ShiftTracker

What ShiftTracker Is

ShiftTracker is a shift tracking app built specifically for gig economy workers. Made by a team based in Boise, Idaho, it runs on iOS and Android, tracking shifts and mileage for drivers using DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Instacart, Walmart Spark, Grubhub, Amazon Flex, and Lime. The app's single job is to tell gig drivers what they actually earn per hour after subtracting the real cost of every business mile they drive, rather than showing the gross payment the gig platform reports. Most gig workers see only what their app paid them, not what they kept. ShiftTracker fills that gap by building a personal profit map for each shift.

The core feature is calculating your real hourly rate using your actual vehicle. You enter your car's year, make, model, drivetrain, current odometer reading, fuel type and MPG, monthly insurance, weekly business miles, and your driving area at setup. From that data, ShiftTracker estimates two costs per mile: your cash expenses (fuel or charging, insurance, maintenance, repairs, tires, and fees) and depreciation (the resale value your car loses with every delivery mile, based on its specific year and model). You then pick whether to track cash-expense costs alone or the full cost including depreciation, and every shift displays your real profit and real hourly rate with that math already subtracted. The app shows a worked example: a 2016 Ford Escape in Boise costs $0.41 per mile in cash expenses and $0.47 per mile in full cost. That same example shift shows real earnings and a real hourly rate with the cost already deducted.

How Money Comes In

ShiftTracker does not connect to your bank or gig platforms automatically. Instead, you manually log each shift by tapping Start Shift in the app and entering your starting odometer reading, then entering your ending odometer reading when the shift ends. The app records your start time and the platform you worked (DoorDash, Uber, etc.), so every shift is tagged for tax purposes. You log your earnings after each delivery or at the end of the shift. The app calculates net profit automatically once you provide the gross amount.

This manual-entry approach avoids the battery drain of continuous GPS tracking, which would compete with the gig apps that are already navigating your routes. ShiftTracker uses odometer-based mileage logging, which is the exact format IRS Publication 463 specifically requires for business mileage records. Unlike location tracking, an odometer entry takes seconds, and the app stores the full breakdown of how your cost per mile was calculated, so your records hold up at tax time. You can attach photos of receipts for gas, car maintenance, or other business expenses to individual shifts, so everything stays organized as you work rather than scrambled at tax time. The app does not import your bank transactions or sync with your gig platform accounts.

How Budgeting Works

ShiftTracker's budgeting focuses on earnings optimization rather than allocating money after the fact. After logging your shifts and mileage, the app builds an earnings heatmap showing which hours and locations generated your highest income per hour. The site says users who follow their heatmap data report earning 15 to 25 percent more per hour. The app also surfaces recommendations for peak performance hours, location intelligence for high-earnings zones, best days to drive, optimal time windows, and seasonal earnings patterns. You can see real-time trend indicators showing whether each day's performance is trending up, down, or stable. This data-driven approach is designed to help you schedule your work where and when you earn the most.

Beyond shift analytics, ShiftTracker lets you attach gas, gear, and fee expenses to individual shifts, so you can calculate your true net earnings shift by shift rather than guessing at a yearly average. Everything exports as a clean CSV or PDF report ready for your accountant or tax software like TurboTax. The site also mentions a "1099 Tax Calculator" and "Hourly Rate Calculator" available as free tools on the website, plus guides covering the 2026 IRS mileage rate, platform-specific earnings math, and app comparisons. The intent is to give you the data needed to make real decisions about which shifts and platforms are worth your time.

Cost and Free Trial

ShiftTracker offers a 7-day free trial of its Elite plan, with full access to shift tracking, mileage logging, earnings analytics, and tax-ready exports. The site says setup takes about 2 minutes and requires no credit card. After the trial ends, plans cost $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and you can cancel anytime. The site publishes no annual price discount explicitly, but the $59.99 yearly price works out cheaper per month than paying $7.99 month to month. The app is built to run on both iOS and Android, so you can choose your phone's platform without restriction. Users report that the app helped them increase earnings by 28 percent in just two weeks by revealing which hours and zones were most profitable.

One thing the site does not clarify: whether expenses attached to shifts (gas, maintenance, fees) sync across devices or whether you need to enter them on the phone where you log the shift. It also does not detail whether ShiftTracker exports integrate with tax software or whether you have to manually re-enter the data. For users who prefer full automation, these blank spots could matter.

Who This Suits

ShiftTracker suits solo gig drivers who work for at least one of the eight platforms it supports and want to understand their real earnings, not just gross pay. It is especially useful for drivers in high-cost-of-living areas where vehicle ownership is expensive, or those driving older or less fuel-efficient cars where depreciation and fuel costs eat a larger share of gross earnings. The app is built for individuals, not teams. If you work entirely off-platform (cash jobs, neighborhood jobs, Craigslist gigs), or if you drive for platforms ShiftTracker does not support, the shift-logging system still works but you lose the earnings comparison across platforms.

ShiftTracker is not built for employees with W-2 jobs, nor for household budgeting. It does not help you split household spending or manage money with a partner. The 7-day trial is long enough to test whether your phone's battery survives without constant GPS logging, which is often the deciding factor for gig drivers choosing between trackers. The app also does not integrate with your bank, so you cannot see how your gig income flows into your account or how it spends. It tracks what you earn from gig work and what the miles cost, nothing else.