April 27, 2025 - Maui car rental prices are settled into an off-season range this week, with prices for compact cars, Jeeps, and minivans at or near the lowest level in close to a year. The price for the cheapest available car is $217/week, only $9 more than its low point for the period that was reached last week. Prices for all vehicle types, without exception, are below their median prices over the last year. Prices are expected to stay low until mid-June when the busy summer travel season kicks off. Keep reading for all the details.

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are in off-season range going into May.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR IN MAUI ON APRIL 28, 2025?

Every week, we list the lowest advertised prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the change from the previous week, and the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week of April 28, 2025.

Category Price Change Company
Economy $217 +4% Payless
Midsize $252 +19% Payless
Jeep $364 -11% Budget
Convertbl $487 +87% Thrifty
SUV $285 +35% Thrifty
7 St SUV $410 -2% Dollar
Minivan $355 -33% Payless

For the week of Monday 4/28/2025, the lowest price for renting a car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) for one week is $217/week from Payless, up 4% from last week. The lowest price for a midsize car is $252/week also from Payless, upp $40 or 19% from last week. A Jeep is down to $364/week from Budget, 11% less than last week. Convertibles rose to $487/week from thrifty, nearly doubling (up 87%). The cheapest SUV prices were $285/week, from Thrifty, up 35%. Minivan prices were down by one third (33%), to $355/week, from Payless.

Prices for minivans, the current price of $355/week on a one-week rental is the lowest it has been since we began tracking its price last June. For Jeeps, the current price of $364/week is well below the median price of $578/week over this period and closer to the lowest price it has been during this time which was $318/week.

Fig. 2. Maui Car Rental Prices: A historical price trend based on five years of averaged prices highlights low prices in April and May.

MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE FORECAST FOR 4/27/25

Based on five years of price tracking and analysis, we expect prices to remain low as we move through spring into summer. The five-year average weekly price chart, with its low season range from May do md-June, is illustrated in Figure 2. Over the five-year period of our study, it was normal to see prices decline and remain low from Spring Break and Easter holidays until the middle of June before the uptick of summer travel and the July 4 holiday

Fig. 3. Maui car rental prices from the last 13 months with forecast of the coming five weeks.

For the coming five weeks that cover what's left of the month of April and into late May, online reservation systems are showing prices trending upward from their current level, with a Memorial Day holiday upward bump in advance reservation prices (see Figure 3). However, based on historical data, we expect last-minute prices for the next few weeks to decline from their advance reservation levels. More about this below.

As of today, April 27 2025, the lowest advertised prices for a one week rental made in advance, both from the airport rentals and off-airport, are as follows:

DATE OFF-OGG OGG
04/27/25 $208 $217
05/04/25 $207 $222
05/11/25 $208 $248
05/18/25 $219 $247
05/25/25 $218 $260
06/01/25 $225 $274

These advance reservation prices, marked as "Forecast," are illustrated in the area highlighted in red in Figure 3.

Fig. 4. Average cost trends for renting a car in Maui over five years show varying prices based on booking time: renting last-minute typically leads to lower rates, except for peak periods around Christmas and Presidents' day holidays. Booking at the last minute typically offers the most savings.

DOES IT COST LESS TO BOOK IN ADVANCE?

The difference between last-minute prices and advance reservation prices is an indicator of the state of supply and availability from the car rental providers. When supply is limited, last minute prices ratchet up from their advance levels. When there is over-supply, prices drop at the last minute. These changes follow a seasonal pattern that we covered in a blog post titled "When Is The Best Time To Rent A Car in Maui? " On average, based on five years of historical price data, the last minute price is lower than advance reservation prices nearly 90% of the time. The cross-over points from higher last minute prices to lower last minute prices mark the seasonal transitions from high season pricing to low season pricing (see Figure 4).

Specifically for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, advance reservation prices over the period of our five-year price study were on average significantly higher than the last minute price, with savings of nearly $100/week on the cheapest available cars if booked at the last minute.

Figure 5. Price trends for a one-week car rental in Maui from December 2024 to April 2025 show variations based on booking timings: one day, one week, and five weeks in advance.

More recently, from mid-December of 2024, we have tracked the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. For several weeks, from early January, prices were consistently ratcheting up in the days or weeks before the reservation date. Notably, for the six weeks from January 12 to February 17, the last minute price for an economy car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) was on average $152/week more than the price one week in advance (see Figure 5), However, from late February until now, prices one week in advance or at the last minute have both stayed below the advance price booked five weeks in advance. This trend is expected to continue.

The advance reservation systems are showing an upward bump in price that coincides with the Memorial Day holiday at the end of May. However, based on the historical data, and on our more recent price movement trends, it is likely that last-minute prices will come down from the advance reservation level for the Memorial Day period.

