Getaround

Getaround operates a peer-to-peer car rental and carsharing marketplace. Renters use a mobile app or website to search for vehicles by location and time, book them by the hour or by the day, and in many cases unlock them directly with a phone rather than meeting the owner or exchanging keys. Trips include trip liability insurance, and the company markets 24/7 roadside assistance and customer support; additional drivers can be added at no extra cost, and optional Plus or Premium protection plans are offered [0][1][3][6].

The marketplace serves two sides: car owners (both private individuals and professional fleet operators) who list idle vehicles to generate income, and drivers who want short-term access to a car without the paperwork and queues of a traditional rental counter. Vehicle categories advertised include city cars, family cars, SUVs and commercial/utility vehicles, and the site quotes indicative prices from roughly $20/day for a small car, $30/day for a family car and $60/day for a minibus, claiming average savings of about 30% versus a traditional rental agency [0][2][3].

Core to the product is Getaround Connect, a patented connected-car device supporting keyless entry, in-app check-in and walkaround inspection, GPS tracking and tamper detection, which enables instant booking and self-service pickup without a key handover [0][3][6][7]. Mileage terms advertised are 10 miles per hour of rental up to 200 miles, then 200 miles per day [3].

Founding story

According to a secondary account, Getaround was founded on 9 September 2009 in San Francisco by Sam Zaid, Elliot Kroo and Jessica Scorpio, based on the observation that privately owned cars sit idle most of the time; the founders built a marketplace letting owners rent out their vehicles and renters obtain on-demand access, and chose the name to convey the ease of 'getting around' without traditional rental friction [7]. (Internal records date the company differently.)

Business model

Two-sided marketplace intermediating between vehicle owners and short-term renters. Getaround provides the booking platform, payments, insurance coverage and the Getaround Connect hardware that enables keyless self-service access; owners supply the vehicles and are told they can earn up to €800 per month by sharing a car with Getaround Connect [0][1][6].

Rentals are priced by the hour or by the day, with prices set on the marketplace and adjusted after the trip for excess mileage or unrefilled fuel; renters may also buy optional Plus or Premium protection plans [0][2][3]. One secondary source states 2023 revenue of approximately $140 million [7].

Traction

Marketing materials cite a 4.6/5 average rating from more than 100,000 app-store ratings and about 70,000 cars available in Europe [0][1][2]. A 2021 conference biography cites 5 million users in over 300 cities [5]. A secondary 2025 article cites over 850 cities as of late 2024, millions of rentals facilitated, roughly $140 million of 2023 revenue and over $300 million raised [7]. Customer sentiment on Yelp is weak, with an average 2.8 rating from 623 reviews across 10 US locations [4].

Latest developments

The current website presents Getaround as a European-focused service (France, Norway, Spain, Belgium) with roughly 70,000 cars [0][1][2]. Sam Zaid is described as Founder & Executive Chairman in 2021 conference materials and as CEO & Founder in a Forbes Business Council profile [5][6]. A Yelp reviewer posted about a year before retrieval that Getaround had gone out of business in the US and owed hosts money [4].