Driving for Uber and Lyft isn’t for everyone: some people need to bring children or other family members along, and some drivers prefer working at more convenient times, that may be less lucrative than rideshare driving times, queue GoPuff.
The Rideshare Guy contributor Chonce Maddox Rhea shares her GoPuff driver review with everything you need to know below.
What is GoPuff?
GPuff allows you to order stuff you might get at a convenience store and you pay $5.99 per month for a membership and $1.99 per delivery.
This could be an easy way to make some extra money as well since GoPuff hires driver-partners to deliver the items.
As someone who’s done delivery gigs like DoorDash before, I wanted to explore the idea of working as a GoPuff driver to see if it’s an opportunity that could actually be helpful to rideshare drivers looking to diversify income.
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How Does GoPuff Work for Drivers?
To start delivering with GoPuff, you must become a GoDrive Driver Partner. Since GoPuff is basically like a mobile convenience store, GoDrive partners get paid to deliver items directly to customers when they are ordered via the app.
Unlike apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats, GoDrive partners don’t make any restaurant deliveries.
This means that if you’re someone who doesn’t want smelly food in your car, or the hassle of carrying around drink orders, GoPuff might be the perfect delivery opportunity for you.
So how do you get the items that you deliver? GoPuff has a warehouse in centralized locations all over the U.S. Drivers set their own schedule in advance, then show up at the warehouse at the start of their selected shift.
When orders start coming through, you’ll be assigned a delivery route to take the items to. It’s very similar to how Amazon Flex works, so if you’ve tried that before, you’ll be familiar with it!
In some markets, GoPuff sells alcohol and tobacco, so GoDrive partners must check to make sure the customer meets the legal age requirement to buy these things. All you’d need to do is scan the customer’s ID and scan it with your phone.
Each customer uses their phone to sign off on the order once it’s received. Some minors do make orders but in that case, as a GoPuff Driver, you’ll have to verify with an adult and get their signature.
GoPuff Driver Requirements
In order to become a GoPuff driver, you must meet their basic requirements.
- Be at least 21 years old
- Have a valid U.S. driver’s license
- Vehicle insurance and registration
- Own a smartphone with up to date operating system
- Be willing and able to pass a pre-paid alcohol delivery training course (where applicable)
In what Cities Can You Be a GoPuff Driver?
GoPuff is not available in every city yet. They have 100’s of facilities delivering to over 1,000 U.S. cities.
Here’s a list of some of the more popular cities where GoPuff is located:
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Little Rock
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- Newark
- Orlando
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- Tallahassee
- Washington, DC
You can always check to see if there is a GoPuff warehouse in your area or the nearest metropolitan city.
GoPuff not available in your area? We highly recommend you try out DoorDash!
How Much Can GoPuff Drivers Make?
GoPuff’s payment structure is very similar to other platforms. GoPuff Drivers get:
- Variable Base Pay
- Tips
- Weekly Bonus
- Boosts
- Wait Pay: Only if you schedule a block of time to deliver
GoPuff currently offers a guaranteed minimum rate per hour for their drivers. This varies by city but to give you an idea, a GoDrive delivery partner in the Aurora, CO area said his guaranteed minimum rate is $14 per hour. He went on to add that if he works a 10-hour shift or longer, his rate goes up to $18 per hour.
Based on driver feedback in forums and Glassdoor, drivers can expect to earn $17/hour on average. Tips can always increase your income, so the exact amount a GoPuff driver will make will vary from time to time. GoPuff drivers get paid weekly.
Tips to Maximize Your GoPuff Earnings
1. Schedule Shifts During High Demand
One thing I love about driving gigs is that you have the freedom to choose when you work. While GoPuff does have more limitations than some other apps, you can still use their scheduling feature to your advantage by scheduling shifts during high-demand times.
Delivery drivers should keep their eye on the schedule and plan shifts based on when people will most likely be ordering items. Think of what time you’d use the app if you were a customer. Popular times might include:
- Evenings when people are too tired to run out to the store
- On weekends when lots of errands are piling up
- Or even during the workday when people can’t get out as often and would prefer a convenient delivery
2. Work Efficiently
I heard that GoPuff didn’t always allow drivers to keep 100% of their tips in the past. Instead, they worked the money from tips into their regular rate which is what some food delivery companies do as well.
