May 3, 2026. Maui car rental prices are usually near their lowest point of the year in early May. This is a seasonal trend that held true in both 2024 and 2025. And in fact, going into this May, prices have been steadily coming down from a seasonal peak for Easter in early April. In light of this, we expected prices this week to drop even further from last week's levels, to reach rock bottom, as they did last year, in the first week of May. But instead, this week prices reversed direction and went up from last week, an indication that they may have bottomed out already - which would mean that this year's bottom is holding at a level much higher than last year. Does it come as a surprise that the bottom is higher this year than it was last year? For the first four months of the year, January through April, that correspond to the busy travel season for Maui, the median prices for the period, across all vehicle categories (i.e. compact, mid-size, convertible, Jeep, standard and large SUV, and minivan) are dramatically higher in 2026 versus 2025 - "dramatically" meaning in the range of 50% to 90% higher, in all but one category, convertibles, which is up by a comparatively lower - but still respectable - 8%. So, given that prices have been higher than 2025 since the beginning of the year, it is not unexpected that the bottom would be higher than the year before.

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 4, 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 4, 2026.

Category Price Company

Economy $272 Dollar

Midsize $321 Dollar

Jeep $484 Alamo

Convertbl $773 Payless

SUV $465 Dollar

7 St SUV $490 Alamo

Minivan $340 Hertz

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 $321/week, also at Dollar. Jeeps are starting at $484/week, from Alamo. The lowest price for a convertible is $773/week, at Payless. The cheapest standard SUV's are $465/week, at Dollar, and 7-seat SUV's are starting at $490/week, at Alamo. The cheapest minivans are an unbelievably low $340/week, at Hertz. We'll get to why the price of minivans seems unbelievable later in this report.

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 4, 2026 have changed from the week before, for every vehicle category:

Category This week Last Change
Economy $272 $233 +17%

Midsize $321 $252 +27%

Jeep $484 $481 +1%

Convertbl $773 $612 +26%

SUV $465 $401 +16%

7 st SUV $490 $490 +0%

Minivan $340 $354 -4%

This week's lowest prices for rental cars from Kahului Airport (OGG) were up from last week in most categories, reversing their end-of-season decline that has been progressing since the Easter holiday in early April. The lowest price for an economy car was up 17% from last week. The most affordable mid-sized cars increased 27%. The starting price for a convertible was up 26%, and for an SUV the increase was 16%. But Jeeps were up only 1%, and 7-seat SUV's were unchanged. And for minivans, the lowest price was actually down from last week, by 4%.

Why have minivans, large SUV's, and Jeeps moved in the opposite direction from everything else? Recall that these are the categories that have been the most directly affected throughout this year by the safety recalls for Jeeps and minivans, that idled hundreds of rental vehicles, causing shortages for both categories, and also placing higher than expected demand on the large SUV's that served as a multi-passenger substitute for minivans. With vehicles finally being returned into service at the same time as the seasonal slow-down in demand, this creates a temporary surplus that the revenue management algorithms in the booking systems work to limit, by reducing prices.

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 THIS WEEK'S MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICES COMPARE TO ONE YEAR AGO?

This is how Maui car rental prices look in the first week of May 2026, beginning Monday May 4, compared to the corresponding week of last year, that began Monday May 5, 2025:

Vehicle Now Last Year Change

Economy $272 $169 +61%

Midsize $321 $210 +53%

Jeep $484 $428 +13%

Convertbl $773 $426 +81%

SUV $465 $225 +107%

7 st SUV $490 $319 +54%

Minivan $340 $321 +6%

These numbers are charted in Figure 3.

Broadly speaking, prices this week are significantly higher than they were at the same time last year, in all but two categories, Jeeps and minivans. The lowest price for an economy car this week is up 61% year-over-year. For a mid-size car, it is up 53%. The most affordable convertible costs 81% more than last year, for a standard SUV the increase is 107%, more than double, and for a 7-seat SUV the increase is 54%.

By contrast, Jeeps are up only 13%, and minivans, even less, 6%. As we just noted, minivans and Jeeps were the categories most severely affected by this year's safety recalls, and their prices have seen the smallest increase of all categories from last week. Their relatively small year-over-year increase confirms that the shortage is easing, availability is in a temporary state of over-supply, and the algorithms are compensating with lower prices to manage the passing glut.

Figure 5. Median Maui car rental price for January through April of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 shows significant increases in the range of 50% to 90% year-over-year in all but one category, convertibles, that increased only 8%.

HOW DO MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICES FOR THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2026 COMPARE TO THE SAME PERIOD IN 2025?

Now let's broaden our scope to consider how Maui car rental prices have fared in the first four months of 2026, beginning in January through the end of April, compared to the same period in 2025. The median price over this entire four month period can give us an indication of where prices are headed for the rest of the year.

2025 2026 Change

Economy $319 $593 +86%

Midsize $405 $642 +78%

Jeep $686 $1,184 +92%

Convertbl $894 $970 +8%

SUV $511 $790 +55%

7 st SUV $606 $1,149 +90%

Minivan $824 $1,273 +54%

These numbers are charted in Figure 4.

Over the first four months of 2026, the median price to rent a compact car was up 86% (nearly double) from what it was in 2025. For a mid-size car, the increase was 78%, and for a Jeep it was 92%. Standard SUV's increased by 55%), large (7-seat) SUV's increased by 90%, and minivans were up 54% over the same four-month period of last year. But convertibles increased only 8%. What factors caused convertibles to diverge from the broader trend? As we noted in previous reports, a large fleet addition of convertibles, numbering in the hundreds, was put into service right at the beginning of the year, leading to lower rental rates over several weeks as the supply normalized.

Putting these numbers for these first four months of the year into perspective, our findings point to structural factors that have pushed Maui car rental prices upward at a rate that far outpaces the Consumer Price Index, or any other measure of price increase for goods and services in the US, including the national US rental car averages that we have cited in previous reports. In previous reports, we have also identified various factors to explain this hyper-localized rental car price inflation that seems unique to the Maui market, including operational limitations of Consolidate Rent A Car (ConRAC) facility at Kahului Airport (OGG), and fleet reductions in the aftermath of the disastrous Lahaina wildfires in 2023. We will continue to explore all possible factors as we gather more information and data. At this time, we cannot predict whether rental car prices in Maui will some day recover from this hyper-inflationary surge, or whether we have just seen a new normal being established for this market.

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