Uber and Lyft Got Pricier Last Year — Here’s How Riders Responded

Uber and Lyft rides got nearly 10% more expensive in 2025, and a clear majority of riders say they are responding by pulling back on how often they use the apps. 

Gridwise’s annual gig mobility report, released earlier this week, found that average fares on Uber and Lyft climbed 9.6% in 2025. The typical ride rose from $21.58 by the end of 2024 to $23.66 by December 2025. The analysis looked at about one billion anonymized tasks across ride-hailing and delivery gig work in the U.S., giving a broad view of how costs are shifting. The report tracked trip-level activity, earnings and pricing for major rideshare platforms across the U.S. in 2025.

How riders responded to the price increases

The report had a separate section that asked 1,000 ride-hailing and delivery customers about their habits in January 2026. In response, 60.4% said they had reduced their use of Uber, Lyft and similar apps because of higher prices. That share was up 16.6% from a similar survey in December 2024. 

More than half of riders (55%) said they would cut back further if prices continued to increase. 

Despite complaints and cutbacks from riders, the higher fares haven’t translated into obvious financial stress for Uber or Lyft. Both companies are still growing and posting profits as they push further into new geographic markets. 

Ryan Green, CEO of Gridwise, summarized the paradox to Business Insider: people say they’re “sensitive to prices,” but the overall ride-hailing industry continues to expand.

Lyft is generally more affordable than Uber. Gridwise data showed that Lyft set its ride prices 14% below Uber’s. 

What’s happening to drivers

Customer prices increased faster than driver earnings. The report found that driver gross pay per trip rose by just 3.6% from 2024 to 2025. Earnings per hour climbed 4.1%, not nearly as fast as fares. 

“As inflation and affordability continue to shape consumer behavior, customer prices rose more quickly than driver earnings in 2025,” Green said in a press release. “The data shows a gig economy that is evolving.”

The platforms themselves grabbed a bigger slice of fares. Average platform fees climbed about 33% in 2025, helping make each ride more profitable for Uber and Lyft.

Uber disputed the Gridwise findings to Business Insider, saying the report is based on “a very small fraction” of workers. In January, Uber asserted in a blog post that the portion of fares going to the company had stayed largely consistent or declined year-over-year, even as prices increased.

“Even as prices have gone up, the portion going to Uber has remained relatively flat — and in recent quarters has been trending slightly down,” Uber wrote in the post. “In other words, while prices have gone up quite a bit, the vast majority of total fares have continued to go where they belong: into drivers’ pockets.”

Uber and Lyft did not respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment on the data. 

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