“Today, Heetch is cheaper than Uber of 32%.” A price comparison launched by this French platform founded in 2013.
A communication campaign that we are more used to seeing on the side of a large distribution and that allows Heetch to highlight its most affordable prices in île-de-France.
“We have selected 30 diverse trips in île-de-France (details of the price statements, classified by the decreasing date), including short and long races, both in the intramuros of Paris and in the suburbs,” summarizes Acts in the “Methodology” part of its comparator.
Up to 40% difference
On all proven routes, a race costs an average of 15 euros in Hetch, 18.90 euros in Bolt and 22.10 euros in Uber, presents the table on the main page of the comparator. Then we can filter so that we only have trips in the Intramuros of Paris, between Paris and the suburbs and vice versa, or between two suburban cities. The distinction is also possible among trips made from Monday to Friday or on weekends and at different times of the day.
When playing in these different criteria, the price difference can reach 40% when we consult the site this Thursday, April 24: on a trip in Paris, working days and between 6 am and 12 noon: 10 euros in Heetch against 16.60 euros in Uber.
“Heetch is the cheapest VTC. And it is not a game of hands: this is the result of a clear option. Thanks to an optimized cost structure, we can offer the lowest prices to passengers while maintaining the lowest commission for drivers. That is a more fair model,” said Simon Dabie, managing director of Europe of Heetch, quoted in a press release.
If the study focuses on the îe-de-france, Heetch is also present in Lille, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Marseille, Strasbourg, Nantes, Toulouse and Montpellier. Out of France, the application is also available in Brussels (Belgium), Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat (Morocco), Algiers (Algeria) and Luanda (Angola).
A price war that penalizes drivers
Heetch insists on a lower commission rate than in its competitors, with 18% currently against 23% to 25% in Bolt and Uber, specifies Simon Post in the regions of France 3.
However, this policy does not seem directly benefit from drivers. “Heetch records a continuous decrease in its gross income per hour” between 2021 (40.86 euros per hour) and 2024 (27.39 euros per hour), you can read a fall of almost 33%, in the last report of the Authority for Employment Platforms (ARPE) last week.
During the same period, this gross income per hour increased by 6.7% in Uber, from 46.20 euros per hour to 49.30 euros, and 1.5% to Bolt, from 43.97 euros per hour to 44.61 euros, according to the same document.
Even with a higher commission in Uber, the most expensive breed price finally guarantees a major income for the driver. If we take the heetch comparator, in the average race of 15 euros, the driver would receive 12.30 euros. In Uber, the price of 22.10 euros in this same average career at île-de-France wins 16.57 euros.
A fairly favorable price war for customers, but therefore would penalize drivers: “By continuing with this type of aggressive policies, we make the consumer pay less. How do we intend to pay the drivers going in this direction?, Tosolini reacts from Fabian, national delegate in charge of the platform workers in the indes of the Union, interviewed by France 3.
Source: BFM TV
