In the space of a few short years, ride-hailing apps such as Lyft and Uber have emerged as a convenient way to get around town. As the on-demand gig industry, so too did questions about tipping ridesharing services as awareness grew that many drivers don’t make much more than minimum wage. Do you know how much to tip Lyft drivers? In our Lyft tipping guide, we explain how much you should tip Lyft drivers and provide a free Lyft tip calculator for you to use.

Should you tip your Lyft driver? The short answer is that while tips are optional, it’s become increasingly common to tip drivers at the end of the ride. 40% of Lyft passengers tip their driver at the end of the ride, a number which has been steadily increasing over time. To clear up confusion about tipping on your next Lyft ride, we provide guidelines on when to tip, when you can skip the tip, and how much to tip.

To calculate your driver’s tip with our Lyft Tip Calculator, enter your Lyft fare and the percentage you want to tip. Our tip calculator will show your tip amount in the bottom right corner. You can leave your tip directly in the Lyft app or tip in cash.

Is a Tip Already Included in Lyft?

No, tips are not included in Lyft fares. Leaving a tip is at a passenger’s discretion and is always appreciated. That said, 40 percent of Lyft’s passengers tip their drivers. You can tip your Lyft driver at the end of the ride through the Lyft app or in cash.

Do You Tip Lyft Drivers?

No, you don’t have to tip your Lyft driver, but 40 percent of passengers do leave a tip. You should leave your driver a tip for great service, a long ride to a rural area, driving you at odd hours, or if the driver had to wait for you. Lyft passes on 100% of your tip, so all of your tips will end up in your driver’s pocket.

According to studies, drivers are most likely to receive tips from riders with five-star ratings or when they have driven with them in the past. Interestingly, drivers receive the largest amount of tips between 3 am and 5 am and on Fridays and Saturdays around 6 pm.

Unlike Uber, Lyft launched its service with a tipping option built into the app. It was a driver-friendly move and one that Uber didn’t match for years. Both Lyft and Uber now allow tipping via their in-app systems. As a result, it’s become commonplace to tip your driver after a ride.

Why You Should Tip Your Lyft Driver

Lyft does not include tips in the cost of the ride. The choice of whether to tip and how much is up to the passenger. The fact is, though, that many Lyft drivers rely on the 40% of passengers that tip to make ends meet.

Unlike traditional taxi drivers, Lyft drivers use their own vehicles, pay for their own gas, pay for vehicle maintenance, don’t get paid when traveling between fares, and see the value of their car decrease every mile they drive due to the wear and tear on their vehicle.  In exchange for connecting a driver with a passenger, Lyft takes an average of 38% of the fare off the top. Lyft’s 38% cut means that, on average, your Lyft driver receives just 62% of what you pay. After accounting for all of these costs, Lyft drivers can sometimes earn less than the minimum wage.

How Much To Tip Lyft Drivers?

Did you know that 40% of Lyft passengers tip their drivers? How much should you tip your Lyft driver? The recommended tipping amount is between 10% and 15% of the total ride fare. Tips are always appreciated and make up a large share of a Lyft driver’s income.

The ugly truth behind rideshare companies is that their drivers often make minimum wage after properly accounting for their expenses. In fact, a ride-hailing driver can make less than minimum wage. That’s one reason why the extra dollars from tips are essential to your driver’s earnings.

For our Lyft Tip Calculator’s settings, we’ve set a 10% tip percentage which you’re free to change. Remember that drivers should earn their tips, so don’t tip for poor service!

Lyft Tip Calculator: Quickly Calculate Your Driver’s Tip

First, enter the total cost of your Lyft ride under the ‘Lyft Fare Total’ section.

Next, either keep the default 10% tip percent or enter your preferred tip percentage. 10% is a good amount to tip.

That’s it! Our Lyft Tip Calculator will do the rest. You’ll see how much to tip your Lyft driver in the ‘Tip Your Lyft Driver’ results section at the bottom right of the calculator.

