Short answer: DoorDash pays more per hour and gives you the simpler schedule, but Instacart pays more per order and burns less gas. For a parent with young kids, Instacart in the morning while they nap and DoorDash in the evening while your partner is home is the version most families in our community actually run.
I have watched a lot of parents in Edmonton start one of these apps, and almost nobody fails because the work is hard. They fail because they never worked out the take-home number, or because they assumed a second adult or a toddler in the car was fine until an account got flagged.
Every figure in this guide comes from what shoppers and Dashers report they actually earned, and every one of them is gross. The number that decides whether this works for your family comes later, after gas, after childcare, and after tax.
All amounts are Canadian dollars, and all reported pay data is as of 2026.
Table of Contents
- The Direct Answer: Instacart vs DoorDash for Parents Side Hustle
- What Each App Actually Asks You to Do
- What You Actually Take Home After Childcare, Gas and Tax
- Can You Bring Your Kids or a Second Adult?
- A Sample Weekly Schedule Around School Hours
- How to Sign Up for Each App
- Customer Ratings and Why a Star Drop Costs You Batches
- Edmonton and Alberta Notes
- Alternatives Worth Comparing
- When to Quit and When to Stick With It
- A 30-Day Try-It Plan With a Go or No-Go Checkpoint
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Which pays more, DoorDash or Instacart?
- Can I make 1000 a week doing Instacart?
- Can you make 100 a day on Instacart?
- Can you make 200 a day on Instacart?
- Which is better to make money, DoorDash or Instacart?
- How many hours of DoorDash to reach 1000 a week?
- Can you bring your kids on DoorDash?
- Can you do Instacart with your husband?
- Do Instacart shoppers pay for their own gas?
- Is Instacart or DoorDash cheaper to work with?
- The Verdict for Edmonton Parents
The Direct Answer: Instacart vs DoorDash for Parents Side Hustle
Here is the Instacart vs DoorDash for parents side hustle verdict in one pass. DoorDash wins on hourly rate because a delivery is a shorter, more predictable job with a paid time component. Instacart wins per order because a batch pays a flat amount plus mileage plus a tip on a basket full of groceries. DoorDash wins on schedule control in the evening, because the demand peaks when your partner can be home. Instacart costs you less in gas because the store is usually on your way already. And on the single question parents ask most, can you bring your kids, Instacart carries the stricter policy.
- Best hourly rate: DoorDash, especially during the 5 to 8 p.m. peak.
- Best pay per job: Instacart, because a batch is a bigger basket with a bigger tip attached.
- Lowest vehicle cost: Instacart, with shorter store-to-customer hops and no long restaurant runs.
- Easiest to start: DoorDash, if your market is already open to new Dashers.
- Best for nap-time blocks: Instacart, because daytime batches are steady and self-contained.
- Best for evenings with a partner home: DoorDash, because dinner demand is the strongest of the week.
- Stricter about a second person in the vehicle: Instacart.
| Category | Instacart | DoorDash |
|---|---|---|
| Typical reported hourly rate | Around 20 to 25 an hour at a steady pace | Around 22 an hour average, 30 to 40 during the evening peak in strong markets |
| Pay per job | Flat batch pay, plus mileage, plus customer tip, plus a heavy order fee on large baskets | Base pay, plus a distance or time component, plus the customer tip |
| Job length | 30 to 60 minutes of shopping before the drive | 10 to 20 minutes of pickup, then the drive |
| Vehicle needed | Not strictly. Some batches can be done on foot or by bike | Yes, a car, scooter, or bike depending on the market |
| Schedule control | Accept or decline each batch as it appears | Accept or decline each offer, and schedule shifts ahead of time |
| Kids in the vehicle | Strict. A second person, including a child, can put the account at risk | Looser, but no child should be left unattended in a running vehicle |
| Gas and mileage cost | Lower, because the store is often on your route | Higher, because restaurant pickup adds a stop |
| Rating strictness | Harsh. A rolling 100-review average near 4.95 is expected | Steadier, with a rolling average and an 80% completion rate floor |
| Payout rhythm | Weekly, with a low-cost instant cash-out option | Weekly, with an instant pay option at a per-use fee |
| Main barrier to entry | Waitlists and zone saturation in some cities | Market capacity, and the car has to be reliable in winter |
What Each App Actually Asks You to Do
Instacart: shop first, then drive
An Instacart shopper receives a batch, which is one customer’s grocery order. You go to the store, find every item on the list, follow the app through the aisles, and then either deliver it or hand it off.
There are two roles. The in-store shopper only shops and is hired as an employee, with a set hourly wage and benefits. The full-service shopper shops and delivers as an independent contractor, paid per batch. Most parents pick full-service because the schedule is the whole point.
