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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Freenow by Lyft vs Uber

Freenow by Lyft 4.8★ · Free to download 70
Winner Freenow by Lyft
Uber 4.4★ · Free to download 50

Freenow by Lyft is generally preferred for its ease of use and reliability in specific European cities, while Uber faces significant criticism from its drivers regarding pay, app functionality, and customer support.

Full reviews: Freenow by Lyft · Uber

Freenow by Lyft offers a straightforward taxi booking experience, especially praised in certain European cities, despite some issues with pricing transparency and customer support. Uber, while widely available, struggles with driver satisfaction due to low pay, unreliable app features, and poor support, overshadowing its general utility for riders.

Head to head

Features & Ease of Use edge: Freenow by LyftR2R12R17R18
Freenow by Lyft Freenow by Lyft is generally considered easy to use, with a good interface and intuitive booking process R2. Users appreciate its flexibility and quick arrival times in many cities R17. However, some users report bugs, like incorrect address changes or issues with pre-booking R12R18.
Uber Uber drivers find the app generally easy to use for navigation and earning income R74. However, many drivers report significant bugs and issues, including GPS inaccuracies, app crashes, and problems with the 'navigate' function R74R77. There are also complaints about the lack of specific features for delivery drivers, like opting out of Uber Eats offers .
Reliability & Availability tieR5R7R12R16
Freenow by Lyft Freenow by Lyft's reliability varies significantly by location. It is praised for prompt pickups and quick service in Athens, Rome, and Barcelona R5. However, many users report difficulty finding drivers or having rides canceled in Spain, Ireland, and Northern Italy, even after confirmation R7R12R16R24.
Uber Uber drivers frequently report issues with trip availability and consistency, with some waiting long periods for orders R73. The app is also criticized for being unreliable, with drivers experiencing problems with the app's functionality and receiving bad trip requests .
Price & Value tieR1R3R4R10
Freenow by Lyft Freenow by Lyft users frequently report issues with deceptive or inflated pricing, often being charged significantly more than the initial quote or the taxi meter R3R4R10R13. Cancellation fees are also a point of contention R1.
Uber Uber drivers widely complain about low pay, unfair compensation, and exploitation R67R73R79R85. They feel Uber overcharges customers while underpaying drivers, with acceptance rates dropping for declining low-paying orders R79R87.
Customer Support tieR1R13R22R34
Freenow by Lyft Freenow by Lyft's customer support is a major pain point, with users reporting unresponsiveness, being stuck in chatbot loops, and inability to get human assistance for issues like overcharging or cancellations R1R13R22R34.
Uber Uber's customer service is widely criticized by drivers as terrible, unhelpful, and difficult to access . Drivers report being unable to resolve issues like background check problems, account deactivations, or app malfunctions through support.
Pick Freenow by Lyft if

You are traveling in specific European cities like Athens, Rome, or Barcelona and prioritize a generally easy-to-use taxi booking app with often quick pickups R5.

Pick Uber if

You are an Uber driver willing to navigate frequent app bugs, low pay, and poor customer support for the flexibility of earning income R74.

Evidence note: The reviews for Freenow by Lyft primarily come from riders, while the majority of Uber's recent reviews are from drivers, leading to an asymmetry in perspective. Uber's rider experience is not as thoroughly covered in the provided reviews.

