This ride-hailing app lets drivers negotiate prices with riders. It's one of the most downloaded in the world.

• InDrive lets ride-hailing drivers and riders negotiate ride prices.
• The company operates in 48 countries and was the second-most-downloaded ride-hailing app in 2025.
• Executives explained InDrive's growth plans — and why it pulled out of the US last year.

On ride-hailing app InDrive, riders and drivers have to do something many Uber users have never done: negotiate the price of a ride.

Instead of accepting the trip price set by the app, passengers can submit their ride request along with a proposed payment amount. Drivers can then view the proposal and accept it or send a counteroffer.

"The final decision is yours," Evgenia Matrosova, InDrive's chief ride-hailing officer, told Business Insider.

InDrive said it takes a commission of about 10% on each ride. By comparison, Uber hasn't disclosed how much it takes from each ride, but a recent study of driver trip data suggested it averaged 42% at the end of 2024.

InDrive's model differs from other major gig work apps. On Uber and Lyft, for instance, drivers see a fare for a potential trip, which they can accept or reject. On Uber, that payout can vary under Uber's upfront pricing strategy, which uses algorithms to set prices and payouts — and doesn't give riders or drivers the option to suggest other amounts.

InDrive struggled to crack the US market

InDrive's pricing approach has helped it expand into 48 countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In 2025, it was the second-most downloaded ride-hailing app worldwide, behind Uber, according to data provider Sensor Tower.

The app, founded in Russia in 2012 by Arsen Tomsky, entered the US market in 2023 with a test in Florida. It ended the test last year — a decision Matrosova said the company made because of higher insurance costs relative to other countries where it operates.

Matrosova said InDrive would have had to hike its commission rate to make money in the market. The company made an earlier attempt to crack into the US in 2018, but said it left to improve its technology.

InDrive also faced a competitive ride-hailing market in the US. Uber dominated 76% of the market in 2024, according to an analysis by Business of Apps.

Outside the US, InDrive said that its bargaining model leads riders to use its service more often. A December study by Oxford Economics, in collaboration with InDrive, found that 64% of the app's customers in Latin America took more rides through the app because of the option to bargain.

"It's not just that it's novel, it's actually creating a new segment in the market," Andries Smit, chief growth officer at InDrive, told Business Insider.

While riders and drivers ultimately decide prices, InDrive's app provides some guidance. If a rider requests a trip in a busy area, for example, the app might suggest making a higher offer in order to match with a driver, Matrosova said.

InDrive is also growing its loan, food delivery arms

Besides ride-hailing, InDrive has other related businesses.

The company has a growing short-term loan arm, Smit said. The offering, which the company first tested in Mexico in 2024, makes loans of up to a few hundred dollars through local banks, which drivers can repay over a few months.

The goal, Smit said, is to help drivers afford unexpected expenses, such as car repairs or personal medical expenses, and keep them on the app in the long run.

"It's heartbreaking when we see drivers suddenly stop driving," he said.

InDrive also offers food delivery through its network of gig-worker couriers. The company works with restaurants to provide delivery services, though customers still have to order through the restaurants themselves. That's a contrast with services like DoorDash and Uber Eats, where users can place food orders directly through the apps.

Smit said he sees an opportunity to work more closely with restaurants, such as by adding menus and an ordering function to the app.

He said InDrive wants to keep its model transparent for both gig workers and businesses.

"We just see ourselves as enablers of the marketplace," he added.

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