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Uber vs Lyft – Which Pays Better? – Ridesharing Comparison

Uber vs Lyft – Which Pays Better? – Ridesharing Comparison

Ah, Uber. The monster ride service that is such a How-did-I-ever-live-without-it?
part of modern life that it spawned imitators in the ride space, as well as Uber-esque services
that applied the on-demand concept to laundry with Rinse, to takeout with DoorDash, and
convenience store items with Postmates. The company’s main, direct competitor is
Lyft, which also allows you to order up a ride in most U.S. cities with a couple swipes
on your smartphone. But how exactly do theses two companies two
stack up? Who was first? Which is best for passengers? Which is best for drivers? We thought it would be fun to compare these
two ride-hailing giants, in this episode of The Infographics Show, Uber vs Lyft. Don’t forget to subscribe and click the
bell button so that you can be part of our Notification Squad. As for who was first on the scene, the answer
is actually neither. Fun fact: someone got the idea way back in
2002. The founder of Sidecar patented the basic
idea – apparently not thoroughly enough – back then, but only offered service 9
years later in 2011. The first real-time network for ride service
began to usurp taxis, airport car services, and public transportation options as a logical
choice for American urbanites. But the company shut down in 2015 after Uber
and Lyft expanded aggressively enough to prove insurmountable as competitors. Uber and Lyft are both headquartered in San
Francisco, and while rideshare and the more accurate ridehail are used to describe the
services, their official sector is transportation network, or TNC. The term was created by a California state
government agency just to establish a framework to begin to regulate ridehail in 2013. Uber cars are distinctive for its square in
a broken circle logo on a windshield sticker, what used to be a U. Lyft, meanwhile, has
a pink mustache on the dashboard or grill, or its own windshield sticker. Uber was conceived in 2009 and launched as
a mobile app in 2011. Lyft previously existed as Zimride before
re-incorporating as Lyft in May 2012. Uber has had more cash on hand, raising a
total of $8.81 billion in 14 fundraising rounds from 79 investors since 2009. Lyft, counting its earlier incarnation as
Zimride, has pulled in just $2.61 billion. Since it’s been known as Lyft, the company
has raised $2.53 billion. Put a different way, Uber has effectively
attracted about three-and-a-half times the investor cash that Lyft has, as of April 2017. Major score for Team Black over Team Pink. With that cash, Uber has expanded globally,
now operating in at least 570 cities, while Lyft is in 500 U.S. cities. But both of these neck-and-neck competitors
overstate their presence a little, as each has cities and boroughs within a larger, also-listed
metropolitan area, like Santa Monica and Pasadena listed along with Los Angeles. So the full count is probably closer to 540
global cities for Uber, and about 475 U.S. cities for Lyft. Estimates circulate, but hard numbers on their
profits are unavailable, as they are privately held. Because many contracted drivers work both
apps, it’s hard to peg the actual market share of each company. Regardless of current share of faithful drivers
or riders, both have to watch their backs, as female-focused ride services create a new
niche and pull business from these leaders. Southern California has See Jane Go, while
Safr launched in Boston with plans to expand on the East Coast. So, which company has more service options
for you? Uber has spawned a bike courier division and
has UberEATS to compete with the business that DoorDash and Postmates pull away, but
the company otherwise goes head to head with Lyft on four identical service types: economy
fare for an individual rider that could be anything from a compact to luxury car (Uber
X or standard Lyft), something bigger for groups (Uber XL or Lyft Plus), luxury cars
(UberBLACK or Lyft Premier), or a carpooling option frequently patronized as a carpooling
or public transit alternative on one’s daily commute (UberPOOL or Lyft Line). How about the advantage for drivers? If you want to hit the road to earn extra
