Last Updated on May 1, 2023
We have searched around the internet for the best places to rent cars and have found ten sites for you to lookup.
You will have a brief description, pros, and cons of them as well. After going through this list, you will be a car rental expert. .
If you are looking for something bigger than a car like a minivan or even a truck, do not worry. There are plenty of options here with a diverse range of vehicles for you to choose from.
So, before you make a decision, here are the best ten places to rent a car.
1. Enterprise.com
There was no other way to start this list. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is agreed to be one of the best -if not the best- car rental companies in the world.
It does not only have locations in the U.S. but Canada and all-over European countries as well.
It has a wide selection of vehicles for you to choose from. It ranges from four-door cars to bigger SUVs if you want the space.
And if you are traveling with an even bigger group you can get a minivan if you wish to do so, but you will have to call in advance just to be sure.
If you are traveling by plane and need the car after you land, Enterprise will send a car to pick you up and take you to the nearest rental location.
They also have a free to join rewards program. If you are planning to do business with Enterprise more than once, it is a great opportunity to take. The problem with these guys is that they are a little bit more expensive than the usual company.
Pros: Company locations in most major cities. Huge car selection. Pick up service for non-airport company locations. Rewards program
Cons: Higher rental cost.
2. Hertz.com
With a similar business model to Enterprise, Hertz places itself above the rest of the other companies and websites and the cost of renting from them is above as well.
Hertz has over 1600 locations in the U.S. and one of the biggest car selections in the world.
They not only have regular cars for your holiday or business trip average ride. They also have a more exotic line section filled with hybrid cars and luxury cars if you want an unforgettable experience. They went as far as creating their very own Mustang Hertz, the baby of a Hertz and Ford collaboration.
If you are renting a car for a holiday trip, Hertz will allow you to opt into a great “NeverLost” program.
They will provide you with a GPS, city guides, a trip planner and a concierge service.
You should take advantage of their reward system as well. As stated, they are similar to Enterprise when it comes to their rates. It is slightly below than them when it comes to daily rates. But it is probably the best option for a holiday trip.
Pros: Biggest car selection including luxury cars and their unique vehicle. NeverLost program including a wide variety of services for your holiday trip.
Cons: One of the most expensive options out there.
3. Alamo.com
Of course, not everyone is looking for luxury cars. Most people can’t -or prefer not to- spend a lot of money on daily fares to get a car to drive around.
And here’s where Alamo takes a dent on the competition. It can get from 5% to 15% cheaper to rent from Alamo than most of the other places.
They also offer an extra free day if you are a teacher member of the National Education Association when you rent for over five days.
Even though most Alamo locations are near an airport, if you find yourself doing business with a non-airport location, they will send their shuttle service to pick you up.
But the highest point of the Alamo experience is their customer service.
That’s where Alamo makes a difference, with a positive experience on a day to day basis with their customers.
The problem dealing with the lower end of the pricing range is that their cars might not be as good as the competition.
It might not be that different, but it is something to take into account.
Pros: Cheaper rates. Great customer service. Teacher discount.
Cons: Lower end vehicles. Not as many locations around.
4. Nationalcar.com
National Car Rental has a career trained staff that will help you and manage to get out of most situations you might have with your rented car.
Even though they have fewer locations than most, they have a huge range of cars from small cars to minivans. The problem with their car selection is the lack of variety. They have no hybrid cars or luxury cars. If you decide to opt-out of the deal with them, their cancellation fees are far less strict than most.
But to make the best out of a deal with National Car Rental is if you or your company is going to make a business trip.
A company can arrange with National to have their employees order at a rate instead of the infamous premium for last-minute rental services. They also have a unique system where you can use your air miles or hotel points from several places to rent cars.
Pros: Specially suited for business trips. Great customer service. Fewer cancellation fees.
Cons: Less range of cars. Fewer Locations. Some bad reviews.
5. Avis.com
Avis is by far the most expensive rental car service on this list.
They also have the most company locations in the world.
While they are an expensive option without a doubt, they also offer a wide range of discounts where you can drop the price a little bit.
Even though they have the most locations all over the world -not only in the U.S.- they have an amazing pickup service whether you are renting near an airport or not.
They have an amazing rewards program that will reward you with points for every dollar you make, with no exceptions.
