Best Car Sharing Apps in Germany: A Review of Miles, Share Now, and Sixt

Car sharing in Germany has evolved from a niche service into a mainstream pillar of urban mobility. This transformation is driven by urbanization, a focus on sustainability, and technological innovation. As of early 2025, about 45,400 shared vehicles operate on German roads, with services reaching nearly 1,400 towns and municipalities.

The German car-sharing market is divided into two primary models: station-based and free-floating. Station-based services require users to pick up and return vehicles at fixed locations, making them ideal for planned round-trips and driving expansion into smaller towns. The free-floating model, however, offers the flexibility to pick up a car and park it anywhere within a designated business area, making it perfect for spontaneous urban travel. This review focuses on the three titans of the free-floating market: Miles, Free2move (the successor to Share Now), and Sixt Share.

Miles: The Kilometer King 

Miles has distinguished itself by becoming Germany’s largest car-sharing provider through a disruptive pricing model. Its core concept is “Pay for the Ride, Not the Traffic,” billing users per kilometer driven rather than per minute of use. This approach removes the anxiety of costs rising while stuck in traffic, offering a more predictable driving experience.

Pricing Structure

• Unlock Fees: Each trip has a one-time unlock fee, typically $1 for standard cars and $2 for premium vehicles or vans.
• Per-Kilometer Rates: Standard cars start at $0.99/km, while premium cars and large vans start from $1.29/km. “GreenRate” deals can lower the cost to $0.79/km.
• Parking: Pausing a trip to park the vehicle costs $0.29 per minute.
• Packages: Miles offers hourly and daily packages, such as a 3-hour rental with 35 km included starting at $34.99, or a full-day rental with 50 km from $49.99.

Fleet and User Experience

Miles boasts the widest variety of vehicles among free-floating providers, including economy cars, premium models like the Tesla Model 3, and, crucially, a range of vans like the Mercedes Sprinter. This makes it the only major free-floating service for tasks like moving apartments. The acquisition of WeShare also added a significant number of all-electric VW models to its fleet.

However, user experience is mixed. While some praise its utility and customer support, others report persistent app bugs, especially related to starting EV charging sessions, and inconsistent kilometer tracking. For short, traffic-free trips, Miles can be more expensive than its per-minute competitors. Its market leadership is built on selling predictability and the unique utility of its vans.

It is important to note that in late 2023, Miles became the subject of a police investigation in Berlin over allegations of manipulating GPS data to avoid paying millions in parking fees. The case is ongoing and is a critical factor for consumers to consider.

Free2move (Formerly Share Now): The Rebranded Pioneer 

Free2move is the result of the full integration of Share Now (itself a merger of BMW’s DriveNow and Daimler’s car2go) into the Stellantis brand. It operates on the classic per-minute pricing model, which is highly effective for quick, one-way urban trips.

Pricing Structure

• Per-Minute Rates: Prices are dynamic, starting as low as $0.17/minute, but vary based on vehicle, demand, and time of day.
• Included Kilometers: The standard per-minute rate generously includes 200 km before long-distance fees are applied.
• Hourly and Daily Rates: Packages are available, such as an hourly rate from $6.99/hour plus a per-kilometer charge of $0.19 to $0.24.
• Additional Fees: Users should be aware of extra charges like airport fees or drop-off fees for parking in designated zones.

Fleet and User Experience

The acquisition by Stellantis has shifted the fleet away from the premium BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles of the Share Now era to Stellantis brands like the Fiat 500e, Peugeot 208, and Opel Corsa. While the app is highly rated for its user-friendly features, a significant volume of user reviews point to frustratingly slow or unresponsive customer support. Complaints include disputes over unexpected penalty fees and a perceived decline in vehicle cleanliness and overall service quality since the acquisition. This has created a disconnect where Free2move has inherited a premium user base but now offers a mass-market product.

Sixt Share: The Premium Contender

Leveraging the infrastructure of its parent company, Sixt Share positions itself as a premium player that blends flexible sharing with a high-end rental experience. Its most unique feature is the ability for users to end a rental at any Sixt station across Germany, making it the only viable option of the three for spontaneous one-way, inter-city journeys.

