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Searching for the best on-demand staffing app? In this 2025 guide, we'll compare the top apps for temp jobs, pick‑up‑shifts, and event staffing—so workers can find local shifts fast and employers can hire reliable staff on short notice.
We break down coverage by market, roles (hospitality, warehousing, retail, events), vetting, pricing, and app store ratings to help you find work or fill shifts near you, using iOS or Android.
Instawork stands out as the best on-demand staffing app on the market for flexible staffing. Their marketplace hosts a massive roster of pre-vetted workers ready to fill gaps. Their workers can fill both one-time shifts to longer recurring needs, covering a wide range of roles, from hospitality to warehousing. The Instawork app is user-friendly and allows businesses to seamlessly post shifts, manage schedules, and process payments.
With their rigorous screening process, Instawork ensures that only qualified and reliable workers are matched with your business. Instawork's presence in 40+ markets across the U.S. and Canada, and over 8 million signed-up workers, allows them to fill larger volume needs than many of their competitors. They also have a large pool of skilled hospitality workers that can fit seamlessly into even higher-end operations, such as staffing stadium events.
Get flexible shifts, earn money on your schedule, and work when you want.
Instantly connect with reliable professionals to fill shifts fast and keep business running.
Hyer is an on-demand staffing app that matches businesses with professionals in sales, customer service, and admin roles. Hyer's unique selling point is its focus on providing a fair wage to its workers, ensuring a motivated and dedicated workforce. While its screening process may not be as rigorous as Instawork, it still maintains a good standard of quality among its workers.
Upwork is a global platform that connects businesses with freelancers from a wide range of industries, including IT and creative fields. It offers a comprehensive vetting process, ensuring that you get access to top-tier talent. Upwork's platform is highly flexible, allowing you to scale up or down based on your project needs. Its pricing model varies, offering both fixed and hourly rates, making it a versatile choice for different budget ranges.
Taskrabbit is an on-demand staffing app that focuses on home services and personal assistance. It offers a platform where individuals and businesses can hire local help for tasks such as cleaning, moving, delivery, and handyman work. Taskrabbit's strength lies in its large pool of workers and its easy-to-use platform. Despite a lighter screening process than Instawork, the app provides fairly reliable, well-qualified workers.
Thumbtack is a versatile on-demand staffing app that caters to a wide range of industries, including home services and events. It offers a platform where businesses can connect with local professionals for specific projects. Thumbtack's strength lies in its flexibility and scalability, making it a great choice for both small and large projects. Its customer support and user reviews are generally positive, indicating a high level of customer satisfaction.
When choosing an on-demand staffing app, there are several key factors to consider:
Find shifts, temporary work, and temp-to-hire roles on Instawork.
Get matched with reliable workers in 24 hours max.
On-demand staffing apps and traditional staffing agencies both serve the purpose of connecting businesses with potential employees, but they do so in different ways. Traditional staffing agencies typically have a more hands-on approach, with human recruiters vetting candidates, negotiating rates, and handling most of the hiring process. On the other hand, on-demand staffing apps provide a more automated, streamlined process, allowing businesses to quickly find, vet, and hire candidates through the platform. These apps often offer more flexibility and speed, as they allow businesses to scale their workforce up or down as needed.
Determining whether you need an on-demand staffing app for your business largely depends on your specific staffing needs and the nature of your work. If your business often has fluctuating staffing needs, such as seasonal peaks or project-based work, an on-demand staffing app can be a valuable tool. These apps allow you to quickly scale your workforce up or down as needed, providing a level of flexibility that traditional hiring methods often can't match.
If you find that the hiring process is taking up too much of your time or resources, an on-demand staffing app can help streamline this process. These apps automate much of the hiring process, from finding candidates to vetting and onboarding, freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.
For businesses that require specialized skills for short-term projects, on-demand staffing apps can provide access to a wide pool of pre-vetted professionals ready to jump in when needed. If flexibility, speed, and efficiency are important to your staffing strategy, an on-demand staffing app like Instawork could be a valuable addition to your business.
On-demand staffing apps are versatile and can support a wide range of industries:
In general, on-demand staffing apps can be a good fit for businesses that typically rely on a mix of seasonal or temporary workers, as they are essentially an improved way of utilizing a legacy temp staffing model.
On-demand staffing apps represent a unique way to supplement your core workforce. They combine advanced matching technology with an overall larger talent pool than traditional temp or contingent workforce providers. They also have user-friendly interfaces that help make booking staff easier and more streamlined. The use of these tools for sourcing workers has changed the way that many businesses operate and can be developed as a strategic tool when used effectively.
