If you've ever spent an hour jumping between car rental websites trying to find the best deal, you've probably come across Rentalcars.com. It's one of the biggest car rental comparison platforms in the world — but is it actually worth using as an Australian traveller, or are you better off booking direct with Hertz, Avis, or Budget?
What Is Rentalcars.com?
Rentalcars.com is a comparison and booking platform owned by Booking Holdings (the same company behind Booking.com and Kayak). It aggregates rental car inventory from dozens of suppliers worldwide, letting you compare prices, pickup locations, and inclusions in a single search. For Australians, it covers both domestic rentals — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns — and international destinations across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and beyond.
The appeal is obvious: one search, many results, easy comparison. But as with most aggregator platforms, the reality involves some nuances worth understanding before you hand over your credit card details.
How Rentalcars.com Works for Australian Travellers
You enter your pickup location, dates, and driver age, and the platform returns a list of available vehicles ranked by price. Each listing shows the car category, supplier name, what's included (CDW, liability, unlimited kilometres), and any extras you can add. Prices are shown in Australian dollars, which is a straightforward convenience.
Payment typically happens at the time of booking rather than at pickup — which differs from booking direct with a supplier, where you often pay on collection. This matters because it means your money is tied up with the platform, not the rental company, if something goes wrong.
The Pros of Using Rentalcars.com
The biggest genuine advantage is price visibility. Seeing 20 or 30 options side by side makes it easy to spot outliers — either suspiciously cheap deals that warrant a closer look at the inclusions, or overpriced options from well-known brands that you can immediately discount. For destinations where you don't know the local rental market — rural Portugal, a regional airport in Japan — this kind of overview is genuinely useful.
Coverage is another strength. Rentalcars.com lists suppliers you'd likely never find otherwise: smaller local operators who often undercut the multinationals significantly. For budget-conscious travellers willing to do a bit of due diligence on a less-familiar brand, this can mean real savings.
The platform also offers a Full Protection option — an additional insurance product that covers you if the rental company tries to charge excess fees. For Australians travelling without a standalone travel insurance policy that covers rental vehicles, this provides a layer of peace of mind, though it's worth checking your existing travel insurance first.
The Cons — What Australians Should Watch Out For
The most common frustration reported by Australian users is the gap between the advertised price and the final cost at the counter. The base rate on Rentalcars.com may look excellent, but mandatory local fees — airport surcharges, young driver fees, GPS add-ons, fuel policies — can push the real cost well above what you expected. Always click through to the full rate breakdown before booking.
Customer service is another weak point. If something goes wrong — the supplier doesn't have the car you booked, you're charged an unexpected fee, or you need to cancel — you're often dealing with Rentalcars.com's support team rather than the rental company directly. Many travellers report this adds friction to dispute resolution.
Prepaid bookings are also generally non-refundable or attract heavy cancellation fees. If your travel plans change, you may find yourself out of pocket in ways that wouldn't apply with a flexible direct booking.
Rentalcars.com vs Booking Direct: The Honest Comparison
For straightforward trips — a week in Bali, a road trip through New Zealand — booking direct with a major supplier like Hertz or Avis often works out comparably priced once you account for the perks of loyalty programmes (free upgrades, skip-the-queue service, easier dispute resolution). Australian frequent flyers who are already Qantas or Velocity members may also find better value through car rental partnerships with those programmes.
However, for less familiar destinations or when price really is the primary concern, Rentalcars.com earns its place. The comparison function alone can save you significant time — and money, if you're flexible about which supplier you use.
Tips for Getting the Best Out of Rentalcars.com
Always read the full inclusions list, not just the headline price. Check whether kilometre limits apply — particularly relevant on Australian domestic rentals where distances can be vast. Verify the excess amount (the amount you'd pay in the event of an accident) before confirming, and compare it against your travel insurance cover. Avoid prepaying unless the saving is substantial — the flexibility of pay-on-pickup is usually worth a few extra dollars.
Finally, cross-reference the Rentalcars.com price against the supplier's own website. Occasionally — not always, but often enough to be worth checking — booking direct matches or beats the aggregator price, and comes with fewer strings attached.
The Verdict
Rentalcars.com is a useful tool in the Australian traveller's arsenal, particularly for international trips where you're unfamiliar with local suppliers and want a clear price overview. It's not perfect — the gap between quoted and final prices is a real issue, and customer service can be frustrating. But as a starting point for research, it's hard to beat. Use it to benchmark the market, then decide whether booking direct makes sense for your specific trip.
Our Overall Verdict
Rentalcars.com occupies a useful but specific position in the Australian traveller's toolkit. It performs best for international car hire in less familiar markets where you genuinely need price comparison across many suppliers. For road trips in New Zealand, self-drive holidays in Europe, or picking up a car in the USA, running a Rentalcars.com search alongside Discover Cars gives you a comprehensive market view quickly. For Australian domestic hire or simple Bali airport pickups, booking directly with a known supplier like Avis, Hertz or Budget typically delivers equivalent or better pricing with stronger customer service backing. Use it as a research tool even when you ultimately book elsewhere — the price visibility alone justifies the five minutes.
Our Overall Verdict
Rentalcars.com occupies a useful but specific position in the Australian traveller's toolkit. It performs best for international car hire in less familiar markets where you genuinely need price comparison across many suppliers. For road trips in New Zealand, self-drive holidays in Europe, or picking up a car in the USA, running a Rentalcars.com search alongside Discover Cars gives you a comprehensive market view quickly. For Australian domestic hire or simple Bali airport pickups, booking directly with a known supplier like Avis, Hertz or Budget typically delivers equivalent or better pricing with stronger customer service backing. Use it as a research tool even when you ultimately book elsewhere -- the price visibility alone justifies the five minutes.