At least clankers don’t ask for tips.
Taking a trip in a Waymo robotaxi costs more on average than taking a drive in an Uber or Lyft driven by a human.
However, that price gap is narrowing, according to a new report from Obi, a global real-time aggregator for rideshare prices.
“When Waymo entered the market, our research saw that a ride was priced 30% to 40% higher than an Uber or Lyft ride, but consumers were still taking them enthusiastically, viewing an autonomous rideshare as a premium product,” Ashwini Anburajan, CEO of Obi, said in a statement.
Obi simulated more than 94,000 ride requests in the San Francisco Bay Area between Nov. 27 and Jan. 1 and found that Waymo costs an average of $19.69 for a ride, while Uber was slightly cheaper at $17.47 and Lyft averaged at $15.47.
The data showed that Waymo is an average of 12.7% more expensive than getting an Uber and 27.3% more expensive than a Lyft.
There are two main components working working in tandem that are causing the gap to get smaller — Waymo has lowered pricing while traditional ride-hailing trips on Uber and Lyft have risen in price, according to Obi.
In June 2025, Obi’s first report showcased price differences between robotaxis and rideshare with data taken from rides in April 2025.
At the time, that data revealed that Waymo rides averaged $20.43, Uber at $15.58, and Lyft rides at $14.44, detailing a 30-40% premium.
Comparing these numbers to Obi’s most recent data, Waymo’s average cost dropped 3.62%, while Uber’s went up 12% and Lyft’s increased 7%.
But for longer rides, “the premium can almost disappear,” the report said.
According to the data, rides between 4.3 and 9.3 kilometers (or about 2.7 and 5.8 miles), Waymo is only 2% more expensive than Uber and 17% more expensive than Lyft per kilometer.
Anburajan told TechCrunch that even though the previous data suggested that customers were willing to pay a higher price for the novelty of a Waymo, the “novelty is wearing off for people in the Bay Area.”
If the trend continues, Waymo will have to continue to lower its prices to compete with the main rideshare options.
Meanwhile, Waymo is expanding to new cities — even partnering with Uber and Lyft in some — and rideshare companies are adding autonomous vehicles to their platforms, too.
With companies getting ready to launch their own robotaxis, there’s already plenty of competition on the way.
“It’s still very early in the game, so no one’s a late entrant, right?” Anburajan said. “We’re in this new era, so who’s gonna capture market share and move fast to win consumers over?”
