On Mallorca the daily rate is not what costs you money. The deposit and three road rules are. An economy car averages about €50 ($55) a day in August, roughly 70% above the island's yearly average, and €14–22 ($15–24) in winter. Over 100 operators compete at Palma airport, which is exactly why the cheapest ones make their margin on deposit holds, fuel policies and damage charges rather than on the rate. Book at least 27 days ahead, pick a company with a clear deposit rule, and know that the road to the Formentor lighthouse is closed to rental cars for most of the day between May and October.
Mallorca is one of the largest car hire markets in Europe, and that competition keeps off-season prices genuinely low. The seasonal swing is steeper than on mainland Spain though. August averages around €50 ($55) a day, about 70% above the yearly average, while the same car in February costs less than half that.
Daily rates by season (economy, unlimited mileage)
Indicative all-in rates for a small car collected at Palma airport, checked August 2026
| Season | Price per day | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| November to February | €14–22 ($15–24) | Cheapest window, widest choice |
| March to May | €18–28 ($20–31) | Best balance of price and weather |
| June to August | €40–55 ($44–60) | Peak. Automatics sell out first |
| September to October | €24–32 ($26–35) | Shoulder season, still warm |
The €5–9 a day teaser rates you see on comparison pages are base rates before the extras most travellers end up accepting at the counter: excess reduction, additional driver, child seat. A realistic all-in figure is roughly double the headline number unless you have arranged your own excess cover.
Average price by month
Economy class, Palma airport pickup, euros per day
Son Sant Joan is Spain's third-busiest airport and one of the busiest in Europe in summer. There are two pickup models and the practical difference is about half an hour.
The major brands keep counters inside arrivals with the cars in the multi-storey opposite. No shuttle and no waiting for a bus, but you pay the airport concession fee, and in peak season you still queue because every flight lands at once.
Many of the cheaper companies sit a few minutes away and run a shuttle. Budget 10–20 minutes each way. On a week-long trip that is a fair trade for a noticeably lower price. On a one-night stop it is not.
Over 100 operators serve Palma airport and the quality gap between them is far wider than the price gap. The ratings below were checked in August 2026. One thing worth holding on to while you read them: a high score from a handful of reviews tells you much less than a middling score from tens of thousands.
A Mallorcan family firm and comfortably the best rated operator on the island. Straightforward pricing without the usual counter negotiation, full-to-full fuel, and a fleet that is generally newer than the big budget chains run. If you have had a bad experience on Mallorca before, this is usually where you end up.
A family business founded on Mallorca in 1953. A second driver is included in every rate, the fleet is renewed annually, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before pickup. Their Smartlock service lets you collect and unlock the car in the car park without going into the office. They hold a fuel deposit and refund it once the car comes back full, typically within about three days. Their Trustpilot score sits on only 25 reviews, so treat it as thin evidence. The reputation rests mainly on Google and Tripadvisor.
Founded on Mallorca and now running one of the largest fleets in Spain. Modern cars, clear pricing, and a Full Cover product that takes the excess to zero properly. The 3.6 score looks unremarkable until you notice it rests on more than 32,000 reviews, which makes it far more meaningful than a perfect score from a small operator.
If you want a counter in arrivals, staff who speak your language and a newer fleet, Sixt is the most reliable international option on Mallorca. More expensive than the local firms, but no shuttle and the best Trustpilot score among the big chains operating in Spain.
1.3 out of 5 across more than 54,000 reviews. The combination of a very large sample and a very low score is the real signal here, because it cannot be explained away by a few unlucky customers. The recurring complaints are always the same: counter pressure, large deposit holds and post-return damage charges.
2.3 out of 5 across more than 17,000 reviews. Plenty of rentals go fine, but complaints cluster around deposits and fuel billing. If you book here, book with zero-excess cover and document the car obsessively at pickup and return.
1.4 out of 5, though on only 92 reviews on the international domain, so read it with that in mind. The recurring report is a separate fuel deposit on top of the insurance deposit, which pushes the total blocked on your card a long way up. Check the exact figure before you book.
Operator ratings compared
Trustpilot scores, checked 17 August 2026
This is the most common pre-trip question and the answer is inconvenient: the card that pays for the booking and the card that carries the deposit are treated differently. Most large operators want a credit card in the main driver's name for the security deposit. A debit card can often pay for the rental but cannot hold the deposit.
If you do not have a credit card, you solve it at booking rather than at the counter: choose a rate that sets both the deposit and the excess to zero from the start. OK Mobility sell this as Full Cover and several local operators offer the equivalent. These rates cost a few euros a day more and save you having several hundred to over a thousand euros blocked on your card for the whole rental.
Every rental includes basic CDW with an excess. That excess is what the company keeps from your deposit if the car comes back damaged, and on Mallorca it runs from about €600 to €1,500 ($660–1,650) depending on the class.
At the desk you will be offered super cover that reduces the excess to zero. It works, and it removes the argument at return, but at roughly €15–25 ($16–27) a day it is the most expensive way to buy that peace of mind.
A standalone excess policy from a third party costs a fraction of that. The catch is that you pay first and reclaim afterwards, and the deposit is still blocked on your card. For anyone with enough headroom on a credit card it is clearly the better value.
