Is Lyft Actually Much Cheaper Than Uber?

Your event is over, and it's time to go home. You need to hail a rideshare, but do you go with Uber or Lyft? Which is cheaper? People you know have always said Lyft costs less; is that true, though? The correct answer is actually neither, and both, because it depends. It can flip-flop since prices fluctuate based on several factors, most of which are altered in real-time. Service factors like driver availability in your area, your current location (especially if you're in a city), and the time of day all play a role in the estimated price. However, Uber and Lyft are both known to use what's called surge pricing, meaning higher prices are quoted during peak hours. Comparatively, this can make either service more expensive than the other depending on what's going on around you.

Independent researchers from Harvard and Johns Hopkins' business schools have conducted a study to find the price differences between the two platforms. On average, there was about a 14% price gap in quotes for tested routes, regardless of whether the ride was short or long, but overall, they found that "neither rideshare app is consistently more expensive than the other."

A Consumer Reports investigation actually found that customers were seeing dramatically different prices in the same app for rides ordered at precisely the same time. Worse yet, both companies purportedly offer discounts to regular customers on ride costs that were deceptively inflated; so, there's really no discount available. Both Uber and Lyft denied the fake prices and claimed the discrepancies are due to marketplace conditions. Uber also says it does not "personalize prices" based on the individual.

In the Tampa and Orlando areas, I've come across varying prices based on how busy it is and what's going on. I have also personally witnessed travel companions seeing lower or higher quoted prices for the same short trips, and it seems to relate to how often they use the apps for rides. Beyond my local area, I have hailed rides in other states while traveling, but obviously, I cannot verify pricing consistency since I'm not there often. Prices are generally higher in urban areas, which makes sense. Some travelers are saving money on Ubers, gaming the system, so to speak, by getting rides to streets near airports rather than directly there, or by using similar tactics in busier areas.

You can use tools like RideWise to look up prices. It's fairly accurate, but prices may change when you're actually ready to leave. Clocking a ride between Orlando and Tampa, Florida, around mid-afternoon on a weekday, nets a price of $152 for Lyft and $162 for UberX. There is a small price difference between the two across the board — Lyft's other services are listed as cheaper than Uber's. Of course, both are cheaper than taking a metered taxi at $271 for the same ride. Lyft will charge extra fees if your driver has to wait for you, though, so hurry.

Recently, many Uber users have been seeing higher prices, but if you search for higher Lyft prices, you'll discover its users are also seeing major increases, with some claiming about twice the price of Uber's. Given that Uber and Lyft surge pricing is affecting some users more, via Consumer Reports' findings, that could be what's happening here; it could be peak hour surges, or it could just be due to "inflation."