Pay comes in layers. You get base pay for the batch, mileage for the distance you drive, a customer tip, and sometimes a heavy order fee when the basket is large. Peak pay is a bonus that runs during busy windows like Friday evening or Sunday morning.
DoorDash: pick up, then drive
A Dasher accepts an offer, drives to a restaurant, waits for the order, and delivers it to the customer. There is no shopping and no substitutions, which is the single biggest difference in how the two jobs feel on a bad day.
Pay structure is base pay, a distance or time component, and the customer tip. Promotions and bonuses appear in the app during peak periods, and the 5 to 8 p.m. window is the one most Dashers say is worth staying online for.
Which job suits a restless child more
Instacart is calmer. You are walking a predictable store, and the child is in a stroller or the car while you shop. DoorDash is faster and more stop-start, with restaurant waits you cannot control and a customer at the door who may need change.
What You Actually Take Home After Childcare, Gas and Tax
This is the section most earnings articles skip, and it is the only one that decides whether a side hustle helps a family. The gross number on your screen is not income. It is income minus your own costs, and for a parent there is one cost that dwarfs the rest.
How we calculated the numbers here
We use reported worker earnings rather than company maximums, because shoppers on Reddit and in local parent groups consistently distrust the advertised ceiling. Reported DoorDash earnings cluster around 22 an hour on average, rising to 30 to 40 an hour in the evening peak in strong markets. Reported Instacart earnings cluster around 20 to 25 an hour at a steady pace, with 25 to 30 an hour described as achievable but selective, meaning you have to grab the right batches rather than take whatever appears.
We then subtract the expenses a parent actually carries: mileage, gas, phone data, insulated bags, and parking. We do not subtract income tax, because that is a set-aside rather than a cost, and we show it separately below.
A realistic week on each app
A parent working a normal school-week pattern on DoorDash typically reports 15 to 20 hours a week at a blended rate near 22 an hour. That is roughly 330 to 440 a week before expenses. Run the same 15 to 20 hours on Instacart at 20 to 25 an hour and you land in a similar band, but the spread is wider because batch availability decides your day.
The forum reality is that income is volatile week to week. One parent with three kids reported roughly 31,000 in a year on Instacart, and was careful to say that figure came before gas, mileage, and wear on the vehicle. That is the honest version of a number people repeat without the caveat.
| Weekly take-home math | DoorDash | Instacart |
|---|---|---|
| Gross for 18 hours | About 400 | About 380 to 450 |
| Miles driven | Typically 90 to 130 | Typically 60 to 90 |
| Gas and maintenance set aside | About 35 to 55 | About 25 to 40 |
| Phone data and gear | About 10 | About 10 |
| Before tax | About 335 to 355 | About 330 to 395 |
| Tax set-aside at roughly 25% | About 85 to 90 | About 85 to 100 |
| Realistic weekly take-home | About 245 to 270 | About 245 to 295 |
At 18 hours a week, both land close to the same place. The gap opens when you work more hours, because Instacart’s higher per-batch tips reward the batches you learn to spot, and DoorDash’s evening peak rewards patience rather than speed.
The childcare break-even point
Here is the question no earnings guide asks. If the money only arrives when someone is watching your kids, the job is not worth it below a certain hourly rate. That rate is your childcare cost per hour, not some national average.
Use your own number, not a stranger’s. Add up what you pay a sitter, a neighbour, or a daycare for the hours you would work, and divide by those hours. If your real rate is 12 an hour, a 22-an-hour DoorDash shift is genuinely worth it. If your real rate is 18 an hour, most of your DoorDash evening work is not worth the arrangement, and the Instacart morning block with a partner home may be the only version that clears your own bar.
Outlier claims need an honest look too. You will see videos of short bursts that look spectacular, and you will see the question of whether you can make 100 a day or 200 a day on Instacart asked over and over. The answer is that a strong day is possible and a bad day is normal. Anyone promising a predictable figure is describing their best week, not their average week.
Can You Bring Your Kids or a Second Adult?
Yes on DoorDash, with caveats. No on Instacart, in practice.
Instacart’s terms treat the account holder as the only person working the batch. Parents on forums describe the fear of deactivation as the single biggest reason they will not run a nap-time batch with a sleeping toddler in the back seat or a partner riding along. We did not find one named account case, so treat this as the widely reported policy risk rather than a confirmed enforcement pattern.
DoorDash is looser in practice because a delivery has no customer interaction and no substitutions. The limits there are practical rather than platform-based: no child left alone in a running vehicle in any weather, and no child in the vehicle when you are handing a food order to a customer at the door.
