Para App Review – Should Gig Drivers Use This Tip Predictor App?
As a delivery driver, it's sometimes incredibly difficult to know if an order is worth taking or not.
You want to make sure you're getting paid enough for your time and gas. And you also want to track your income over time so you know how much you're making.
That's why many gig drivers are now using the Para app for DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.
This tip prediction app can help you see hidden tips, track your income and expenses, and much more. And my Para app review is covering how this app works and if it can risk deactivation or not.
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What Is The Para App?
Para is a tip predictor and earnings tracking app for gig workers. The app is free for Android and iOS and currently works with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
Para was created to help gig workers make more informed decisions about the work they take on. Ultimately, this helps drivers make more money and not feel taken advantage of.
The main Para app feature is tip prediction for DoorDash, which provides tip estimations so you have a better idea of how much each order pays.
But the app has a wealth of features that help you use gig apps more efficiently, track your income, and avoid bad orders and restaurants.
How Does Para Work – App Features
You might be wondering how Para works and how it's able to provide relatively accurate tip predictions and give you all this valuable data.
Well, there's a lot of cool tech behind the scenes. And with these Para features, you can get a better idea of which orders are worth accepting and hopefully become a more efficient delivery driver.
1. Para DoorDash Tip Predictions
The best Para app feature is its tip prediction for DoorDash feature. This feature provides a prediction of what DoorDash tips are for orders you're thinking about accepting so you have a better idea of how much they pay.
When DoorDash sends an order normally, all you see is a guaranteed amount and then an “total may be higher” disclaimer.
For example, you might see an order for Joe's Burgers that pays a guaranteed $4.50 and requires driving 1.3 miles.
Maybe you decline this order normally since it doesn't pay too much.
However, DoorDash explains that the total might be higher, and this is where tips come into play.
With Para, it can provide a decently accurate tip estimation for DoorDash. In this example, Para might inform you that the order actually pays $8.75 because you get DoorDash's base pay plus a nice tip.
All the app does is send you a notification that shows the base DoorDash pay plus Para's tip estimate.
Here's what the notification looks like:
As you can see in this example, Para predicts two large tips for two different Taco Bell orders. All of a sudden, these orders are worth taking.
This helps you make more money with DoorDash since it theoretically increases the numbers of good orders you accept that you'd normally decline.
DoorDash tip prediction is the greatest Para feature without a doubt.
Note that if Para thinks a tip will be over $25, it displays a little unicorn icon. If it think the tip is almost 100% accurate, it also displays a star symbol.
And even though DoorDash acceptance rates don't matter unless you're going for Top Dasher, it helps you pick more orders that are actually worth delivering.
2. Flag Customers & Restaurants
Another very useful Para app feature is the ability to flag customers and restaurants after you complete an order.
For example, if you get a nightmare customer who isn't responsive and gives you the wrong delivery address, you probably don't want to waste time delivering to them again.
Same goes for slow restaurants or people who live in the middle of nowhere.
With Para, you can flag these customers or restaurants so that you get a warning notification if an order request comes up involving them.
This is incredibly useful for avoiding bad customers, especially if you live in a smaller town or city.
3. Order Item & Drive Time Information
Alongside the DoorDash tip prediction, Para also provides more information on orders you're considering.
For example, it provides a drive time metric so you can easily see how much money you're making per hour.
And for some orders, it also breaks down exactly what the items are in the order. This can be useful to avoid large orders that don't pay too much since they can be a pain to deliver.
The drive time information is very useful since Grubhub doesn't show everyone how far you have to drive to complete an order.
And with gas prices being high, knowing how far you're traveling is definitely important for any driving gig.
Para's new Grubhub Mileage feature is available in the latest version of the app, so it's a must-try for Grubhub drivers.
4. Track Your Delivery Earnings
If you connect your DoorDash or Grubhub account to Para, the app can track your daily and weekly income. It also lets you create earnings goals so you can work towards an income target.
