The 8 best car rental apps for business and leisure travelers

1 year ago 325

Between the rental car shortage, already-inflated state prices, and accrued request owed to the pandemic, car rental services person gotten much costly (and hard to find) implicit the past fewer years. 

Whether you’re traveling for leisure oregon business, determination are inactive a fewer ways to find large deals connected rental cars. One of the easiest is to usage an app that shows you a afloat database of disposable car rental agencies to assistance you comparison and prime the champion ones for your trip. 

In this article, we’ll interruption down the champion car rental apps for some concern and leisure travelers, based connected pricing, availability, flexibility, question absorption tools (for concern travelers) and more. 

To amended comparison each of these inexpensive car rental apps, we searched each app for a 3-day midweek rental successful Chicago, IL for dates 2 weeks retired from the clip of writing. We’ve included examination details for these searches wrong each section. 

Best wide car rental app for concern travel: TravelPerk 

For concern travelers, TravelPerk is the champion wide car rental app. As 1 of the fewer car rental apps that caters straight to concern travelers, TravelPerk has each of the features and solutions you request to marque concern question seamless and stress-free. 

Not lone does TravelPerk connection the widest enactment of firm rentals and rates, but it’s a user-friendly, all-in-one level that allows concern travelers and question managers to book car rentals, flights, accommodation and more. Teams tin besides negociate question itineraries, costs, concern expenses, VAT refunds and truthful on. 

Speaking of VAT, companies who publication done TravelPerk person entree to their VAT betterment solution, helping you prevention up to 25% of your yearly question fund for question passim Europe. 

Key Features: 

  • Book, negociate and study connected concern question and expenses all successful 1 platform—seamlessly link your car rental to your different concern question plans. 
  • Access the largest worldwide corporate inventory for car rentals, with companies similar Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, National, Sixt and more. Plus, with exclusive rates, you tin get the champion deals each time.
  • 24/7 lawsuit support provides assistance for you oregon your employees successful an mean of 15 seconds. 
  • Get 80% of the outgo backmost for canceled trips with FlexiPerk, without worrying astir idiosyncratic cancellation policies. 

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $47.60 / day, for an estimated full of $142,81 for the full rental period. 

What’s Included: 

  • 3-day rental for a midsize sedan 
  • insurance and liability protection
  • cancellation policy
  • unlimited mileage
  • VAT betterment solution 

Best wide car rental app for leisure travel: Priceline 

If you’re traveling for pleasance alternatively than business, Priceline is hard to bushed for the champion car rental options. Priceline’s extended network, including rental car companies similar Avis, Alamo, Hertz, Enterprise and more, sets it isolated successful presumption of easiness and affordability. 

Priceline is an online question bureau that helps you find inexpensive car rentals done metasearch capabilities—that is, searching galore car rental brands and booking websites astatine once and delivering the results to you successful aggregated results. With truthful galore options, you tin easy benignant and filter by policies that substance astir to you. In addition, they connection exclusive deals and bundle options truthful you tin publication your car rental successful operation with your airfare oregon edifice to prevention adjacent more.  

Key Features: 

  • Express Deals let you to prevention up to 40% disconnected database prices by booking an “unbranded” rental car. You’ll find retired the marque of the rental car aft the booking is complete. 
  • Book your car + edifice unneurotic for further savings.
  • Sort and filter results based connected your rental and argumentation needs. 

Sample Pricing: 

Rates started astir $25/day for car rentals, for a full rental terms of astir $140 for the trip. The cheapest car rental effect for our hunt was an Express Deal for a rental car from Ace, Economy oregon Fox, but determination were 15+ car rental brands included successful the results. 

What’s Included: 

  • Mid-sized sedan 
  • Unlimited mileage 
  • Airport shuttle to rental car pickup location 

Best car rental app for regular, short-term rentals: Zipcar 

If you regularly request a rental car—whether for driving to conscionable clients astir the city, taking play roadworthy trips oregon conscionable getting much supplies for the office—Zipcar is the champion mode to get inexpensive short-term car rentals connected a regular ground and a great alternate to ride-sharing apps similar Uber and Lyft

Zipcar operates connected a rank model, truthful each users wage either $9/mo. oregon $90/annually for a membership. From there, rates commencement astir $11/hour for thrust time. 

Key Features: 

  • Located successful astir large metro areas successful the US (currently 500+ cities).
  • Everything’s included—insurance, gas, roadside assistance, and more.
  • On-demand rentals from the Zipcar app.
  • Rentals are parked astatine assorted Zipcar locations astir the city—get speedy rentals without having to thrust to the airport.
  • Additional savings for concern accounts makes Zipcar an casual enactment for on-demand “company cars.” 

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $83/day, for an estimated full of $249 for the full travel period. While Zipcar is decidedly 1 of the cheapest options for speedy trips, its regular rates tin beryllium higher than different options. 

What’s Included: 

  • Insurance for each trips 
  • Gas (as needed) 
  • 180 miles per time ($0.58 per mile aft that)
  • On-demand rental system, with hourly (instead of daily) rates 

Best peer-to-peer car rental app: Turo 

Turo is simply a peer-to-peer car sharing app that lets you rent cars straight from car owners successful your city—like Airbnb, but for cars. Two large benefits? Flexibility and outgo savings. Renting a car done Turo is often overmuch cheaper than renting done a accepted platform. 

Turo is peculiarly convenient if you’re not heading to an airdrome during your trip. Since it’s a peer-to-peer service, you’ll typically prime up your car rental astatine a determination astir the city. In immoderate cases, you tin adjacent person the car delivered to you for a fee. 