Use Our Example to Explore The Calculator’s Settings

We’ve pre-filled our Lyft Tip Calculator with a fare example that you can easily change to match your own ride! In this example, your ride cost $25, and you want to leave a 10% tip. Our tip calculator crunches the math and tells you that your should tip your Lyft driver $2.50, which you can see in the results. Enter your own ride’s cost to find out exactly how much you should tip.

When Do You Tip Lyft Drivers?

You tip your Lyft driver after your ride is complete. When you have completed your ride, a tipping button will pop up, allowing you to leave a tip. Tips made through the Lyft app are charged to your credit card, but you can also tip your driver using cash. After you’ve left a tip and rated your driver, your receipt will be added to the Lyft app’s ‘ride history’ section.

Keep in mind that when tipping through the Lyft app, you only have two hours after the end of your ride to leave a tip. If you’d like to automate tipping for future rides, Lyft offers a default tipping setting where you can choose a tip percentage or dollar amount that will be left at the end of every ride. To set a default tipping amount, tap on the ‘Set default tip’ tab in Lyft’s settings menu.

Can Lyft Drivers See How Much You Tip?

Lyft drivers cannot see how much you tipped until after the ride is complete and you have rated them. That said, Lyft drivers have eyes, so for your privacy and user rating, it’s best to rate your driver and leave a tip after exiting the vehicle. After you have left a tip and left a user rating, your tip amount will be saved under the ride history section of the Lyft app.

If you want to improve your passenger rating, tell your driver as you are leaving that you are leaving him a five-star rating. This will encourage your Lyft driver to reciprocate with a five-star rating for you.

How Much Do Lyft Drivers Make Per Ride?

When you consider how much to tip your Lyft driver, it’s normal to wonder how much they make per ride. According to SherpaShare, a Lyft driver makes an average of $12.53 per ride. That’s not all that much. Remember that what you pay to Lyft isn’t what the driver makes since Lyft keeps an average of 38% for themselves! After accounting for Lyft’s take, a Lyft driver makes $7.77 per ride. That’s probably less than you’d thought, and it’s why drivers depend on tips to supplement their income.

While Lyft drivers can always switch back and forth with Uber, the truth is that two two ridesharing companies in the United States account for the entire market. Uber and Lyft’s dominance of the market means that Lyft and Uber drivers take what they’re offered. Uber controls 69% of the ridesharing market in the United States, with Lyft accounting for the remaining 31%.

What percentage of the fare does your Lyft driver get to keep?

Your Lyft driver gets to keep an average of 62% of a passenger’s fare. The remaining  38% goes to Lyft. 100% of all tips go directly to the Lyft driver.

Frequently Asked Lyft Tipping Questions

People often have specific questions about tipping Lyft drivers. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions people ask.

Do Lyft drivers get 100% of your tip?

Yes, Lyft drivers always receive 100 percent of their tips. Lyft never takes a share of the driver’s tips.

What percentage do you tip Lyft drivers?

You should tip Lyft drivers between 10% and 15% of the ride’s cost.

For example, on a $15 ride and using a 10% tip percentage, you should leave your driver $1.50.

How do you schedule a ride on Lyft?

If Lyft offers scheduled rides in your region, you can schedule rides up to 7 days in the future. Using the app, select your dropoff location, tap ‘schedule’, choose your pickup address, select the date and time of the ride, tap ‘Set pick up time’, confirm your pickup and dropoff address, and tap ‘Schedule’. Your ride is now scheduled.

Keep in mind that scheduled rides are not guaranteed and are subject to driver availability.

How do you cancel a Lyft ride?

You can cancel a Lyft ride directly in the Lyft app by tapping ‘Edit ride’ and choosing ‘Cancel ride’. A cancellation fee may apply if the cancellation window has passed or if the driver will arrive within 5 minutes of the original arrival time.