cash on your own schedule, as those Uber commercials promise, which company really is better? Uber does not have a tip function in its customer-facing
app, while Lyft does. It seems Lyft has the earnings advantage,
but according to SherpaShare, a dashboard for drivers to manage their side hustles,
self-reported data tabulated in 2015 showed that Uber drivers took in, on average, $13.36
per trip while Lyft drivers earned $12.53. Where Lyft one-ups Uber is in recruitment
cash. Lyft’s Ambassador program can be lucrative,
and does not require one to be a driver in order to recruit drivers. This is a big boost for Team Pink, as it gets
non-drivers talking about the company with everyone they know, circulating the brand
and its advantages in social circles. But Uber will back your lease so you can get
a new car with great fuel economy, like the Uber-popular Prius, even with middling credit. Meanwhile Lyft has a rental program with fewer
model choices. With either company, you can boost your income
by running advertising in your backseat or offering product demos, taking advantage of
the ever-growing number of options to side hustle your side hustle. Those options come from third party companies,
not the ride apps themselves. You might have to consider these options,
as both companies vary their pricing. That is, they make your earnings unpredictable. Uber has taken more public heat for its variable
pricing, slashing ride fares and cutting drivers’ earnings, and spiking its pricing in times
of high demand, like a New York snowstorm, gouging its customers. For what you do earn, both companies have
options to cash out sooner, rather than the previous system of a weekly payday. Uber’s Instant Pay works the same as Lyft’s
Express Pay, while a third party app, DailyPay, is now available to Uber drivers, as well
as the contractors of Fasten, DoorDash, and Instacart. Lyft led the charge here, giving drivers the
option to cash out sooner starting in 2015, with Uber quick on its heels to stay competitive. Both Uber and Lyft, privately held and with
minimal disclosure requirements, exist somewhat in mystery, and have acquired their urban
legends. What is really happening behind closed doors? How much are they actually profiting? We only know what leaks out, but there has
been plenty. When it comes to scandal, Uber takes the cake. The company was caught trying to dig up dirt
that could smear a critical journalist in 2014, has endured a stream of news over the
last few years that raise questions about the actual safety of the service, and faced
a #DeleteUber campaign when drivers continued to serve U.S. airports where citizens were
protesting restrictive immigration policies and pushing for a boycott in January 2017. Lyft pledged to donate $1 million to the ACLU
after the airport incident, issuing an open letter to users via email. The company appeared to announce its own culture
to the world, but it was also an opportunity to smack its opponent while it was down. Uber then committed to a $3 million legal
defense fund for immigrants who might be unfairly targeted by Trump Administration policies,
but didn’t specify the agencies that would receive the funding or what kind of cases
they would take. That was all before Uber engineer Susan Fowler
exited the company in February 2017 after battling what she says was a documented and
protected culture of sexism, and the company’s data gathering program Greyball, used to avoid
authorities who might impose regulation on the semi-legal company, came to light in March
2017. Meanwhile a taxi and limo lobby maintains
the website Who’s Driving You?, where safety incidents involving ride hail are meticulously
documented. So, which ride hail service do you prefer,
and why?! Let us know in the comments. And if you want to see more company comparisons,
check out the episode entitled “Coke vs Pepsi.” As always, thanks for watching, and don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. Also, please consider heading over to our
Patreon; we are currently raising money to hire more writers so that we can continue
bringing you this bi-weekly show!

