The cost of hiring the same car on your family holiday can vary by up to 245% depending on where you are in the world, according to new data from TravelSupermarket. Through analysis of enquiry data* for cars in the Compact, Economy and Mini categories (including cars such as the Ford Focus and the Fiat 500) in December, the research pinpoints exactly where countries all over the world fall on the car hire cost ladder.
| Position | Country | Avg. car hirecost per day |
| 1st | Greece | £32.29 |
| 2nd | Iceland | £30.37 |
| 3rd | Canada | £26.73 |
| 4th | France | £25.03 |
| 5th | Germany | £21.71 |
| 6th | South Africa | £17.83 |
| 7th | Morocco | £16.48 |
| 8th | Australia | £14.82 |
| 9th | Turkey | £14.54 |
| 10th | Poland | £14.34 |
| 11th | Italy | £14.14 |
| 12th | Portugal | £13.71 |
| 13th | United Kingdom | £13.60 |
| 14th | Croatia | £13.06 |
| 15th | Spain | £12.31 |
| 16th | Ireland | £10.90 |
| 17th | United Arab Emirates | £10.13 |
| 18th | New Zealand | £9.51 |
| 19th | Cyprus | £9.37 |
Most expensive countries for car hire ranked by cost per day
Costing 237% more per day than the UK, Greece was found to be the most expensive place to hire a car, at an average cost of £32.29 per day. This was closely followed by Iceland at £30.37 and Canada at £27.73 while popular European hotspots France and Germany round out the top five with costs of £25.03 and £21.71 respectively.
Costing 237% more per day than the UK, Greece was found to be the most expensive place to hire a car, at an average cost of £32.29 per day. This was closely followed by Iceland at £30.37 and Canada at £27.73 while popular European hotspots France and Germany round out the top five with costs of £25.03 and £21.71 respectively.
Britain was 13th most expensive on the list of countries analysed with an average cost of £13.60 and only six countries were found to have a lower average daily hire price than the UK. Cyprus comes in cheapest at £9.37 and New Zealand just behind as the least expensive non-European option at £9.51.
Spain, a firm holiday favourite for many Brits was found to be in the top five cheapest options, only costing an average of £12.31 per day, less than half the daily cost for car hire in France.
Interestingly, the United States, a summer holiday favourite was not amongst the most popular destinations for Brits looking to hire a car this month.
Most popular car hire searches for period Of December 2017*
| Position | City | Avg. carhire cost per day |
| 1st | Birmingham | £ 9.82 |
| 2nd | Belfast | £ 9.91 |
| 3rd | Glasgow | £ 11.72 |
| 4th | Cardiff | £ 13.29 |
| 5th | London | £ 14.97 |
| 6th | Londonderry | £ 16.12 |
Domestic car hire
The study also took a closer look at domestic costs and the price of hiring a car within the UK.
The study also took a closer look at domestic costs and the price of hiring a car within the UK.
Londonderry is the most expensive place in the UK to hire a car, beating out London by over 7%.
Hiring a car in the Northern Irish city will set Brits back £16.12 compared to £14.97 for the capital. This is clear contrast to England’s second biggest city, Birmingham, where the cost of hiring a car is just shy of a tenner at £9.82.
Keeping the plans on track
For Brits wanting to organise their car hire at a train station, London Bridge was found to be the most expensive option at just under £30, £10 more expensive than London’s King Cross (£19.86) and £12 more expensive than London St Pancras (£17.19).
For Brits wanting to organise their car hire at a train station, London Bridge was found to be the most expensive option at just under £30, £10 more expensive than London’s King Cross (£19.86) and £12 more expensive than London St Pancras (£17.19).
| Position | Station | Avg car hirecost per day |
| 1st | London Bridge | £ 29.81 |
| 2nd | London Fields | £ 27.49 |
| 3rd | London Marylebone | £ 25.97 |
| 4th | London Waterloo | £ 23.55 |
| 5th | Glasgow Queen Street | £ 20.22 |
| 6th | London King's Cross | £ 19.68 |
| 7th | Glasgow Prestwick Airport Railway | £ 18.51 |
| 8th | Cardiff Bay | £ 17.65 |
| 9th | Cardiff Queen Street | £ 17.46 |
| 10th | London St Pancras | £ 17.19 |
| 11th | London Euston | £ 16.52 |
| 12th | Birmingham Snow Hill | £ 16.51 |
| 13th | London Victoria | £ 14.70 |
| 14th | Birmingham Moor Street | £ 14.11 |
| 15th | Birmingham New Street | £ 13.99 |
| 16th | London Paddington | £ 12.90 |
| 17th | Cardiff Central | £ 12.19 |
| 18th | Birmingham International | £ 9.34 |
| 19th | Glasgow Central | £ 9.31 |
| 20th | Belfast Central | £ 7.64 |
The cheapest station analysed in in the capital was found to be London Paddington at £12.90 with only four other stations across the UK coming in a cheaper price (Cardiff Central, Birmingham Central, Glasgow Central and Belfast Central).
TravelSupermarket’s spokesperson, Emma Grimster commented, “Hiring a car either abroad, or in the UK can give you great flexibility to explore a new area, or reach new destinations.
“Wherever you plan to hire a car, it is always worth planning ahead and booking your vehicle in advance of your departure. Not only will you get a better price than on arrival in the vast majority of cases, you will also have peace of mind that your car type of choice is confirmed and available.”
“The good news is that our data shows there are some great bargains to be had in the likes of Spain, Cyprus and even the UK if you plan it right.”
“The good news is that our data shows there are some great bargains to be had in the likes of Spain, Cyprus and even the UK if you plan it right.”
