Budget

Customer ratings worldwide

8.1 / 10
  • Overall value for money of your rental car 7.9
  • Ease of finding rental desk or representative 8.2
  • Efficiency of the car rental agents 8
  • Time spent picking up the car 7.7
  • Time spent dropping off the car 8.5
  • Car cleanliness 8.4
  • Overall condition of the car 8.1

Budget Car Rental is an international car rental company based in the United States of America with its headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is part of the Avis Budget Group, a holding company that owns the Avis and Budget brands, as its name would suggest, along with Payless and Zipcar. The group also owns many smaller brands in different regions of the world. Two notable ones that DiscoverCars.com partners with are Turisprime and Maggiore Group. The company focuses on the value-oriented segment of the rental market.

In the American car rental market, Avis Budget Group is the third-largest company behind Hertz and Enterprise. It has locations across the country in most airports and most large cities, including all the major tourist destinations. The Avis Budget Group directly runs the brands in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In all other regions, it operates via licensees, though with corporate oversight to ensure the same quality and attention to customers as elsewhere.  

Budget is a lower-cost brand for Avis. In many locations, both brands are served at the same rental desk or office. Together Avis and Budget have more than 10,000 locations across 180 all over the world. This makes it one of the largest retinal companies in the world and one of the most recognizable brands in the rental industry. If you’ve ever rented a car before, you have almost surely heard of Avis and/or Budget.

Budget was founded in 1958 by Morris Mirkin in Los Angeles, California. The company moved its headquarters to Chicago in 1960 and began to grow both domestically and internationally. In 1987, the company would become publicly traded and would begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange a decade later. It would be delisted in 2002 and taken private, with many of its locations and assets being sold to Cedant and others to Avis Europe. Cedant would split into independent companies later based on particular industries, with Avis Budget split off into its own company. It would later reunite with Avis Europe in 2011. Budget itself is headed by Joe Ferraro, its president and CEO.

Budget, as a large international company, has an extensive fleet of vehicles. There is also a separate Budget brand for van and truck rentals. The company has all sizes of cars, SUVs, minivans, and luxury vehicles. Chances are if you are looking to rent a specific type of vehicle, you can find one with Budget. Of course, you’ll be best served by Budget if you are a value-oriented customer. Other customers, particularly corporate customers, are better served by the company's sister company Avis.

Budget’s vehicles are completely free of smoke (smoking is not allowed in the vehicle), a policy that began in 2009 When you rent a Budget vehicle, you’ll be sure that you won’t have to smell smoke from a previous renter when you’re driving. And as one of the most recognized brands in the world, you can be sure that the vehicle you rent will be in great condition and safe.

As a global company that provides excellent value car rental services, Budget has won our 2024 Excellent Service Award in many locations including Adelaide and Hobart Airports in Australia; Cork, Kerry, Knock, and Shannon Airports in IrelandAgadir, Casablanca, Fes, Oujda, Rabat, Tanger Airports in MoroccoCape Town International Airport in South AfricaMalaga Airport in Spain; and Fuerteventura, Gran CanariaLa Palma, Lanzarote, Tenerife Los Rodeos (North), and Tenerife Reina Sofia (South) Airports in the Canary Islands.

Arizona
Good 7.3 / 4 reviews
Most popular locations:

Phoenix

Good 7.3 / 4 reviews
Australia
Very good 8.8 / 199 reviews
Most popular locations:

Adelaide

Very good 8.9 / 42 reviews
Adelaide Airport (ADL) Very good 8.9 / 32 reviews

Cairns

Very good 8.9 / 22 reviews
Cairns Airport (CNS) Exceptional 9 / 21 reviews

Hobart

Exceptional 9.1 / 26 reviews
Hobart Airport (HBA) Exceptional 9.1 / 26 reviews

Launceston

Exceptional 9.1 / 12 reviews
Launceston Airport (LST) Exceptional 9.1 / 12 reviews
California
Good 7.3 / 31 reviews
Most popular locations:

Los Angeles

Good 7.2 / 23 reviews
Los Angeles Airport (LAX) Good 7.2 / 22 reviews
Canary Islands
Very good 8.7 / 1,733 reviews
Most popular locations:

Fuerteventura

Very good 8.8 / 444 reviews
Fuerteventura Airport (FUE) Very good 8.8 / 326 reviews

Gran Canaria

Exceptional 9 / 251 reviews
Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) Exceptional 9 / 246 reviews

