Car rental prices at Fort Lauderdale Airport

For October 2026, booked about a month ahead, a good price for a rental car at Fort Lauderdale Airport is around $61 a day for an Intermediate (a Volkswagen Jetta-sized car). A Compact is $54 a day. In the last 2 weeks before pickup an Intermediate is nearer $59. If your quote is well over these, the price checker will tell you for your exact dates.

For October 2026 at Fort Lauderdale Airport, booking timing barely moves the price: an Intermediate is $61 a day a month before pickup and $59 in the last 2 weeks. Across the year, booking 9 months before your trip averages $82 a day compared to $67 a month before, so waiting does not penalise you. Across the 395 airports we track car hire prices for, 48% of our customers book within 2 weeks of travel. If you have not secured a car yet, you have missed little.

Auto-Union is the cheapest company at Fort Lauderdale Airport for an Intermediate car, averaging $46 a day over the last 12 months. Budget, Dollar and Europcar are next at $55 a day, with Budget from 1,872 prices and Dollar from 1,199 prices. Auto-Union does not yet have enough reviews for a score, while Budget scores 82/100 from 37 reviews. All 10 desks sit at the airport, so picking the cheapest price does not involve a shuttle bus.

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 Fort Lauderdale Airport, scoring 92/100 from 84 customer reviews, with an average desk wait of 24 minutes. National charges an average of $90 a day over 4,642 prices for an Intermediate car. Budget offers a lower daily rate at $55 and scores 82/100 from 36 reviews, with an 18-minute wait. Auto-Union is the cheapest overall at $46 a day, but it does not yet have 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 Fort Lauderdale Airport, the security deposit held on your card ranges from $0 with Europcar up to $299 with Avis, and only 1 of the 10 desks accepts a debit card unconditionally. Thrifty is the single supplier that takes a debit card outright, while 6 desks require a credit card and 3 accept debit cards for select vehicles only. Because rules differ by model, filter for a debit card before comparing prices. Any optional extras charged at the desk are listed under each vehicle with their price.

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

Two main surprises catch drivers out at Fort Lauderdale Airport: desk queues that stretch past half an hour and strict credit card rules at pickup. Enterprise desks average a 35-minute wait, which is a testing welcome after a long flight. Additionally, 6 of the 10 airport counters refuse debit cards entirely, so the main driver must present a credit card to release the car. All desks are based at the airport terminal, sparing you off-site shuttle transfers.

Only 53% of prices at Fort Lauderdale Airport are full tank out, full tank back, so read the fuel line under the car before you book.

For highway cruising beyond the city, pick an Intermediate like the Volkswagen Jetta at Fort Lauderdale Airport, running about $61 a day in October 2026. It seats 5 passengers and holds 4 bags, giving you adequate boot room for long motorway stretches. A step down to a Compact like the Nissan Versa costs $54 a day but holds only 3 bags, while an Economy car drops luggage capacity to 2 bags for $53. Every car quoted at the airport is an automatic, so you get an automatic transmission without paying extra, while electric and hybrid options are not currently offered.