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  • If you are driving exclusively for Uber you are being under paid. Switch to Lyft like RIGHT NOW! You will see your income go up at least $5.00 per hour. You are wasting your time and gas at Uber.

  • If your at Disney Parks but you don’t want to wait for a shuttle to bring you to the parks, surely while transportation is provided for free and takes more time, Uber and Lyft cost like $20 to $30 bucks and gets you there quick. I personally take the shuttle so I can hear the all classical “Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Walt Disney World Transportation System!” spiel. Yes, I’m a Disney fan, so??

  • Is both a Lyft and Uber driver as well as a Lyft and Uber customer I have to say that especially on the driver side which is what you were trying to concentrate on Uber is way better Uber has more perks for us as drivers as far as if we go far to pick up passengers or we spend lots of time on mileage on picking up a passenger and don't end up giving the ride not to mention it is the more commonly used Rideshare service so I'm a Geordie of our rides are on that ride share service not to mention that my weekly deposits between Uber and Lyft Uber always smashes lifts usually doubling sometimes tripling my Lyft earnings trust me when I say Lift is fraught with issues as well they just have a better PR campaign as far as covering those up as well as the fact that lift employees are forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement where if they were to come out like Susan Grable they could be facing jail time where is Uber does not have those agreements they both have their sexist environment as far as actual employees go to this date and I am leaving this comment on October 24th 2018 lift still does not have any way in app of contacting Emergency Services as an easy to push one or two buttons where Uber has added that so which does not protect its drivers like uber does and as a passenger on both platforms as well I can tell you that as a passenger I have a button in the Uber passenger app that allows me to contact police immediately if I need to without having to go into my phone dialer I just pushed too quick buttons and the police are contacted and my phones info is sent to them as far as location goes where is this is non-existent in lift still not to mention that when I signed up for Lyft they said that they would be giving me a bonus that I have met all the criteria to receive but yet have not received and I'm still going down to the Lyft office at least once a week to get that bonus one advantage to driving with both is they both spy on each other's apps as long as you are using the same device to run both apps meaning they both give you better incentives and bonuses to drive the other ones platform I get tons of bonuses and incentives that I usually don't quite reach on the Uber platform that I never got before I signed up for Lyft and I've heard some more stories of people who drove for Lyft for a while and then signed up for Uber and then started getting better bonuses and incentives on lift oh and by the way this video is extremely outdated because in July of 2017 who were started allowing passengers to tip in app and within less than a year Uber passengers had tipped Uber drivers as much as Lyft passengers had tipped Lyft drivers in the past 5 years.

  • you didnt answer the clear question on your title and sang all other songs, beating around the bush,,,,,useless content to the driver

  • Surge pricing is criminal and a slap in the face to all their customers. Thank you so much for requesting our services, we appreciate so much that while things are toughest for you we will jack up your rate 2-300 times!

  • I drove for Uber when I first moved to LA, I’ve made from $1,600 working 50 hours, I’ve made $320 working 13 hours a week. You can make decent money in the right area. And that was just my side job. I was making bank. But I moved out of LA and back to Tallahassee. I have been thinking about driving for Uber here, but it probably wouldn’t pay as well as it did in LA where a lot of people don’t have vehicles.

  • Personally, driving for Lyft is my side hustle, and I average $20-$25/hr in the PNW, that's including tips, even after gas, oil changes, and any other relevant maintenance, it's still with it for me… I do most of my preventative maintenance as well, and my car is paid off. This shouldn't be your main source of income but more of a second source of income.

  • Your elected officials, whom you can write to (annonymously if you wish) instead of creating real jobs or just increasing welfare and building quality, non-shithole housing, created this polluting, planet-destroying monstrosity while they increase military funding at taxpayers' expense even though they can nuke this planet 400 times over. "Ridesharing" is a terrible and snitch friendly hideous minimum wage shit. Just make a female only service if you're so scared. But that would admit that American democracy is actually a 3rd world country with nuclear weapons. Worst customers are Muslims and old white women. dont stop. just drive away. #1 will try to stab you for no reason #2 will get you fired for no reason. #3 black dudes may try to rob you for no reason. Your choice. But. Once you see the ugly shit n warts all over their face you will no longer care. God bless America, land of free opportunity, blablabla. ps almost none of them ever tip even if you go above the speed limit. so drive slow. if you dont, THEY are ripping you off.

  • Take out gas money and maintenance fee your losing money..why you think most Indians are doing these kinds of job because they are stupid

  • Human traffickers and rapists are pretending to be Uber drivers, to lure women to their cars.
    Ive run into these people a few times. Women need to be careful. Sometimes if you're waiting outside on an uber, and someone drives up to you, asking if you ordered an uber, you just hop right in their car assuming that's your ride, and thats how you get raped or kidnapped.

    Men rely on their carelessness to target women. I had it happen a view times, and thinking back on it, it truly disgusts me.

    So, Im waiting outside, not on an uber, and this man sees me waiting and stops his car saying "Did you order an uber?" When you say no, they speed off.

    There's a lot of men pretending to be ubers, to prey on women. Especially at night, around clubs, where women might be drunk and try to uber home. They especially stalk those areas to prey on women.

  • Well in my experience, Uber drivers are far less friendly than Lyft drivers, probably because under drivers use that as their main job and Lyft drivers just use Lyft as a way to get some extra cash

  • I’ll just drive my BMW. If I have to be driven, I’ll use a local car service. The apps (Lyft, Uber, Blacklane) all suck.

