Uber vs Rental Cars vs Taxi – a key question for today’s traveller whether it’s for work or leisure. If you’re travelling to a new city for the first time, then it’s always good to know the cheapest, safest and best way to get from the Airport to the City Centre.

We have analysed 85 cities around the world from Adelaide to Zurich and everywhere in between to work out whether it’s cheaper to rent a car, get an Uber or jump in a taxi to the City Centre from the Airport.

The answer is…it depends on the city!

Milan is the best place to rent a car as a return taxi ride will set you back $243.50 (€151.32) compared to a rental car which costs $40.74* (€25.31.) Auckland here in New Zealand is ranked 2nd in this list, $179.96 compared with $37.00 – even more expensive than when we conducted the research 3 years ago.

UBER VS TAXI

Then there’s Uber to throw into the mix. Uber is significantly cheaper than taxis in most cities around the world. It’s 163% more expensive to take a taxi in Birmingham in the UK than it is to take an Uber ($78.31 in a taxi vs $29.76 in an Uber, one way). In a battle of Uber vs Rental Cars, it’s often much cheaper to hire a rental car for the day.

Check out our handy table below and see where your nearest city ranks when it comes to the cost of getting from the Airport to the City Centre. You can filter the table as well as updating the currency.TL:DR
If you just want the headlines and not the table there’s also a nice infographic at the bottom of the page. Skip to infographic ????

