An Uber ride in Philly is $6 cheaper than a Lyft, study finds

If you need a ride in Philadelphia, Uber is likely to be cheaper than Lyft, a study has found.

A six-mile Uber in the city cost $29.18, on average, while a Lyft trip of the same distance cost $35.82, $6.64 more, according to CashNetUSA, an online lender that also provides personal finance advice.

The ride-sharing industry is showing early signs of a rebound in 2023. More consumers are traveling — including to reopened offices — and ordering food delivery, analysts told Reuters earlier this month, at the same time that an increasing number of people are looking to make extra money as drivers.

Both Uber and Lyft reported increased revenue in the first quarter, though Lyft still struggles to compete with Uber, which has 74% of the U.S. rideshare market. Lyft, meanwhile, recently laid off more than a quarter of its corporate workforce.

For riders, the recent study found that Uber was less expensive in 34 of the 50 most populated U.S. cities.

The biggest price differences were in New Orleans, where an Uber was $12 cheaper than a Lyft, and New York, where a Lyft was $9 cheaper (and where you’ll pay the most of any city — a six-mile trip cost more than $50 on both apps).

Newark, N.J., was one of the rare cities where Lyft was significantly cheaper, with a $7 price difference between the apps.

In Philadelphia, there is, on average, a more than $6 price gap between Uber and Lyft. It is the sixth largest price gap of large U.S. cities.

Uber is also cheaper by an average of $4 across Pennsylvania, the third largest gap of U.S. states, the study found.

Uber and Lyft prices vary based on supply and demand, the study noted, which is why surge pricing goes into effect and fares skyrocket around the stadiums when a game lets out. If fewer drivers are working for one service or the other, prices can also jump more quickly when demand intensifies, so it’s wise to check both apps if time allows.

CashNetUSA compiled the data for the study by calculating fares for four different six-mile trips in each city, starting in the city center and going in each of the cardinal directions, using the services’ online estimators. It took the average of these fares to compare prices. The state averages reflect the costs of the trips in the state’s three largest cities.