Literally everyone is always on the lookout for “side gigs” that can add a few more bucks to their pockets. Sometimes, these side gigs might even grow to become the main job (if it eventually starts paying better). Amazon Flex is that one “side gig” that can put a reasonable sum in your hands, daily.
Think about Uber and Bolt drivers; the majority of people who are earning from these rideshare services are doing the jobs as side gigs. Now, picture that, and you’d have a clue of what the Amazon Flex is all about; I won’t spill it out now, but stay with me, and we’ll uncover what could be your “next big thing.”
This review analyses the Amazon Flex program and how it promises to be a rewarding side job anyone who’s got a car or knows how to drive can do. Yeah, I said people “who know how to drive” because you could basically hire a car for this job, on a weekly or monthly basis, or even daily.
What is Amazon Flex?
The “Flex” in the name tells it all: Amazon Flex is a flexible side gig for American drivers who own a car, or perhaps know how to drive and have access to a car, to make more money for themselves daily. You can earn $18 – $25 per hour, and all you need to do is deliver Amazon orders to customers within an area you know very well.
Put simply, Amazon Flex is Amazon’s gig-driver program that allows registered, contract drivers to book “delivery blocks” through an app (the Amazon Flex app) and deliver packages using their own vehicles. First, you select the available blocks that fit your schedules, then drive to a pickup location, complete a route of deliveries, and get paid per block. Actually, the platform offers two payment-frequency choices: Instant pay and Scheduled payments.
It’s kind of similar to being an Uber driver, and you can always mark when you’re available and when you’re not. Amazon Flex has become very popular in recent times, and yeah, many Americans are signing up daily.
Is it Worth Using in 2026?
Honestly, the reviews online aren’t very encouraging; you’d find several people hinting at low rates, delayed payouts, inconsistent shift allocations, poor support, and a lot of other things. But here’s the sincere truth: Amazon Flex is worth it in 2026, but it all depends on what you want to accomplish with it.
For a person seeking side jobs that would add more bucks to the pocket and not necessarily mind the stress involved, provided it is within a favorable “shift” time, then this is a good consideration.
However, you don’t always get the perfect shift you want, and some deliveries will send you 40 miles to the recipient’s location; then you’d have to run them up, up to about 2 or 3 of such, in like 3.5 hours. After which, your earnings payout might get delayed, and the customer support compliance is nothing to write home about. Now, that’s where many people snap and lose their cool.
How Amazon Flex Works
When you sign up, you get to see available “blocks.” You have to pick a block and complete the deliveries it contains. In practice, here’s how it works:
- Test Block: 4-hour block with $80 gross pay, that’s $20/hr if you complete the block in 4 hours.
- Distance to Cover: Roughly 50 miles in that block.
- Possible Fuel Consumption: Let’s assume 25mpg; at $3.50/gal, that would be 50miles ÷ 25mpg = 2.0 gallons. You will be spending $7 on fuel for this block (if you choose to accept it)
- Misc Expense: This includes random maintenance needs or quick car fixes within the time you’re delivering the block. We can estimate this at $0.60/mile. So for 50 miles, that would be $30. Yeah, this doesn’t occur all the time, but sometimes it does.
- Total Expenses: For this “Test Block,” you could be spending around $37 to complete it. So, $80 − $37 = $43. So, actually, you will be earning $43 in roughly 4 hours if you accept and complete the block; that’s about $10.75/hr net hour rate, and not $20.00.
Now, you see how that works? The hourly rate may seem like it’s big and enticing, but when you factor in most necessities to get the job done, you’d be left with way less.
Amazon Flex Review
The app’s UI is breezy-cool and easy to learn; at least, that’s one thing to love. The pay-per-hour rates look very much enticing until you get to discover your blocks and find out that it’d be costing you more (in terms of fuel and time, mainly) to catch up with all of them.
So, basically, the Amazon Flex program is a nice one, but you don’t always get what you want. Compared to similar services like Uber and Lyft, where you are the one fully in charge of your work hour schedules and other things, Amazon Flex isn’t as flexible as advertised.
Another thing is, you don’t get paid per hour; you actually get paid per completed block, so the per-hour rates advertised on the website are not what you may earn at the end of the day.
There are many things to factor in if you’re going to sign up for Amazon Flex in 2026: Different people have different experiences, and some people get to “figure out” what works for them in the program and then bank on it to earn up to $500 or above, weekly.
This means that you’ll have to figure out how the platform would work for you, and not try to play by another person’s experience. But yeah, you should be conscious of what others share as feedback and review of the platform.
Conclusion
Yes, Amazon Flex pays, and is still a considerable side gig to engage in 2026. The app is intuitive, and you can access all the features swiftly, including a built-in GPS feature for location tracking. However, it’s not a “bed of roses” side gig, so don’t expect it to always go the way you have it planned out in your utopia.
