Gig work has become a defining feature of the labor market in 2025. It’s believed that anywhere from 25% to 43% of the workforce participates in gig work, and at least one in ten rely on it for their primary income.
Traditionally referred to as freelance or contingent work, this type of employment has exploded in popularity over the last ten years, thanks to a number of factors, such as the times of widespread stay-at-home measures and the emerging popularity of service apps like Uber and DoorDash. Many workers are drawn to these jobs for their convenience and flexibility, but behind the apparent accessibility of these platforms is a confusing and often opaque system of fees.
Recently, LLCAttorney created an in-depth comparison of the various gig apps popular in the market today and the data shows these fees are by no means universal. Some apps take almost nothing from each transaction, while others can claim a substantial share of a worker’s earnings. Ranging from 0% all the way up to 50%, at first, these inconsistencies may seem random, but upon closer inspection, a pattern emerges. The differences in how and the rate at which gig apps charge workers shows that these companies have a different fee for selling your skills, selling your time, selling wares, and selling your trustworthiness.
Selling Skills
When selling a specific skill, such as graphic design, coding, or writing, the gig platform’s role is typically that of an intermediary or middle-man, rather than a manager of the work itself. For this reason, many of these platforms charge a sort of “finder’s fee.”
For example, Fiverr, a popular app for graphic designers, video editors, and more, charges a flat 20% fee on every transaction. Freelancer.com operates similarly, taking either 10% or $5, depending on which sum is greater. These platforms operate like digital matchmakers, charging for access to clients.
Some freelance platforms have a sliding fee model, such as Upwork and 99Designs. Upwork’s fees range from 0% to 15%, depending on the industry, whereas 99Designs’ creators get 5% to 15% depending on their skill level, meaning workers with more niche skills may be charged less by the platform.
Selling Time
While skilled freelancers work within somewhat predictable percentage ranges, those selling their time and physical effort face much more fuzzy pay structures.
For delivery drivers, the “percentage taken” has begun to disappear entirely, replaced by algorithms determined by factors like distance traveled, weight of deliverable items, demand, and expected time needed to make the delivery.
DoorDash, for example, pays a base rate of $2 to $10 or more, which varies based on "estimated time, distance, and desirability of the offer." Uber Eats uses a similar formula, paying for pickup, drop-off, and mileage, but changes the rates based on market demand in the moment. These factors make it difficult for drivers to know exactly how much they can expect to earn from a day’s work, and make salaries much more irregular.
Additionally, because these payouts are generally low, the system is supported heavily by client tips. Practically every major delivery service emphasizes that workers receive 100% of their tips, without the app taking any off the top. While this seems like a boon to the delivery driver, according to one report about New York delivery workers these tips end up making up the majority of their income.
In ride sharing apps, there is an even greater disconnect between what clients pay and what the drivers actually earn. Uber and Lyft generally take 25%–30% of the fare, but this can spike to 40% on short or low-fare rides.
In general, it seems that those who sell their time by offering convenience to people through delivery or ridesharing are more susceptible to tip variables, algorithms, and external circumstances.
Selling Credibility and Trust
Some of the farthest ends of the spectrum regarding gig fees are found in the care sector.
TaskRabbit, for example, is a platform where people can sell their services to individuals such as home repairs or furniture assembly and allows users to keep 100% of the rates they set. Similarly, Care.com and Sittercity, two popular babysitting platforms, take 0% of the worker’s earnings. These services act as a digital bulletin board to connect clients with people who can offer them services they need, but the platform itself does not claim responsibility for the worker. In fact, neither of these sitter platforms accept legal liability for issues that arise after the two parties have been connected, as per their terms of service.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have both Wag! charging a 40% fee, and Rover charging anywhere from 20%-25%. The difference between these two dog walking services and the sitter services is that the former actually perform extensive, third-party background checks and take on a limited amount of liability for connecting the two parties.
When it comes to care and service apps, the ones that are charging steep gig fees are the ones selling peace of mind to the clients, whereas the ones that let workers keep all their own money require them to build up their own reputations on the platform.
Selling Wares
Finally, for those selling physical goods or renting out property, the base fees are generally low, but may include a mountain of microtransactions.
The base rate for sellers on Etsy is just 6.5% of all transactions sold on that marketplace. When compared to Fiverr's 20% base rate, this seems pretty low, however, each and every seller on Etsy gets charged a $0.20 per listing fee (regardless of whether they have any buyers) as well as a 3% payment processing fee, plus an optional 12%-15% Offsite Ads fee if the buyer was referred to Etsy through one of its marketing efforts. Similar to Etsy, eBay charges anywhere from 2.5% to 15.3% depending upon what the seller sells in addition to charging a $0.30 to $0.40 per transaction. Websites such as Amazon and Booking.com do not charge any additional fees, although their rates are typically much higher at 15% for Amazon and between 10% to 25% for Booking.com.
In the rental space, Airbnb charges a 3% Host Fee to renters who list their spaces on the platform, in addition to a 14%—16% Service Fee. Vrbo charges a 5% Commission Fee and a 3% Payment Processing Fee per listing, or a flat $700 Subscription Fee.
As we can see, physical products create an ecosystem where either the platform charges lower rates and creates many additional fees, or charges a higher rate with fewer complexities in their pay structure.
As gig work expands into multiple areas of modern economy, it is now more important than ever for workers to understand that platforms are not a monolith. The fees that these apps charge are not just the cost of using an app, but actually represent the cost of convenience, customer access and operational support. Ultimately, businesses charge different fees based upon what you are selling: your skills, your time, your credibility or your wares.
Reviewed by Ayaz Khan.
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