View table in currency**: [wpcs show_flags=1 width=’300px’ txt_type=’desc’]
City Country KM to City Centre Taxi Cost Cost per KM Uber Cost 1 Day Rental Difference between Taxis & Uber Difference between Taxis & Car Rentals
Lagos Nigeria 15 [wpcs_price value=5.9] [wpcs_price value=0.41] [wpcs_price value=4.36] no car rentals 35% no car rentals
Hanoi Vietnam 28 [wpcs_price value=15.41] [wpcs_price value=0.55] [wpcs_price value=13.31] no car rentals 16% no car rentals
Milan Italy 47 [wpcs_price value=121.75] [wpcs_price value=2.59] [wpcs_price value=141.45] [wpcs_price value=40.74] -14% 498%
Madrid Spain 20 [wpcs_price value=52.56] [wpcs_price value=2.59] [wpcs_price value=55.1] [wpcs_price value=21.95] -5% 379%
Auckland New Zealand 27 [wpcs_price value=89.98] [wpcs_price value=3.3] [wpcs_price value=48.45] [wpcs_price value=37] 86% 386%
Athens Greece 44 [wpcs_price value=86.32] [wpcs_price value=1.98] [wpcs_price value=86.32] [wpcs_price value=47.96] 0% 260%
Rome Italy 31 [wpcs_price value=75.79] [wpcs_price value=2.43] [wpcs_price value=88.94] [wpcs_price value=43.15] -15% 251%
Barcelona Spain 25 [wpcs_price value=66.64] [wpcs_price value=2.63] no uber [wpcs_price value=38.87] no uber 243%
London United Kingdom 27 [wpcs_price value=123.49] [wpcs_price value=4.56] [wpcs_price value=57.15] [wpcs_price value=74.53] 116% 231%
Lyon France 39 [wpcs_price value=104.52] [wpcs_price value=2.71] [wpcs_price value=91.37] [wpcs_price value=65.05] 14% 221%
Los Angeles United States 30 [wpcs_price value=87.76] [wpcs_price value=2.88] [wpcs_price value=37.79] [wpcs_price value=56.37] 132% 211%
Marseille France 26 [wpcs_price value=83.92] [wpcs_price value=3.23] [wpcs_price value=77.16] [wpcs_price value=56.24] 9% 198%
Birmingham United Kingdom 22 [wpcs_price value=78.31] [wpcs_price value=3.6] [wpcs_price value=29.76] [wpcs_price value=52.81] 163% 197%
Christchurch New Zealand 10 [wpcs_price value=54] [wpcs_price value=5.24] [wpcs_price value=25.58] [wpcs_price value=37] 111% 192%
Melbourne Australia 24 [wpcs_price value=63.21] [wpcs_price value=2.69] [wpcs_price value=39.78] [wpcs_price value=43.62] 59% 190%
Sydney Australia 17 [wpcs_price value=61.01] [wpcs_price value=3.57] [wpcs_price value=43.7] [wpcs_price value=43.28] 40% 182%
Munich Germany 37 [wpcs_price value=88.81] [wpcs_price value=2.38] [wpcs_price value=74.42] [wpcs_price value=67.28] 19% 164%
Te Aviv Israel 23 [wpcs_price value=55.6] [wpcs_price value=2.41] no uber [wpcs_price value=47.19] no uber 136%
San Francisco United States 22 [wpcs_price value=66.34] [wpcs_price value=3.05] [wpcs_price value=35.35] [wpcs_price value=56.37] 88% 135%
Las Vegas United States 13 [wpcs_price value=63.08] [wpcs_price value=4.78] [wpcs_price value=28.21] [wpcs_price value=54.2] 124% 133%
Paris France 27 [wpcs_price value=74.26] [wpcs_price value=2.72] [wpcs_price value=67.68] [wpcs_price value=65.05] 10% 128%
Tokyo Japan 21 [wpcs_price value=89.89] [wpcs_price value=4.3] [wpcs_price value=90.88] [wpcs_price value=79.83] -1% 125%
Helsinki Finland 25 [wpcs_price value=91.47] [wpcs_price value=3.73] [wpcs_price value=108.59] [wpcs_price value=84.59] -16% 116%
Dublin Ireland 15 [wpcs_price value=41.85] [wpcs_price value=2.87] [wpcs_price value=65.82] [wpcs_price value=39] -36% 115%
Chicago United States 30 [wpcs_price value=69.27] [wpcs_price value=2.31] [wpcs_price value=38.04] [wpcs_price value=64.87] 82% 114%
Manchester United Kingdom 17 [wpcs_price value=63.01] [wpcs_price value=3.77] [wpcs_price value=30.82] [wpcs_price value=59.2] 104% 113%
Edinburgh United Kingdom 15 [wpcs_price value=63.16] [wpcs_price value=4.21] [wpcs_price value=31.19] [wpcs_price value=59.41] 103% 113%
Prague Czech Republic 20 [wpcs_price value=42.97] [wpcs_price value=2.19] [wpcs_price value=19.6] [wpcs_price value=40.84] 119% 110%
Frankfurt Germany 17 [wpcs_price value=67.55] [wpcs_price value=3.93] no uber [wpcs_price value=65.59] no uber 106%
Budapest Hungary 22 [wpcs_price value=38.91] [wpcs_price value=1.76] no uber [wpcs_price value=39.52] no uber 97%
Stockholm Sweden 43 [wpcs_price value=93.89] [wpcs_price value=2.2] [wpcs_price value=92.43] [wpcs_price value=96.51] 2% 95%
