Car rental prices at Dublin Airport

A good price at Dublin Airport in October 2026 is around $32 a day for a Compact car like an Opel Astra, when you book about a month ahead. An Economy car like a Ford Fiesta is about $27 a day, while a Mini is $22 and an Intermediate SUV like a Nissan Qashqai is $43. Leaving your booking to the last 2 weeks brings the Compact down to about $30 a day. Prices swing widely across the year, from $23 a day for a Mini in February 2027 up to $169 for an executive car in August 2027. If your quote is higher, check our price checker for your exact dates.

For October 2026 at Dublin Airport, booking late saves money: an Intermediate car averages $49 a day 2 weeks before pickup, compared to $82 across the year 9 months before your trip. Waiting until about a month before your flight typically gets you an Intermediate for $51 a day, so you have not missed anything if you have not booked yet. Booking late saves about 74% compared to booking 9 months before your trip. Across the 395 airports we track car hire prices for, 48% of our customers book within 14 days of travel.

Dollar is the cheapest company at Dublin Airport for an Intermediate car, averaging $54 a day over the last 12 months from 524 prices, but its desk deposit is high. Dollar requires a $4,329 credit card deposit and scores 86/100 from 154 reviews, while Budget and Sixt follow at $55 a day. Sixt scores 85/100 from 177 reviews with an average desk wait of 15 minutes. Enterprise costs $74 a day, but holds a much lower deposit of $289 and scores 90/100 from 40 reviews.

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.

Enterprise is the best-reviewed company at Dublin Airport, scoring 90/100 from 40 reviews with an average desk wait of 25 minutes. Enterprise averages $74 a day over the last 12 months, which sits higher than Dollar at $54 a day with an 86/100 score from 154 reviews. Alamo follows Enterprise closely on customer ratings, scoring 88/100 from 83 reviews with a 22-minute wait and an average price of $70 a day. Sixt also rates well with 85/100 from 177 reviews and a shorter 15-minute queue.

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

Deposits at Dublin Airport range from $289 with Alamo, Enterprise or National up to $5,195 with Payless, and all 12 desks take credit cards only. None of the 12 airport desks accept a debit card for the deposit, so you must bring a credit card in the main driver's name. You can filter by card type in our price checker before comparing quotes to avoid issues at the counter. Any optional extras you choose to add at the desk are listed under each vehicle with their prices.

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

The main trap at Dublin Airport is that all 12 desks take credit cards only, refusing debit cards entirely at the counter. Payless holds a deposit of $5,195 on arrival, while Dollar, Hertz and Thrifty hold $4,329, which can easily lock up a travel credit card. Even with enough credit, wait times at Dollar, Enterprise and Payless average 25 minutes. All 12 desks are directly at the airport, so you will not need to wait for a shuttle bus.

Fuel is full tank out, full tank back on 100% of prices at Dublin Airport, so there is no fuel charge to be surprised by.

At Dublin Airport, an Intermediate car like a Nissan Qashqai typically costs $43 a day in October 2026 and fits 5 people with 4 bags. A Compact car like an Opel Astra drops the price to $32 a day. However, it takes 3 bags, so a full car of 5 means luggage on laps. An automatic Intermediate costs $77 a day compared to $61 for a manual, which is $16 more a day, even though 49% of cars offered are automatic. Hybrid cars make up 2% of cars offered, so booking early is necessary to secure one.