Car Rental by the Hour: 5 Companies to Choose From

The ability to rent a vehicle by the hour depends on your location. If you live in or near a major city or have plans to travel to one, you may have access to Zipcar and/or Getaround, both of which offer hourly rentals.

Below, we provide the details for these rental services, along with the location-specific hourly car rental businesses AAA Gig (California and Washington), Hui (Hawaii), and eGo CarShare (Colorado).

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What We Recommend

Zipcar has the widest availability of the options on our list, with locations in 23 major U.S. cities, and its hourly price includes gas and insurance.

If you live near a city where Getaround is available, you may get a slightly lower hourly rate than Zipcar, depending on the vehicle you choose. However, the Getaround hourly rate does not include gasoline.

If you don’t live near either of these options or the other location-specific companies in our list, your best option will be a daily rental — the shortest rental period offered by most rental companies.

Comparison Table

Compare the hourly vehicle rental companies in the table below. (Note that you can sort by any column using the arrows at the top.)

Select each company name to find more information on our list below.

Company	Hourly rate	Membership?	Gas and insurance included?	Requirements
Zipcar	About $9 and up	Yes, $25 application fee; about $7 monthly or $70 yearly	Yes	Valid driver's license, at least age 21 (college students can rent at 18), and a credit or debit card
Getaround	As low as $5	No, but must create a free account	Insurance	Valid driver's license for at least two years, at least age 19, a Facebook or Google account, and a credit or debit card
Hui	From about $9	Yes, free membership	Yes	Valid driver's license for at least 18 months, at least age 19, and a credit or debit card
eGo CarShare	From about $4	Yes, $25 application fee and three membership options (one is free and the other two are about $12 each per month)	Insurance	Valid driver's license for at least two years, at least age 18, and a credit or debit card
GIG Car Share	About $15	Yes, free	Yes	Valid driver's license, at least age 18, a selfie, and a credit or debit card

The List

Unless you live near a large city or will be traveling to one, you may not be able to find a place that rents vehicles by the hour. While Zipcar and Getaround have a somewhat wider location availability, several of the options below are location-specific.

We contacted each company to compile the details below. Note that our list begins with the best option based on a combination of pricing and location availability.

Zipcar

Hourly rate: About $9 and up per hour depending on the vehicle; $8.50 per hour with membership
Vehicle types: Compact, sedans, SUVs
Membership available? Yes; requires a $25 application fee and monthly membership fee of about $7 or a yearly fee of about $70
Requirements:
- Valid driver’s license
- Credit or debit card
- Most drivers must be at least age 21
Gas and insurance included? Yes
Where is it available? 23 major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and Detroit
Find out more

Getaround

Hourly rate: As low as $5 an hour depending on the type of vehicle
Vehicle types: Sedans, trucks, minivans, and convertibles
Membership available? No, but you must create a free account
Requirements:
- Facebook or Google account
- Valid driver’s license for at least two years with no major violations or accidents in the past three years
- Credit or debit card
- Must be at least age 19
- Must have a clean record if you’re under age 21
Gas and insurance included? Insurance
Where is it available? Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
Find out more

GIG Car Share

Hourly rate: About $15 per hour
Vehicle types: Electric cars and hybrids
Membership available? Yes, free
Requirements:
- Valid driver’s license
- Selfie
- Credit or debit card
- Must be at least age 18
Gas and insurance included? Yes
Where is it available? Sacramento and San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA
Find out more

eGo CarShare

Hourly rate: From about $4 to about $9 per hour depending upon your membership plan
Vehicle types: Sedans, trucks, and SUVs
Membership available? Yes, one free and two paid membership options based on hourly driving or needing a car five hours less or more per month; paid memberships are about $12 per month each. There is a $25 application fee ($50 for a rushed application).
Requirements:
- Valid driver’s license (for at least two years)
- Credit or debit card
- Drivers 18 to 21 years of age must have a clean record
Gas and insurance included? Insurance
Where is it available? Boulder and Denver, CO
Find out more

Hui

Hourly rate: From $9 per hour depending upon the vehicle
Vehicle types: Sedans, minivans, trucks, and luxury vehicles
Membership available? Yes, free membership
Requirements:
- Valid driver’s license for at least 18 months
- No major violations and less than three minor violations in the past 36 months
- Credit or debit card
- Must be at least age 19
Gas and insurance included? Yes
Where is it available? Honolulu, HI
Find out more