Toronto Canada 29 [wpcs_price value=64.13] [wpcs_price value=2.21] [wpcs_price value=36.47] [wpcs_price value=66.93] 76% 92%
Queenstown New Zealand 7.7 [wpcs_price value=37] [wpcs_price value=4.81] no uber [wpcs_price value=39] no uber 90%
Bordeaux France 11 [wpcs_price value=58.14] [wpcs_price value=5.33] [wpcs_price value=37.83] [wpcs_price value=62.07] 54% 87%
Sao Paulo Brazil 25 [wpcs_price value=31.75] [wpcs_price value=1.28] [wpcs_price value=19.12] [wpcs_price value=35.8] 66% 77%
Hamburg Germany 18 [wpcs_price value=58.9] [wpcs_price value=3.27] no uber [wpcs_price value=67.05] no uber 76%
Miami United States 20 [wpcs_price value=56.86] [wpcs_price value=2.87] [wpcs_price value=26.76] [wpcs_price value=64.86] 113% 75%
Glasgow United Kingdom 16 [wpcs_price value=54.74] [wpcs_price value=3.4] [wpcs_price value=25.54] [wpcs_price value=62.69] 114% 75%
Wellington New Zealand 7.3 [wpcs_price value=31] [wpcs_price value=4.25] [wpcs_price value=18.28] [wpcs_price value=37] 70% 68%
Brussels Belgium 15 [wpcs_price value=69.9] [wpcs_price value=4.76] [wpcs_price value=40.12] [wpcs_price value=83.81] 74% 67%
Lisbon Portugal 6.9 [wpcs_price value=22.53] [wpcs_price value=3.27] [wpcs_price value=11.89] [wpcs_price value=27.7] 89% 63%
New York City United States 31 [wpcs_price value=87.34] [wpcs_price value=2.84] [wpcs_price value=76.49] [wpcs_price value=108.38] 14% 61%
Shanghai China 46 [wpcs_price value=33.24] [wpcs_price value=0.72] no uber [wpcs_price value=41.41] no uber 61%
Amsterdam Netherlands 23 [wpcs_price value=84.72] [wpcs_price value=3.72] [wpcs_price value=53.39] [wpcs_price value=106.94] 59% 58%
Oslo Norway 49 [wpcs_price value=117.82] [wpcs_price value=2.42] [wpcs_price value=110.2] [wpcs_price value=151.73] 7% 55%
Cape Town South Africa 19 [wpcs_price value=26.31] [wpcs_price value=1.42] [wpcs_price value=15.18] [wpcs_price value=33.94] 73% 55%
Cologne Germany 17 [wpcs_price value=47.29] [wpcs_price value=2.83] no uber [wpcs_price value=61.33] no uber 54%
Toulouse France 11 [wpcs_price value=48.57] [wpcs_price value=4.54] [wpcs_price value=33.74] [wpcs_price value=65.05] 44% 49%
Stuttgart Germany 14 [wpcs_price value=45.93] [wpcs_price value=3.28] no uber [wpcs_price value=62.34] no uber 47%
Nice France 7.2 [wpcs_price value=44.17] [wpcs_price value=6.13] [wpcs_price value=26.71] [wpcs_price value=62.07] 65% 42%
Bucharest Romania 20 [wpcs_price value=12.1] [wpcs_price value=0.6] [wpcs_price value=12.1] [wpcs_price value=18.9] 0% 28%
Vancouver Canada 14 [wpcs_price value=40.84] [wpcs_price value=2.9] no uber [wpcs_price value=66.93] no uber 22%
Zurich Switzerland 11 [wpcs_price value=82.37] [wpcs_price value=7.35] [wpcs_price value=40.38] [wpcs_price value=139.94] 104% 18%
Dubai UAE 20 [wpcs_price value=20.3] [wpcs_price value=1] [wpcs_price value=24.79] [wpcs_price value=35.49] -18% 14%
Gothenburg Sweden 26 [wpcs_price value=71.33] [wpcs_price value=2.78] [wpcs_price value=57.67] [wpcs_price value=126.22] 24% 13%
Moscow Russia 46 [wpcs_price value=28.1] [wpcs_price value=0.61] [wpcs_price value=22.79] [wpcs_price value=51.02] 23% 10%
Phuket Thailand 32 [wpcs_price value=21.02] [wpcs_price value=0.65] no uber [wpcs_price value=38.29] no uber 10%
Geneva Switzerland 8.9 [wpcs_price value=72.85] [wpcs_price value=8.19] [wpcs_price value=37.21] [wpcs_price value=133.46] 96% 9%
Vienna Austria 20 [wpcs_price value=47.44] [wpcs_price value=2.38] [wpcs_price value=31.72] [wpcs_price value=90.91] 50% 4%
Beijing China 31 [wpcs_price value=20.67] [wpcs_price value=0.68] no uber [wpcs_price value=41.41] no uber 0%
Copenhagen Denmark 8.6 [wpcs_price value=54.96] [wpcs_price value=6.39] no uber [wpcs_price value=118.13] no uber -7%
Berlin Germany 11 [wpcs_price value=33.79] [wpcs_price value=2.96] [wpcs_price value=33.79] [wpcs_price value=72.77] 0% -7%
Buenos Aires Argentina 32 [wpcs_price value=26.93] [wpcs_price value=0.85] [wpcs_price value=21.31] [wpcs_price value=59.15] 26% -9%
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 70 [wpcs_price value=20.07] [wpcs_price value=0.29] [wpcs_price value=18.46] [wpcs_price value=45.62] 9% -12%
