Fasten is the app that used to be Uber Russia. When Yandex bought Uber’s Russia arm, the ride-hail service was rebranded and folded into the same family that runs Yandex Go and Vezet. It still operates only inside Russia, in 160+ cities, and it still gets a 4.9 in the store. The three complaints that push riders to look at Fasten alternatives are the ones you would expect: coverage thins outside big cities, the whole app is tied to Yandex accounts and billing, and when demand spikes the “budget” tier stops looking like a budget tier.
This piece covers 7 Fasten alternatives that are actually installable in Russia today, from cheaper rivals to carpool and carsharing options that do the same job with a different transport model.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free to install | Payment model | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yandex Go | The full super-app (rides, food, scooters, delivery) | Yes | Fixed fare, card or cash | One account across every Yandex service |
| inDrive | Naming your own fare | Yes | You set price, driver accepts or counters | Works in 45+ countries, not tied to Russia |
| Maxim | Mid-size cities and Russian regions | Yes | Fixed fare, card or cash | Deep coverage in provincial cities |
| Vezet | Economy rides in 470+ cities | Yes | Fixed fare, card or cash | Cheaper than Fasten and Yandex Go |
| Drivee | Bidding without leaving the CIS | Yes | You set price, drivers counter | Compares multiple counter-offers at once |
| BlaBlaCar | Intercity trips, not city rides | Yes | Fixed seat price per route | Long-distance carpool with verified drivers |
| Delimobil | Driving yourself instead of hailing | Yes | Per-minute or daily carsharing | 24/7 street pickup and drop-off |
Why people leave Fasten
- Coverage falls off outside the top 40 cities. Fasten runs in 160+ towns on paper, but in smaller places the driver pool is thin and pickup times drift past 15 minutes at rush hour. Riders on Russian forums note that Maxim usually beats it in provincial capitals.
- Everything routes through a Yandex ID. Account, wallet, ride history, and Plus subscription all live in the same profile as your other Yandex services. Riders who already avoid Yandex Mail or Music for privacy reasons want a taxi app that is not the same login.
- The economy tier stops being economy at peak times. The lowest fare class attracts surge pricing during evening rush, matches, and airport spikes. Once the multiplier kicks in, the Fasten fare lands close to Comfort on Yandex Go, which is the point where riders start comparing rivals.
- No price control from the rider. Fasten offers a fixed fare and that is it. Users who want to bid or set their own price find the model too rigid and jump to inDrive or Drivee.
- Ride-only feature set. Fasten is deliberately narrow: no food, no delivery, no scooters. That is a virtue if you want a light app, and a limit if you want everything in one place. Riders in the second camp usually go to Yandex Go instead.
If any of these push you to compare, here are 7 Fasten alternatives worth installing.
Which app should you choose?
- Yandex Go if you want a super-app with rides, food, scooters, and delivery under one login.
- inDrive if you want to name your own fare and travel outside Russia with the same account.
- Maxim if you live in a mid-size Russian city where Fasten and Yandex Go coverage is uneven.
- Vezet if you want the cheapest economy tier in 470+ cities and do not care about premium classes.
- Drivee if you like the bidding model but want counter-offers laid side by side.
- BlaBlaCar if your trip is intercity, not local, and you want a paid seat in someone’s car.
- Delimobil if you would rather drive yourself and rent by the minute.
The 7 Fasten alternatives
Yandex Go, best for the full super-app bundle
Yandex Go is the flagship rideshare from the same company that owns Fasten. The app bundles rides across seven service classes (Economy through Elite), food from restaurants, courier delivery, scooters, carsharing, market shopping, and even bus and train tickets. If you want your city on one screen, this is the answer.
Where it falls short: The bundle is heavy. The app pushes promo cards into the booking flow, and your ride history sits inside your broader Yandex profile alongside Mail and Music. The Economy tier costs slightly more than Vezet in most cities.
Pricing:
- Free to install and use.
- Fares vary by class and city; Economy is the cheapest, Elite the priciest.
- Yandex Plus subscribers earn cashback points on Comfort and above.
Migrating from Fasten: Same parent company means your Yandex ID already works. There is no data import to do, you just sign in and your saved addresses come with you.
Bottom line: Pick Yandex Go if you want one account for every mobility service in the city and do not mind staying inside the Yandex ecosystem.
inDrive, best for setting your own fare
inDrive flips the pricing model. You enter pickup and drop-off, then propose a fare. Nearby drivers see the offer and accept, decline, or send a counter-offer. You pick the driver you want based on price, car, and rating. The app runs in 45+ countries, so an account you make in Russia keeps working in Kazakhstan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.
Where it falls short: In smaller Russian cities the driver pool is thin, so counter-offers take longer to arrive. During peak hours drivers ignore low bids, which trains riders to overpay to get a ride at all.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Fare set by rider, drivers counter within the same trip request.
- No surge multiplier and no service fee added on top for riders in most markets.
Migrating from Fasten: No import, just install and sign up with a phone number. Saved addresses have to be re-entered.
Bottom line: Pick inDrive if you want control over the price and an account that travels with you outside Russia.
Maxim, best for mid-size Russian cities
Maxim (the app is branded “Maxim” globally, published by Taxsee) is the dominant taxi network in Russian regions and mid-size CIS cities. It runs in cities where Yandex Go coverage is thin and Fasten drivers are scarce. Ride, delivery, and cargo transport all sit in the same app.
Where it falls short: The interface feels older than Yandex Go or inDrive. In Moscow and Saint Petersburg it is a secondary option, not a first pick.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Fixed fare shown before you book.
