Renting from certain rental car companies is always a better value than renting from others. The list below attempts to rank the rental car companies in terms of the value they provide leisure renters. To compile the list, I use my experience and the average price for various rentals that were priced through each company.
Budget Car Rental
A Great Value - Best Discount Code Availability
I tend to prefer renting from Budget over all of the others. Budget is everywhere, the prices are great, the service is solid, and additional discounts can easily be found. Savings of up to 30% are available from membership and awards programs, plus discount codes are available from a number of online sources. Though the standard prices are some of the lowest in the industry, remember to never rent from Budget without finding one of the readily available discount codes.
Dollar Car Rental
A Great Value
Savings up to 10% are available from membership and awards programs, plus discount codes are available from a number of online sources. The same company owns dollar and Thrifty, so their pricing structure is very similar. Standard rental prices are among the cheapest in the industry. Though additional discounts are generally not more than 10%, the low standard rental rates make renting from Dollar a great value.
Thrifty Car Rental
A Great Value - Very Similar to Dollar
Savings up to 10% are available from membership and awards programs, plus discount codes available from a number of online sources. The same company owns dollar and Thrifty, but Thrifty seems to be a little more expensive. I stress the word little. Standard rental prices are among the cheapest in the industry.
Enterprise Car Rental
A Very Good Value - Can Sometimes Be Cheaper Than The Three Just Mentioned
Over the years I have often found the best deals at Enterprise, however for this analysis Enterprise prices are slightly above the four I just mentioned. You can't go wrong renting from Enterprise, because the service and car selection are quite solid. Enterprise Holdings owns Enterprise, National, and Alamo. Enterprise seems to be the cheapest of the three.
Avis Car Rental
Good Value - Good Discount Code Availability
I like Avis because of there service, but the prices range around the middle of the industry. Savings up to 20% are available from membership and awards programs. Discount codes are readily available from a number of online and offline sources.
Zip Car
Good Value - Best Value for Hourly Renting
Technically not a rental car company, but it functions as something very similar to one. Frequent renters can also qualify for discounted pricing. Zip Car is a great value for renters that need to rent for less than a day. If you only need a few hours rates can be as low as $7 per hour. Daily and weekend rental prices are competitive with large rental car companies.
Alamo Car Rental
Lower Value
Savings up to 15% are available from membership and awards programs. Discount codes available from a number of online sources. Owned by Enterprise Holdings, Alamo is focused on providing value to leisure renters. Even with this focus standard rental rates are still above industry average. Regardless of the deals you are able to get, renting from Alamo is generally not as good a value as renting from Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise, Dollar, or Avis.
National Car Rental
Lowest Value - Better Value for Business Renters
Savings up to 15% are available from membership and awards programs. Discount codes available from a number of online sources. Also, owned by Enterprise Holdings, National focuses more on business renters. Standard rental rates are above industry average. Like Alamo, regardless of the deal you are able to get, renting from National is generally not as good a value as renting from Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise, Dollar, or Avis.
Hertz Car Rental
Lowest Value - Better Value for Business Renters
Though standard prices are at the top of the industry, savings up to 15% and more are available from multiple membership and awards programs. Hertz tends to focuses on business renters over leisure renters, thus the better values and perks seem to be geared more toward the business end. Standard Hertz rental prices are the most expensive in the industry, so if you are not a business or preferred customer renting from Hertz is generally not as good a value as renting from the others.