But the best thing that Avis offers, and most unique by far, is their very own cellphone app. With it, you can make, manage and finish your car rental reservation. It is a game-changer for sure.
And there is one thing where Avis is the cheapest option. They have the lowest fee when it comes to choosing an additional driver, so it is not all bad in Avis pricing after all.
Pros: Biggest set of locations in the world. Pick up service guaranteed. Very easy to use a cellphone app.
Cons: Most expensive of them all.
6. Budget.com
If Budget Car Rental does one thing, it is staying true to their name. It is not enough for Budget to offer one of the lowest rates in the car rental business, they also offer a huge variety of discounts, probably the biggest of them all. For example, if you decide to pay when you make the reservation, you will get %35 off the price right there.
It is amazing. For certain cars, you might get a free third day if you opt to choose for a weekend reservation.
They also have a lot of cars for you to choose from. Not only from normal four-door cars to SUVs, or from hybrids cars to convertible cars but trucks as well.
The main problem that Budget suffers is its customer service. If customer service is one of those things that are on the top of your list when it comes to choosing a car rental company, you might want to skip this one altogether. It could be a price to pay for a cheap service.
Pros: Very cheap. A lot of discounts. It offers a lot of cars, even trucks.
Cons: Poor customer service.
7. Dollar.com
Dollar Car Rental fights toe to toe with Budget when it comes to cheap prices. And Dollar might be the winner of this match. It probably has one of the cheapest -if not the cheapest- rates in the car rental service.
One would expect a small range of car variety, but that could not be furthest away from the truth.
They offer a wide selection as the expensive guys out there. Ranging from basic cars to SUVs for your bigger needs and they even offer pickups.
Even though they don’t have the discounts that Budget may offer, they have a huge reward system and are specifically targeting the business travel side of the car rental service, offering multiple perks in their business trip program.
And just like Budget, they suffer greatly when it comes to customer service. If you are looking for a friendly car rental service, this might not be a good fit.
Pros: The cheapest rates of them all. Wide variety of cars. Great for business trips.
Cons: Poor customer service reviews. Not many discounts.
8. AutoRentals.com
If you can’t choose between one rental car company or the other, do not worry! There are plenty of websites that mash them all together to pick the best deals that are currently going on, according to what you need.
AutoRentals.com is not a rental company per se but chooses from over 20 different places for you to select the best deal available. All you have to do is write down where you are going to need the car, when and the specifics of the vehicle. It is the friendliest way to search for a car online.
One of the problems, of course, is that you are limiting yourself to the sources AutoRental.com chooses, instead of going through the different sites and picking the best option yourself. It has also been reported that some of the deals shown on the website are not accurate. Sometimes taxes and fees are not shown on the site. And sometimes, cancellations are not available.
Pros: One site search for over 20 places for you to rent. Quick and easy.
Cons: Sometimes the full price is not shown. It is a third-party search engine and not a direct company.
9. Priceline.com
Just like AutoRentals.com, Priceline offers you a web search among many different sources in one place.
The difference Priceline has is that it will not just find you a car, but can fix your whole trip altogether.
It offers hotels, flights, a hotel plus flight package, cars even cruises. If you do not have any specifics just yet and you are just starting to plan your trip, Priceline might be the best place to start.
Beware of Priceline as they offer what is called opaque rates. An opaque rate is a name for a service package that will not tell you the car rental company that is being used until you pay the non-refundable price.
To put it plain and simple, you don’t know who you are dealing with until you pay for it.
The trade-off is you will be shown the lowest rates in Priceline.
Pros: You can get the full package for your holiday trip here. Lowest rates from car rental search engines.
Cons: Opaque rates.
10. Expedia.com
Similar to both AutoRentals.com and Priceline.com, Expedia offers to search among different places for the best fit for your car needs.
You can also join your air travel, hotel, and car needs and bundle them all together for the best overall price.
Unlike Priceline, Expedia does not deal with opaque rates when it comes to cars. This site also matches, or near matches, the lowest prices that AutoRentals and Priceline have to offer.
Pros: Bundle package option. Easy to use search engine.
Cons: Might not give you the lowest prices all the time, unlike AutoRentals or Priceline.
Companies mentioned here are mentioned from 3rd party writers personal experience. They’ve also looked into trustpilot reviews and customer feedback from Google Reviews. We advice you do your own due dilligence before selecting a car rental hire. We don’t directly endorse any specific company here.