Frequently asked

Is Freenow by Lyft reliable for pre-booking rides?
No, Freenow by Lyft has issues with pre-booking, as users report that pre-booked taxis are often canceled or drivers are unavailable at the scheduled time R12R24.
Are there hidden charges with Freenow by Lyft?
Yes, Freenow by Lyft users frequently report unexpected additional charges, with final fares often being significantly higher than the initial quote or the taxi meter R3R4R10R13.
Do Uber drivers feel they are paid fairly?
No, Uber drivers widely express dissatisfaction with their pay, often stating that the compensation is too low for the mileage and time, and that Uber overcharges customers while underpaying drivers R67R73R79R85.
How is Uber's GPS and navigation for drivers?
Uber's GPS and navigation are frequently criticized by drivers for being inaccurate, glitchy, and sometimes directing them to incorrect addresses or taking longer routes R74R77R87R95.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Freenow by Lyft 4/5 · US Option for app: One thing that might be helpful is right before you hit confirm pickup, you can also review your time and date option. Other than that the app is easy to use and have enjoyed it.
  2. [R12] Freenow by Lyft 3/5 · US Prebooking doesn’t prebook!?: Very frustrating experience on vacation. We pre-booked a taxi for 8 AM the day before. The app says we will get driver details by 7:50 AM. At 8 AM we get a notification that all drivers are busy, but the app is “working hard to find us a driver. “ I canceled and walked 30 minutes instead.
  3. [R17] Freenow by Lyft 5/5 · US Very Flexible: Great driver. Very flexible.
  4. [R18] Freenow by Lyft 3/5 · GB OK ish, many bugs though: This is a basic app with many bugs, some of which can be material (like changing your home address and sending the taxi 10 minutes away). Don’t use when the journey is important, it’s too risky. Kisses many functions of higher quality services like Uber, Bolt, inDrive and Kareem.
  5. [R5] Freenow by Lyft 5/5 · US Great App - Must Have in Athens: This was amazing to have, and it allowed my family, and I had to travel flawlessly throughout the city on our four-day vacation.
  6. [R7] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US App Lies Don’t bother: Downloaded the app. Went to book a ride and the app said we have a driver and they are 5 mins from you. Great let’s book. Sorry no drivers available. I made plans based on the promise of a ride. If it would have been honest I could have planned around that but it decided getting a new customer was more important than accurately letting me know if a ride would be available. I
  7. [R16] Freenow by Lyft 2/5 · US Bad in Spain: Works horribly in Spain. Can never get drivers to pick up the ride requests, and when they do they take forever. It is way easier to just hail a cab from the street.
  8. [R1] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US driver cancel sometime and charge $5: no where to complain and find help , I tried find support and no one every responded , asked for human assistance and then no more response.
  9. [R3] Freenow by Lyft 3/5 · US Added charges about service charge not explained: 5 euros added to bill above service charge. Should I switch to it taxi? I’m thinking so.
  10. [R4] Freenow by Lyft 2/5 · US Don’t use in Ireland: If you use this in ireland be prepared to pay for 3 Euros fee plus artificially inflated cost for the ride. Try to hail a taxi if at all possible as they are then required to charge you what shows on the taximeter. 90 percent of the cabs won’t even start taximeter if u call them via freenow app and they charge you the max price show on the app. Don’t be fooled by the range sh
  11. [R10] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US 2x fare: The fare on the meter was 12.20 eur and free now charged me 22 eur
  12. [R13] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US Taxi meter does not match what you’re charged.: (Italy) Every ride we took, the amount I was charged was double what the taxi meter read. €9 ride? €20. €20 ride? €48. The price breakdown doesn’t actually break down the fare, it just notes the overall cost as “trip value,” and “intermediation cost,” with no additional information as to how they came to that number. I reached out to support through
  13. [R22] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US SCAM: The driver to whom they connected me charged me by their meter instead of by the app. When I tried to contact Support, I was trapped into an endless loop with their chat bot, no matter how many times I requested a human.
  14. [R34] Freenow by Lyft 1/5 · US Beware! Dishonest drivers gaming the system: Used this app 4 times in London with only minor issue on last ride, but got scammed twice in Italy. The estimates were fine, but the drivers overcharged what their meter displayed at the end of the ride. First time was resolved quickly but it happened again when I pre-booked a ride to airport; it has been 2 weeks and still have not gotten a response fro
  15. [R24] Freenow by Lyft 3/5 · GB Great service when it works….: I use Freenow on a regular basis. And can be very good. But when it’s either late or busy during the day, a booking may be confirmed, but after waiting for long time it may be just cancelled. Without considering that that customer situation is and/ or without any information how or why it was. That has happened many times. However, on many occasions when it was a gre
  16. [R67] Uber 1/5 · US Avaricia descarada y explotación.: "Más de 7,000 entregas perfectas y 100% de satisfacción no valen nada para esta aplicación. Su sistema está diseñado para castigar al repartidor basándose en difamaciones absurdas. Te acusan de 'discriminación' cuando tu trabajo es dejar comida en una puerta sin mediar palabra, y te culpan por artículos faltantes en bolsas que el restaurante entrega SELLADAS y qu
  17. [R73] Uber 1/5 · US Trash: I’ve been on this app for seven hours and 45 minutes I’ve only made $21 I wasn’t accepting every order because I was seeing things like 30 min 12.5 miles only for $5.65 not worth your time if you’re able to do anything else not to mention, gas prices are still through the roof two thumbs down for this app
  18. [R79] Uber 1/5 · US Uber is underpaying drivers and overcharging people: This company has been overcharging people and customers for the last three years, and underpaying their drivers, they are collecting fees as government tax but at the end of the year the drivers need to pay extra tax to the IRS, they been lobbying in Congress to not get fined, the drivers paying for everything and uber is taking almost 50% of th
  19. [R85] Uber 2/5 · US Distance Management: As a new driver, my biggest frustration with this app is how frequently it sends offers that simply don’t make financial sense. It is not uncommon to receive offers such as $3 for an 18, 25 mile trip, or $6, $8 for deliveries well beyond 8, 10 miles. No driver signs up to lose money. The purpose of driving is to earn a reasonable profit after accounting for fuel, vehicle wear an
  20. [R74] Uber 4/5 · US Uber app good/bad: I wish the app would let us defend our selves (ie hard breaking ect. This app (driver platform) is very in fair to drivers) I really wish the gps was more accurate the speed limits are wrong most of the time and the directions are wrong many times. Only other thing is it does not factor in traffic or road delays so this is a problem. The good it’s easy to use
  21. [R77] Uber 4/5 · US Bad GPS: Good app to make money as I’m a full time Uber driver but please fix your GPS It cliches while I’m on rides. Sometimes it takes you to the wrong address too. Fix the issue that’s why I’m giving 4 stars.
  22. [R87] Uber 3/5 · US Deliveries: The app wants me to get orders for low pay that are way out of the way and then punishes me for not accepting them. And it will keep showing me the same orders so I keep denying the order. Thus my acceptance rate drops more. It had me go way out of my way for an order to go drop off back the other way passing a different location for the same store. Then it also keeps having me trav
  23. [R95] Uber 5/5 · US Fix: Can you please fix map because same time is hard look were address are.. but I love this app just only thing guys need to fix is maps

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store