How Much it Costs to Rent a Car in Las Vegas (Low to High)

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After spending countless hours comparing rental car rates in Las Vegas, I was able to find the companies that consistently offered the lowest prices.

The average compact car rental in Las Vegas costs between $50-$80 a day when including taxes and fees. A full-sized vehicle will run you about $60-$90 per day. Most companies will also put a $200-$300 refundable hold on your card as a security deposit.

To find the absolute best rental car prices, you’re going to have to do some digging. Fortunately, I did the research for you. This article will give you a good idea of what to expect and what companies are have the best prices.

Where’s the Cheapest Place to Rent a Car in Las Vegas

There are so many rental companies to choose from it can get overwhelming. So before we dive into some numbers, let’s look at the conclusions.

Conclusion #1: 3rd Party travel website offer the best prices.

I was shocked when I found out that 3rd party travel websites, like Priceline and Expedia, are almost always cheaper than booking with a rental company directly. They are cheaper because they offer “opaque deals.” This means that they don’t tell you which company you booked until after you pay.

Conclusion #2: Non-airport offices have the lowest prices.

By narrowing your search criteria to non-airport offices, you’ll find lower prices. Just avoid rental car offices located inside of hotels on the Strip. Hotel locations usually have the highest overall prices.

Conclusion #3: Renting from the airport is the most convenient option.

No one wants to take a 20 minute taxi ride to the rental car office after sitting on a plane for a couple hours. Renting directly at McCarran Airport isn’t going to get you the best price, but it’s the most convenient location to rent a car. Just know that the rates are about 20% higher.

Rental Car Prices at McCarran International Airport Las Vegas

First, let’s compare prices at the airport locations since that’s where most people will be picking up their car. The rates in the tables below are for a 3-day rental in December of 2021. To make sure these prices weren’t just an anomaly, I also checked them against rates from previous months.

Compact Car Rates at the Airport

Compact cars are generally the cheapest cars that you can rent. An example of a compact car would be a Nissan Versa or a Hyundai Accent. Most of these cars have 4 doors and can fit 5 people, but it’s pretty tight.

The rates in the table below are listed from lowest to highest.

CompanyPrice (Prepay)Price (Pay on arrival)
Priceline$155.15
Avis$164.97$209.97
Hotwire$166.74
Budget$176.30$189.57
NU Car Rentals$193.02$201.76
Advantage$194.72
Expedia$205.23
Orbitz$205.23
SIXT$212.13$231.99
Dollar$218.10$283.37
Hertz$224.89$292.42
Payless$229.15$239.97
Thrifty$237.64$261.59
Alamo$270.16$283.30
Enterprise $292.38
National$313.30

**The rates above include all taxes and fees. Every rental car company has a set of mandatory fees including: a concession recovery fee (10%), state government fee (10%), vehicle license fee and a facility fee.

Priceline had the cheapest rates at the airport, but you don’t get to pick the company. It only tells you after you book.

For direct rentals at the airport, I found that Avis had the cheapest prepay rates for compact cars. Their prepay rate was nearly $50 cheaper than their pay on arrival prices. If you would prefer to pay on arrival, then Budget has a better price.

When comparing prices it’s important to look at the total cost for the rental instead of the per day rate. In the example above, Dollar was showing rates of $46/day for 3 day ($138), however the total came out to be $218 when you included taxes and fees. That’s a difference of $80 in taxes in fees!

Full-Sized Car Rates at the Airport

If you’re looking for a more comfortable ride, I recommend renting a full-sized car. An example of a full-sized vehicle would be a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.

These vehicles have more leg room than a compact car, which is important if you plan on taking a long day trip.

CompanyPrice (Prepay)Price (Pay on arrival)
Priceline$158.10
Hotwire$167.28
Avis$188.97$209.97
Budget$189.72 $204
Expedia$201.89
SIXT$216.18$231.99
Orbitz$220.70
Thrifty$248.21$273.31
Dollar$249.56$299.45
Hertz$256.99$298.42
Payless$267.15$279.96
Enterprise$321.20
National$443.20

Once again, Priceline had the cheapest overall rate at the airport, although you aren’t able to see the company until after you book.

Avis had the cheapest prepay rates for directly rentals, but not by much. Budget was slightly cheaper for the pay on arrival option.

Advantage and NU Car Rentals were left off the list because they didn’t have anything in the full-size class available.

Rental Car Prices for Non-Airport Locations in Las Vegas

Now let’s look at some prices for the non-airport locations. Rates at these locations are often cheaper than the McCarran Rental Car Center. These are the absolute best prices for rental car in Las Vegas.