The honest workarounds are all scheduling solutions, not policy ones. Run Instacart while a partner or a sitter is home. Run DoorDash in the evening when the household is awake and settled. Or run the in-store shopper role, which involves no delivery vehicle and no second-person question at all.
A Sample Weekly Schedule Around School Hours
Run both apps, and they stop competing. Shoppers who use two apps commonly describe the split simply: mornings are Instacart, nights are DoorDash. Grocery demand is heavy late morning, dinner demand is heavy early evening, and a parent can cover both without giving up the whole day.
| Day | Block | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Instacart | School run done, partner home, batches are steady before the lunch rush |
| Monday to Thursday | 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on DoorDash | Dinner peak, the strongest pay window, household is awake |
| Friday | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Instacart | Weekend grocery volume, bigger baskets, heavier tips |
| Saturday | 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Instacart | Longest shopping blocks of the week, best for a bigger take |
| Sunday | 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on DoorDash | Pre-week meal delivery, light competition after 6 p.m. |
That pattern lands around 18 to 22 hours a week without ever leaving the house unsupervised. The rule that keeps it working is a hard stop time, because on-demand work has no natural ending otherwise.
How to Sign Up for Each App
- Apply online. Instacart shoppers and DoorDash Dashers both apply through the company website, and both ask for a driver’s licence, your date of birth, your address, and your banking details for payouts.
- Complete the background check. Both platforms run one. In Canada this is a criminal record check, and results usually arrive within a few days.
- Wait for the account invitation. DoorDash invites you to a market. Instacart may place you on a waitlist, and in some cities that wait has stretched for a long time. This is the single most common reason a parent gives up before starting.
- Choose your role and equipment. On Instacart, pick in-store shopping if you want set hours and employee status, or full-service if you want control. On DoorDash, decide whether you are driving, biking, or scooting.
- Learn the first week before you count it. Both apps have a rating history that follows you forever. A slow first week protects the number you will need later.
- Turn on instant payouts only when you need them. Both apps offer a same-day cash-out for a per-use fee. Regular payout is free, so save the instant option for emergencies.
Customer Ratings and Why a Star Drop Costs You Batches
On Instacart, your customer rating is a rolling average of roughly the 100 most recent reviews, and shoppers consistently say the number to protect is around 4.95. Drop below that and the good batches thin out. The practical damage is not a warning, it is silence, because lower-rated shoppers stop receiving the high-tipping orders.
On DoorDash, the system is steadier but has its own floor. There is a rolling customer rating, a completion rate, and a cancellation record, and the completion rate needs to stay above 80% to protect your standing.
Two more mechanics matter for a parent. On both apps a customer can reduce or remove a tip after delivery, usually within a short window, which means a good week can shrink retroactively. And on Instacart, substitution choices are judged hard, so when you cannot find an item, follow the app’s replacement rules exactly.
Edmonton and Alberta Notes
Edmonton changes the math in ways the US comparison articles never mention. Winter is the biggest one. A dark, icy, six-block parking lot trip can take three times as long as a dry summer equivalent, and an hourly rate only holds if you are accounting for the time, not just the distance.
Instacart works with local grocery partners in the Edmonton area, which means batch availability depends on which stores are live in your zone. Check which stores are active near you before you judge the app, because a zone with three live stores behaves very differently from a zone with nine.
On the money side, gig income is taxable and self-reported in Canada, and the first dollar of a delivery is not yours. Set aside roughly a quarter of every payout the day it lands. Many parents use a separate high-interest savings account so the tax money is already separated when the bill arrives.
Also check your car insurance. A vehicle used for regular paid delivery work can change how your policy classifies your car, and telling your insurer is cheaper than finding out after a claim.
Alternatives Worth Comparing
Before you commit, run one week on a second app. Amazon Flex, Shipt, Uber Eats, and SkipTheDishes all use similar mechanics, and the fastest way to learn which one fits your hours is to compare the same evening on two of them rather than reading another comparison article.
Amazon Flex tends to reward block delivery routes with a set payment for a time window, which can feel more predictable than per-order work. Shipt overlaps heavily with Instacart, since some Instacart customers order through Shipt. Uber Eats and SkipTheDishes behave much like DoorDash, with peak pay during dinner hours.
There is also the least glamorous option, which is grocery pickup and scoop-and-sweep work advertised locally. No app, no rating system, and often a better hourly rate if you have a reliable car and like physical work.
When to Quit and When to Stick With It
Pay on both platforms has declined over the years, and shoppers who have been at it since the late 2010s are the ones who say so most clearly. One parent stopped because the time-to-pay ratio no longer felt worth it, but still checks for good batches rather than deleting the app.
Zone saturation is the other quiet factor. When too many shoppers compete in one area, low-paying batches sit unclaimed until a newer shopper takes them, and veterans end up waiting for peak boosts that may or may not appear.
