Taxi apps in Rome: which one actually works
Eight apps promise a taxi in two taps, but none of them owns a single car: behind each one sits a cooperative or a list of drivers who signed up, and the price is always the meter. The comparison below says who answers each app and when it is worth using.
| App | Who answers | Store rating | Payment | Booking | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FREENOW Free Now (Lyft group) | drivers in Rome from several cooperatives | 4.7 iPhone · 4.2 Android | in the app (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal) or to the driver | right away, or booked up to 4 days ahead | iPhone · Android · website |
| itTaxi Unione Radiotaxi d'Italia (in Rome: Radiotaxi 3570) | Radiotaxi 3570, the largest fleet in the city | 3.1 iPhone · 3.3 Android | in the app or to the driver | right away or booked ahead | iPhone · Android · website |
| Uber Uber | "Taxi" option: the cars of Radiotaxi 3570; "Black" and "Van": chauffeur-driven hire cars at an agreed price | 4.9 iPhone · 4.8 Android | in the app | right away or scheduled | iPhone · Android · website |
| Chiama Taxi 060609 Roma Capitale (Roma Servizi per la Mobilità) | the drivers signed up to the city council service | 2.8 iPhone · 2.1 Android | to the driver | right away or booked ahead | iPhone · Android · website |
| appTaxi appTaxi | drivers signed up to the platform in more than 50 cities | 4.8 iPhone · 4.7 Android | in the app or to the driver | right away or booked ahead | iPhone · Android · website |
| Samarcanda Plus Samarcanda 06 5551 cooperative, Wetaxi technology | Samarcanda, about 450 taxis | 4.4 iPhone · 4.4 Android | in the app or to the driver | right away or booked ahead; Wetaxi also offers a guaranteed maximum price on some routes | iPhone · Android · website |
| InTaxi InTaxi consortium (in Rome: Pronto Taxi 6645) | Pronto Taxi, about 1,800 taxis in Rome | 4.7 iPhone · 4.7 Android | in the app or to the driver | right away or booked ahead | iPhone · Android · website |
| Wetaxi WeTechnology of Turin, in Rome with the Samarcanda cooperative | Samarcanda 06 5551 | 4.1 iPhone · 4.1 Android | in the app or to the driver | right away or booked ahead; offers a guaranteed maximum price on some routes | iPhone · Android · website |
Ratings read on the Italian App Store and Play Store on 15 September 2026; they move over time. Where the review count is small, as with Chiama Taxi 060609 and Samarcanda Plus, the score means less. All eight are available for both iPhone and Android.
Pros and cons, app by app
FREENOW
Pros: the one most visitors already have, works in many European cities, shows a price estimate before the ride. Cons: the estimate is not the price: the meter decides; at busy times the number of available taxis drops.
itTaxi
Pros: it draws on the biggest fleet, so a car almost always turns up. Cons: dated interface, low review scores.
Uber
Pros: familiar if you use it abroad, automatic payment, ride tracking. Cons: there are no private cars in Italy: pick 'Taxi' and you pay the meter, pick 'Black' and you pay a pricier chauffeur-driven hire car.
Chiama Taxi 060609
Pros: it is the city council service, with no platform fee on top. Cons: only part of the trade has signed up, so at busy times it may find nobody.
appTaxi
Pros: excellent reviews, works in Milan, Turin and Naples too. Cons: coverage in Rome is thinner than 3570 or Free Now.
Samarcanda Plus
Pros: good reviews, dedicated service for Fiumicino. Cons: small fleet, so waits get longer at peak times, and the app is updated rarely.
InTaxi
Pros: the second fleet in Rome, the best-rated of the Italian taxi apps, and it takes bookings on WhatsApp and Telegram as well. Cons: in Rome it draws on a single cooperative, so at peak times it finds fewer cars than 3570.
Wetaxi
Pros: works in 25 Italian cities and links up with Trenitalia. Cons: in Rome it relies on a single cooperative, so waits grow at peak times.
Which one to pick
- You just want a car to turn up: itTaxi or Uber "Taxi", both drawing on the Radiotaxi 3570 fleet. Calling 06 3570 does exactly the same thing without installing anything.
- You are visiting and already use Free Now elsewhere: FREENOW, with payment in the app and booking up to 4 days ahead.
- You want the city council channel: Chiama Taxi 060609, knowing it covers only part of the trade.
- You are in a bar and would rather not phone: WhatsApp to 06 3570, 342 009 3509 or 329 498 5551 works like an app, with nothing to install.
Uber in Rome: what is actually there
In Italy Uber cannot use private drivers — UberPop was blocked by the courts in Milan and Rome in 2015 and 2017. In Rome the app offers the Taxi option, which since 2022 passes requests to Radiotaxi 3570 through itTaxi, and the Black and Van options, which are chauffeur-driven hire cars. With "Taxi" you pay the meter or the flat fare (€55 from Fiumicino to the centre); with "Black" you pay the price agreed in the app, usually higher.
What an app cannot change
Fares are set by Roma Capitale and are identical across every channel: no surge pricing, no premium for rain, no airport surcharge. What changes between apps is how quickly a car is found, not the price. The full schedule is on the 2026 fares page, and the other ways to get a car are on how to get a taxi in Rome.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best app for a taxi in Rome?
To be sure a car turns up: itTaxi or the Taxi option in Uber, both of which use the Radiotaxi 3570 fleet, the largest in the city. For easy payment and familiarity abroad: FREENOW. For the city council's own service: Chiama Taxi 060609, bearing in mind that it covers only part of the trade.
Does Uber work in Rome?
Yes, but not as it does elsewhere: there are no private cars with casual drivers. The "Taxi" option brings a white Roman taxi at the metered price (or the airport flat fare); "Black" and "Van" are chauffeur-driven hire cars with an agreed, higher price.
Is the price shown in the app what I pay?
No, it is an estimate. By law taxis charge only the fares set by Roma Capitale: you pay what the meter says, or the flat fare for airports and the port. An app cannot discount it or add to it.
Does Bolt run taxis in Rome?
No. In the list of cities Bolt publishes itself, the only Italian one is Milan, where the service with taxis and hire cars started in June 2026. Rome has been described as under consideration, with no date.
Is InTaxi on iPhone too?
Yes. Alongside the Android version, InTaxi sits on the Italian App Store as "inTaxi, il tuo taxi", with more than 29,000 reviews and an average of 4.7: the highest score among the Italian taxi apps. Wetaxi, often linked only to Google Play, has an iPhone app as well.
What is the difference between Wetaxi and Samarcanda Plus?
Wetaxi is a Turin company, WeTechnology, not a drivers' cooperative: it supplies the technology. Samarcanda Plus is the app of the Roman cooperative Samarcanda built on that technology, as Samarcanda states on its own site. So they are two apps that in Rome reach the same fleet: Samarcanda Plus is the dedicated one, while Wetaxi adds parking, tickets and other services in twenty-five cities.
Why does the Chiama Taxi 060609 app sometimes find nobody?
Because only part of the trade has joined: around 1,000 drivers out of roughly 9,000 licences, according to figures discussed in the city assembly. At peak times the cooperatives with big fleets answer more reliably.
Can I pay by card without an app?
Yes. Every driver has to accept cards and debit cards in the car, whether you flagged them down, took them at a rank or ordered by phone. The apps only add the option of paying automatically at the end of the ride.