The Driver’s Guide to Pay
We want to help you stay busy on the road with our driver resources, designed to give you all of the information you need to maximize earnings.
How to earn smarter
Stay busy and keep earning by finding the right times and places to drive.
How to easily understand pay
Understand driver pay and how to track your weekly earnings.
How you can get more with Lyft
Get Lyft Rewards perks and find more opportunities to earn and save cash.
How to earn smarter on the road
Planning and adapting how you drive can help you stay busier — and help maximize your earnings. Learn more about why it's important to stay busy if you want to earn more, where and when to drive, and how to find the busiest places and times to drive in your app.
Stay busy, maximize earnings
Learn about how staying busy when you are on the road can maximize your earnings.
Take the tutorial
Drive with a plan to earn more
Hear tips from other drivers on when and where to drive and how to find the busiest times and areas to drive in the app.
Watch the video
Tools to find and predict rider demand
Use in-app tools like heat maps to view your city's hotspots and forecasts to show you when people are most likely to need rides.
How to easily understand pay
Understanding driver pay can actually be simple - just remember that the biggest part of your total earnings comes from upfront pay, which is the fare you are paid for each ride that you give. The rest of your earnings come from any tips or bonuses you may have earned.
Upfront pay
This is the fare you are paid for each ride you give. You can view the fare for a ride before you accept it. Upfront pay is based on a number of factors which may include estimated time and distance to complete the ride, your travel to the pickup point, demand for rides in your area, and other market factors.
Tips
You keep 100% of the tips passengers choose to give you. We built tipping into the Lyft app to make it easy for passengers to say thanks, and because we know it’s important to our drivers. Passengers can tip during and after the ride, or set an automatic tip so they never forget.
Bonuses
Lyft offers a variety of bonuses to help boost your earnings. Bonuses are most commonly offered during the busiest times and in the busiest places. You can see what’s available in your Lyft Driver app, or learn more about driver bonuses here.
*You may see a different experience in select cities. If upfront pay is not available in your city, then you will be paid for each minute and mile of the trips you complete, based on your city’s per-minute and per-mile rates. Upfront pay is not available in Washington state, New York City, Portland, or Toronto.
How your pay works
Learn how you earn with Lyft through this interactive tutorial.
Take the tutorial
Your earnings breakdown
You can always track a breakdown of how much you made by ride in your Driver app.
How you can get more with Lyft
We're here to help you get the most of your time driving with Lyft. From exclusive driver rewards to cost-saving vehicle service options, we've got your back when it comes to earning (and saving) on the road.
Get more from your drive with Lyft Rewards
Drive during busy times to earn points and access exclusive perks like extra daily uses of Destination Mode and higher cash back savings on gas.
Learn more
Access earnings instantly with the Lyft Direct debit card
Get paid instantly after every ride and earn cash back at gas and public EV charging stations - up to 7%* depending on your Lyft Rewards tier. Keep all of your earnings and cash back right in your wallet - no transfer fees, no waiting periods.
Learn more
Save time and money on vehicle services
Lyft Rewards drivers get 15% off vehicle services at participating Goodyear locations. This partnership helps keep you on the road with quality, low-cost vehicle services—so you can stay busy and keep earning.
Learn more
Questions? We’ve got answers.
Earning with Lyft
How is my pay calculated?
When are bonuses offered?
Getting paid
When do I get paid?
Why does my pay fluctuate?
Earning more
What’s the best strategy to earn more?
What does staying busy mean?
Ready to start earning?
*The higher your Lyft Rewards tier, the more you can save at gas and public EV charging stations that accept Mastercard. 7% cash back for Platinum drivers, 3% for Gold drivers, 2% for Silver drivers, and 1% for all cardholders. Terms Apply.
Lyft Rewards and the Lyft Direct debit card are not available everywhere.