Airport Parking vs. Ride-Sharing: Which One is Right For You?
Heading to the airport? You have plenty of options to get there – public transit, driving, ridesharing, taking a shuttle – you name it. But which one should you choose? Got lots of luggage? Kids in tow? The most efficient and cost-effective option isn’t always what you think. And, you might be surprised about how much money you can save by planning ahead.
Two factors affect the cost of parking vs. ride-sharing: how far you live from the airport and the length of your trip. With this info, you can find out what will save you the most money. Here’s how: use the charts below to learn how you’ll fare by driving yourself and parking, or hailing a ride.
How Did We Do It?
- First, we gathered ride-share fare data for 10 top U.S. airports.
- Then we compared the fares to the lowest airport parking rates on SpotHero.
- Finally, we crunched the numbers in Excel.
Featured Airports
Here are some of the top airports. The blue squares show you how much money you could save by driving and parking. The gray squares mean ride-sharing is the better deal. Click on an airport below to jump to its chart.
- LAX: Los Angeles International Airport
- IAD: Dulles International Airport
- ORD: Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- MDW: Chicago Midway International Airport
- DFW: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- MCO: Orlando International Airport
- ATL: Atlanta International Airport
- JFK: John F. Kennedy International Airport
- DEN: Denver International Airport
- SFO: San Francisco International Airport
LAX: Los Angeles International Airport
For LAX, you’ll save more money 53% of the time when you drive and park vs. using a ride-sharing service.
IAD: Dulles International Airport
At Dulles, 80% of the time, you’ll save more when you drive and park at the airport.
ORD: Chicago O’Hare International Airport
For O’Hare, it’s less expensive to drive and park at the airport 75% of the time.
MDW: Chicago Midway International Airport
At Midway airport, it’s less expensive to drive and park at the airport 48% of the time.
DFW: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
At DFW, 73% of the time you’ll save more when you drive and park at the airport.
Book Dallas Fort Worth airport parking >
MCO: Orlando International Airport
77% of the time it is more cost-effective to park at Orlando International Airport.
Book Orlando airport parking >
ATL: Atlanta International Airport
83% of the time it is more cost-effective to park.
Book Atlanta airport parking >
JFK: John F. Kennedy International Airport
73% of the time it is more cost-effective to park at JFK.
Book John F. Kennedy airport parking >
DEN: Denver International Airport
92% of the time it is more cost-effective to park at Denver International Airport.
SFO: San Francisco International Airport Parking
80% of the time it is more cost-effective to park.
You’ve booked your flight and hotels. If it’s easier to drive and park, try SpotHero for airport parking.