Mobility: The 6 top-rated car-sharing apps

1. Sixt

(iOS 4.8 stars, Google 4.6 stars)
The orange-and-black car giant from Pullach near Munich is ranked second in Warentest behind the Bahn subsidiary Flinkster - and is at the top of the app stores. This is mainly due to the large offer with stations in over 2,200 locations in more than 100 countries worldwide as well as the flexibility. At Sixt, cars can be rented in the traditional way - or booked spontaneously via car sharing with Sixt Share. This works at fixed stations, but in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich also with "Free Floating". In this case, the cars can be rented anywhere within the business area and also parked again. Warentest praises the sharing prices of Sixt: Half an hour of driving with five kilometers cost in the test only unrivaled 2.70 euros. For comparison: Flinkster customers pay 6.25 euros for it. Also top are the well-maintained cars, which are on average just five months old.

2. Miles Carsharing

(iOS 4.8 stars, Google 4.6 stars):
The Berlin-based company is mainly present in the German capital. In the meantime, however, car-sharing is also available in Potsdam, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich. Miles focuses on "stress-free and relaxed driving". Because the name already suggests it: Time plays no role here. In contrast to the competition, Miles charges purely on the basis of kilometres. Anyone who only wants to drive short distances and is stuck in traffic in the city will be happy and won't have to frantically watch the clock. There are also vans and transporters for the trip to the furniture market or for moving house - without any time pressure. It starts from 89 cents per kilometer. The Sixt example with 2.70 euros for five kilometers was in the goods test with 5.45 euros nevertheless about twice as expensive.

3. Share Now

(iOS 4.7 stars, Google 4.5 stars):
BMW, with its previous "Drive Now" offering, and Mercedes ("car2go") have teamed up for the Bavarian-Swabian sharing app. The cars, from the Smart to the Mini to the BMW 3-series and A-class, are top-notch. Warentest has high praise for driving and registering - even though the service is only available in seven major German cities (Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich). Share Now relies exclusively on flexible free floating. And especially in the inner cities, many vehicles are available. But the premium cars also cost premium prices: Instead of the 2.70 euros from Sixt, around 7.80 euros are due here - depending on time, city and model. For longer distances, for example 500 kilometers on the weekend, Share Now is often even cheaper than Sixt.

4. Getaround

(iOS 4.6 stars, Google 4.4 stars):
The French company formerly known as "Drivy" doesn't have its own fleet of cars. It brokers rental cars all over Germany from mostly private owners who want to earn money with their vehicles - instead of just parking them in the garage. The range of cars on offer is therefore very diverse, from ordinary compacts to vintage cars and sports cars to camping buses. The prices are set by the owners themselves. Many of them have equipped their cars with telematics boxes. This means they can be opened and started via smartphone app. Otherwise, a personal key delivery must be arranged. In the case of Warentest, this worked surprisingly well, in contrast to the competitor SnappCar, where hardly any rentals were made. Getaround users find a true "car miracle bag" in the app - and sometimes real sharing bargains.

5. Flinkster

(iOS 4.7 stars, Google 3.6 stars):
Deutsche Bahn not only rents out bikes with "Call a Bike", but is also in the car-sharing business with Flinkster. The Bahn cars are available at stations in around 360 cities across Germany, often at train stations - more than any other sharing provider. For train passengers who want to continue their journey from their destination by car, Flinkster is therefore ideal. However, in view of the often quite high prices (Sixt example 6.25 euros instead of 2.70 euros), the testers were not always satisfied with the condition of the cars. Because registration and vehicle search function well, a score of 1.9 is still enough for the overall victory ahead of Sixt (2.0). The same applies here: Because every sharing provider has different strengths and weaknesses, Warentest advises installing several apps and selecting the right car and the right tariff in each case. At least, that's how experienced "part-wise" people do it.

6. Stadtmobil 

(iOS 2.6 stars, Google 3.2 stars):

The rather alternative offer works quite differently regionally in 180 German cities. The operators of the app for car sharing work with different partners depending on the location, for example with Stattauto in Munich or with Cambio in Hamburg. This is why the quality of the vehicles, from Mini to Transporter, also varies greatly, which explains the rather mediocre ratings in the app stores. Warentest had a good experience with Stadtmobil with an overall score of 2.2 and fourth place behind Flinkster, Sixt and Share Now. Users often drive at the cheapest prices nationwide, for example for 154 euros on a weekend with 500 kilometers. Stadtmobil calculates on its website that 5,000 kilometres of Car-Sharing a year there costs around 2,358 euros, compared to 4,046 euros with a very similar new car. Only from 10,000 kilometres does it pay to own a car. However, car-sharing is not intended for such frequent drivers.

Try these most popular car sharing apps to make your choice.