Compact Car Rates at Non-Airport Locations

CompanyPrice (Prepay)Price (Pay on arrival)
Priceline$137.09$169.74
Hotwire$137.09
Expedia$137.09
Orbitz$137.09
Hertz$137.10$169.74
Dollar$149.70$174.98
Avis$153.87$161.97
SIXT$161.42 $182.47
ACE$173.36
Enterprise$174.98
Budget$181.35$195
Fox$209.54$215.78

Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia, Orbitz and Hertz all come back with the same prices for non-airport locations (all the 3rd party websites cited Hertz as the supplier). This makes a lot of sense since Hertz has the 2nd most rental car locations of any company in Las Vegas.

Full-Size Car Rates at Non-Airport Locations

CompanyPrice (Prepay)Price (Pay on arrival)
Priceline$146.38
Hotwire$153.24
Hertz$153.89$190.76
ACE$157.52
SIXT$164.72 $186.22
Dollar$168.13$196.65
Avis$170.97$179.97
Enterprise$196.65
Expedia$196.65
Orbitz$196.65
Fox$190.63$196.29
Budget$223.20$240

Once more, Priceline had the lowest rates for full-sized vehicles. However, Hertz wasn’t too far behind. If you prefer to pay for you rental on arrival, ACE ended up being the cheapest options.

Cost of Renting a Car at the Airport vs Non-Airport Locations

Depending on which company you go with, you can save a lot of money by booking at a non-airport location (as called neighborhood offices). For example, renting a compact car through Hertz is about $80 cheaper when you book at a neighborhood office. However, the price discrepancy isn’t as large for all companies.

Rates for Priceline and Avis are only about $20 cheaper when booking at a non-airport location. The $20 you save will have to be used to pay for a taxi or Uber ride to get to the neighborhood office. So you might as well just stick with the more convenient airport location.

Las Vegas Rental Car Prices on 3rd Party Travel Websites

It’s pretty clear that online travel agents are cheaper than booking directly. So I decided to compare them head-to-head to see which one was the really the cheapest. The table below is a comparison of compact car rates at the airport.

WebsitePrice
Priceline$155.15
Hotwire$166.74
Rentalcars.com$204.87
Expedia$205.23
Orbitz$205.23

Then with the same dates, I also looked at prices for full-sized cars.

WebsitePrice
Priceline$158.10
Hotwire$167.28
Rentalcars.com$199.46
Expedia$210.89
Orbitz$220.70

Priceline clearly had the lowest rates, followed by Hotwire. Their rates are consistently 20% cheaper than the other companies.

Expedia, Orbitz and Rentalcars.com were only comparable to Priceline and Hotwire for compact cars at non-airport locations (all of the travel agencies had the same rates for that criteria).

You may have noticed that Kayak wasn’t included in these comparisons. That’s because Kayak is different from the other online travel websites. They search for the best price and just redirect to another company. In most cases they were just redirecting to Priceline and Hotwire.

Renting a Compact Car vs a Full-Size Car

Compact cars are a tight for for an average-sized person. Even standard or mid-sized cars can make taller passengers feel cramped.

Fortunately, full-sized cars don’t cost too much more than a compact car. When booking through Priceline or Hotwire, upgrading to a full-sized car costs less than $10 in most cases.

It’s always better to go with a full-sized car when you can. If you’re taking a daytrip to the Grand Canyon or Zion National park, you’re definitely going to appreciate the extra leg room. (If your looking for some fun places to take a day trip near Las Vegas, check out the article I wrote here).

Rental Car Prices at Las Vegas Hotels

Car rentals at hotels usually cost more than at the airport, although they can occasionally offer good deals. To get the best rate at a hotel office, it’s best to compare prices on one of the online travel agency websites.

I recommend going on Priceline and setting the location to the entire city of Las Vegas. When they give you the list of all of the prices, you’ll be able to see the office address next to the company name. Anything on Las Vegas Boulevard is an office that is located inside one of the hotels on the Strip.

Just know that these offices are really popular and sell out of inventory more quickly. It isn’t uncommon for them to increase prices due to vehicle shortages.

Do Rental Cars Get Cheaper Closer to the Date?

While doing research for this article, I checked the the prices for each rental company multiple times over the course of several weeks. I found that rates usually do get cheaper the closer to you get the reservation date.

The quotes that I used for this article were taken about 2.5 weeks out from the pick up date. I saw some prices drop about $20-$30 on average from the week prior.

But remember, if you book too late, you run the risk of a location running out of inventory for the car you want. The easiest thing to do is book your rental car at the same time as your flight and hotel. The prices aren’t going to move too much, and it will save you the effort of continually checking prices.

Rental Car Companies Will Put a Hold on Your Card

When figuring out the total cost for your rental car, remember that most companies will put a 15%-25% hold on your card when you pick up the vehicle. This serves as a security deposit in the event something were to happen to the car. You’ll get that money back once you return the vehicle, but this may affect your travel budget.

Price isn’t everything. A cheap rental typically isn’t worth it if you have to stand in line for several hours just to get your car. To avoid issues like this, check out this post comparing the best rental car companies at Las Vegas airport.