Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport?

Many travelers are unsure if renting a car at the airport is more expensive due to added fees and convenience surcharges. While airport rentals often have extra charges included in the displayed price, the question is: Are airports actually cheaper than renting elsewhere in the city?

Short answer: Yes, renting a car at the airport is generally cheaper in most cities.

Although this may seem surprising considering that car rental companies have extra charges at the airport, airport locations often benefit from larger fleets and fierce competition between rental companies, keeping the prices more competitive. However, prices can still vary depending on the destination and travel dates, which is why comparing all offers is crucial to saving money and finding a car that best fits your travel plans.

In this article, we analyzed the average price per day for airport and non-airport pickup locations to see which location type is cheaper. The prices used in our comparison already include any airport fees or supplier charges shown at checkout. In other words, these are the final rental prices customers see and pay for the car itself per day (excluding extras such as insurance or add-ons).

Renting in Airport vs Outside the airport - Which is the cheapest?

When comparing average daily rental prices across different pickup locations, airport rentals are the most affordable option overall.

The average price across non-airport locations (downtown, railway station, and port) is €46.98 per day, while the airport average stands at €39.19 per day.

That means renting outside the airport (downtown, railway station, port) is, on average, €7.79 more expensive per day, or roughly 20% higher than airport rentals.

Looking at each location individually:

• Downtown locations are about 11.1% more expensive than airports.

• Railway station locations are about 21.8% more expensive than airports.

• Port locations are about 26.8% more expensive than airports.
  
  

Overall, the data clearly shows that airport rentals offer the lowest average daily price among all location types analyzed.

Airports where car rentals are significantly cheaper than city locations

After analyzing the price differences in popular destinations, it is still true that the majority of the airports are much cheaper. We compiled data where across 20 popular destinations, airport rentals are between €14 and €27 per day cheaper than city locations. We sorted this list by biggest savings per day:

The largest savings per day in airports appear in Honolulu (€26.58), Munich (€26.45), and London (€24.36). A lot of these destinations are European, and even in the more pricier cities, airports have the advantage. Overall, the data confirms that airport pickups are usually much cheaper in the airports. 

Popular locations where airport rentals are more expensive

While airport rentals in general are most often cheaper in many destinations, the opposite is true in several cities where non-airport destinations like the downtown are cheaper. See the most popular destinations where it is cheaper to rent a car from non-airports:

Canberra has the largest difference, with city rentals averaging €13.62 per day less than airport options. Frankfurt and Nantes also demonstrate noticeable price gaps, with airport rentals costing €6-€9 more per day. Even in major markets such as Paris, Amsterdam, and Buenos Aires, travelers can save between €3 and €5 per day by choosing a city-center pickup instead of the airport. Although the differences are generally smaller than in destinations where airports are cheaper, the data shows that location choice can still meaningfully affect total rental costs.

Why airport car rentals are often cheaper?

Airports are often cheaper for a simple reason - supply and demand is much higher. Because the majority of car rental bookings happen at airports, companies place a much larger number of vehicles there compared to downtown or station branches. This higher availability, combined with strong competition since many brands operate side by side, allows airports to consistently offer better average prices in most cities.

As a result, airports in most cities analyzed tend to offer lower average prices than downtown, railway station, or port locations.

How to find the cheapest car rental location?

When comparing prices, it’s often better to search for the entire city rather than selecting a specific pickup point like the airport, downtown, railway station, or port. A broader search allows you to see all available locations at once and quickly compare prices between all pickup locations. 

This way users will be able to find the best deal and not worry about searching multiple pickup locations. With our search engine, you can easily compare airport and city-center options side by side, filter cars, and choose the rental that best fits your budget and travel plans.