Best side hustle app: gig apps vs planners, and what you keep
Gig apps pay you; planner apps help you pick and track a hustle. What each asks of you, the 15.3% self-employment tax, and a free planner app.
October 2, 2026 · 6 min read
"Side hustle app" means two different things. Some apps are the side hustle: delivery, rideshare and task apps that send you work and pay you per job. Others help you choose and run one: they suggest what fits your time and skills, run the numbers, and track what you earn. Most people need both kinds at some point, and picking the wrong one first is a common way to waste a month.
This guide explains the difference, what the gig apps ask of you, the tax rule every side hustler should know, and what our free planner app, Monthly Income Booster, does.
Two kinds of side hustle app
- Gig apps pay you for work they send you: deliveries, rides, errands, pet sitting. You can start quickly, but the platform sets the pay and you cover your own costs, such as gas.
- Planner and tracker apps don't pay you. They help you pick a hustle that suits your hours, budget and skills, estimate what it might earn after costs and tax, and log your income against a goal.
If you already know you want to deliver food tonight, go straight to a gig app. If you're not sure what to start, or want to know whether a hustle is worth it after costs, start with a planner.
What a gig app asks of you: DoorDash as an example
DoorDash's Requirements for Dashing page (checked October 2, 2026) says you must be at least 18 and have an iPhone or Android smartphone, and complete the sign-up process. Some states set a higher minimum age: 21 in California for new applicants, and 19 in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Other gig apps have their own rules, so check each one's help pages before you sign up.
The tax rule every side hustler should know
Gig and freelance income in the US is usually self-employment income. According to the IRS (checked October 2, 2026):
- The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare.
- You must file Schedule SE if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.
- Generally, the amount subject to the tax is 92.35% of your net earnings, which are your gross income minus ordinary and necessary business expenses.
Worked example: a hustle that nets $600 a month after expenses makes $7,200 a year. 92.35% of that is $6,649.20, and 15.3% of $6,649.20 is about $1,017 in self-employment tax, before any income tax. That's why "what it pays" and "what you keep" are different numbers. This is a simplified example, not tax advice; the IRS pages above have the full rules.
Monthly Income Booster: what the app does
Monthly Income Booster is our planner-and-tracker app. It's free on Google Play and the App Store (on Google Play it is titled "Coast FIRE & Side Hustle Ideas"). From its current Play listing:
- A personal side income plan. Set a monthly goal and answer ten quick questions about your time, money, skills and risk. The plan draws on 273 strategies across 20 income types, with estimated monthly ranges, setup steps, platforms and tips, and tells you which two or three to start with.
- Side hustle guides for real situations: teachers, nurses, stay-at-home parents, college students and teens, retirees and veterans, introverts, people with a full-time job, starting with no money, and making money with your car or a spare room.
- 25 income calculators, including a gig and delivery earnings estimator (after gas and tax), a side hustle tax estimator for US self-employment tax, side hustle ROI and break-even, Etsy and print-on-demand margins, a freelance rate calculator, and Coast FIRE and FIRE number calculators.
- An income tracker: log what you earn in seconds, see progress against your monthly goal, keep a streak, and export your log to CSV.
- Private by design: everything runs on your device, with no sign-up and no email.
It does not pay you or send you jobs. It helps you decide which hustle to start, see what it is likely to be worth, and keep track once you do.
A simple way to use both kinds together
- Answer the ten questions in Monthly Income Booster and shortlist two or three hustles.
- For any gig-app option, run the gig earnings estimator with your real gas cost and hours before you sign up.
- Sign up for the gig app or platform you picked, and start.
- Log every payout in the tracker, and check the tax estimator each quarter.
More reading
For ideas without an app, read 12 ways to boost your monthly income. The web version of Monthly Income Booster has free guides to how to make extra money and passive income ideas. If you drive for a gig app, our mileage tracker guide explains the log the IRS expects.
Price
Free with ads. A one-time purchase removes ads forever; there is no subscription. The app is educational content, not financial, tax or investment advice, and its income figures are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best side hustle app?
It depends on what you need. Gig apps such as delivery and rideshare apps pay you per job. A planner such as Monthly Income Booster helps you choose a hustle that fits your time and skills, estimate earnings after costs and tax, and track income. Many people use one of each.
Does Monthly Income Booster pay me?
No. It is a planner and tracker, not a gig platform. It suggests strategies, runs the numbers and logs what you earn elsewhere.
Do I pay tax on side hustle income?
Usually, yes. The IRS says you must file Schedule SE if your net self-employment earnings were $400 or more, and the self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, generally applied to 92.35% of net earnings. This is general information, not tax advice.
Do I need an account?
No. Everything runs on your device with no sign-up or email. You can export your income log to CSV and back it up to a file.
Is it on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It's free on the App Store and Google Play, and there is a web version at monthlyincomebooster.com.
