Car hire prices at Denver Airport

Denver Airport averages around £45 a day for an Intermediate such as a Volkswagen Jetta booked about a month ahead for October 2026. A Compact car like the Nissan Versa averages £42 a day, while a Fullsize Chevrolet Malibu is about £55. Waiting until the final 2 weeks leaves an Intermediate unchanged at £45, while a Compact dips to £40. Across the year, prices reach £87 a day in July 2027 for a Fullsize, compared to £48 in November 2026 for an Economy car, so check the price checker for your exact dates.

For October 2026 at Denver Airport, holding on until the last 2 weeks keeps an Intermediate car at £45 a day, matching the 1-month rate. Across the year, booking late saves about 46%, dropping from £76 a day around 9 months before your trip to £52 a day around 2 weeks before pickup, so you have missed nothing by waiting. July 2027 is the dearest month at £87 a day, whereas November 2026 drops to £48. Across the 395 airports we track car hire prices for, 48% of our customers book within 14 days of travel.

Thrifty is the cheapest company at Denver Airport for an Intermediate car, averaging £44 a day over the last 12 months from 1,277 prices. You do not need a shuttle because all 10 rental counters sit at the airport. Thrifty accepts debit cards and averages a 19-minute wait, but does not yet have enough reviews for a score. By comparison, Budget costs £45 a day and scores 77/100 from 35 reviews, though it requires a credit card.

The cheapest company can cost you a longer queue or a bigger deposit, so check the review score and desk wait beside each car in the results before you book.

Budget is the best-reviewed company at Denver Airport, scoring 77/100 from 35 customer reviews with an average desk wait of 12 minutes. It is also competitive on price, averaging £45 a day over the last 12 months for an Intermediate car. Thrifty is slightly cheaper at £44 a day, but does not yet have enough reviews for a score. Hertz posts the shortest queues at 2 minutes, but also lacks enough reviews for a score.

Review scores are CarTrawler customers' own, from the last five months; the score and the desk wait sit beside each car in the results.

At Denver Airport, deposits range from £0 with Europcar up to £222 with Avis, and 4 of the 10 desks accept a standard debit card. Another 3 companies take a debit card for certain vehicles only, while 3 insist on a credit card. Check the card rules beside each car and filter for debit cards before comparing rates. Any extras you select at the counter appear beneath each vehicle with their cost.

If you bring your own child seat, check your airline's rules first: most carry one free, some charge.

Three traps catch people out at Denver Airport: long counter queues, strict card rules and underpowered engines heading into the Rockies. Wait times vary wildly, with Alamo averaging 34 minutes while Dollar takes just 1 minute. Three of the 10 suppliers refuse debit cards entirely, so carry a credit card in the lead driver's name to avoid being stranded. If you are heading up into mountain passes, choosing the smallest engine will turn steep climbs into slow lane crawls.

Only 50% of prices at Denver Airport are full tank out, full tank back, so read the fuel line under the car before you book.

For a family of 5, choose an Intermediate car like the Volkswagen Jetta at Denver Airport, which costs around £45 a day in October 2026. It seats 5 people and fits 4 bags, giving you extra luggage space and pull on uphill climbs over a Compact car like the Nissan Versa, which takes 3 bags at £42. If you need 6 seats, a Fullsize car like the Chevrolet Malibu costs £55. Every car offered is an automatic with no extra charge, and none are electric or hybrid, so you will be filling up with petrol.