Every comparison site promises you "the cheapest car hire in Spain". None of them tells you where in Spain is actually cheap.
So we measured it. Same dates. Same criteria. Nine destinations. These are the real prices our own search engine returned on the day we published this — not "from" rates, not estimates.
The Spain car hire price index — August 2026
| Destination | Week (7 days) | Per day | Cars available | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Canaria | 16,25 € | 2,32 € | 24 | See cars |
| Alicante | 26,14 € | 3,73 € | 23 | See cars |
| Tenerife | 27,37 € | 3,91 € | 8 | See cars |
| Malaga | 30,01 € | 4,29 € | 21 | See cars |
| Valencia | 33,60 € | 4,80 € | 23 | See cars |
| Mallorca (Palma) | 37,36 € | 5,34 € | 20 | See cars |
| Barcelona | 52,44 € | 7,49 € | 8 | See cars |
| Menorca | 57,79 € | 8,26 € | 24 | See cars |
| Ibiza | 75,75 € | 10,82 € | 23 | See cars |
What the numbers say
1. Gran Canaria is the cheapest place in Spain to hire a car
€2.32 a day. €16.25 for a whole week in August — peak season. That is less than a single airport coffee, per day.
And it is not a fluke of low supply: we found 24 cars available, more than in Barcelona.
2. Ibiza costs 4.7 times more than Gran Canaria
€10.82/day against €2.32/day. Same country, same week, same class of car. If your holiday is flexible, this single decision is worth more than any discount code you will ever find.
3. The Canaries beat the Balearics, decisively
| Canary Islands | Per day | Balearic Islands | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Canaria | €2.32 | Mallorca | €5.34 |
| Tenerife | €3.91 | Menorca | €8.26 |
| — | — | Ibiza | €10.82 |
Every Canary destination we measured is cheaper than every Balearic one.
4. Barcelona is expensive for a mainland city
€7.49/day — more than Mallorca, and nearly double Málaga. And only 8 cars available. Low supply, high price.
How we measured this (open methodology)
We publish the method in full, because a figure you cannot check is worth nothing.
- Dates: pick-up 8 August 2026, drop-off 15 August (7 days). Peak season, deliberately.
- Price: the cheapest car available, at the final amount shown at booking — not the advertised "from" rate.
- Pick-up and drop-off: same location, no one-way fee.
- Source: the real inventory of our own search engine, which aggregates local suppliers.
- Measured on: 14 July 2026. Prices change daily — every row links to the live search so you can check it yourself.
What these numbers do NOT say
- These are local supplier prices, not the big airport-counter brands, which are usually more expensive.
- It is a snapshot of one day. In August, prices rise the closer you get to the date.
- Lanzarote returned no availability for our window. We left the row out rather than fill it with a guess.
Use this data
These figures are free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0). If you are a journalist or a blogger and want the methodology expanded, the whole thing is above — and you can reproduce every number in the links.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the cheapest car hire in Spain?
Gran Canaria, by a wide margin. In August 2026 the cheapest available car costs €2.32/day (€16.25 for a week). That is 4.7 times cheaper than Ibiza.
Which is the most expensive Spanish destination for car hire?
Ibiza: €10.82/day in August 2026 (€75.75 for a week). It costs more than double Mallorca and 4.7 times Gran Canaria.
Is it cheaper to hire a car in Mallorca or Ibiza?
Mallorca, and it is not close. €5.34/day against €10.82/day in August 2026 — Ibiza costs twice as much.
How much does it cost to hire a car in Spain?
It depends entirely on where. In August 2026 the cheapest available car ranges from €2.32/day in Gran Canaria to €10.82/day in Ibiza. Same country, same week, same type of car.