Stay with it if your blended rate clears your childcare cost, your completion rate and rating are solid, and you are still choosing batches rather than taking whatever shows up. Leave it if you are paying someone to watch your kids in order to earn less than you are paying them, or if a single rating slip has quietly dried up the good work.
A 30-Day Try-It Plan With a Go or No-Go Checkpoint
- Days 1 to 3: Sign up, pass the background check, and get both apps on your phone. Do not turn on instant payouts yet.
- Days 4 to 10: Work one app only. Choose Instacart and work morning blocks, or choose DoorDash and work the evening peak. Keep the other one untouched so your test is clean.
- Days 8 to 20: Track every mile in a mileage log app from day one. Write down the time you started, the time you finished, and every expense. Without this record you cannot do the break-even math honestly.
- Days 21 to 25: Add the second app and compare. Try the Instacart morning and DoorDash evening pattern for a full week.
- Day 30: Run the go or no-go test. Divide your net earnings by your total hours, including unpaid waiting and shopping time. Compare that number to your own childcare rate. If you clear it, keep going and set a weekly target. If you do not, stop cleanly before you build a habit around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which pays more, DoorDash or Instacart?
DoorDash pays more per hour, with Dashers reporting around 22 an hour on average and 30 to 40 an hour during the 5 to 8 p.m. peak. Instacart pays more per job, because a batch covers a full grocery basket with a flat rate, mileage, and a larger tip. After gas and mileage, the two are surprisingly close at around 18 hours a week.
Can I make 1000 a week doing Instacart?
It is possible in a strong market with long hours, but it is not a typical week. Most parents who run Instacart alongside school hours report 15 to 20 hours a week, which lands around 330 to 450 before expenses. The figures people quote online are almost always gross, before gas, mileage, wear on the vehicle, and tax.
Can you make 100 a day on Instacart?
Yes, in a good week with a full schedule. A four-hour morning block with several large batches can clear that, and shoppers who cherry-pick high-tip orders report 25 to 30 an hour. Treat a slow day as normal, because batch availability, zone saturation, and customer tips all swing week to week.
Can you make 200 a day on Instacart?
That is an outlier day, not an average one. A parent would need a long day, several heavy-order batches, and good tips landing together. We would plan a budget on a blended rate of 20 to 25 an hour instead, and treat anything above that as a bonus month rather than a plan.
Which is better to make money, DoorDash or Instacart?
DoorDash is better if you want a steadier hourly rate and you can work the evening peak when a partner is home. Instacart is better if your mornings are free, you want bigger tips per job, and you prefer a calm indoor task over restaurant waits and doorstep handovers.
How many hours of DoorDash to reach 1000 a week?
At a blended 22 an hour you are looking at roughly 45 hours a week before expenses. Subtract gas, mileage, and phone costs and the real figure is closer to 50 to 55 hours. For a parent, that number is the reason most people run both apps rather than pushing one harder.
Can you bring your kids on DoorDash?
DoorDash is the more permissive of the two, since a delivery has no shopping and no customer conversation. The limits are practical, not platform rules: never leave a child alone in a running vehicle in any weather, and do not have a child in the vehicle when you hand an order to a customer at the door.
Can you do Instacart with your husband?
The safest answer is no. Instacart treats the account holder as the only person working a batch, and shoppers widely report the fear of deactivation as their main reason for not bringing anyone along. Work the in-store shopper role instead, or schedule your batches for the hours when a second adult is already home.
Do Instacart shoppers pay for their own gas?
You cover your own fuel and maintenance, and mileage is paid as a set rate inside the batch rather than as a reimbursement for real fuel cost. If you run 60 to 90 miles a week on Instacart, set aside roughly 25 to 40 a week for gas and upkeep from what you earn.
Is Instacart or DoorDash cheaper to work with?
Instacart is cheaper to run. Grocery batches usually start at a store on or near your route, and shoppers report fewer miles per week than Dashers, who add a restaurant pickup stop to every delivery. That difference shows up as 10 to 15 a week in fuel and upkeep, not a huge amount but a real one.
The Verdict for Edmonton Parents
Both apps are worth it as a side hustle for parents, but only once the take-home number clears your own childcare rate. DoorDash wins the hourly comparison and the evening schedule. Instacart wins on tips per job, on lower vehicle costs, and on mornings that fit naturally around a nap.
My recommendation for most families here is to run the 30-day plan, start with the app that fits the hours your household is already calm, and keep the second one for the other half of the day. Set aside a quarter of every payout for tax from day one, track every mile, and decide at the checkpoint rather than drifting.
Start with the sign-up, not with a plan for a perfect week. The families who stick with this longest are the ones who treated the first month as a test.