Tracking your income also helps you keep tabs on which gig app is paying you the most money for the given week and what your average hourly rate is.
5. Mileage Tracking
With Para, you can track the mileage you drive for gig jobs like DoorDash and Grubhub. This saves you from having to manually track mileage yourself, and it can also save you money at tax time.
The IRS lets you deduct business miles when filing taxes. This is why it's so important to track your expenses when you're delivering food.
Mileage tracking apps like Hurdlr also do this, but you can get this feature with Para plus so much more!
6. ParaWorks
One final Para feature that can help you make more money is ParaWorks.
With ParaWorks, you can find more delivery opportunities so you're not just stuck with making money on DoorDash, Uber Eats, or other mainstream delivery apps.
This feature partners with gig-friendly companies that need drivers. The idea is for ParaWorks to work as a dispatch system, letting gig drivers claim even more work to make extra money on the side.
Basically, ParaWorks wants to give more delivery opportunities to drivers. This could mean delivering food for local restaurants or even packages for small businesses.
This feature is still rolling out, so it's only available in certain Zip codes at the moment.
I entered my Zip code in Florida and ParaWorks wasn't available. But it was available when I entered a New York Zip code.
You have to consent to a background check and enter your name, address, phone number, and SSN to apply for ParaWorks.
Again, this feature is still in development, but hopefully, Para becomes an all-in-one gig platform where you can find even more income opportunities.
7. Uber & Uber Eats Integration
The latest version of Para can now integrate with your Uber and Uber Eats accounts.
This new integration lets you see:
- Address
- Total mileage
- Drive time
- Dollar-per-mile
You can also flag orders on Uber Eats just like you can with other food delivery apps, helping you avoid pesky customers in the future.
These new integrations are awesome news for Para since it helps make multi-apping much easier.
8. New Features Coming
The Para app continues to develop new features to help gig workers make more money.
As mentioned, the app recently added Uber Eats, which is a massive upgrade since this is a popular delivery app people use alongside DoorDash.
Para is also launching an accept/decline feature for DoorDash orders. This lets drivers accept or decline incoming orders straight from the Para app so they don't have to juggle between apps!
This is a massive improvement, and when Para adds it to more apps, you'll be able to multi-app much more seamlessly.
Does The Para App Help Drivers Make More Money?
Jobs like DoorDash and Uber Eats are flexible, popular side hustles. But they don't always put drivers first, and the amount of information that gets hidden can be frustrating.
So the question is: does Para actually help you make more money?
Well if DoorDash is your main gig, the tip prediction feature is worth trying. Even if it helps you accept 10% more orders you'd normally decline, this could be a meaningful increase in your income.
This video from YouTuber Nuggs explains more of how Para's tip prediction for DoorDash works and why he thinks it's worth using.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGhXrtNNB8A
In this video, there are several orders Nuggs accepts because of Para tip estimates.
The tip estimates aren't always accurate, but they're close or spot-on a decent percentage of orders.
Ultimately, the Para app helps Nuggs make more money, and it can at least let you accept more orders with more confidence.
Do Para Tip Predictions Work?
As mentioned, Para tip predictions don't always work. And it can be worse for stores like Walmart that give less information like the number of items in an order.
However, Para can be fairly accurate for many fast food orders. In the video above, it does a decent job at predicting DoorDash tips for Nuggs.
You have to test Para in your market to see for yourself, and it's not a guarantee.
Can You Get Deactivated For Using Para?
According to Para's website, it hasn't had any users get deactivated from any platform for using Para. It states that using its features might be a violation of gig apps terms and services but that it believes tip prediction feature and more transparency overall is what gig workers deserve.
That said, many people still wonder if you can get deactivated from DoorDash for using Para or face deactivation with other apps.
This concern stems from parts of DoorDash's deactivation policy.
For example, section K states: “k) You will use the Software and Services only for your own use and will not directly or indirectly resell, license or transfer the Software, Services or content displayed by the Services to a third party.”