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAVE BOOKING AT THE LAST MINUTE?

This week, the last minute price is slightly higher than the price booked one week in advance. Both are lower than the price booked five weeks in advance. This means that the best time to book for the lowest price may have been about one week in advance rather than waiting to the last minute, but definitely the prices closer to the reservation date were lower than the prices further in advance. Note: these price movements apply only for the cheapest compact car category. The change may have been different for other vehicle categories.

Advance Price Diff. % Saved
1 day $217 - -
1 week $204 -$13 -6%
5 weeks $269 $52 24%

For a rental beginning on this Monday, April 28 2025, the price booked five weeks in advance was $269/week. One week in advance, it was $204/week. And the last-minute price was back up slightly, to $217/week. The best price was for the reservation made at the last minute.

For the coming weeks, our indicators are pointing to prices for last minute reservations continuing be lower than advance prices. Anyone with advance reservations should consider re-booking if their reservation terms allow it.

Fig. 6. Price of one-week car rental in Maui, comparing off-airport locations with airport locations for popular vehicle types.

DOES IT COST LESS TO RENT OFF-AIRPORT?

Most of the time, Maui's off-airport car rental prices are lower than airport prices due to a number of factors that we have covered in a previous blog post, titled "Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024." 

Throughout the past winter and spring season, we have seen a disruption of this pattern due to unexpected strong demand and limited supply at off-airport locations, with the off-airport prices in many cases higher than airport prices.

This week, the normal pattern of prices lower off-airport is in effect for some vehicle types but not for other. Airport rental locations with bigger car counts may be experiencing more inventory surplus than the smaller off-airport locations, leading them to drop prices (See Figure 6).

These prices are from our survey taken on 4/27/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 4/28/25, for seven vehicle categories, Economy Car, Midsize Car, Convertible, Jeep, SUV, 7-passenger SUV, and Minivan. The rental companies covered in the survey are Ace, Alamo, Allsave, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, NU, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. For more info on the companies we cover, see our blog post on customer satisfaction ratings for these Maui car rental companies.

As we've noted in previous blog posts, the price for an off-airport rental is usually lower than an airport rental, due to two factors:

1. Higher mandatory taxes and fees that are added to the cost of an airport rental, and
2. A discretionary "convenience premium" that rental companies charge at the airport. For details, see for example Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024. 

Exceptions do occur from time to time and we do report them when they do.

IS MAUI THE MOST EXPENSIVE HAWAIIAN ISLAND FOR CAR RENTAL?

Here's a quick survey of the cheapest one-week rental cost from each of the five major Hawaii airports, for a rental beginning on Monday, April 28.

COST CHANGE AIRPORT
$269 +1% Honolulu (HNL)
$214 +3% Maui Kahului Airport (OGG)
$268 -18% Kauai Lihue Airport (LIH)
$261 -59% Kona Airport (KOA)
$266 -68% Hilo Airport (ITO)

This week prices for car rentals at most Hawaii major island airports are clustered in a narrow low-season range around $260/week. Prices at Hawaii Island airports did fall back to normal after the end of the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian culture festival last week. Rates at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) were once again the cheapest, about $50/week less than the average of the other major islands for a one-week rental beginning on April 28, 2025

HOW DO WE GET OUR MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE DATA?

Prices for Maui car rentals vary from week to week, and the company offering the lowest price also changes from week to week. Furthermore, one company may be offering the lowest price in one vehicle category, for example mid-size cars, while a different company has a better price on another category, for example mini-vans.

Beginning in July 2024, we've tracked the prices on seven vehicle categories - compact, mid-size, Jeep, convertible, SUV, 7-seat SUV, and minivan - from 10 different companies at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG): Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. Each week, for every vehicle type, we noted which company offered the lowest price. Our weekly price-tracking for the lowest price economy car category goes back to July 2023 - more than one year. These are the data for the charts we post every week.

Previously we conducted a five-year price-tracking study for the lowest price economy car category beginning in February 2013 and continuing to February 2018. A sample of these results is in Figure 3, that shows the five-year average of the price over a one-year duration. For details of this massive price-tracking undertaking, and the most important findings on how and when to rent a car, see our blog post of July 14, 2024 titled "When is the best time to rent a car in Maui?" 

HOW TO CHECK RATES AND AVAILABILITY FOR MAUI CAR RENTAL

Either click through to to our Cars & Rates section, or check our booking site at rentals.mauicarrental.biz. This site gives you access to all vehicles from eight different companies - Ace, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Payless, and Thrifty - at all their Maui locations, that include the Airport rentacar center, Kahului town locations nearby the airport, and resort locations in Kihei/Wailea, and Ka'anapali. With so many options to choose from, you are assured to find the rental car that matches your preferences and your budget for your Maui trip - and there is never a cancellation penalty if you have to change plans.

Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz