This post contains affiliate links.
Ride-sharing and alternative car rental services like Turo and Kyte enjoy increasing popularity, despite suffering a knock during the pandemic’s lockdowns. Kyte, as a relative newcomer to the industry, is striving to fix some of the problems that its competitors face. But should you consider using Kyte over the established Turo? Let’s compare them on their similarities and differences.
Turo has an established brand and offers personal car rental, allowing car owners to make money by renting out their cars. Kyte does not offer personal car rentals but has a fleet of vehicles sourced from various agencies. Kyte’s prices are also generally lower than those of Turo and other options.
Though Turo and Kyte offer similar car rental or car sharing services, there are vast differences in how they offer them. There are few actual similarities between the two companies and how they operate. So, which is better? That depends on what you need. Let’s go into more detail on the differences and similarities so you can decide which one you prefer.
Turo Vs. Kyte: The Similarities
Since Turo and Kyte are both car sharing services designed to compete with traditional car rental agencies, there are several features that they both share.
Both Can Bring The Car To You
Turo and Kyte both can deliver the car to you (depending on your current location and a few other details). This makes them far more convenient than walking or taxiing to a car rental agency’s lot. This may seem a bit unimportant, but this small fact makes a massive difference when you’re tired and just want to get a car without too much fuss.
Turo And Kyte Are Both App-Based
The fact that you have an app that allows you to instantly get a rental car, automatically detecting and pinpointing your location, makes life so much easier. Many modern-day travelers can hardly recall a time when they had to spend an hour or two after a long flight trying to get a rental car.
These days you can get off a plane, open the app, and get a car while you’re waiting for your luggage to be unloaded from the cargo hold.
Turo And Kyte Both Try To Be Affordable
One of the most significant disadvantages of well-known, traditional car rental is the price. Turo and Kyte aim to be less expensive and thus more accessible than typical car rental agencies, and they do this for the most part.
Turo And Kyte Both Offer Insurance
Though insurance isn’t included by default on either service, both Turo and Kyte allow you to add insurance for an additional fee. This can increase the cost of your rental considerably, but it’s better than the repair cost if you happen to be in a car accident.
Turo Vs. Kyte: The Differences
There are similarities between Turo and Kyte, but they are limited. Their differences set them apart and make it easier to decide which one you prefer.
Kyte Has A Fleet Of Vehicles, But Turo Doesn’t
Turo is based on a car-sharing concept. If you aren’t driving your car daily, you can use it to earn an income by renting it out through Turo. This means that Turo doesn’t have a fleet of vehicles that it operates.
Kyte has a fleet of vehicles, though it doesn’t own any of them. Kyte uses third-party fleet agencies to provide it with cars Kyte maintains and rents out. In this regard, Kyte is more similar to traditional car rental agencies than Turo, though you can still find some very distinct differences between them.
Kyte Always Allows Pets; Turo Only Sometimes
Since Turo rents out other people’s cars on their behalf, each car has its own set of rules. It’s like Airbnb for a car. Some owners classify their cars as pet friendly, while others don’t. Most Turo cars allow only service animals, which they must do by law.
Kyte is pet friendly by default. You can bring any pet along for the ride in a Kyte vehicle, but you are responsible for cleaning any mess that your pets make, including removing all pet hair during shedding season.
Kyte Doesn’t Do Airport Deliveries
If you use Turo, it’s possible to arrange for the vehicle owner to deliver it to you anywhere, including at the airport. This is an excellent advantage if you need a car after a long flight; you can walk out of the terminal building and find your car waiting for you outside.
Kyte does not do this. Even though Kyte does car delivery, it doesn’t offer the option to bring the car to you at an airport. The reasons for this are unclear, but Kyte will require you to give another address nearby where the driver can deliver your rental car. This is a bit of an inconvenience, but it works if you won’t need the rental car immediately after landing.
Kyte Is Much Younger Than Turo
Turo was founded in 2009. The company has more than ten years’ worth of experience and a reputation behind it. This means that Turo is reliable, and you can always know what to expect, at least for the most part (more about that in a moment). An established company is usually more stable than a newcomer.
Kyte was founded a decade later, in 2019. It has a fraction of Turo’s experience, which is not generally considered to be a fact that bolsters confidence in a company. However, the fact that Kyte was able to weather the storms of the pandemic barely a year after it launched says a lot about how well the business is managed, and Kyte is still here today, which is an excellent sign.
Kyte Is More Consistent Than Turo
Turo’s greatest strength could also be its biggest weakness: the fact that the cars belong to private individuals. If you read Turo’s reviews online, customers’ number one complaint is that the car owners cause problems, like canceling rental agreements minutes before they are supposed to deliver the car.
As great as the concept of personal car rental is, it also means that you are dealing with normal human beings that are often unpredictable. This leads to some inconsistencies in how effectively Turo can offer its service. It also means that you can’t always guarantee that your rental car will be in the best condition possible.
Kyte operates its own fleet of vehicles, eliminating those aspects that make Turo unique, for better and for worse. Car owners can’t earn an income from Kyte like they can from Turo. But Kyte’s service benefits from this since it can be more consistent than Turo, and the cars are all maintained by Kyte, so you can be pretty sure of the condition you will get it in.
Kyte Can Be Cheaper Than Turo
This aspect is slightly unpredictable and can’t always be guaranteed. Still, Kyte tries to be cheaper than Turo, and mile-by-mile comparisons by independent reviewers have proven that the newcomer usually succeeds in its attempts.
Yet again, what makes it unpredictable is the fact that Turo allows people to rent out their cars. In the process, the owners can determine their rates (within reasonable boundaries), which makes Turo’s rates slightly inconsistent.
Kyte’s rates are determined on a standard scale, just like the rates of traditional car rental agencies. Though Kyte offers membership plans with significant discounts (including a plan for university students, in particular), the rates are still standardized across the board, and everyone who rents the same type of vehicle with the same type of subscription plan will pay precisely the same price.
Conclusion
Turo and Kyte have many differences and similarities, but none of these necessarily make one better than the other. Turo has the advantage of experience, but Kyte has the advantage of a managed fleet of vehicles. Each offers an excellent service within its own little niche. The only thing we can do is to find which niche fits our needs, then go with that option.