Technically, Para could be seen as violating this since it accesses your DoorDash account on your behalf. It technically acts as you/is your agent, but this is still a gray area.
Currently, mentioning the Para app on the official DoorDash subreddit is banned. But there's also a conspiracy theory that the sub is run by DoorDash or that the mods are paid.
And many users in the subreddit defend Para and claim it can't lead to deactivation.
For example, here's what some other DoorDash drivers are saying on Reddit about Para deactivations for DoorDash:
- muhname says: “No one has ever been deactivated for using Para, Gridwise, the old version of the app, etc. Despite all the jealous apple polisher warnings about deactivation, no such punishment has ever taken place.”
- UBetcha84 says: “No one has been deactivated…yet. You can throw your hissy fit all you want, but that doesn’t change the risk with using the app.”
- Footypajama says: “Used the app but have since deactivated and uninstalled. Works great. Shows your FULL tip. That said, DD is all I have right now, so I'm really not going to risk it.”
- Top-Device5698 says: “I've never heard of anyone getting deactivated over it, it's a separate app so it really can't violate any TOS DD disabled it a while back, but I guess Para found a way to get running again.”
Ultimately, it boils down to your comfort level. Para states that it might violate certain terms of service, but it and many drivers claim deactivations haven't happened.
Pros & Cons
Now that you know how the Para app works, let's cover a few of the pros and cons for this app so you can decide if it's worth using.
Pros:
- DoorDash tip estimates help you accept orders that are worth it
- Flag bad orders so you don't deal with the same customers again
- New features keep getting added to the app
- Track the miles you drive for DoorDash and Grubhub
Cons:
- ParaWorks is still expanding to new areas
- Tip estimates aren't always accurate
- Some drivers are worried about deactivation
Is Para Safe & Worth It?
In our opinion, Para is a safe and legit app that's worth testing in your market. This is especially true if you drive for DoorDash since its tip prediction tool is quite powerful.
That said, Para states it might be in violation of certain terms of service, so use your own judgement.
People haven't been banned for using the app yet from what I can tell, but again, you have to weigh the pros and cons.
If you're doing DoorDash for a living, maybe it's not worth the risk. But for every other driver, I think Para is worth testing since it can help make you more money and deactivation wouldn't erase your income.
Extra Reading – The Best DoorDash Tips And Tricks To Make More Money.
Other Tips For Gig Workers To Make More Money
I hope our Para app review has explained how this tip prediction and order tracking app works and if it's worth using.
However, apps like Para are just one tool gig drivers have in their toolkit.
Some other important tips for delivery drivers to keep in mind include:
- Drive At The Best Hours: Para tip predictions are great, but you still need to work efficiently. This means driving at the best DoorDash times and best Uber Eats times so you get as many orders as possible.
- Try Multiple Apps: Multi-apping is an excellent way to get more orders per hour. So mix in DoorDash, Uber Eats, and even jobs like Instacart or Cornershop to get more orders.
- Explore Other Types Of Delivery Gigs: Food delivery is only one category of delivery work you can try. Apps like Amazon Flex, Roadie, and GoShare also let you make money by delivering packages to people.
These last two points are truly important.
The more apps you try and use, the more opportunities you get. You also learn which apps pay the most in your market.
So try making money with Instacart, DoorDash, and jobs like Amazon Flex. Over time, you learn which apps are worth your time and which ones aren't.
Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Get Paid To Shop.
Final Thoughts
I hope this review of the Para app helps you understand how it all works and if it's worth downloading or not.
Para for DoorDash is very useful since tips can make or break an order.
And for Grubhub and Uber/Uber Eats, it still has a number of useful tools that can help you work more efficiently.
As Para expands to more platforms and adds in features like accepting and declining orders, it will only become more robust.
Ultimately, you have to decide if you're comfortable with this gig app or not, so use your best judgement!
And remember, you can always try other jobs like Instacart or various peer-to-peer delivery gigs to make even more money.
Best of luck with your deliveries!
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