Rent or Drive Your Car? Which Road Trip Option Saves More?

Trying to decide if you should rent a car for your road trip or just drive your own? We built this Road Trip Cost Calculator (jump to it below!) to help you compare the costs side by side.

We’re gearing up for a cross-country road trip this year! Over the past 35,000+ miles, we’ve always driven our own cars—and for good reason. They’re comfortable, reliable, and get solid gas mileage. Plus, knowing exactly how much trunk space we have makes packing way easier.

But there’s a trade-off—every mile adds wear and tear to our car, and any damage or unexpected repairs are on us. So far, that’s added up to at least 14,000 miles, just from driving to Washington and back twice.

Should I Rent a Car for a Road Trip?

We’ve heard that renting a car is more cost-effective than driving our own, which got us asking the big question: Should we rent a car for a road trip? Or should we just take our own car again?

To figure out if renting would actually save us money on a cross-country road trip (spoiler: yes, it would save us a lot!), we looked at different cost estimates, such as the IRS’s Standard Mileage Rate of $0.70 per mile. This estimate factors in depreciation, wear and tear, maintenance, insurance, registration, and more.

But that number didn’t quite reflect our real-world costs since we already have insurance and pay for vehicle registration annually. Plus, most of our road trip miles are on highways, where fuel efficiency is better. Our go-to road trip car—a 2020 Subaru Legacy—gets up to 27 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway.

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Since none of the standard estimates felt quite right, I built my own calculator to compare the costs of driving our car (or a minivan or SUV—more on that later) versus renting.

To estimate vehicle depreciation and maintenance costs, I used data from AAA’s Driving Cost Calculator and looked at the top five best-selling models in the U.S. for cars, minivans, and SUVs from 2019 to 2025. Here’s what I used:

• Cars: Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord & Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Camry
• Minivans: Chrysler Pacifica & Voyager, Kia Carnival, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna
• SUVs: Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Toyota RAV4

This gave me a realistic average for each vehicle type. You can view the full breakdown of these models and their associated costs in this Excel spreadsheet.

How To Use Our Calculator:

• Enter Your Trip Distance & Average Gas Price – Plug in how many miles you’ll be driving and the average gas price you expect to encounter.
• Choose Your Vehicle Type – Select whether you’ll be driving a car, minivan, or SUV. Each option has a different per-mile cost based on AAA’s driving cost data.
• Check the Rental Car Price – If you’re considering renting, enter the final rental rate for the car.
• Enter Each Vehicle’s Highway MPG – Input the highway miles per gallon (MPG) for each vehicle.
• Click Compare Costs – The tool will compare the estimated cost of driving your own car (factoring in wear and tear) versus renting a car (including rental fees and fuel).

This estimate is based on our research and experience—not official financial advice. Costs vary, so run the numbers and do what works for you. Your inputs stay private—they’re calculated in your browser only.

If renting ends up being the better deal, you’ve got plenty of options. You can check out rates on Expedia, Booking.com, and Rentalcars.com to name a few. If you’re a member, Costco Travel and Sam’s Club Travel also have some solid deals on rentals.

💳 Check Your Credit Card Perks: Some credit cards include rental car insurance if you use the card to pay. It’s worth checking your terms before buying extra coverage.

After running the numbers for our upcoming 5,000+ mile cross-country road trip, it looks like renting could save us hundreds—maybe even over a thousand.

While driving our own car has its perks, renting a car for a road trip, especially cross-country, can reduce wear and tear and potentially save money. If you’re planning your own road trip and are trying to decide between renting or driving (or just looking for more road trip tips), I hope this helps you feel more confident in your decision.