Twelve cars, one cost model
Does this car make money?
A car driven for Uber, Lyft or delivery is a working asset, so this site reviews cars the way a spreadsheet would: energy, maintenance and depreciation, per mile, on identical terms for every vehicle. We do not test-drive anything. We model each car from EPA fuel economy ratings, published maintenance estimates and used-price guides, and we say where the data runs out.
Running cost per mile, cheapest first
- 01 Chevrolet Bolt EV 18.0¢/mi
- 02 Toyota Prius 20.4¢/mi
- 03 Tesla Model 3 20.7¢/mi
- 04 Honda Accord Hybrid 22.6¢/mi
- 05 Toyota Camry Hybrid 22.8¢/mi
- 06 Kia Niro 24.3¢/mi
- 07 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 25.7¢/mi
- 08 Toyota Corolla Hybrid 26.5¢/mi
- 09 Honda Civic 27.3¢/mi
- 10 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 29.5¢/mi
- 11 Toyota Sienna 38.4¢/mi
- 12 Honda Odyssey 42.9¢/mi
- Energy
- Maintenance
- Depreciation
At $4.08/gal and $0.18/kWh. Insurance, registration and financing are not in these figures. They depend on the driver, not the car, so the calculators add them.
Latest
Reviews, comparisons and guides
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Hybrid or Electric for Uber? Where the EV Stops Being Cheaper
At home electricity rates the Bolt EV is the cheapest car on this site to run. The Model 3 isn't: even charged at home it costs more per mile than a Prius.
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Best Car for DoorDash and Delivery: City Driving Changes the Ranking
DoorDash takes any car of any year. Delivery is mostly city driving, and in town a Prius spends $1,684 a year less on gas than a Civic, up from $1,144.
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Is a Hybrid Worth It for Rideshare? What Used Prices Show
The question assumes a hybrid premium you earn back in fuel. Across the ten gas-burning cars on this site, six hybrids cost less to buy than the gas sedan.
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Accord Hybrid vs Civic: Paying More for Less Car
The Accord Hybrid is cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, roomier and eligible for Uber Comfort. The Civic's entire case is that it is the newer car.
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Camry Hybrid vs Corolla Hybrid: The Answer Depends on Your Budget
At the bottom of the market the Camry Hybrid is the cheaper car by $70. At the top it is the dearer one by $5,890, and it runs cheaper either way.
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Niro vs Corolla Hybrid: The Thriftier Car Costs More to Run
The Corolla Hybrid is rated 52 mpg against the Niro's 49, and still costs 2.1 cents a mile more to run. Depreciation and the price floor explain why.
Photographs by dambranslv (CC BY 2.0), mariordo59 (CC BY-SA 2.0), mliu92 (CC BY-SA 2.0) and RL GNZLZ (CC BY-SA 2.0). Each photograph is credited in full on its own page and on photo credits.
Calculators
Put your own numbers in
Four tools, one shared cost library, the same fuel, electricity and IRS figures used in every article on the site.
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Rideshare profit
Turn a gross weekly fare number into an honest net: energy, wear, depreciation, insurance and the car payment all come out first.
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Cost per mile
Depreciation, fuel or electricity, insurance, maintenance, tires and registration, combined into one cents-per-mile figure and set against the IRS standard mileage rate.
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Break-even
Compare a car that is cheaper to buy against one that is cheaper to run, and find the mileage where the pricier car catches up.
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Payback period
How many weeks of driving it takes to earn back what a car cost to buy and put on the road.
Methodology
Every number here is checkable
Three formulas do most of the work: energy cost per mile, maintenance per mile and depreciation per mile. They are applied to all twelve vehicles with the same fuel price, the same electricity price and the same IRS mileage rate, so a Prius and a minivan are measured on identical terms. The methodology page gives the formulas, the source behind each constant and the assumptions baked into every chart and table on the site.