What the three options cost
Worked example for one week in a small car
| Option | Cost per week | Deposit blocked? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic CDW only | €0 | Yes, €600–1,500 | High card limit and steady nerves |
| Counter super cover | €105–175 ($115–192) | No, or heavily reduced | Peace of mind, or no credit card |
| Third-party excess policy | €20–40 ($22–44) | Yes, in full | Credit card with headroom |
One piece of genuinely good news: Mallorca has no toll roads. The Sóller tunnel, for decades the famous exception, is free now too. You need no transponder and no vignette, and you can decline anything the counter offers in that direction.
Mallorca has no tolls but it does have three access rules that almost no rental agreement explains. All three apply to hire cars explicitly, and all three are camera-enforced.
The Ma-2210 to the Formentor lighthouse is closed to private vehicles from 15 May to 18 October 2026, daily between 10:00 and 22:00. The stretch from the beach to the lighthouse is entirely shut in those hours, with exceptions only for residents, permit holders and people with reduced mobility. On the earlier stretch from Port de Pollença to the beach you may drive as long as the official 300-space car park still has room. The rule names rental vehicles and motorbikes specifically, the fine runs €100–200, and cameras on the Ma-2210 enforce it automatically.
Unlike Formentor, the Ma-2141 down to Sa Calobra is not closed to private cars. Only vehicles with more than nine seats need a year-round reservation, may enter only between 11:00 and 13:30, and pay €200 if they turn up without one. So you may drive it, but know what it is: 13 kilometres of hairpins dropping about 700 metres, with a 10-tonne weight limit since a retaining wall collapsed in 2023. Digital signs on the way report whether the car parks at Sóller, Sa Calobra and Cala Tuent are already full.
Palma has had a low emission zone since the start of 2025 and the fine is €200. The good news is that cars hired on Mallorca almost always carry the right environmental badge and can drive in without any paperwork. Until December 2026 all vehicles with B, C, ECO and 0 badges are admitted. The zone only becomes an issue if you bring your own foreign-plated car to the island, which since March 2026 requires a temporary registration through Mobipalma, valid 30 days and applied for at least five days ahead.
The most reliable single lever. In peak season prices double in the final week and automatics disappear entirely.
A comparison site shows you in one step what is actually available island-wide for your dates. Then look at Hiper, ROIG and OK Mobility directly, because their all-inclusive direct rates do not always surface on the aggregators.
Full-to-full is the only fuel policy worth accepting. Prepaid fuel routinely costs 30–50% more than the pump price, and you do not get a refund for what is left in the tank.
The Tramuntana roads and the old town lanes in Pollença, Valldemossa and Sóller are narrow. A compact is cheaper, calmer to drive and far easier to park.
Palma city branches save the airport concession fee, around 5%. It only pays off from about four rental days and only if you are staying in Palma first anyway.
The stations right around PMI are noticeably more expensive. Fill up on the Ma-19 or in Palma itself before the final exit.
One week in June, small car, two adults
Same car, same dates, two different approaches
| Line item | Tourist booking | Smart booking |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate, 7 days | €315 ($346) | €245 ($269) |
| Excess cover | €140 counter ($154) | €28 third-party ($31) |
| Second driver | €56 ($62) | €0 (included at ROIG) |
| Fuel policy | €95 prepaid ($104) | €62 full-to-full ($68) |
| Formentor fine | €200 ($220) | €0 (took bus 334) |
| Total | €806 ($886) | €335 ($368) |
The real reason to hire a car sits in the northwest of the island. All four of these are comfortable in an ordinary small car if you take your time.
The spine of the mountain range, running from Andratx to Pollença through a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Allow a full day, not for the distance but for the number of times you will stop.
The famous hairpin road with the tie-knot turn that loops under itself. Thirteen kilometres, about 700 metres of descent, and a gorge at the bottom you reach on foot through two tunnels. Go early, the car parks fill by mid-morning.
The most spectacular viewpoint on the island, but between 15 May and 18 October you can only drive it before 10:00 or after 22:00. Outside those hours, take bus 334.
The northeast is far calmer than the Tramuntana. The lanes towards Cala Torta and Cala Mesquida are narrow and sometimes without a centre line, but perfectly drivable. This is where the small car pays for itself a second time.
Between €14 and €22 a day for a small car in winter, and around €50 a day on average in August, roughly 70% above the yearly average. May and October sit at €18 to €32.
With most large operators yes, and it must be in the main driver's name because the deposit is blocked on it. If you do not have one, book a rate that includes zero deposit and zero excess, such as OK Mobility Full Cover.
On current ratings Hiper Rent a Car is the best rated on the island at 4.6 out of 5 from 1,223 reviews. If you want a desk inside the terminal instead, Sixt is the strongest international option.
Not between 10:00 and 22:00 from 15 May to 18 October 2026. The section from the beach to the lighthouse is fully closed in those hours and the fine is €100 to €200. Outside those hours and outside that season you can drive it.
No. Mallorca has no toll roads and the Sóller tunnel is free. You do not need a transponder and can decline any related extra at the counter.
Almost always yes. Cars hired on Mallorca carry the required environmental badge, and until December 2026 the B, C, ECO and 0 badges are all admitted. Registration is only needed for foreign-plated cars brought to the island.
If you want to see the Tramuntana, the eastern coves or more than one town, yes. If you are staying only in Palma, skip it. Parking there is a bigger problem than getting around.
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you book through our comparison partner we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All prices are snapshots taken on the stated fact-check date and can change.
Prices, ratings and traffic rules verified on 17 August 2026. Sources: Trustpilot (operator ratings), Consell de Mallorca and TIB (Formentor Ma-2210 restrictions), Ajuntament de Palma (low emission zone), KAYAK and DiscoverCars (price levels).