- Card and cash both accepted.
Migrating from Fasten: No account bridge. Register with phone number, re-add saved places.
Bottom line: Pick Maxim if you live in a Russian region or provincial capital where the Yandex-family apps run thin.
Vezet, best for cheap everyday rides
Vezet is the low-cost sibling in the Yandex family, positioned specifically for daily commuting on a budget. It operates in more than 470 Russian cities and its Economy class typically undercuts Fasten and Yandex Go on the same route. The Express class costs more but gets a car to you faster, useful for airport runs.
Where it falls short: Only two classes, so no premium option. The car pool skews older than Yandex Go Comfort. Also, ultimately owned by the same company as Fasten, so the privacy story does not really change.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Economy: cheapest tier, fixed fare shown up front.
- Express: pricier for a faster pickup.
Migrating from Fasten: The Yandex ID is shared. Sign in and go.
Bottom line: Pick Vezet if you want the cheapest daily ride and can live inside the Yandex account family.
Drivee, best for bidding with side-by-side offers
Drivee runs a rider-sets-the-price model similar to inDrive, but the app lays counter-offers out side by side, sorted by price, car, rating, and pickup time. You accept the one that fits, not just the cheapest. Drivee also handles courier delivery and intercity rides in the same app.
Where it falls short: The driver base is still growing. In cities outside the top 20, offers can be sparse at off-peak hours.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Fare set by rider on the way in, drivers respond with counter-offers.
- No surge charges baked into the request.
Migrating from Fasten: No account link. Phone-number registration.
Bottom line: Pick Drivee if you like the inDrive model but prefer seeing every counter-offer laid out at once.
BlaBlaCar, best for intercity trips
BlaBlaCar is not a city taxi. It is long-distance carpool: a driver going Moscow to Kazan lists spare seats and you book one at a fixed price. For anything longer than 100 kilometres, a seat is usually 30 to 60 percent cheaper than a train ticket and often faster than a bus. The app also lists intercity buses in Russia, so route search is a single query.
Where it falls short: Not a within-city option. Departure times are tied to the driver’s schedule, so flexibility is limited compared to a train. Verified profiles help but this is still a stranger’s car.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Seat price set by driver, shown before you book.
- Bus tickets have their own pricing shown in the same search.
Migrating from Fasten: Different use case, so nothing to migrate. Fasten stays on your phone for city rides; BlaBlaCar handles the trip between cities.
Bottom line: Pick BlaBlaCar if your trip goes to a different city and you would rather share a car than take the train.
Delimobil, best for driving yourself instead of hailing
Delimobil is Russian carsharing. You unlock a car with the app, drive it wherever you need, and drop it in any free space inside the operating zone. The fleet ranges from small hatchbacks to family sedans, and rentals bill by the minute, hour, or day. For a two-hour errand run, carsharing often beats a round-trip taxi.
Where it falls short: You need a driver’s licence and a decent driving record. Coverage is Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and a handful of large cities, not the 160+ Fasten covers. Parking rules and fine risk sit with you, not the driver.
Pricing:
- Free to install.
- Per-minute driving rate plus a lower per-minute reserved rate.
- Daily and hourly packages available for longer trips.
Migrating from Fasten: Not a swap so much as a switch of transport type. Keep Fasten installed for rides when you do not want to drive.
Bottom line: Pick Delimobil if you have a licence, live in a supported city, and would rather steer than sit in the back seat.
How to choose
Match the app to the trip, not the trip to the app.
For daily city rides in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, or another top-40 city, start with Yandex Go or Vezet. Yandex Go gives you range of classes and a super-app bundle. Vezet gives you the same driver network at a lower price, minus the premium tiers.
For price sensitivity where you actively want to bid, install both inDrive and Drivee and use whichever gets a driver first. inDrive has larger reach internationally, Drivee shows you every counter-offer at once.
For provincial cities and Russian regions, Maxim is usually the pick. Its network is dense in places where Yandex Go coverage runs thin.
For intercity trips, BlaBlaCar replaces the taxi entirely. Book a seat on a route someone else is already driving.
For errands where you would rather drive, Delimobil trades hailing for carsharing.
Stay on Fasten if the app already works in your city, you like the 4.9-rated experience, and none of the shortcomings above hit your daily use. It is a lean ride-only app and that is a legitimate reason to keep it.
FAQ
Is inDrive cheaper than Fasten in Russia? Usually yes, because you set the fare. Drivers accept low bids in normal conditions and counter with higher prices at peak times. On average riders report saving 15 to 25 percent per trip versus Fasten’s fixed fare, though the exact number varies by city and time of day.
Can I use my Yandex account on Vezet and Yandex Go if I already use Fasten? Yes. Fasten, Vezet, and Yandex Go share the same Yandex ID. Saved addresses and payment cards carry across all three apps once you sign in.
What is the best free Fasten alternative? All 7 apps in this list are free to install and free to use. Yandex Go and Vezet are the closest like-for-like replacements. inDrive is the closest replacement if you want to control the price.
Is Uber back in Russia? No. Uber’s Russia business was folded into Yandex years ago and rebranded as Fasten. The Uber app itself does not accept ride requests inside Russia today.
What do people use instead of Fasten in Russian regions? Maxim is the common answer in provincial cities. It has broader regional coverage than Fasten and Yandex Go, and rides are priced up front.
Does Fasten work outside Russia? No. Fasten operates only in Russian cities. For travel to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, or Georgia, install inDrive, which uses the same account across those markets.
