Nine car hire companies, one comparison
Spain has more rental desks per square kilometre than almost any country in Europe. Malaga Airport alone has 17 operators. Picking the right one matters because the price gap between the cheapest and the most expensive rate for the same car, same dates, can reach 60-80% - and the cheapest rate sometimes comes with a €1,400 deposit or a counter that closes before delayed flights land.
This page compares all nine companies we cover: their ratings across Trustpilot, Google and booking aggregators, what they actually charge, and for whom each one makes sense. Internal links lead to a full page per brand with the complete reviews breakdown.
How the ratings compare across all companies
Three rating sources give different pictures of the same company. Trustpilot attracts complaint-driven reviews and runs low for nearly everyone. Google Maps ratings are branch-specific - the same brand can score 4.2 at Malaga and 3.1 at a city-centre office. Aggregators like DiscoverCars and Booking.com collect post-rental surveys and run highest across the board.
Use all three together. A brand with a poor Trustpilot score but a strong aggregator rating usually means: routine rentals go fine, but when something goes wrong the company is hard to deal with.
| Company | Type | Trustpilot | Google (flagship) | Aggregator (/10) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sixt | Premium intl. | 4.1 / 5 (2,451 reviews) | 4.7★ Madrid (~17,900) | 8.4 | Germany, 1912 |
| Drivalia | Mid / transparent | 4.0 / 5 (~4,000 reviews) | n/a (off-airport) | 7.0 | Spain, 2010 |
| OK Mobility | Budget-to-mid | 3.7 / 5 (~31,000 reviews) | Mixed by branch | 6.0 | Spain, 2004 |
| Europcar | Full-service intl. | 2.1 / 5 | 4.2★ Malaga (~2,400) | 7.9 | France, 1949 |
| Centauro | Spanish value | 2.7 / 5 (~16,700 reviews) | ~8 / 10 (broker avg) | 7.8 | Spain, 1973 |
| Record Go | Spanish budget | 2.4 / 5 (~26,000 reviews) | 4.3★ Malaga (~1,038) | 7.7 | Spain, 1966 |
| Avis | Premium intl. | 1.3 / 5 | 3.4★ Malaga (~270) | 8.7 | USA, 1946 |
| Enterprise | Service intl. | 1.5 / 5 | 3.4★ Alicante (~453) | 8.6 | USA, 1957 |
| Goldcar | Budget low-cost | 1.3 / 5 (53,512 reviews) | 3.6★ Malaga (~10,100) | 7.2 | Spain, 1985 |
Ratings checked June 2026. Trustpilot scores reflect the Spain-specific domain where available (sixt.es, goldcar.es, europcar.es, enterprise.es, avis.es). Aggregator scores are from DiscoverCars or Booking.com post-rental surveys, whichever had the larger sample.
Budget vs. premium - what the price difference actually buys you
Sixt, Avis and Enterprise charge 30-60% more than Goldcar, Record Go or Centauro for the same category. That premium buys three things: a newer fleet, predictable counter behaviour, and a straightforward deposit return. It does not buy immunity from disputes - Avis and Enterprise both score below 2.0 on Trustpilot, which means their complaint handling, while less frequent, is similarly frustrating when it happens.
The Spanish budget brands - Goldcar, Centauro, Record Go, OK Mobility - compete on headline price and then recover margin at the counter. The pattern is consistent across tens of thousands of reviews: cheap daily rate, pressure to buy additional cover at pickup (€8-15/day), large deposit if you decline (€1,050-1,400), and disputed damage or fuel charges on return. This does not mean every rental ends in a dispute - most don't - but the risk is measurably higher than with the international brands.
Drivalia is the exception in the budget segment. Their Trustpilot score of ~4.0 is the best among Spanish-origin operators, and their full cover "Ultimate" rate is a genuine no-excess product. They run a smaller network (around 15 locations) compared to Goldcar's 80+.
What to check before booking any company
Every Spanish budget brand offers additional cover at the counter, usually €8-15/day. If you're booking a 10-day rental and the counter adds €100 in cover you didn't plan for, the "cheapest" rate stops being cheapest. Either buy an independent excess insurance policy before arrival (£25-50 total for the trip via InsureandGo, Questor or similar), or book the full cover rate from the start.
Four things to verify before confirming any booking regardless of brand: accepted card type (physical credit card in lead driver's name is the safe default - some Spanish operators reject prepaid and virtual cards), deposit amount if declining additional cover, out-of-hours policy if your flight lands after the desk closes, and fuel policy (full-to-full is always better than pre-purchase).
Which company for which trip
For a first visit to Spain or any trip where you want zero surprises: Sixt is the default choice based on ratings and fleet quality. Drivalia is the best-value alternative with similar transparency. Enterprise and Avis are reliable for one-way rentals and city pickups where Sixt has no office.
For cost-driven trips where you're comfortable photographing the car and dealing with counter pressure: OK Mobility has the best Trustpilot score among the budget Spanish brands (~3.7). Centauro's full cover rate with no excess is a legitimate option if booked direct. Record Go works well at island airports - Palma, Ibiza, Lanzarote - where their network is strongest. Goldcar's combination of volume (the largest budget network in Spain) and the worst Trustpilot score in the table makes it a last resort unless the price difference is substantial and you're booking full cover.
Frequently asked questions
Sixt España has the highest Trustpilot score among companies operating in Spain - approximately 4.1 out of 5 from around 2,451 reviews (June 2026). For post-rental aggregator surveys, Avis scores highest at approximately 8.7 out of 10 on Rentalcars.com, followed closely by Enterprise at 8.6. Among Spanish-origin budget brands, Drivalia leads with a Trustpilot score of around 4.0.
Goldcar has the largest budget car hire network in Spain (80+ offices) but also the lowest Trustpilot score among the nine companies we track - 1.3 out of 5 from over 53,000 reviews. The main complaints are counter upselling, large deposits when declining additional cover (around €1,400), and post-return damage disputes. Most routine rentals go smoothly, but the risk of a dispute is measurably higher than with other operators. If choosing Goldcar, book the full cover rate, photograph the car thoroughly at pickup and return, and use a physical credit card.
For most companies in Spain, yes - a physical credit card in the lead driver's name is the safest option. Several Spanish budget operators (Goldcar, Record Go, some Centauro desks) have been reported to reject prepaid cards, virtual cards (Revolut, Wise) and debit cards - or to require a significantly larger deposit if you present one. Sixt, Avis, Enterprise and Europcar are more flexible but still prefer credit cards for the security deposit. If you only have a debit card, check the specific company's policy before booking, or book an full cover rate where no deposit hold is required.
Drivalia, OK Mobility and Record Go consistently appear at the low end of search results - Kayak data from mid-2026 shows daily rates from approximately €5-7 for economy cars at Spanish airports. However, the all-in price depends heavily on whether you buy additional cover at the counter. A €5/day rate that requires €10/day in compulsory cover is more expensive than a €12/day full cover rate. For the lowest total cost, compare full cover rates across Drivalia, Centauro, Record Go and OK Mobility via a comparison engine, then check the deposit requirements before confirming.