How much of an Uber fare goes to the driver?

Uber's report doesn't split a single fare. Across all of 2025, Uber kept about 30.4% of what riders spent as revenue; the rest went to drivers, plus taxes and tolls.

Does Uber pay its drivers a wage?

No. Drivers and couriers are independent contractors: they choose their hours and pay for their own cars. Courts and lawmakers in many countries are challenging that, and Uber's report says having to treat them as employees would add big costs.

Yes, in 2025: $5.6B of operating profit. Its $10.1B of net income looks bigger because of a mostly one-time tax benefit, and years of earlier losses still add up to $10.6B.

How many people use Uber?

Uber had 202 million people using it each month by the end of 2025, and handled 13.6 billion rides and deliveries that year, with about 34,000 people employees of its own.

How companies make money

How Uber makes money

From Uber's 2025 annual report · Every number cited · Updated October 2026

The short answer

Uber makes money by taking a cut of every ride and delivery booked through its app. In 2025 people spent $193.5B on Uber rides, deliveries and freight, and Uber counted about 26.9% of it, $52Bsec.gov ·2025, as its own revenue.

Most of the rest belongs to the drivers, couriers and restaurants who did the work. Uber owns the app, not the cars or the kitchens.

$193.5Bsec.gov ·2025
Spent through Uber in a year (Gross Bookings)
26.9%sec.gov ·2025
Of it counted as Uber's revenue
30.4%sec.gov ·2025
Uber's cut of rides
19.0%sec.gov ·2025
Uber's cut of food and grocery deliveries

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Follow the money through the app

Uber calls everything people spend through the app Gross Bookings. It shows how big the marketplace is. Revenue is the part that's Uber's.

Uber counts it that way because, its report says, in most places it's an agent: it connects you with a driver or a restaurant, who provide the ride or the meal. So it counts only its fees as revenue, not the whole fare.

Out of Uber's share come insurance, card fees and data centers, then the city teams, engineers and marketing that run the company. What's left is Uber's operating profit: about $2.88sec.gov ·2025 of every $100 (example number: Simplified example: a round amount of rides and deliveries, to show Uber's averages.) spent.

Drivers', couriers' and restaurants' share, plus taxes and tolls: $73.11

Uber's direct costs: $16.20

Running Uber: $7.81

Left as Uber's operating profit: $2.88

Where an example $100 (example number: Simplified example: a round amount of rides and deliveries, to show Uber's averages.) spent on Uber goes, using Uber's 2025 averages. Uber's revenue is the last three bars.

Sources:sec.gov ·2025

Rides keep more than food

Uber kept about 30.4% of what riders spent, and about 19.0%sec.gov ·2025 of delivery orders. In delivery the restaurant or store has to be paid for the food before anyone else, so less of each dollar is left for the app.

Rivals look the same: a ride app keeps more of each dollar than a delivery app. Each counts its total a little differently; DoorDash's includes tips, Uber's and Lyft's don't.

Rides
Rides · Uber: 30.4%
Rides · Lyft: 34.1%

Food and grocery delivery
Food and grocery delivery · Uber: 19.0%
Food and grocery delivery · DoorDash: 13.4%

Each app's revenue as a share of what customers spent, 2025, from each company's Form 10‑K. Read it as close, not exact.

Sources:sec.gov ·2025

A profit that looks bigger than it is

Uber made $5.6Bsec.gov ·2025 from running its business in 2025. Its net income was almost twice that, $10.1B, because it got a tax benefit of $4.3B instead of a tax bill, mostly a one-time $5Bsec.gov ·2025 of tax savings in the Netherlands it now expects to be able to use.

Uber lost money for years while it grew. The losses that its profits haven't yet made up still came to $10.6Bsec.gov ·2025 at the end of 2025.

To keep people coming back, Uber sells one membership across rides, delivery and grocery: Uber One, with 46 millionsec.gov ·2025 members by the end of 2025.

Common questions

How much of an Uber fare goes to the driver?: Uber's report doesn't split a single fare. Across all of 2025, Uber kept about 30.4%sec.gov ·2025 of what riders spent as revenue; the rest went to drivers, plus taxes and tolls.
Does Uber pay its drivers a wage?: No. Drivers and couriers are independent contractors: they choose their hours and pay for their own cars. Courts and lawmakers in many countries are challenging that, and Uber's report says having to treat them as employees would add big costs.
Is Uber profitable?: Yes, in 2025: $5.6Bsec.gov ·2025 of operating profit. Its $10.1B of net income looks bigger because of a mostly one-time tax benefit, and years of earlier losses still add up to $10.6Bsec.gov ·2025.
How many people use Uber?: Uber had 202 million people using it each month by the end of 2025, and handled 13.6 billion rides and deliveries that year, with about 34,000 peoplesec.gov ·2025 employees of its own.

Try it yourself

Free lesson · 9 min