Thankfully this is not the case anymore which means that the more delivers you complete, the more tips you can get. So be sure to keep organized and verify your orders accurately but also quickly so you can move on to the next one.
Working efficiently and getting as many deliveries done as you can in a timely manner can definitely bump up your earnings. Plus, GoPuff drivers may also get a bonus once you complete a certain number of deliveries during their shift.
How to Become a GoPuff Driver
If you’re interested in becoming a GoPuff driver, you can apply right on their website in just a few minutes. You’ll fill out some basic information and will have to choose which area you want to work in.
From there, you will agree to a background check and if you pass it you’ll move on to Alcohol Delivery Certification Course and an onboarding session.
After this is complete, you’ll be ready to start driving GoPuff, and you can start to select your shifts. Overall there are 12 key steps to the signup process and it takes less than 2 weeks to get started.
- Questionnaire
- Waiting List/Re-engagement
- Personal Information
- Document Upload
- Direct Deposit
- W9 Information
- Review and Sign
- Background Check
- Alcohol Delivery Certification Course
- Onboarding Videos
- Onboarding Session
- Ready to Drive
Pros and Cons of Being a GoPuff Delivery Driver
Pros
- Deliver items from a central location. Unlike driving for Uber, Lyft and delivery apps like GrubHub, GoDrive partners only deliver local orders that are near their specific warehouse location. This puts less mileage and strain on your car and you’ll always know where you’re headed to deliver.
- Set your own hours. GoDrive partners get to choose their own hours but still have some structure with their schedules since shifts are selected at least a week in advance. GoPuff deliveries run until 4:30 am in some markets (and 24/7 in others), so this could work for your availability.
- Guaranteed minimum rate. The guaranteed minimum rate for GoPuff drivers is not bad especially given the fact that your mileage will be lower than with rideshare driving. While, you get to keep all your tips so GoPuff doesn’t take a portion of this you do also need to consider your expenses for gas, taxes, and insurance as well.
Cons
- Dealing with cash payments and tips. One GoPuff driver mentioned how dealing with cash payments and tips can be a little tedious. Since GoPuff operates as a mobile gas station, they try to make it convenient for customers by allowing them to pay for their orders in cash in some select markets. As a delivery driver, you may not prefer to carry a ton of cash or have to deal with the burden of keeping up with it.
- Handling orders from minors or having to ID customers. Handling orders from minors creates an extra step in the delivery process since you have to make sure an adult signs off on the order. What if a teenager orders and there is no adult present when you deliver? Another potential conflict could be the extra time it takes to deliver orders for alcohol and tobacco. While it’s important to check IDs, this adds more time to your delivery when you could be focusing on getting back to the warehouse to take more orders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of car do I need to be a GoPuff delivery driver?
GoPuff doesn’t provide any vehicle requirements publicly, so there may not be any strict guidelines in this area. Since you’re transporting goods and not people, the year and model of your car is not a big factor like it would be with Uber and Lyft.
How can I bring GoPuff to my city?
If GoPuff is not currently in your area but you’d like it to be, be sure to make it known by reaching out to them on social media. They encourage people to tweet at @gopuff to recommend cities they should launch in next.
How much do GoPuff delivery drivers make?
GoPuff drivers earn an average of $15 per hour according to Indeed. While GoPuff does have a guaranteed minimum rate, this varies depending on your location.
How do I schedule a shift with GoPuff?
You can schedule your shifts from the driver app. Once you sign up for an available shift, you are guaranteed to work those hours and must show up on time.
Should You Sign Up for GoPuff?
Overall, driving for GoPuff seems pretty easy. You choose your schedule and don’t have to deal with waiting at restaurants or packaging any orders.
You simply just show up at the warehouse at the start of your shift and deliver pre-packaged orders to customers.
One of the biggest perks is that you’ll be delivering in one specific area which can save your car some strain over time.
As with all extra income opportunities, there are pros and cons. If GoPuff is in your area, you should give it a try to earn some extra income part-time.
Would you drive for GoPuff or use it as a customer?
