The Best Gig Alternatives For Drizly Drivers

Drizly was one of the top online alcohol marketplaces in the U.S. Through the service, users could order online from local stores and get beer, wine, or liquor delivered straight to their doorstep.

But with Drizly shutting down, what alternatives are available to independent contractors and other gig workers driving for Drizly? Are there other jobs for delivery drivers with experience handling alcohol?

The answer is a resounding yes. Come along as we explore these five job opportunities where your Drizly delivery driver experience may help you become a top earner.

But first, let’s take a quick look at Drizly and why it’s closing shop.

Last Call For Drizly

From its inception through a text between friends to the largest online marketplace for alcohol, Drizly has had an indelible impact on the alcohol delivery industry.

Founded in 2012, Drizly steadily expanded to over 1,400 cities across the U.S. and Canada, revolutionizing alcohol delivery and providing thousands of jobs to gig workers as Drizly drivers.

This peaked in 2019 through 2020 when Drizly saw a 350% increase in sales as more people discovered the benefits of online delivery services during the pandemic.

In February 2021, Uber acquired Drizly, which ushered in a new era for the company.

However, with declining post-pandemic numbers, Uber found redundancies in its operating model, with notable overlaps between Uber’s existing food delivery services and Drizly.

To fix this, Uber announced that it would shut down Drizly and consolidate its services with Uber Eats to “focus on [their] core Uber Eats strategy” and provide customers with a one-stop experience.

Alternatives To Driving For Drizly

As such, Uber is sunsetting the standalone Drizly app and encouraging users to migrate to Uber Eats. Naturally, this also makes Uber Eats the top alternative for Drizly drivers, but it’s far from the only option.

Here are our top alcohol delivery app alternatives where you can leverage your Drizly delivery driver experience.

1. Uber Eats

Uber Eats offers one of the best-paying delivery driver jobs in the gig economy. Thanks to Uber’s giant customer base, Uber Eats delivery drivers are almost always guaranteed work.

Uber Eats alcohol delivery is also a fan-favorite, with a high satisfaction rate and an extensive network of delivery partners.

Since Uber bought Drizly in 2021, transitioning from one subsidiary to another should be smoother than moving to an entirely new organization.

The average income for an Uber driver is about $14.96 an hour. But this varies since your earnings depend on the number of orders you complete, the distance traveled, and how much customers tip you.

Before accepting any orders on Uber Eats, you get to see how much you’ll earn from the delivery.

This is especially handy when tracking your earnings—which you can see in real-time and on a historical basis on the app or website through your driver’s account.

2. Saucey

Saucey is a rapidly expanding alcohol delivery app with a growing fan base thanks to its wide range of options and speed of service.

The app offers a carefully curated selection of premium alcohol brands and promises customers a 30-minute to one-hour delivery time between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m.

This wide service window works out great for delivery drivers. It gives you more time to schedule when to work, even late at night.

Saucey offers competitive compensation where drivers earn between $13 and $18 per hour. The app also offers a payment per item delivered.

3. DoorDash

DoorDash is one of the food and drink delivery services revolutionizing the industry. It’s popular with both drivers, called Dashers, and customers and is available in almost all cities across the U.S.

While DoorDash started as a food delivery service, it has expanded to include everything from pet supplies to flowers and alcoholic drinks.

This has significantly increased driver demand, so you’ll always be guaranteed work as a DoorDash driver.

A DoorDash delivery driver makes their earnings in three ways on DoorDash:

• Base pay: This is effectively the delivery fee and is calculated based on the time, distance, and desirability of a delivery location. Drivers can see the base pay before accepting a job.
• Promotions: These include Peak Pay bonuses and special challenges. For example, you may earn extra money for completing a predetermined amount of deliveries within a set amount of time.
• Customer tips: Dashers keep 100% of the tips they receive from customers.

The DoorDash driver app and website show you “hotspots” where you’ll likely get delivery jobs.

The app also features a “Promos” section that shows when Peak Pay times are available. You can use these options to strategically plan your shifts to maximize your earnings.

4. Instacart

Instacart is considered the ideal all-rounder within the delivery work niche. It allows you to choose between working as a full-service shopper or an in-store shopper, giving you more flexibility in your work.

Full-Service Shoppers

As a full-service shopper, you’ll work as an independent contractor, accepting orders from the Instacart app, shopping, and delivering the alcohol (and other goods) to the customer’s address.

Full-service shoppers are paid weekly based on the types of orders completed within the previous week. Usually, large and complex orders pay more, while quick and easy jobs earn less. You also earn more during peak hours when demand is high.

Additionally, your Instacart driver account shows your expected earnings for each order before you accept a job. This way, you can pick and choose the best jobs for you.

In-Store Shoppers

Instacart shoppers don’t need a vehicle because they only work in stores. They operate like part-time workers, where you get to set your hours and are guaranteed a minimum wage.

The role of an in-store shopper is to assemble customers’ orders and stage them, ready for pick-up. This role is ideal if you’re ready to get off the roads but still want to make a steady, consistent income like you did on Drizly.

5. Minibar

With over 2 million successful deliveries under its belt, Minibar stands tall among the alcohol delivery apps. And its popularity is ever-growing thanks to its innovative features.

For example, Minibar uses an intelligent algorithm to analyze customers’ orders and recommend orders based on their tastes.

The app offers a party planning tool where users can plan events within a few seconds using the app’s suggestions, including drink quantities based on the number of guests.

Like on Drizly, users can choose from a wide selection and send bottles to friends and loved ones as gifts.

However, Minibar is only available in select regions in the U.S. because of the varying strictness of liquor laws across different states.

Check whether the service is available in your area on the Minibar website before settling on the service as your preferred Drizzly alternative. To that end, here’s a glance at the Minibar availability map.

Wrapping Up

There you have it. Our top five Drizly alternatives you can start driving for when the service finally brings down the curtains.

If you meet the requirements, which you likely do as a Drizly driver, you can transition quickly so your income stream isn’t interrupted.

But if you need more information or perhaps want new job options, check out our step-by-step guides, tools, and resources on all things rideshare and delivery drivers.