Pricing Structure

• Per-Minute Rates: Pricing is highly dynamic, starting as low as $0.09 per minute but fluctuating with demand and vehicle model.
• Unlock Fee: A small fee starting from $0.95 is charged at the start of each trip.
• Included Kilometers: Like Free2move, the per-minute tariff includes a generous 200 km.
• Packages: An extensive menu of hourly, daily, and kilometer-based packages is available. A one-day package can start from $29, though this doesn’t include many kilometers.

Fleet and User Experience

Sixt Share upholds the brand’s standard of a high-quality, modern fleet, with vehicles that are often just a few months old. The fleet is heavily skewed toward premium German brands like BMW and Audi and includes a growing number of electric vehicles. The Sixt app is consistently top-rated for its clean interface and seamless user experience.

However, this positive experience is overshadowed by the parent company’s widespread reputation for aggressive post-rental damage claims and disputes over hidden fees. This creates a “trust shadow” over the Sixt Share service, as the underlying corporate policies for handling disputes are likely shared. It is best suited for meticulous users who document a vehicle’s condition before and after every trip.

Head-to-Head: The Ultimate Showdown

The best service is almost always situational. Here is a cost analysis for four common scenarios.

• Scenario 1: The Rush-Hour Crawl (5 km, 30 minutes)
  • Miles: $5.95
  • Free2move: $7.50
  • Sixt Share: $8.45
  • Verdict: Miles wins due to its per-kilometer model.
• Scenario 2: The Quick Dash (10 km, 15 minutes)
  • Miles: $10.90
  • Free2move: $3.75
  • Sixt Share: $4.70
  • Verdict: Free2move and Sixt Share win decisively in traffic-free conditions.
• Scenario 3: The Day Trip (8 hours, 100 km)
  • Miles: $74.49 (using a daily package with extra km)
  • Free2move: $44.00 (using a daily rate plus per-km charge)
  • Sixt Share: $54.00 (using a daily package plus km package)
  • Verdict: Free2move appears most cost-effective, but checking in-app packages is crucial.
• Scenario 4: The One-Way City Hop (e.g., Berlin to Hamburg)
  • Miles: Possible, but extremely expensive (approx. $298).
  • Free2move: Not possible; trip must end in the starting city.
  • Sixt Share: The only provider designed for this use case.
  • Verdict: Sixt Share is the only practical and cost-effective choice.

Feature Face-Off

Feature	Miles	Free2move (Share Now)	Sixt Share
Primary Pricing Model	Per Kilometer (from $0.79/km + unlock fee)	Per Minute (from $0.17/min)	Per Minute (from $0.09/min + unlock fee)
Best For…	Traffic-heavy trips, errands with unknown duration, moving house	Quick, predictable A-to-B journeys with clear roads	Premium experience, business trips, one-way travel between cities
Fleet Variety	Widest Range: Economy, premium, EVs, and crucially, vans	Stellantis Brands: Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, Citroën	Premium & New: BMW, Audi, etc., with a high share of EVs
Unique Selling Point	Van rentals; “traffic-proof” pricing	Large, established presence in major city cores	Nationwide drop-off at any Sixt station
Key User Complaint	App bugs (esp. EV charging), can be expensive on clear roads	Poor customer service, unexpected fees, perceived decline in quality	Parent company’s reputation for aggressive damage claims

The Final Verdict: Your Perfect Car-Sharing Match

There is no single “best” car-sharing service in Germany; the optimal choice depends entirely on your needs.

• For the Cost-Conscious Commuter: Miles is the superior choice for rush-hour travel, as its per-kilometer pricing eliminates the financial stress of traffic.
• For the Spontaneous Urbanite: Free2move is often the most economical for quick, short-distance trips in clear traffic, and its high density of cars in city centers makes it ideal for spontaneity.
• For the Quality-Focused Professional / Weekend Traveler: Sixt Share offers a premium fleet and the unique ability to make one-way trips between cities, making it perfect for business travel or getaways. However, users should be diligent in documenting vehicle condition.
• For the Mover / IKEA Shopper: Miles is the only viable choice due to its effective monopoly on on-demand vans in the free-floating market.

The most sophisticated user in Germany doesn’t choose one app—they use all three strategically. By leveraging the distinct strengths of each provider for different situations, you can create a seamless and optimized personal mobility network.

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