Key Features: 

  • Cheaper prices than accepted car rental companies. 
  • Lots of last-minute (same-day oregon next-day) availability. 
  • Availability successful 7,500+ cities crossed the US, Canada and the UK. 
  • Discounts for extended trips (7+ days oregon 30+ days)
  • Cars located passim the city, arsenic opposed to a azygous pickup location.

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $27/day, for an estimated full of $82 for the full rental period. This was the cheapest car rental enactment we recovered for our search.  

What’s Included: 

  • 3-day car rental for a midsize sedan
  • Basic security + liability protection 
  • Free cancellation up to 24 hours earlier the trip 
  • Up to 600 miles (additional miles billed astatine 0.14c/mile) 

Best car rental app for flexibility: Getaround 

Particularly for leisure travelers, it’s pugnacious to bushed the flexibility of Getaround. Getaround is simply a peer-to-peer car rental app, akin to Turo. While Getaround’s hunt and booking UI isn’t arsenic intuitive arsenic Turo’s is, they bash connection much flexibility than Turo (and astir accepted platforms). 

As a peer-sharing platform, it doesn’t connection each the “perks” associated with accepted car rental platforms. For example, galore newer cars (2018+) connected Getaround complaint premium rates, overmuch much than you would wage for a akin car with a accepted rental company. However, if you don’t caput driving an older model, you tin people immoderate fantabulous deals. 

Key Features: 

  • Ability to publication a car hourly alternatively than by the day—only wage for the clip you truly need.
  • Save wealth by booking older cars. 
  • Available successful 300+ US cities and much worldwide. 
  • Lots of last-minute booking options via their iPhone and Android apps. 
  • Cars are located astir the city, truthful you tin find 1 adjacent you.

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $4.50 / hour, for an estimated full of $100 for the rental period. 

What’s Included: 

  • 3-day rental for a basal midsize sedan 
  • No fees for cancellation made astatine slightest 24 hours earlier your rental 
  • Up to 200 miles per 24-hour play (so our illustration travel would person up to 600 miles included) 
  • Basic (limited) security protection, with the enactment to acquisition further insurance 

Best car rental for European travel: Europcar 

With implicit 3,000 locations crossed Europe and worldwide and regular discounts for fashionable locations, Europcar is simply a large enactment for travelers looking for cheap rental cars successful Europe from a reliable provider. 

Europcar besides offers solutions for concern travelers specified arsenic question absorption tools, contactless cardinal pickup for faster check-in, self-service tools and further discounts.

Key Features: 

  • Privilege members prevention astatine slightest 10% disconnected each rentals betwixt 3-21 days successful magnitude and tin gain points towards escaped rentals.
  • Fewer fees than different accepted rental car brands. 
  • Online check-in via the Europcar app allows you to prevention clip astatine the antagonistic and commencement your abrogation adjacent faster!
  • Additional discounts and hassle-free check-in for concern travelers.

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $68/day, for an estimated travel full of astir $204. 

What’s Included: 

  • Midsize sedan 
  • Unlimited mileage
  • Basic liability and security protection 
  • All operator fees 
  • VAT recovery

Best car rental app for predominant flyers: Hertz 

If you’re connected the roadworthy often, Hertz is 1 of the champion rental car apps for you. 

Not lone bash they connection inexpensive car rentals and an extended network, but their rank programme allows you to gain points towards escaped car rentals, escaped upgrades, predominant flyer miles (for participating airlines) and more. Membership is free, truthful it’s perfectly worthy joining if you question and rent cars frequently.

As a accepted car rental brand, Hertz besides has car rental locations astatine the bulk of large US airports, truthful you tin hop disconnected the level and deed the roadworthy ASAP—no managing pickups astatine your edifice oregon different secondary locations. 

Key Features: 

  • 8,500+ locations worldwide. 
  • Best Rate Guarantee—they’ll terms lucifer if you find a cheaper Hertz car rental terms connected immoderate different tract too theirs. 
  • Gold Plus Rewards programme lets you gain rewards with each rental. 
  • Speedy pickup and dropoff utilizing their mobile app—skip the enactment astatine the counter!

Sample Pricing: 

Rates for our hunt started astatine $65/day, for an estimated full of $272 for the rental period. 

What’s Included: 

  • Standard sized electrical vehicle 
  • Unlimited miles
  • Free cancellation for the archetypal 24 hours aft booking 
  • Basic liability and security sum (in immoderate states) 

Best car rental app for comparing options: Kayak  

Kayak is simply a third-party hunt aggregator that searches some nonstop booking platforms arsenic good arsenic different third-party sites to springiness you arsenic galore options arsenic possible. 

Since Kayak is aggregating truthful galore results, you tin easy filter and find the close car for you. For example, you could benignant your hunt by rental brand, car options, argumentation options (such arsenic unlimited mileage oregon escaped cancellation), pickup determination and more. 

Once you’ve recovered your perfect car rental, you tin comparison prices for that car crossed assorted sites, specified arsenic the nonstop supplier and different OTAs, and past determine wherever to marque your booking.  

Key Features: 

  • Wide web of some rental car and booking options—you’re bound to find thing that works for you. 
  • Price alerts notify you if the terms drops. 
  • Search and comparison crossed aggregate booking sites astatine erstwhile to find the champion deal. 
  • See non-traditional options, similar Turo and commercialized conveyance options, close wrong the hunt results.

Sample Pricing: 

Rates started astir $40/day for a full of $115 for the full travel period. The cheapest accepted marque recovered was Routes Car Rental.

What’s Included: 

  • Free cancellation for up to 48 hours anterior to the rental 
  • Unlimited escaped in-state mileage 
  • Airport pickup options 
  • Insurance policies and further fees tin alteration based connected rental car brand—check successful beforehand what volition beryllium required earlier booking

The station The 8 champion car rental apps for concern and leisure travelers appeared archetypal connected TravelPerk.

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