How to read the market rates

Market rates by pick-up day shows what the whole market charges for each car category on each of the next 14 pick-up days. "Typical" is the median of every offer in that category that day. "Cheapest" is the lowest single offer. Both are daily rates for a 3-day hire, picked up at 10am.

1. Read the tiles

   Typical compact car, Cheapest pick-up day, Dearest pick-up day and Top-rated brand give you the fortnight at a glance.

2. Read the chart

   One line per category shows the typical rate across the 14 days. Hover or tap a day to see the cheapest offer too.

3. Open the table

   Click Show as a table for every category, with typical / cheapest for each pick-up day.

4. Compare with your own rate

   Put your rate for the same category and day next to the typical one.

A worked example

At Madrid Barajas in the Rate Pulse sweep of 7 Nov 2026, the tiles read:

• typical compact car: €31 a day
• cheapest pick-up day: Fri 13 Nov, €28 a day typical
• dearest pick-up day: Wed 11 Nov, €38 a day typical, 38% on the cheapest

In the table, compact on Sun 15 Nov reads €32 / €7. Half the compact offers that day were at or under €32. The very cheapest was €7.

Use the typical rate to price against. The cheapest offer is often a single low-cost brand with a big deposit or a strict fuel policy, so it's a poor anchor.

Things to know

• Categories vary by airport. Madrid has SUV, compact, economy, mini and 7- and 9-seat people carriers. Not every airport has all of them.
• A dash means no offers in that category that day.
• Prices are as shown to a visitor browsing from New Zealand, including the site's standard cover, before optional extras.
• Amounts are converted from NZ dollars. The note under the table gives the exchange rate date. See currencies and languages.