Who has more customers Uber or Lyft?

Uber now has 74% of the US rideshare market, up from 62% in 2020, according to market research firm YipitData, while Lyft's market share slipped to 26% from 38% during that same period.



In 2026, Uber remains the dominant market leader with significantly more customers than Lyft. Globally, Uber serves over 150 million monthly active platform consumers, thanks to its presence in nearly every major international market. In the United States, Uber holds approximately 70% to 75% of the market share, while Lyft captures the remaining 25% to 30%. Uber's lead is bolstered by its "ecosystem" approach, integrating Uber Eats and freight services into its primary app, which increases user retention. While Lyft has positioned itself as the "friendly underdog" and maintains a loyal customer base in specific U.S. cities, it lacks Uber’s massive international scale. For 2026 riders, this often means Uber has higher driver availability and faster pickup times in rural areas, while Lyft remains a competitive and well-loved alternative in major metropolitan hubs.

People Also Ask

Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. On average, Uber paid its drivers more per hour than Lyft in 2022, according to Gridwise. Uber drivers had gross earnings of $21.14 per hour in 2022, while Lyft drivers were grossing $19.90.

MORE DETAILS

What happened? Well, as predicted, Uber didn't want to spend the $9 Billion that Lyft was asking for. In 2014, Uber tried to acquire the app with no success. Then, in 2019, Uber was prepared to buy Lyft for $7 Billion, but the ship had sailed, and Lyft rejected the idea, and instead stayed a separate entity.

MORE DETAILS

Lyft went from 22 to 33 percent market share in the US from 2017 to 2018, although that growth has cooled off, with the company achieving 29 percent market share in 2020. Lyft launched several initiatives that attempted to paint its service in a more positive light, as Uber was chastised for its employment model.

MORE DETAILS

Rider Demographics Age: 49% of Lyft's users are between the ages of 18 and 34. Income: The median household income for Lyft riders is $55,000. Education: 20% of Lyft's active riders are currently students.

MORE DETAILS

Largest shareholders include Fmr Llc, Vanguard Group Inc, FBGRX - Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund, BlackRock Inc., VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, NAESX - Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares, Ubs Asset Management Americas Inc, Two Sigma Investments, Lp, Voloridge Investment ...

MORE DETAILS

Lyft is a ridesharing service available in 656 cities across the US and Canada. Launched in 2012, the app reached the milestone of 1 million rides the following year. Today, 12.5 million riders use the app each quarter. And Lyft currently has a 32% market share in the US, an all-time high for the company.

MORE DETAILS

With lawsuits piling up against both popular rideshare companies, it's unclear whether passengers are safer riding with Uber versus Lyft, or vice versa. Lyft was long seen as the safer alternative to the “frat culture” of Uber, but that characterization may have since been proven wrong, USA Today reports.

MORE DETAILS

Uber can be less expensive than Lyft for the average journey—research suggests that Uber is the cheaper company, with the average trip costing $20 compared with the $27 you would spend for an average Lyft trip. Also, Uber can be used around the world, whereas Lyft is only available in the U.S. and Canada.

MORE DETAILS

John Zimmer is the co-founder and former president of Lyft, an on-demand transportation company, which he founded with Logan Green in 2012.

MORE DETAILS

Uber is the market leader in London as well as the UK. A trusted provider worldwide, the brand has become synonymous with ridesharing over the years. If you want to become an Uber driver, check the Uber driver requirements and see if your car meets the Uber eligibility criteria.

MORE DETAILS

When did Lyft first become profitable? Lyft first became profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis in Q2 2021, meaning that the company could cover its operating expenses and make a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

MORE DETAILS

Some of the highest-paying cities for ridesharing with Lyft include the following:
  • New York.
  • Seattle.
  • San Francisco.
  • St. Luis.
  • San Jose.
  • Boston.
  • Birmingham.
  • Portland.


MORE DETAILS

He is a professor of economics and has raised more than $4.5 billion in investment capital. The top shareholders of Uber are Dara Khosrowshahi, Tony West, Nelson J. Chai, SB Investment Advisers (UK) Ltd., Morgan Stanley, and FMR LLC. Below, we take a closer look at the top shareholders of Uber.

MORE DETAILS

Uber and Lyft have comparable gross margins, but Lyft's operating costs-to-sales are far higher due to immense stock-based compensation. Given Lyft's liquidity position and cash burn rate, I do not believe it will survive through 2024.

MORE DETAILS

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights Net loss of $114.3 million compares with $187.6 million in Q1'23 and $377.2 million in Q2'22. Net loss includes $116.6 million of stock-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses. Net loss margin of 11.2% compares with 18.8% in Q1'23 and 38.1% in Q2'22.

MORE DETAILS

Before the pandemic, Uber had far more rides, and worse margins. Uber has diseconomies of scale: when you lose money on every ride, adding more rides increases your losses, not your profits. Meanwhile, Lyft — Uber's also-ran competitor — saw its margins worsen over the same period.

MORE DETAILS

Uber made a loss of US$8.8 billion in 2022. Lyft, Uber's main competitor in the United States, lost US$1.28 billion. These companies, collectively known as transportation network companies (TNCs), have two options to become profitable.

MORE DETAILS

The Lyft app launched in 2012 (Uber, originally called UberCab, in 2009), but Lyft started life as a side project for Zimrides, a carpooling service founded in 2007 that leveraged Facebook and students for long-distance ride-sharing back when Uber was just a limousine-shaped gleam in the eye of Canadian co-founder ...

MORE DETAILS