Lanzarote

Very good 8.7 / 341 reviews
Lanzarote Airport (ACE) Very good 8.7 / 258 reviews

La Palma

Very good 8.3 / 57 reviews
La Palma Airport (SPC) Very good 8.3 / 57 reviews

Tenerife

Very good 8.7 / 561 reviews
Tenerife Airport North (TFN) Very good 8.8 / 194 reviews
Tenerife Airport South (TFS) Very good 8.7 / 346 reviews
Costa Rica
Good 7 / 38 reviews
Most popular locations:

Liberia

Good 7.7 / 11 reviews
Liberia Airport (LIR) Good 7.7 / 10 reviews

San Jose

Satisfactory 6.8 / 27 reviews
Crete
Very good 8.9 / 44 reviews
Most popular locations:

Chania

Exceptional 9.1 / 24 reviews
Crete Airport Chania (CHQ) Exceptional 9.1 / 24 reviews
Croatia
Good 7.3 / 91 reviews
Most popular locations:

Split

Good 7.3 / 47 reviews
Split Airport (SPU) Good 7.3 / 47 reviews

Zagreb

Good 7.2 / 24 reviews
Zagreb Airport (ZAG) Good 7.2 / 24 reviews
Czech Republic
Very good 8.5 / 79 reviews
Most popular locations:

Prague

Very good 8.5 / 70 reviews
Prague Airport (PRG) Very good 8.6 / 46 reviews
Dominican Republic
Satisfactory 6.9 / 22 reviews
Most popular locations:

Punta Cana

Satisfactory 6.8 / 13 reviews
Punta Cana Airport (PUJ) Satisfactory 6.8 / 13 reviews
Florida
Satisfactory 6.9 / 70 reviews
Most popular locations:

Miami

Satisfactory 6.9 / 33 reviews
Miami International Airport (MIA) Satisfactory 6.9 / 33 reviews

Orlando

Satisfactory 6.8 / 22 reviews
Orlando Int. Airport (MCO) Satisfactory 6.8 / 22 reviews

Tampa

Satisfactory 6.8 / 6 reviews
Tampa Airport (TPA) Satisfactory 6.8 / 6 reviews
France
Very good 8.1 / 479 reviews
Most popular locations:

Lyon

Very good 8 / 54 reviews
Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS) Very good 8 / 52 reviews

Marseille

Good 7.9 / 51 reviews
Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) Good 7.9 / 45 reviews

Nice

Good 7.9 / 44 reviews
Nice Airport (NCE) Good 7.9 / 42 reviews

Paris

Good 7.9 / 92 reviews
Greece
Very good 8.3 / 218 reviews
Most popular locations:

Athens

Very good 8.5 / 36 reviews
Athens Airport (ATH) Very good 8.6 / 32 reviews

Kefalonia

Very good 8.3 / 9 reviews
Kefalonia Airport (EFL) Very good 8.3 / 9 reviews
Hungary
Very good 8.6 / 19 reviews
Most popular locations:

Budapest

Very good 8.6 / 19 reviews
Budapest Airport (BUD) Very good 8.6 / 19 reviews
Illinois
Good 7.9 / 6 reviews
Most popular locations:

Chicago

Good 7.9 / 5 reviews
Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD) Good 7.9 / 5 reviews
Ireland
Very good 8.1 / 3,024 reviews
Most popular locations:

Cork

Very good 8.7 / 284 reviews
Cork Airport (ORK) Very good 8.7 / 284 reviews

Dublin

Good 7.8 / 2,086 reviews
Dublin Airport (DUB) Good 7.8 / 1,964 reviews

Galway

Good 7.8 / 19 reviews
Downtown Good 7.8 / 19 reviews

Kerry

Very good 8.9 / 118 reviews
Kerry Airport (KIR) Very good 8.9 / 118 reviews

Knock

Very good 8.8 / 392 reviews
Knock Airport (NOC) Very good 8.8 / 392 reviews

Shannon

Very good 8.8 / 125 reviews
Shannon Airport (SNN) Very good 8.8 / 125 reviews
Israel
Good 7.4 / 449 reviews
Most popular locations:

Eilat

Very good 8.1 / 43 reviews
Downtown Very good 8.1 / 40 reviews

Jerusalem

Good 7.5 / 38 reviews
Downtown Good 7.5 / 38 reviews

Tel Aviv

Good 7.2 / 313 reviews
Tel Aviv Airport (TLV) Good 7.2 / 279 reviews
Italy
Good 7.2 / 406 reviews
Most popular locations:

Bari

Good 7.4 / 24 reviews
Bari Airport (BRI) Good 7.4 / 21 reviews

Bergamo

Good 7 / 27 reviews
Bergamo Airport (BGY) Good 7 / 27 reviews

Naples

Satisfactory 6.9 / 38 reviews
Naples Airport (NAP) Satisfactory 6.9 / 37 reviews

Pisa

Good 7.8 / 18 reviews
Pisa Airport (PSA) Good 7.8 / 18 reviews

Rome

Satisfactory 6.8 / 50 reviews
Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) Satisfactory 6.5 / 33 reviews