  • I stopped driving for Uber this month.. drove for over 9 months in Las Vegas and it’s not worth it… traffic is terrible and the pay is terrible…
    I have had some awesome riders and some not so awesome..

  • If you get even one bad rating, one slip-up, they will stick you with a hideous syphilitic rapist or a serial killer. It can be a very nasty thing. But that filthy shit is now going mainstream. It's all over TV. Ugly

  • I brother support the Share community like, lift, uber, Airbnb, ect…than helping the big corporation to get richer.

  • Don't waste your time with either. I did both full time for over 6 months. Especially don't waste your time if you have a newer nicer car. Long story short , Uber is paying you below minimum wage to run your car into the ground. That's 95% true except in a few hot markets like San Francisco. Once you do the math and realize it's a scamm…. hopefully you have other options for income. But do yourself a favor and quit asap

  • Update, They both suck lol. You want to run your car in the ground for pennies on the dollar go right ahead and help yourself

  • I'm a lyft driver. I drive a base model trailblazer and only work during the night on average I pull about 400/week after gas costs the Detroit fair rates are not the greatest for a midsized suv .75¢/mile and .1125¢/minute so it depends on how far you are willing to go

  • Uber because of the cost, I work five minutes away from my job. Lyft $1.00 more and I’m all about saving money 💰

  • Both are suck …. it’s the new modern slavery… as a driver you average $5 an hour…. they destroyed lots of small business and lives of people…. i hate both …. Uber / Lyft are suck ….. haw is it $12or $13…

  • Look how much they charging customers now when it surges and how much u getting paid. it’s less than half. Plus when u think it should surge but it’s not, it is surging but they not showing it to drivers but they charging the costumers surge price, and u getting paid none surge rate. New rate change uber made, screwing everyone over.

  • Sad that our politicians allowed these companies to operate in our area they're breaking the law everyday by charging customers a price so low the drivers can't make 1/2 of the legal minimum wage, they've flooded the area with drivers making it impossible to make a living after expenses the only ones making money are the companies while destroying countless lives.

  • i have been working with lyft for about 3 months now ….from my expericence dont do it …you aint makin shit .everyday i feel like i wanna kill myself

  • Who is Better to drive for? Uber or Lyft? I say it depends on what city you're driving in. Uber takes 20% of total fare and Lyft takes 30% of fare from drivers who signed up after 2011. I've had Lyft switch passengers on me in a middle of going to a pickup location which is unfair, and Lyft also adds extra rides to my Queue that I did not accept. In the end, I say that Uber has a better platform in terms of not switching passengers, and the app always asks me to commit to another ride rather than just automatically adding it like Lyft does.

  • You should do a new video. As of March 11th, 2019 Uber has decreased pay and pays lower than Lyft in Los Angeles.

  • Both Uber and Lyft are thefts, they are exploding the drivers. They keep more money than the drivers, and usually happens when the trip is being shared with multiples riders.


  • Uber and lyft drivers need to orchestrate a massive strike or something so that uber and lyft can stop being greedy

  • Lyft wins for me. My Lyft rating is higher because it asks customers to rate by keeping a pop-up rating screen for 24 – 48 hours after the ride. Riders still aren't required to rate though, but the Lyft app auto rates to 5-stars after that time. For a newer driver like me, or someone picking up in a new area- that's really important! Uber needs to do this too. Another thing about Lyft, I like, is that I can do it in most other states without having to reapply initially. Lyft gives me a few months grace period in a new state, unlike little Uber.

  • Well Lyft has turned up paying less than Uber. Big reason is that they don’t charge extra for drivers to drive to long destinations to pick up a customer. I shut off Lyft and now I make around 25% more. Best move I ever did.

  • Uber originally made billions dooping drivers with car leas, management, licensing & tax fee piled on them. Lyft was more leanage but didn't profit fast enough as it was a new company.

  • Right now though Lyft guarantees new drivers will earn no less than $1000 driving in the first month with Promo Code. This is a guaranteed base pay of $1000 not including tips and time is limited. Start driving part time now. If you don’t enter a code upon starting your application, you won't be eligible for this promotion. use Promo Code: OFFICIALPROMO to earn a guaranteed $1000 driving for your first month when signing up with Lyft.

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