This is the CHEAPEST Car Rental at Helsinki Airport

I searched online for quite a long time to find the cheapest car rental at Helsinki airport. After all, a rental car is one of the largest but most essential expenses for a road trip around Finland.

I tried lots of combinations such as changing the pick-up location between Helsinki Vantaa Airport and Helsinki downtown.

I considered picking up a car in Helsinki and dropping off in Oulu or Rovaniemi. These both made it more expensive.

I checked a range of different rental car companies such as Hetz, Avis, Europcar, Alamo, Green Motion. I went on their individual websites, cleared cookies so they didn’t know I already had flights to Helsinki.

At the end of the day, there was one clear winner. RentalCars.com.

Prices of Car Rental at Helsinki Airport

A few things to note which keeps the comparison standardised.

I drive an automatic car which is a little more expensive than a manual transmission. All cars here are selected as automatic transmission.

All cars shown here are for the same travel duration of 14 days. The same pick up and drop off day.

I obtained all pricing on the same day, within about the same hour. The results are not impacted by leaving one inquiry to the last minute.

In each case, I selected the cheapest economy vehicle available. Typically, a Toyota Yaris or equivalent economy vehicle like a Ford Focus.

And finally, remember that my Finland road trip is in the summer from mid to late July. This is also the peak season, so you can expect a bit of a price hike during this period too.

Now for the good bits. The results.

Europcar came in at a grand total of AUD 2,103. The most expensive rental car I found online.

Hertz came in at AUD 1,313, converted at the exchange rate from 818 Euro. Not bad, not great.

Sixt came in slightly lower at AUD 1,026. Pretty good for a nice new car. But you can do better.

Green Motion was a ripper deal at AUD 881. However, I’ve read quite a few bad reviews online about these guys ripping people off with made up damages. So, I steer clear of them.

The WINNER is… Surprisingly, it was Europcar but booked through RentalCars.com at AUD 804. Same car, same dates, completely different price.

If you want cheap car rental at Helsinki Airport, then perform your search through RentalCars.com. You will most likely find a better deal there than individual rental websites.

You can see first-hand that I saved over AUD 1,300 simply by looking at RentalCars.com.

What You Should Know About Renting a Car in Finland

I like the term comparing apples to apples. Not all rental cars in Finland have the same terms and conditions, so pay close attention.

Kilometre limit. Some companies apply a kilometre limit to the rental car, typically something around 150km per day. This might be OK for a lot of travellers, but if you’re planning a huge road trip from Helsinki to Lapland and back in just under two weeks, this won’t cut it. Solution? Look for a rental car with unlimited kilometres.

Fuel Efficiency. Obviously, some cars are more fuel efficient than others. If you want to travel on the cheap then look for an economy car. I suggest a Toyota Yaris. It’s fuel efficient yet easily fits two people and all your luggage.

Driver Age. Again, this differs from company to company. The rental car company tends to whack on a surcharge for a driver below a certain age. Hertz seems to only care that you’re above 19 years old, while Sixt is a little more protective asking drivers if they have passed the 25-year-old mark.

International Returns. For some destinations in Europe, you can hire a car in one country and drop it off at another. I haven’t been able to find any car rental car company in Finland which allows this. Whether you want to pick up and drop off in Sweden, Norway, Russia, etc… It’s just not allowed.

So you have a car, what next? Get inspired by these 12 epic things to do in Finland!

Cover photo by JESHOOTS.com from Pexels