How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Car in Boston? A Worked Three-Day Example

Renting a car in Boston costs the daily rate times your number of days, plus Massachusetts sales tax, two small flat surcharges (on rentals of 30 days or less) and any extras you pick, like the damage waiver or delivery. With our Prius Prime at $99 a day, a three-day rental picked up in Revere comes to $327.56 in total. Prices in this guide are current as of November 2026, and the total on your booking page is always the final price.

How much does it cost to rent a car in Boston? What's on the quote

Here's what you'll see on a quote from us when your rental starts in Massachusetts (pickup in Revere, or delivery to a Massachusetts address). Deliveries to New Hampshire or Rhode Island pay those states' rental taxes instead, and you'll see them in your total before you book.

Rent for a week or longer and you get a discount, which isn't part of a three-day quote. See weekly and monthly rentals.

The worked example: a three-day Prius Prime rental

Here's the math at our current rates, with tax rounded to the cent.

Scenario A: self-pickup in Revere, no damage waiver.

• Rental: 3 days x $99 = $297.00
• Sales tax: 6.25% of $297.00 = $18.56
• Local surcharge (Revere): $10.00
• State police training surcharge: $2.00
• Total: $327.56

Scenario B: the same rental with the optional damage waiver.

• Rental: $297.00
• Damage waiver: 3 days x $30 = $90.00
• Taxable subtotal: $387.00
• Sales tax: 6.25% of $387.00 = $24.19
• Local surcharge (Revere): $10.00
• State police training surcharge: $2.00
• Total: $423.19

Scenario C: waiver plus delivery to a Boston address.

• Rental: $297.00
• Damage waiver: 3 days x $30 = $90.00
• Delivery: $120.00
• Taxable subtotal: $507.00
• Sales tax: 6.25% of $507.00 = $31.69 (the surcharges below aren't taxed)
• Local surcharge (Boston): $10.00
• State police training surcharge: $2.00
• Total: $550.69

The $10 applies because each rental is 30 days or less and starts in Revere (A and B) or at a Boston address (C). In every case, the $250 security deposit is separate and comes back within two weeks if there's no damage or fees. You pay the booking deposit online when you book, and it goes toward your total. It's $350, or the whole rental total if that's less, so in Scenario A you pay $327.56 when you book and nothing more later.

Three days versus five days: what changes

The surcharges stay the same, while tax and the optional waiver go up with each day. Same Prius Prime rate, Revere pickup:

Because the surcharges are charged once, they add less per day the longer you rent.

Renting in New Hampshire or Rhode Island

Taxes depend on where your rental starts. If we deliver the car to a New Hampshire or Rhode Island address, you pay that state's rental taxes instead of Massachusetts', with no $10 or $2 surcharge:

For example, a bZ4X delivered to Nashua, NH for 5 days is $645 + $120 delivery + $65.03 tax = $830.03.

Costs that depend on your trip

A few costs only come up after the trip, depending on how you use the car:

• Tolls, tickets and violations are your responsibility.
• Tesla Supercharging is charged to our account and billed to you afterward. (The Prius Prime is a plug-in hybrid, so this doesn't apply to it.)
• Charge or fuel at return. Return the car at the same charge or fuel level as at pickup; it doesn't need to be full. If it comes back lower, the fee is $50 for an electric car and $100 for a gas or hybrid car, and it comes out of your security deposit.
• Late return. $30 per hour, and more than 3 hours late counts as a full extra day.

What you spend on gas or charging depends on how far you drive; fueleconomy.gov compares how efficient different cars are.

How to check a rental quote

The first price you see anywhere is usually just the daily rate. Before you pay, compare it with the checkout total:

1. Write down the daily rate and number of days from the first screen.
2. At checkout, find the tax line, the surcharges and any extras you didn't choose on purpose, like a waiver or delivery.
3. Multiply the rate by the days yourself and add the tax to see whether the checkout total matches.
4. See whether the deposits are part of the total or listed separately.
5. Screenshot the final page.

Comparing with other options

Comparing us with another rental company or a car-sharing app? Look past the daily rate and compare the same things: service or platform fees, insurance or protection, delivery, taxes and surcharges, the deposit and the return rules. The fairest comparison is the checkout total for the same dates.

Whichever company you use, ask these questions before you pay:

1. What's the minimum rental length for the car I want?
2. Which fees are required and which are optional?
3. Which items are taxed?
4. Is the security deposit separate from the total, and when is it refunded?
5. What's expected at return, and what are the late fees?

With us, a second driver is free (with our approval), and there's no delivery fee when you pick up in Revere.

Get a price for your dates

See our pricing or the Prius Prime, pick your dates and pickup place, and you'll see the full total before you book.