Car hire prices at Seattle Airport

Seattle Airport car hire costs around £43 a day for an Intermediate car like a Volkswagen Jetta booked about a month ahead for October 2026. An Economy car like a Mitsubishi Mirage runs to about £35 a day, while a Fullsize Chevrolet Malibu costs £54. Waiting until the last 2 weeks keeps an Intermediate at £43, but pushes a Fullsize to £56. Over the whole year, quotes range from £41 a day for an Economy car in November 2026 to £93 for a higher-spec model in August 2027. Use the price checker if your quotes come in higher.

For car hire at Seattle Airport, booking late saves about 30%, dropping from £62 a day 9 months before your trip to £47 2 weeks before pickup. For October 2026, an Intermediate car costs £43 a day booked a month before travel, and the same £43 in the last 2 weeks. If you have not booked yet, you have missed nothing because prices fall steadily as travel approaches. Across the 395 airports we track car hire prices for, 48% of our customers book within 16 days of pickup.

Budget is the cheapest company at Seattle Airport for an Intermediate car, averaging £42 a day over the last 12 months from 1,871 prices. All 9 counters sit directly at the airport, so you do not give up convenience for the price. Budget refuses debit cards and holds a £148 card deposit, scoring 81/100 from 67 reviews. For a debit card, Thrifty costs £43 a day from 1,247 prices, but does not yet have enough reviews for a score.

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.

National is the best-reviewed company at Seattle Airport, scoring 92/100 from 279 reviews, with an average desk wait of 24 minutes. That reliability costs more: National averages £64 a day for an Intermediate car, over the last 12 months from 3,733 prices. Hertz follows on reviews with 85/100 from 627 reviews and a shorter 14-minute wait, averaging £56 a day. Budget is the cheapest supplier at £42 a day, scoring 81/100 from 67 reviews with a matching 14-minute wait.

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 Seattle Airport, deposits held on your card range from £0 with Europcar to £222 with Avis, and 4 of the 9 companies take a debit card. Another 2 companies accept a debit card for some cars only. The deposit and payment rules appear beside every vehicle in the results, so filter for a debit card before comparing prices. Any optional extras charged at the desk are listed under each car with their price.

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

Three things catch people out at Seattle Airport: card rules that reject debit cards, desk waits reaching almost 30 minutes, and unexpected fuel policies. Three of the 9 airport desks refuse debit cards entirely, requiring a credit card in the lead driver's name. Alamo averages a 29-minute wait at the counter, so budget extra time after your flight lands. Only Enterprise, Avis, and Sixt offer desk waits under 15 minutes, while Europcar and Enterprise give you no full-to-full fuel deals at all.

Only 52% of prices at Seattle Airport are full tank out, full tank back, so read the fuel line under the car before you book.

For most trips, choose an Intermediate car like a Volkswagen Jetta at Seattle Airport, which costs around £43 a day in October 2026. It seats 5 people and takes 3 bags, whereas stepping down to an Economy car like a Mitsubishi Mirage costs £35 but leaves space for only 2 bags. If you need 4 bags, a Fullsize car like a Chevrolet Malibu costs £54. Every car offered is automatic at no extra charge, and zero are electric or hybrid, so petrol is your only option for city driving.