Updated October 18, 2026 · NomadCue Editorial Team
Top car rental and car hire compared
We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. Partners with a live offer in your country come first, then every other brand by score. How we rank
| Order | Travel provider | Score | Features | Key facts | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Virgin Atlantic HolidaysPartner Sale extra savings code VAHSALE: Save up to £300 per booking | 9.6/10 |
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives | |
| 92 |  EmiratesPartner | 9.6/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 93 | First ChoicePartner Student Beans: GBP 75 off your trip | 9.6/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 94 |  Aer LingusPartner | 9.5/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 95 | Despegar MexicoPartner | 9.5/10 |
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives | |
| 96 |  Ethiopian AirlinesPartner Up to 10% off in the Ethiopian Airlines mobile app: up to 10% off | 9.5/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 97 |  SemboPartner | 9.5/10 |
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives | |
| 98 |  Air New ZealandPartner Accommodation discount plus double Airpoints: Save 15% or more on selected stays, 2x Airpoints | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 99 |  eDreams ESPartner Ahorra hasta 270 EUR en alojamiento con Prime: up to 270 EUR | 9.4/10 |
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives | |
| 100 |  ExpediaPartner | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
About Top car rental and car hire compared
Car rental and car hire is a category where the vehicle is usually bought through someone else's desk. An airline, a bank card benefit, a travel app and a local rental counter all sell the same car, and the differences sit in the fee charged on the booking, the deposit held on a card, the cancellation terms and the help available when a branch will not open. This ranking covers 89 brands, from a Bahamas rental specialist to airline and card issuer programmes, and it leans on cost and the size of the offer rather than on brand fame. The main trade-off runs between a low-fee self-service booking and the reassurance of an airline or card network standing behind the booking. A dedicated rental desk lists a narrow range and little else. An airline site bundles cars with flights and hotels, so a change to the whole trip can be handled together, yet it often adds a direct booking fee. A card issuer prices the rental into the annual fee instead. Deposits and cancellation terms decide what a booking really costs once a date has to move.
How we picked
Scores come from three published weights: cost at 40%, offer at 40% and trust at 20%. Cost covers booking fees, cancellation charges and deposits, which is what a reader pays at the counter. Offer covers how much of the travel mix sits behind the car rental desk, so a brand selling cars plus flights and hotels scores differently from one selling cars alone. Trust covers the legal entity, the founding year and the support channels each brand publishes. Evidence is drawn from brand product pages, terms and conditions, contact and privacy pages, and app store listings where a mobile app is offered, alongside the wider site data behind 89 car rental brands. Car rental is the product common to every entry, at 100%, so the extra products separate the field. A mobile app is the norm, at 83.8%, and support is scored on the channels published, with email, phone and a help centre all weighted at 78.8%, 81.2% and 81.2%. Partner listings come first in any ranking; this one has 0, so the order runs on score alone. Licensed providers, familiar from telecom rankings, stand at 0 here.
How we rankWhat to look for
- Fees before rates
- Daily rates across the wider site run from €0.27 to €43.84 around a median of €5.99. The headline rate says little on its own, because booking fees and deposits sit on top of it, so a plan that looks cheap per day can be the expensive one overall.
- Deposits are part of the price
- Deposits across the wider site have a median of €50 and stretch from €0 to €263.09. Money held on a card is money a traveller cannot spend, and some are released only once the vehicle is back, so the deposit belongs next to the rate in any comparison.
- What sits behind the counter
- Car rental is the product every brand in this table shares, at 100%. Hotels and packages follow at 73% and 51.7%, with transfers at 46.1%. A bundled trip is easier to change in a single place.
- Support that reaches a person
- Email, phone and a help centre carry the most weight in this category, at 78.8%, 81.2% and 81.2%, while live chat stands at 43.5%. Help also matters at a roadside counter with a broken-down car.
- Booking on a phone
- A mobile app is the norm rather than the exception, at 83.8%, and that matters most when a booking has to change. The app keeps the booking reference, the branch address and the phone number together at the moment they are needed.
- Reading the order
- Partner entries sit at the top of a ranking by rule, and this one lists 0 of them, so every position here is decided by score. Licensed providers, a common sight in telecom rankings, stand at 0 in car hire.
Frequently asked questions
Which brands charge no booking fee?+
WayAway lists booking fees as Free, no sign-up or ongoing fees, Air New Zealand as No booking fee online; contact centre fee applies, Air Canada Vacations as No booking fee; change fee from CAD $25 per person and Almosafer as Service fee, % of booking total, per passenger. Aer Lingus states EUR 20 direct booking fee, phone or airport. The wording matters, since an online booking, a direct booking and an airport desk booking can be priced differently, so the fee line is worth reading before the vehicle is chosen.
How flexible are car hire cancellations here?+
Flexibility varies widely. MoMo cancels automatically and needs no reason given, while American Express cancels and rebooks, with hotel penalties still applying. Air New Zealand sets cancellation fees by fare type, and Aer Lingus refunds as a voucher or in cash shortly before departure. ARA Tours Costa Rica keeps the full trip price once its cancellation window opens, and Air Canada Vacations steps a deposit up the closer the trip gets.
Do I need a mobile app to book a car?+
A mobile app is available from MoMo, WayAway, Aer Lingus, Air Canada Vacations, Air New Zealand, Almosafer and both American Express programmes, which matches the norm in this category at 83.8%. ARA Tours Costa Rica has no mobile app, so bookings and changes run through email, chat and phone instead. Phone, email and chat remain the fallback for everyone else.
What support can I expect after a problem with the car?+
Help centres carry the most weight here at 81.2%, with email and phone close behind at 78.8% and 81.2%. WayAway runs on email, chat and help centre with no phone line, while American Express uses phone and help centre alone. MoMo and Almosafer publish the widest sets at email, chat and phone and email, chat and phone.
How much deposit should I expect?+
Across the wider site, deposits have a median of €50 and run from €0 to €263.09. A deposit is a real cost of the rental, not a formality, because the money sits on a card while the car is out and some releases wait until the vehicle is returned without damage.
Is it better to book a car through an airline or a travel app?+
An airline bundles the car with the flight and sometimes the hotel, so a change of date can cover the whole trip, and Aer Lingus lists car rental beside parking and lounges in flights, hotels and packages. A travel app compares more of the travel mix at a stretch, with MoMo covering flights, rail and bus and WayAway covering flights, rail and bus. A card issuer programme folds the rental into card benefits instead, per flights, hotels and car rental, which adds transfers.
Ready to try Virgin Atlantic Holidays?
Ranked #1 of 10.
Top car rental and car hire compared by country
Related by the facts
Reviews
The data behind this ranking
| Metric | Value | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Products: flights | 65.2 % | 89 |
| Products: rail | 19.1 % | 89 |
| Products: bus | 11.2 % | 89 |
| Products: ferry | 4.5 % | 89 |
| Products: cruise | 24.7 % | 89 |
| Products: car-rental | 100 % | 89 |
| Products: transfers | 46.1 % | 89 |
| Products: parking | 10.1 % | 89 |
| Products: hotels | 73 % | 89 |
| Products: ota | 19.1 % | 89 |
| Products: packages | 51.7 % | 89 |
| Products: tours | 46.1 % | 89 |
| Products: rail-pass | 4.5 % | 89 |
| Products: hostels | 2.2 % | 89 |
| Products: lounges | 13.5 % | 89 |
