Lyft? Uber? Gett? Sidecar? Taxi, god forbid? I've got 99 apps on my phone and only time for one. And it's the most economical one.
Because I am not a cheap ass. (And everything I write on the Internet is true.)
I really don't want to check 900 places to find the cheapest method of getting point A to B. There's a whole slew of calculators out there but it's hard to know which ones are accurate... so I took it to the test in three different cities. In the end, we chose to focus on Uber and Lyft. Cause I'm not sure if Sidecar or RideMySpaceship will even be around in three years.
In general, What's the Fare performed the best-usually within the dollar-followed by Lyft Calculator or Uber Estimate. The main problem with these, though, is they are absolutely painful to pull up on the phone. (I've tried.)
Zailoo is the only iPhone and Android app we found that calculates fare for both services. It's also really handy on the run (cause, um, it's mobile). For the most part, it's accurate within a dollar or two. Certain things make it a plus: It calculates Lyft Line rides. Once it calculates UberPool, life will be complete. For the most comprehensive solution, this one is it.
Here's the full breakdown:
Uber
| New York City | San Francisco | Boston | |
| What's The Fare | $12 | $11 | $7 |
| RideGuru | $9.15 | $12.24 | $6 |
| Uber Estimate | $10-13 | $10-14 | $6-7 |
| Zailoo | $10-13 | $10-14 | $5-7 |
| Official App Estimate | $14-19 | $10-14 | $6-8 |
| Actual Cost | $11.73 | $11.54 | $5.81 |
Lyft
| New York City | San Francisco | Los Angeles | |
| What's The Fare | $14 | $8 | $12 |
| RideGuru | $17.88 | $9.34 | $10.99 |
| Lyft Calculator | $14 | $5.83 | $11.47 |
| Zailoo | $15 | $7 | $12 |
| Actual Cost | $13.47 | $8.82 | $11.56 |
Uber your heart out.
