It seems driving solely for Lyft is likely to result in slightly higher average earnings compared to driving solely for Uber, at least according to recent data from Earnest. The data is part of a wider ‘Sharing Economy’ survey that the loan company undertook, which looks to provide insight on the various avenues in which people can earn from Sharing Economy services. Like for instance, through the likes of Airbnb, Doordash, Lyft, Uber, and so on. However, with both Lyft and Uber on the list, and seen as direct competitors, the results provide some interesting reading for anyone thinking of joining either service… or both.
In reality, the overall results for Lyft and Uber do not seem to differ to a significant level. This is due to the averages largely being the same. For instance, the average for those who drive solely with Lyft was noted as $377 per month. Whereas, the average for those who drove solely though Uber were noted as $364 per month. So while there is a difference, whether it is enough of a difference to choose one service over the over, remains to be seen. In either case, the results place the two companies in the 3rd and 4th ranked positions respectively – behind Airbnb (average of $924 per month) and TaskRabbit (average of $380 per month).
Of course, these are just averages and will not be representative of any one individual driver. In fact, when the median figures were looked at specifically, the difference between Lyft and Uber becomes more apparent. With Lyft’s median per month listed as $210 and Uber’s median per month listed as $155. There is also the issue of whether a driver solely drives for one of these companies or works for both. The figures above are for those who identify as solely working for one or the other. As Earnest found that on average drivers who drive for both companies seem to then be earning more through Uber. For instance, of those surveyed, one quarter of the Lyft drivers also worked for Uber, and of that dual-service quarter, the Uber average per month rose to $481, while the Lyft average only rose to $396 per month.
