How Much You Should Tip Your Uber and Lyft Driver

• Some Uber and Lyft drivers have complained about poor customer tipping recently. 
• We asked drivers and etiquette experts how much Americans should be tipping for Uber and Lyft rides.
• All agreed that tipping something is standard practice. 

Like it or not, tipping culture is ingrained in the US. But it’s up to every customer to decide how much — if anything — they give when they eat at a restaurant, order a coffee, or take an Uber or Lyft.

Over the past year, some Americans have started tipping less often. In a Bankrate survey of over 2,400 US adults conducted in May, the percentage of people who said they always tipped waiters, hair stylists, food delivery workers, taxi and rideshare drivers, hotel housekeepers, and baristas all declined compared to survey results from both 2022 and 2019.

Conversations about whether or not to tip, and how much, have been on the rise recently, especially as elevated inflation hurts Americans’ wallets. While tipping levels could be normalizing after enhanced generosity during the pandemic, it’s also possible some Americans are getting fed up with tipping after being asked to do it more often — like at the self-checkout line. Some ride-hailing drivers have even blamed Uber and Lyft for poor customer tipping.

In recent months, Insider has spoken with several ride-hailing drivers who said tipping has gotten worse. However, Uber told Insider in May that tipping has increased since 2020. Lyft didn’t respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Regardless of whether you’re tired of tipping or trying to save money, four etiquette experts and drivers told Insider that it shouldn’t stop you from tipping your Uber and Lyft driver. We asked them how often — and how much — Americans should be tipping after they get to their destination.

You should always tip your driver

Thomas Farley, a New York-based etiquette expert known as Mister Manners, told Insider that as long as the trip was completed safely and satisfactorily, customers should always tip their Uber and Lyft drivers.

“The custom of tipping a driver has been in place since well before rideshare apps,” he said. “And the convenience of being able to summon a car with a tap on one’s phone — versus having to hail a taxi — should put us in the mindset of being even more likely to tip, not less.”

Gabe Ets-Hokin, a part-time Uber and Lyft driver in Oakland, California, told Insider that most of his customers don’t tip — regardless of the level of service — and that it shouldn’t be this way.

“I think passengers should tip as frequently as they do food servers, bartenders, or other customarily-tipped service workers,” he told Insider. “As long as we’re not guaranteed a living wage, I think the ethical thing is to tip drivers.”

You should generally tip your driver at least 15%

Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and co-host of the podcast “Were You Raised By Wolves,” told Insider that tipping between 15% and 20% is the general recommendation for Uber and Lyft drivers in the US.

“If you’ve done something that has made the ride less pleasant for the driver, such as watching YouTube videos without headphones at full blast or spilling food on the seats, then a larger tip is also a good idea,” he said.

Farley said 20% should be the standard tip, but that customers who feel the driver went above and beyond should consider tipping 25% or more. For short rides that cost under $10, he said Americans should tip at least $2 as a baseline and no less.

Jeff Hoenig, a 63-year-old part-time Uber driver in South Carolina, told Insider that roughly half of his customers left a tip last year.

While he said a $3 tip is reasonable for most rides, there are a few types of trips where he thinks a bigger tip — of at least $5 — is particularly warranted. These include rides that are to-and-from the airport, late at night or early in the morning, over an hour long, or involve the driver loading or unloading something from the vehicle.

However, Hoenig said even a $1 tip would be appreciated.

“If all the riders who don’t tip, started tipping $1, drivers would be happy with the extra money,” he said.

When Ets-Hokin gets tipped, he said it typically averages between 85 and 15%. He said he thinks it should be at least 10% to 20% as long as the ride has met the customer’s basic standards.

Inflation shouldn’t stop you from tipping

While many Americans’ wallets have been impacted by inflation, Farley said this shouldn’t prevent them from tipping.

“One’s personal finances should not prevent a passenger from tipping at least the minimum acceptable percentage, though they may influence the frequency with which one uses a ride-share app,” he said. “If you can afford to take a ride share to work every morning because you are always running late and just don’t have time to bother with the train, you can afford a tip.”

Farley said that customers can find other ways to save money on their rides, including accepting a longer wait time, comparing ride-hailing prices, and trying to ride during less busy times.

If you still don’t plan to tip your ride-hailing driver, you’re unlikely to get more than one Lyft ride with Ets-Hokin.

He said that Lyft provides him 24 hours after the ride is completed to rate his customers — and that he frequently gives non-tipping passengers a 3-star rating. Doing so “permanently unmatches” them from him, he said, which means he won’t get the same customer again. He said Uber only lets him rate customers soon after a trip ends.

“Since I only drive in a 5-mile radius of my house, it’s possible this has improved my tips,” he said.

Are you a gig worker willing to share your story about pay, schedule, and tipping? If so, reach out to this reporter at [email protected].