{"id":107902,"date":"2018-09-07T15:40:30","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T15:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=107902"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:04:20","slug":"uber-vs-lyft-vs-via-which-rideshare-app-is-best-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/uber-vs-lyft-vs-via-which-rideshare-app-is-best-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Uber vs Lyft vs Via – which rideshare app is best for you"},"content":{"rendered":"

With rideshare apps popping up so rapidly, it can be a little difficult to decide which is the best for you. All of them have their own unique benefits and downsides, despite being better than most taxi services. Here is a little bit to know about each one and what they bring to the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

For passengers:<\/h2>\n

Uber<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Uber\"<\/p>\n

Uber is probably the most well known of these three; it is also the most used. Uber is available in far more locations than any other rideshare app, and you can often find a driver quickly even in more suburban areas. Their surge pricing<\/strong> can be extremely high, however. You may sometimes have to wait a while to get a ride at a reasonable price. With Uber, you can order a car all to yourself or share a ride at a lower rate. Because of Uber’s popularity, it’s often the subject of some terrifying headlines.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Lyft<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Lyft\"<\/p>\n

While both Uber and Lyft feature a \u201csurge\u201d or \u201cprime time\u201d feature where prices are increased based on high demand: Lyft\u2019s prices are almost half<\/strong> of Uber\u2019s during these times, on average. This means that if there is surge pricing on both apps, then you\u2019re almost always better off with taking Lyft. On top of this, Lyft\u2019s primary focus is on customer service<\/strong> so they have a more developed support center than Uber. The big downside to Lyft, however, is that it is not as popular as Uber, so there are places where there aren\u2019t many drivers. <\/strong>Similar to Uber, you can choose to share a car with other riders if you’re not in a hurry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Via<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Via\"<\/p>\n

Via is somewhat unique among the increasingly popular rideshare apps, as it actually features a flat rate<\/strong> instead of charging based off distance like the other two. This can be a pro and a con since the flat rate might be lower or higher than the other services would\u2019ve been. <\/span><\/p>\n

The major drawback of Via, however, is its accessibility. It\u2019s only available in very few cities<\/strong>: Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. It also only provides coverage in certain areas of a city, so it’s great for trips downtown, but if you need to go to the outskirts, Via may not be for you. Still, Via is expanding to other cities and areas, so it could be a good option for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Via’s flat rate, you might have to share the\u00a0car with other riders, but you often get a ride all to yourself at no additional charge.<\/p>\n

Hopefully this has helped you figured out which rideshare app is the best one for you as a rider; however, <\/span>as a driver<\/b> these companies work a little differently than for the customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rideshare<\/p>\n

For drivers:<\/h2>\n

Uber<\/b><\/h3>\n

This rideshare app is generally considered the worst for employees. The main benefit is its availability. Since more people know about it, you\u2019re more likely to get customers (it works the same way for the customer\u2019s benefit as well). Other than that, it doesn\u2019t look too great compared to the other two. Uber takes the most money<\/strong> out of the ride fare, compared to the other two, but it also charges the most<\/strong> on average. <\/span><\/p>\n

This still means you might be making less than you would with the other two. On top of this, tipping in the app was only recently integrated, and you have to have an extremely high rating from your customers in order to stay employed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\r\n \"Uber\"\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Uber<\/span>\r\n Download Free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Lyft<\/b><\/h3>\n

The benefits and downsides for a Lyft driver coincide heavily with the benefits and downsides of a rider. For both, there are areas where Lyft isn\u2019t popular and using it as a driver or rider won\u2019t be very lucrative. Despite this, you get more money than Uber<\/strong> as during surge hours. Their support center is also reportedly more responsive than Uber\u2019s for both the driver and customer, which means that they are easier to work with when something goes wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

\r\n
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\r\n \"Lyft\"\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Lyft<\/span>\r\n Download Free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>10<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Via <\/b><\/h3>\n

Via is probably the best rideshare app for drivers in areas that it\u2019s available. Not only does it give you a higher percentage of pay<\/strong> per drive compared to the other two, but since it\u2019s only located in highly populated areas, you\u2019re more likely to get a ride without much wait. On top of this, your rides typically don\u2019t wear down your car as much as longer drives would (which is one of the main driver complaints of using rideshare apps). Of course, like the customers, you\u2019re only able to drive in select cities, but it is definitely the best to work for if you are in those cities. <\/span><\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Via:\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Via: Affordable Ridesharing<\/span>\r\n Download Free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Despite their unique flaws and benefits, you\u2019re better off actually working for multiple\u00a0rideshare apps as a driver. If you plan on being a driver in an area that offers any combination of these three, it\u2019s the most beneficial to get each of them, in order to maximize your earnings.<\/span><\/p>\n

As both a driver and rider, your best bet is to use Lyft most of the time.<\/strong> However, Lyft isn\u2019t always available, while Uber is practically everywhere. Uber\u2019s main drawback for a rider is that their surge pricing can skyrocket, but sometimes they are really your only option. Via is also a great alternative to either one if you live in one of the select cities where it’s available. Happy travels!<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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With rideshare apps popping up so rapidly, it can be a little difficult to decide which is the best for you. All of them have their own unique benefits and downsides, despite being better than most taxi services. Here is a little bit to know about each one and what they bring to the table. … Continue reading “Uber vs Lyft vs Via – which rideshare app is best for you”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9154,"featured_media":108251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[3150],"tags":[2542],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-107902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionuber"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327413,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107902\/revisions\/327413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107902"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=107902"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=107902"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=107902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}