Medellin Columbia 45 [wpcs_price value=22.26] [wpcs_price value=0.5] [wpcs_price value=15.46] [wpcs_price value=52] 44% -14%
Istanbul Turkey 23 [wpcs_price value=19.83] [wpcs_price value=0.85] [wpcs_price value=19.83] [wpcs_price value=46.41] 0% -15%
Santiago Chile 26 [wpcs_price value=31] [wpcs_price value=1.18] [wpcs_price value=16.3] [wpcs_price value=73.9] 90% -16%
Bangkok Thailand 35 [wpcs_price value=14.06] [wpcs_price value=0.41] [wpcs_price value=11.26] [wpcs_price value=38.29] 25% -27%
Antwerp Belgium 6.6 [wpcs_price value=33.71] [wpcs_price value=5.11] [wpcs_price value=23.45] [wpcs_price value=94.25] 44% -28%
Warsaw Poland 8.2 [wpcs_price value=12.16] [wpcs_price value=1.48] [wpcs_price value=7.32] [wpcs_price value=38.66] 66% -37%
Sofia Bulgaria 12 [wpcs_price value=8.83] [wpcs_price value=0.74] no uber [wpcs_price value=29.46] no uber -40%
Riga Latvia 9.8 [wpcs_price value=10.25] [wpcs_price value=1.05] no uber [wpcs_price value=36.46] no uber -44%
Singapore Singapore 23 [wpcs_price value=25.85] [wpcs_price value=1.13] [wpcs_price value=23.09] [wpcs_price value=103.5] 12% -50%
Hong Kong Hong Kong 39 [wpcs_price value=50.22] [wpcs_price value=1.29] [wpcs_price value=38.76] [wpcs_price value=201.43] 30% -50%
Rotterdam Netherlands 6.2 [wpcs_price value=25.63] [wpcs_price value=4.13] [wpcs_price value=24.14] [wpcs_price value=113.54] 6% -55%
Tallinn Estonia 6.2 [wpcs_price value=11.94] [wpcs_price value=1.93] [wpcs_price value=7.37] [wpcs_price value=58.74] 62% -59%
Bangalore India 36 [wpcs_price value=11.67] [wpcs_price value=0.32] [wpcs_price value=9.55] [wpcs_price value=74.16] 22% -69%
Mexico City Mexico 8.7 [wpcs_price value=5.25] [wpcs_price value=0.6] [wpcs_price value=6.35] [wpcs_price value=38.95] -17% -73%
Jakarta Indonesia 37 [wpcs_price value=15.26] [wpcs_price value=0.41] [wpcs_price value=12.57] [wpcs_price value=130.22] 21% -77%
Bogota Columbia 13 [wpcs_price value=4.79] [wpcs_price value=0.38] [wpcs_price value=5.38] [wpcs_price value=52] -11% -82%
Mumbai India 10 [wpcs_price value=4.07] [wpcs_price value=0.39] [wpcs_price value=4.94] [wpcs_price value=74.16] -18% -89%
Cairo Egypt 21 [wpcs_price value=2.65] [wpcs_price value=0.12] [wpcs_price value=4.08] [wpcs_price value=61.74] -35% -91%
Brisbane Australia 18 [wpcs_price value=54.86] [wpcs_price value=3.01] [wpcs_price value=30.05] [wpcs_price value=43.13] 83% 154%
Perth Australia 16 [wpcs_price value=53.34] [wpcs_price value=3.4] [wpcs_price value=29.89] [wpcs_price value=71.85] 78% 48%
Adelaide Australia 7.2 [wpcs_price value=26.71] [wpcs_price value=3.71] [wpcs_price value=19.92] [wpcs_price value=43.13] 34% 24%
*Our data doesn’t include additional fees such as petrol, insurance and parking as this can vary by rental firm used, the city hired in, location within the city and even car hired for in terms of economy rates. We acknowledge that there will be additional costs with hiring a car, however, this table presents the most consistent data available for the countries analysed. **The data in this table refreshes daily with up-to-date currency exchange rates. 
Comparing Uber and Taxis in NZ in an infographic

It’s 182% more expensive in New Zealand to take a return taxi from the Airport to the City Centre than it is to rent a car. The total cost would be $424 to take return taxis in all 4 cities with international airports compared to $150 to hire a car for the day (9am to 5pm) from these airports.In Auckland and Christchurch,  where the distance from the Airport to the City Centre is 27.3km and 10.3km respectively the difference in cost is substantial. In Queenstown and Wellington, the cost differences aren’t as high (90% more expensive in Queenstown and 68% more expensive in Wellington) as the distance is less than 8km in both cases.

UBER VS RENTAL CARS IN NEW ZEALAND

It’s far cheaper to hire a car from GO Rentals for a day than it is to get a taxi – get a rental car with GO today and avoid paying these ridiculous taxi fares here in New Zealand!

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