps, I also tried a lineup of apps that pay you to walk and spilled the truth about them in this review.
What bugged me: Cancellations. Also, rain walks. Wet leash, wet shoes, wet soul.
Tiny tip: Bring spare poop bags and a small towel. Trust me.
TaskRabbit — odd jobs, handy cash
- What I did: IKEA builds, TV mounts, small moves
- Rate: I set $28/hr for assembly, $32/hr for mounts
What I made: A MALM dresser took 1 hour and 10 minutes. $35 plus a $10 tip. A TV mount job ran 90 minutes — $48. Clients liked that I brought my own drill.
What I liked: Clear start, clear finish. You can see the task before you accept.
What bugged me: Parking. And some listings leave out key details, like, “Oh, it’s two dressers.” Cool cool.
Tiny tip: Keep a small toolkit and painter’s tape. Tape helps mark level lines fast.
Fiverr — tiny gigs, quick hits
- What I did: Short voice tags, simple Canva thumbnails, product photo touch-ups
- Time: nights after 9 pm
What I made: $15 for a 60-second voice tag. $10–$20 for simple thumbnails. One weekend I stacked five small gigs and cleared $78.
What I liked: Work in pajamas. No driving. I listened to lo-fi, sipped tea, and clicked. Selling your own closets picks can be another comfy couch hustle — I tested apps like Depop and broke down what actually moved the needle in this piece.
What bugged me: The race to respond. Fast replies win. Also, fees nibble your pay.
Tiny tip: Use templates. I saved scripts and thumbnail layouts, so jobs took minutes, not hours.
UserTesting — talk through a website, get paid
- What I did: 10–20 minute tests on new sites
- Pay I saw: $10 for 15 minutes, $30–$60 for live 30–60 minute sessions (less common)
What I liked: Easy. You just say what you think while you click. I once tested a meal kit checkout. They wanted to know where I felt stuck. Spoiler: it was the add-ons.
What bugged me: Screening out. You won’t qualify for every test. Some days? Zero.
Tiny tip: Speak your thoughts out loud the whole time. They love that.
Prolific — surveys that don’t feel like junk
- What I did: academic studies
- Pay I saw: usually $8–$12 per hour
What I liked: Fair pay for short tasks. Clear time estimates. I did a 12-minute study on news headlines for $2.20. Not bad while sipping coffee.
What bugged me: Slots fill fast. You have to check often.
Tiny tip: Turn on phone alerts. Grab studies quick.
Field Agent (and Gigwalk) — quick store checks
- What I did: price checks, display photos, mystery shopper snack runs
- Time: 5–20 minutes each
What I made: $4–$8 per task, sometimes $12 if it sat long. I chained three stores on one block and made $22 in an hour while running my own errands.
What I liked: In and out. Feels like a tiny quest.
What bugged me: Photo rules. If the shelf tag is blurry, they reject it. I learned to slow down and steady my hand.
Tiny tip: Wipe your camera lens. It matters.
A real week that worked for me
- Tue: DoorDash 5–7 pm — $44
- Thu: UserTesting 20 min — $10
- Fri: DoorDash 6–8:30 pm — $76
- Sat: Instacart 9–11 am — $42
- Sun: Rover walk 30 min — $20
Total: $192. Gas was about $18. I kept a simple log in Google Sheets and tracked miles with MileIQ. Not fancy, just steady. If spreadsheets feel like homework, a dashboard app like Loup can sync your gig payouts automatically and show your real take-home in one spot.
What made the biggest difference
- Pick your hours like a chef picks fruit. Dinner rush beats mid-afternoon. Rain pays. Holidays spike.
- Sort by miles, not just dollars. $8 for 1 mile beats $12 for 9 miles.
- Gear matters. Hot bag, phone mount, charger, comfy shoes. A little kit saves your day.
- Be kind. Short texts like “On my way, 8 mins!” lead to better tips. People notice.
- Taxes are real. I saved 25% of gig money in a separate account. Boring, but safe.
The apps I still open first
- Fast cash day: DoorDash
- Quiet home night: UserTesting + Prolific
- Big weekend: Instacart or Amazon Flex
- Feel-good work: Rover
- Handy mood: TaskRabbit
Final take
Side hustle apps can help. They won’t print money. But a smart route, good timing,