“How much do Lyft drivers really make?” That’s the #1 question I get from everyone — passengers, friends, family. Lyft makes bold claims on their website in size 100 font — “Make $35/hour driving your own car!” $35/hour? Some PhD’s don’t even get paid that much! What’s the reality here? What can you expect to be paid when you drive for Lyft?
Lyft driver pay photo dump!
I make $20 – $30/hour driving for Lyft. But am I special? What about other Lyft drivers? Fellow Lyft drivers share their earnings online, and I’ve collected screencaps to show you how much income Lyft drivers really make.
$24.70/Hour
$18.17/Hour
$25/Hour
$24/Hour
$24/Hour
$37/Hour
$41/Hour
$28/Hour
$17/Hour
Breaking down the numbers: Real Lyft driver income
There are two big things to take into account when you’re calculating Lyft driver income: Taxes and gas.
- Taxes – Depending on your tax bracket, expect to pay around 15% of your income, even after write-offs. Here’s a worksheet that help you estimate Lyft taxes.
- Gas – Fuel costs for most modern fuel-efficient cars used by most Lyft drivers are 10% or so each day.
Melissa Riggs says
My boyfriend is thinking of driving for Lyft and we found this extremely helpful. I don’t think the cost of veh, insurance etc need to be included.. this is talking about what you can estimate being paid.. not bills. My job doesn’t take Into consideration my bills when they pay me 😂
larry says
I just got all my approvals and want to rent. Can you only rent by week? Can you rent per day to start. Also if they say $214 wk. Are there any other deposits. Do you pre pay? Can you use the rental for personal use too many questions nobody to ask
DougH says
Check out my post on Lyft rentals. To answer some of your questions, you can only rent by the week. There is a deposit (around $250) that is refunded when you turn in the car for good. You don’t prepay the weekly fee, instead you pay for the rental with your earnings at the end of the pay cycle. You can use it for personal use with some limits, around 750 miles per week in some markets.
Jeffrey Miller says
If I were a driver using my 2018 Volvo SUV, the lease payment is $666/mo or $22.00/day. My insurance runs about $200/mo, or $7/day. It runs on Premium gas and gets about 23 mpg, which works out to about $6/hr, assuming 50 mph. My maintenance costs are included in the lease. My license plates ran $880 this year, or $73/mo or $2.44/day. Car washes once a week, another $10/wk.
Since these earnings estimates don’t take expenses into account, they are a fraudulent misrepresentation of the real picture.
BM says
Your spreadsheets don’t figure in the vehicle cost (which is a substantial amount) and down time between jobs. The “Your Earnings” column is really “your Gross Earnings before expenses”…….
Your Earnings = $28.80 for for 24.8 miles does not include vehicle expense of $13.27. True Earnings would be only $15.53, for 31 minutes….which doesn’t include insurance and down time between stops. There is money to be made, but expenses take a chunk out of it.
Cyd says
Why aren’t they telling ppl what part of country these ppl made this kind of money? I read that you can make this kind of money in certain parts of country.
Need to be more transparent.
Jeffrey Miller says
These summaries don’t appear to include the cost of the vehicle, it’s maintenance, insurance, or fuel costs.
Jeffrey Miller says
“Your comment is under moderation.”
What a surprise!
DougH says
I moderate all comments to prevent spam and abusive language. Your comment was constructive, thanks for leaving it. You might find better detail on my Uber driver income analysis
Linda Irving says
I was looking to see how to figure out what is the best way to figure how much I am making driving for Lyft.
You show how to figure it out by hourly but is there such a way to figure it out as a daily rate.
I am asking because I was involved in a accident and the other driver’s insurance don’t want to pay for what I am asking in lost wages and he figured out a daily rate of a much lower rate then I figured out hourly.
Linda Irving says
Hello I would also like an email with the worksheet I would like to use it.
Thanks