Why choose Swapfiets over Lime?

Ride with Lime

• €1 unlock fee + €0.28 per minute, every trip.

• The meter runs even when you're stopped, at lights and in traffic.

• Not your own bike, so battery and setup differ every time.

• Park only in designated zones, or face charges.

Subscribe to Swapfiets

• Fixed monthly price with unlimited riding.

• Your own bike right where you left it.

• Free repairs and unlimited service.

• Eligible for the Forfait Mobilités Durables.

Cost comparison: Lime vs Swapfiets

Lime rates recorded in late 2025: €1 to unlock, then €0.28 per minute. Rates vary by city, time of day and demand, and are shown in the Lime app before each ride. Swapfiets price based on the Deluxe 7.

Electric: Lime e-bikes vs a Swapfiets e-Bike

Lime rates recorded in late 2025. Rates vary by city, time of day and demand, and are shown in the Lime app before each ride. Swapfiets price based on the Power 1.

But what about the LimePasses?

Lime also offers passes in Paris that waive the unlock fee and reduce the per-minute rate, including a weekly commuter pass. These are genuinely better value than pay-as-you-go if you ride regularly, check the current options in the Lime app. But they remain per-trip pricing: the pass sits on top of what each ride costs. With Lime, riding more costs more. With Swapfiets, riding more costs nothing extra.

Convenience: the part that isn't in the price

• Availability. Your Swapfiets is where you left it. A Lime is where someone else left it, sometimes a seven-minute walk away, on 12% battery.

• Parking. The rules are tightening in Paris. Since 2022, only three free-floating bike operators have been permitted in the city, and bikes must be parked in designated zones. Your own bike goes on the rack downstairs.

• Maintenance. Nobody services a Lime for you, but nobody services your own bought bike either. With Swapfiets, repairs are included and unlimited: if we can't fix it in 10 minutes, we swap it.

• Theft. Bike theft in Paris is a real deterrent to ownership. With Swapfiets there's an excess, and we help you file the police report.

• The Forfait Mobilités Durables. Every Swapfiets subscription qualifies: your employer can reimburse you up to €600 a year, tax-free. A Deluxe 7 costs roughly €203 a year, the allowance can cover the whole thing.

So which should you pick?

• Choose Lime if you ride occasionally, unpredictably, one-way, or you're visiting.

• Choose Swapfiets if you ride most weeks, want the same bike every time, and would rather pay one predictable amount.