Treviso

Good 7.2 / 6 reviews
Treviso Airport (TSF) Good 7.2 / 6 reviews

Venice

Good 7.6 / 23 reviews
Venice Airport (VCE) Good 7.6 / 21 reviews
Malta
Good 7.6 / 89 reviews
Most popular locations:

Gozo

Good 7.2 / 9 reviews
Downtown Good 7.2 / 9 reviews

Luqa

Good 7.6 / 71 reviews
Malta Luqa Airport (MLA) Good 7.6 / 71 reviews
Massachusetts
Good 7.8 / 11 reviews
Most popular locations:

Boston

Good 7.8 / 10 reviews
Logan International Airport (BOS) Good 7.8 / 10 reviews
Mexico
Satisfactory 6.5 / 184 reviews
Most popular locations:

Cancun

Satisfactory 6.9 / 73 reviews
Cancun Airport (CUN) Satisfactory 6.9 / 72 reviews

Mexico City

Poor 5.8 / 22 reviews
Morocco
Very good 8.2 / 1,275 reviews
Most popular locations:

Agadir

Very good 8.2 / 237 reviews
Agadir Airport (AGA) Very good 8.2 / 226 reviews
Downtown Very good 8.2 / 11 reviews

Casablanca

Very good 8.4 / 165 reviews
Casablanca Airport Mohammed V (CMN) Very good 8.4 / 155 reviews

Fes

Very good 8.1 / 185 reviews
Fes Airport (FEZ) Very good 8.1 / 176 reviews

Marrakesh

Very good 8.1 / 225 reviews
Marrakesh Airport (RAK) Very good 8.1 / 212 reviews

Rabat

Very good 8.6 / 112 reviews
Rabat Airport (RBA) Very good 8.7 / 101 reviews

Tangier

Very good 8.2 / 200 reviews
Tangier Airport (TNG) Very good 8.2 / 188 reviews
New Zealand
Very good 8.4 / 55 reviews
Most popular locations:

Queenstown

Very good 8.5 / 6 reviews
Queenstown Airport (ZQN) Very good 8.5 / 6 reviews
Pennsylvania
Good 7.7 / 2 reviews
Most popular locations:

Pittsburgh

Good 7.7 / 2 reviews
Portugal
Very good 8.4 / 623 reviews
Most popular locations:

Faro

Very good 8.4 / 95 reviews
Faro Airport (FAO) Very good 8.4 / 95 reviews

Lisbon

Very good 8.3 / 155 reviews
Lisbon Airport (LIS) Very good 8.4 / 146 reviews

Madeira

Very good 8.5 / 200 reviews
Madeira Airport (Funchal) (FNC) Very good 8.6 / 198 reviews

Porto

Very good 8.1 / 123 reviews
Porto Airport (OPO) Very good 8.1 / 119 reviews
Sardinia
Very good 8.6 / 102 reviews
Most popular locations:

Cagliari

Very good 8.6 / 40 reviews
Sardinia Cagliari Airport (CAG) Very good 8.6 / 40 reviews
Sicily
Good 7.5 / 107 reviews
Most popular locations:

Catania

Good 7.3 / 50 reviews
Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) Good 7.3 / 49 reviews
Slovakia
Very good 8.5 / 66 reviews
Most popular locations:

Bratislava

Very good 8.6 / 54 reviews
Bratislava Airport (BTS) Very good 8.6 / 54 reviews
South Africa
Very good 8.5 / 116 reviews
Most popular locations:

Cape Town

Very good 8.7 / 53 reviews
Cape Town Airport (CPT) Very good 8.7 / 51 reviews

Johannesburg

Very good 8.7 / 31 reviews
O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) Very good 8.7 / 30 reviews
Spain
Very good 8.1 / 543 reviews
Most popular locations:

Barcelona

Very good 8 / 82 reviews
Barcelona Airport (BCN) Very good 8 / 74 reviews

Malaga

Very good 8.1 / 59 reviews
Malaga Train Station Good 7.7 / 9 reviews
Switzerland
Very good 8.2 / 49 reviews
Most popular locations:

Geneva

Very good 8.2 / 30 reviews
Geneva Airport (GVA) Very good 8.2 / 28 reviews
United Arab Emirates
Satisfactory 6.7 / 141 reviews
Most popular locations:

Abu Dhabi

Good 7.2 / 22 reviews

Dubai

Satisfactory 6.5 / 110 reviews
Dubai Int. Airport (DXB) Satisfactory 6.4 / 86 reviews
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