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Did a deep dive on this before my trip, here's the breakdown:

MUNI/BART:

Cheapest option by far. MUNI day pass is around $5, single rides ~$2.50-3. BART is great specifically for airport-to-city and a couple regional trips (Oakland, Berkeley) but doesn't cover most tourist spots within the city, that's MUNI's job (buses, streetcars, cable cars). Cable cars are iconic but pricier per ride than regular MUNI and often have long lines. Downside: you need to actually learn the system, routes aren't always intuitive for visitors, and MUNI can be unreliable/late.

Rideshare (Uber/Lyft):

Most convenient for point-to-point, especially at night or if you're tired of walking hills. Gets expensive fast if you're doing it all day between every stop, surge pricing during rush hour or events can spike prices badly. No sightseeing value, you're just staring at traffic, not learning anything about the city.

Tour bus (hop on hop off):

This is really the middle ground. A hop on hop off San Francisco ticket runs about 40-65 for 24hrs and covers most major tourist stops (Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, Haight-Ashbury) on one route, so you're not stitching together transfers or rideshares yourself. You get commentary/context along the way, which MUNI obviously doesn't give you, and it handles the hill problem way better than walking. Downside is it's slower than a direct Uber and you're locked to their route/schedule.

My honest ranking depending on situation:

First full day sightseeing → hop on hop off San Francisco bus, best mix of coverage + no navigation stress + skips the hills.

Days 2+ once you know the city → MUNI/BART, way cheaper once you're oriented.

Late nights, bad weather, or last-mile trips → rideshare, worth the cost for convenience.

Budget trip, don't mind effort → MUNI/BART only, skip the bus and rideshare almost entirely.

TL;DR: rideshare for convenience/cost trade-off on short hops, MUNI/BART for budget once you know the city, and hop on hop off San Francisco for an easy first-day overview that also handles the brutal hills for you.