How to build an app like Uber

What an app like Uber does at its core

A rider opens the app, sets a pickup point and a destination, and sees a price before booking. The app finds a nearby driver, shows the car moving on the map, and charges the card when the ride ends. Both sides rate each other afterwards.

Behind that sit three things most people don't see: a driver app with its own screens (going online, accepting rides, navigation, earnings), a dispatch system that decides which driver gets which request, and an operations area where your team checks driver documents and handles problems.

MVP features and what comes later

An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version that real users can use and pay for. It tests the idea before you build everything.

The recommended stack

This is the blueprint a developer would start from, using the same building blocks as the live builder. It matches the Native Mobile App result of the quiz.

Why each layer

• ClientsTwo Expo apps

  Riders and drivers need different screens, permissions and store listings, so they are two apps. Both are React Native with Expo and can share code, like the map and the login. Drivers need reliable background location, which is why native apps beat a website here.

• CoreSupabase with PostGIS

  PostGIS is a Postgres extension for location data. It answers the key question, which available drivers are within a few kilometres of this pickup, in one database query. Supabase Realtime pushes driver positions and ride status to the rider's phone.

• PaymentsStripe Connect

  A ride is a service used outside the app, so Apple's in-app purchase doesn't apply (guideline 3.1.3(e)). Stripe Connect lets your platform charge the rider and pay out each driver, keeping your commission.

• MapsGoogle Maps Platform

  Address search, route drawing and travel time estimates for the upfront price. Mapbox is a fair alternative; the choice matters less than caching results so you don't pay for the same lookup twice.

• NotificationsExpo Notifications

  Push messages for "your driver is arriving" and new ride offers on the driver's phone. A ride offer also needs to show inside the open app, because push alone can arrive late.

• Accounts and adminSupabase Auth, small Next.js admin

  Phone number login fits this kind of app. Your team needs a simple web admin on the same database to check driver documents and refund rides.

The hardest parts of an app like Uber, and how to solve them

1. Live location without empty batteries

Drivers send their position every few seconds while online. Writing every single point into the database is wasteful; keep only the latest position per driver in the database and stream the movement through Realtime to the one rider who needs it.

Background location needs extra permission on both platforms. Google Play asks for a declaration and a short video showing why your app needs location while it's not in use, and Apple asks you to explain it to the user. Plan for that review in your launch.

2. Dispatch: who gets the ride

Start simple: find the closest available drivers with PostGIS, offer the ride to one driver at a time with a short timeout, then move to the next. This is a small state machine (requested, offered, accepted, arriving, on trip, finished, cancelled), and every step has to be safe if two things happen at once.

Make the state changes in the database in one transaction, so a ride can never be accepted by two drivers.

3. Pricing and payment at the end

Show a fixed price up front, calculated from the route distance and time you get from the maps provider. With Stripe you can place a hold on the card when the ride is requested and capture the final amount when it ends, so riders aren't charged for cancelled trips.

Driver payouts run through Stripe Connect, which also handles the identity checks Stripe needs before paying people out.

4. Two sides that both need to show up

Riders leave if no car comes, and drivers leave if no rides come. That's a business problem more than a technical one: launch in one city or even one district, recruit drivers first, and keep the app focused on that area.

Check the local rules before you build. In many cities, carrying passengers for money needs a licence, and that shapes who can drive on your platform.

What you can leave out of the MVP

• Your own routing or traffic engine: use the maps provider
• Automatic surge pricing: start with fixed prices per area
• Ride sharing between strangers, which multiplies the matching logic
• A custom chat: a masked phone call or a few preset messages are enough at first
• Several cities and currencies

What it costs

Related

• How to build an app like Airbnb
• How to build an app like Vinted
• RevenueCat vs. Stripe
• Supabase vs. Firebase
• Stack guide: Native Mobile App
• All app blueprints

Uber is a trademark of its owner. Find My Stack is not affiliated with it; the name only describes the type of app.