May 10, 2026. Maui car rental prices have settled into a lower range that is typical for the May shoulder season. Prices are near their lowest levels since the beginning of 2026. However these levels remain significantly higher than they were at the same time (i.e. early May) one year ago in 2025The cheapest 4-door sedan cars from Maui's Kahului airport are between $272 for compacts and $322 for full-size for a one week rental, with all taxes and fees included. Premium vehicles like Jeeps, convertibles, SUV's, and minivans are in the range of $500 to $800 per week approximately. . From their current levels, prices are expected to increase gradually and peak in early to mid-July, the annual summer vacation holiday period.

Fig. 1. Prices for Maui car rental at Kahului Airport (OGG) from February 2025 to now.

HOW MUCH IS THE CHEAPEST MAUI RENTAL CAR ON May 11, 2026?

Every week, we list the lowest available prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week of May 11, 2026.

Category Price Company

Economy $272 Dollar

Midsize $324 Dollar

Jeep $506 Alamo

Convertbl $771 Thrfty

SUV $572 SiXT

7 St SUV $568 SiXT

Minivan $483 Budget

The prices quoted here include all applicable taxes and fees. Prices for these vehicle types charted week-to-week for the last 14 months are illustrated in Figure 1.

These are the lowest prices in every car category: The lowest price for a compact car from Kahului Airport (OGG) this week is with Dollar, at $272/week. Mid-size cars are starting at $324/week, also at Dollar. Jeeps are starting at $506/week, from Alamo. The lowest price for a convertible is $771/week, at Payless. The cheapest standard SUV's are $572/week, at SiXT, and 7-seat SUV's are starting at $568/week, also at SiXT. The cheapest minivans are $483/week, at Budget.

Fig. 2. Maui car rental prices at Kahului Airport (OGG) this week and last week, with the percentage change..

HOW MUCH DID MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK?

This is how the lowest prices for a one week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) starting on May 1, 2026 have changed from the week before, for every vehicle category:

Category This week Last Change
Economy $272 $272 0%

Midsize $324 $321 +1%

Jeep $506 $484 +5%

Convertbl $771 $773 0%

SUV $572 $465 +23%

7 st SUV $568 $490 +16%

Minivan $483 $340 +42%

This week's lowest prices for rental cars from Kahului Airport (OGG) were nearly unchanged from last week for economy cars, mid-size cars, Jeeps, and convertibles. This is the typical flat-line mode that we expect to see in the middle of the slow shoulder season. However, prices for SUV's and minivans saw significant increases. We attribute these increases to off-season fleet rotation, as vehicles are shipped back to mainland US, to be replaced with newer vehicles for next season. This draw-down of the fleets leads to lower availability numbers and higher prices. In fact we have witnessed the process of off-shoring taking place between the airport rental baseyards and the harbor, with hundreds of vehicles being staged then loaded for trans-ocean shipping.

Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 3. Price comparison for Maui Car Rental as of April 2026 shows mixed changes by vehicle type compared to the year before, with most prices higher year-over-year.

HOW DO MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICES COMPARE TO ONE YEAR AGO?

This is how Maui car rental prices look in the second week of May 2026, beginning Monday May 11, compared to the corresponding week of last year, that began Monday May 12, 2025:

Vehicle Now Last Year Change

Economy $272 $169 61%

Midsize $324 $210 54%

Jeep $506 $305 66%

Convertbl $771 $476 62%

SUV $572 $225 154%

7 st SUV $568 $378 50%

Minivan $483 $247 96%

These numbers are charted in Figure 3.

This week, prices for economy cars, mid-size cars, Jeeps, convertibles, and large SUV's are uniformly, i.e in the range of 50% to 70%, higher than they were at the same time last year. However two categories, standard SUV's and minivans, are showing a departure from this range, up 154% and 96%, respectively. The explanation for this departure is simple; last year at this time, these vehicles were being offered at deep discount. This produces an artificially inflated year-over-year change. .

Figure 4: This graph displays the minimum advertised prices for a one-week rental, emphasizing trends for reservations made one day, one week, and five weeks ahead.

IS IT CHEAPER TO BOOK IN ADVANCE OR WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE?

In mid-December of 2024, we began to track the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. Every week, we check the price one week out, two weeks out, three weeks out, up to five weeks out, and save the numbers for comparison.

From mid-February of 2025 until early October, the prices available one day in advance and one week in advance were consistently lower than the price five weeks in advance (see figure 3). This indicates excess inventory that companies compete to thin out with lower prices.

However, from early October and until mid-March, bookings with short lead times - 1 week or 1 day in advance - were consistently and sometimes significantly more expensive than advance bookings. This indicates strong demand pressure and/or supply limitations causing prices to ratchet up as the reservation date draws closer.

Mid-March (the infamous Ides of March) brought another reversal. This was precipitated in part by the violent storms that hit Hawaii and caused a disruption in travel. But from a broader perspective, this is the expected transition of price levels from high season to low season, that occurs at about this time every year. Prior to the mid-March reversal, prices had been ratcheting up from advance levels as the reservation date grew closer, punishing travelers who did not book far in advance. But from mid-March onward, travelers have been rewarded for waiting to book closer to their travel date, rather than booking far in advance.

However we note, just as we forecast a few weeks ago, that the savings gap between advance rates and last-minute rates has been narrowing. For this week, the expected savings from booking tomorrow's rental today compared to booking it about a month ago is only about 20%. In recent weeks, this number was 50% or even higher - i.e. last minute reservations were half the price or less compared to advance reservations. This narrowing of the reward margin is to be expected as advance prices lose their stickiness and sink down toward the absolute price floor. This trend is clearly visible on the advance price comparison chart in Figure 4. At this point and for the next few weeks, there is no penalty for waiting to book closer to the reservation date, but there is no great reward either. Prices are in what might be called a neutral state.

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.

Figure 4. Week-by-week variation of Maui car rental prices averaged over five years, from 2013 to 2018.

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 6, 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 Maui car rental prices and availability 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.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Frank Saab is a thought leader in the rental car industry, quoted by influential publications like SFgate.com. He is the editor of this blog published by Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental LLC, an independent car rental company operating in Maui, Hawaii, since 2006. Frank's offers low prices on used local cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.

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