The 8 Best Car Rental Companies in Dublin City (2026)

My Irish Cousin is the only car rental company in Ireland with a perfect 5.0-star Google rating — 1,918 reviews at the time of writing, and not one of them dragged the score down. That record is the foundation of its first-place finish here, but it isn't the whole story.

The pricing model is the other half. One quoted price covers everything: zero excess, zero deposit, no credit card hold, all tolls (including the M50 eFlow), a free additional driver, tyres and glass, and full roadside assistance. If you have an accident, you get a replacement car — not a cancelled contract, which is what most 'full cover' small print actually delivers.

For a city pickup specifically, it's one of the very few operators with two genuine city-centre desks rather than airport-only counters, and 30+ locations island-wide means a one-way return from Galway, Kerry or Belfast is easy to arrange. Booking is quote-based rather than instant online.

NewWay built its name on the same insight as our #1: Irish car rental fees are a minefield, so remove the mines. The price you see includes unlimited mileage and full zero-excess insurance, which means no €2,000–€3,000 credit card hold at the desk.

It runs its own fleet and its own desks rather than acting as a broker, and it's the only independent with in-terminal arrivals desks at Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The city branch sits at Kilmainham, a short distance southwest of the centre — practical, though not walking distance from Temple Bar.

Enterprise has by far the deepest city network in Dublin — two central branches plus surrounding ones at Tallaght, Swords and the airport — which matters more in a city than at an airport, because it's what makes one-way hires and late returns actually possible.

The service culture is genuinely different from the other globals: staff are trained to solve problems rather than sell cover, and it's the one major brand that reliably accepts debit cards in Ireland, a real advantage if you don't carry a credit card. National and Alamo bookings are served from the same desks and fleet.

Europcar is the volume operator across Ireland, with 23 locations nationwide and a Dublin city centre branch at Spencer Dock on the northside. Coverage and fleet depth are genuine strengths, and headline rates are often the most competitive of the major brands.

The trade-off is the desk experience: strict credit-card-only deposit rules, a hard sell on excess reduction, and one of the larger card holds on this list. Book the inclusive rate online and skip the negotiation.

Hertz's Dublin city desk is at South Circular Road, a short distance southeast of the centre rather than in it, but it's a proper city branch with defined weekday hours and van hire alongside cars. The Gold Plus Rewards programme offers faster service and dedicated bays for members.

The 'Collection' series lets you book a specific named model rather than 'or similar', which is rare in Ireland — worth it if the exact car matters. Expect the standard card hold and add-on pressure at the desk.

Sixt runs seven locations around Dublin, but most sit around the airport compound rather than in the centre — the closest true city-side branch is at Dun Laoghaire, out along the south coast. The fleet is the youngest and most premium of any brand in Ireland, with BMWs and Audis at competitive rates.

The catch is the small print: basic rates carry a high excess and the desk is strict on credit card documentation. Buy the premium protection or book an all-inclusive rate, and Sixt is excellent.

Avis is the dependable middle of the Dublin market: city branches alongside the airport desks, a well-maintained fleet, and the Avis Preferred programme that lets members skip the counter — a real benefit in the summer scrum around Temple Bar.

Budget and Payless bookings are the same operation behind a different logo, so expect the same cars and the same deposit hold.

GoCar is worth listing for Dublin city specifically because it's the one option where you never park in the centre at all. It's a car club, not a rental desk: you open a parked car with the app, drive from around €9/hour, and drop it back at any of hundreds of GoBases scattered through the city.

That makes it ideal for a city resident or a visitor who wants a car for an afternoon to reach somewhere the LUAS doesn't go. It is not suitable for a multi-day touring trip of the west or south of Ireland — for that, one of the daily rental operators above is the right call.