# Car Hire Finder: Every Rental Car Price for Your Dates (`zaiq/car-hire-finder`) Actor

Enter a city or airport, pick-up and drop-off times, the driver's age and bags. It returns every hire car Discover Cars offers for those dates with the full-rental price, deposit, excess, fuel and cancellation terms, and checks the best three prices on their own offer pages.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/zaiq/car-hire-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Zaiq](https://apify.com/zaiq) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $392.00 / 1,000 car searches

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Car Hire Finder: every hire car price for your dates, the best ones checked

Enter the city or airport, when you collect and return the car, the driver's age, how many people and bags. It searches Discover Cars for those exact times and returns every offer it can read: the full-rental total, price per day, class, gearbox, seats, bags, mileage, fuel policy, deposit, excess and free cancellation, with a link to each offer.

Cars that do not seat your party or fit your bags are flagged, the cheapest that fits comes first, and the three best prices are re-opened on their own offer pages and checked: a quote whose price, dates or car changed is dropped, never shown as checked.

### What you get

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Every offer | Supplier, car, class, gearbox, seats, bags, doors, air-con, mileage and fuel policy. |
| The real price | Full-rental total for your times, price per day, deposit and excess as stated. |
| Party fit | Seats and bags against your party; the cheapest that fits first. |
| Checked prices | The best three re-read on their offer pages (priceVerifiedAgainstOfferPage). |
| Picks | Cheapest in each class, cheapest party fit, best-rated supplier. |

### What people use it for

- **Holidaymakers:** Compare every car at the airport for your exact flight times before you book.
- **Travel agents:** Quote clients a checked rental price in one run.
- **Apps and AI agents:** A live car hire price feed by API for trip planners and chatbots.

### How to use it

1. Enter the city, where you pick up, and the dates and times.
2. Add the driver's age, passengers and bags.
3. Run it: every offer comes back cheapest-that-fits first, the best three checked on their offer pages.

### Input

| Field | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| City | Cape Town | Where you collect the car. |
| Pick-up at | airport | airport, city, or an airport code such as CPT. |
| Pick-up / return | 2026-12-12 14:00 / 2026-12-17 12:00 | Same place; at most 60 days. |
| Driver's age, lives in | 35, ZA | Young-driver rules and prices depend on them. |
| Passengers, suitcases | 4, 2 | Cars that do not fit are flagged. |
| Currency | ZAR | Prices are in this currency. |

### Output

Each result is one row in the run's dataset (download it as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read it through the API). An example row (values shortened):

```json
{
  "kind": "car",
  "rank": 1,
  "supplier": "Example Car Hire",
  "carName": "Example compact hatchback",
  "carClass": "economy",
  "transmission": "manual",
  "seats": 5,
  "bags": 2,
  "priceTotal": 1410.84,
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "pricePerDay": 282.17,
  "rentalDays": 5,
  "mileage": "unlimited",
  "freeCancellation": true,
  "partyFit": true,
  "luggageFit": true,
  "priceVerifiedAgainstOfferPage": true,
  "pick": [
    "Cheapest party fit in class"
  ],
  "url": "https://example.com/offer"
}
```

Example row from a real Cape Town airport search on 19 October 2026 (100 offers, cheapest that fits R1,401, three prices checked); supplier and car names were replaced. SUMMARY records the rental, the search link, offers seen and parsed, and each price check.

### Pricing

- **$0.49 per completed search** (one event, however many offers it returns).
- A search that returns no priced offer is free.

What typical jobs cost at the list price:

| Job | Cost |
|---|---|
| One airport search | $0.49 |
| Ten date options | $4.90 |
| No offers found | $0 |

On Apify's Scale and Business plans the per-event prices are lower (Store discounts). Set **Maximum cost per run** and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached: you never pay more than that.

### Tips

- Use the exact flight times: rental days are counted from them.
- Give the airport code when a city has several airports.
- Set the driver's country: some prices depend on residence.

### Use it through the API

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("zaiq/car-hire-finder").call(run_input={"city": "Lisbon", "pickUpPlace": "airport", "pickUpDate": "2027-03-15", "dropOffDate": "2027-03-20", "passengers": 2, "currency": "EUR"})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(row)
```

**JavaScript**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('zaiq/car-hire-finder').call({"city": "Lisbon", "pickUpPlace": "airport", "pickUpDate": "2027-03-15", "dropOffDate": "2027-03-20", "passengers": 2, "currency": "EUR"});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

**HTTP (one call, results back)**

```bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zaiq~car-hire-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"city": "Lisbon", "pickUpPlace": "airport", "pickUpDate": "2027-03-15", "dropOffDate": "2027-03-20", "passengers": 2, "currency": "EUR"}'
```

### Integrations and schedules

- **Schedules:** run it every hour, day or week from the Apify Console (Schedules) and keep a history of results.
- **Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable:** connect it through Apify's integrations, or send each finished run to a **webhook**.
- **Datasets:** results stay in the run's dataset; export them or read them by API whenever you need them.

### Use it with AI agents (MCP)

Add Apify's MCP server (`https://mcp.apify.com`) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client. The agent can find this Actor and run it for you: ask it for "Find the cheapest automatic hire car that fits four people at Cape Town airport from 12 to 17 December". AI agents can also pay for runs directly through Apify's agentic payments.

### Limits

- No login, CAPTCHA solving or forged challenge tokens; a source can withhold public data, and the run says so.
- Prices are public snapshots for your dates and party, not held reservations; check again before booking.
- Included insurance terms are not in the search results; read them on the offer page.
- Same-location return only.

### FAQ

**Does it book the car?**

No. It finds and checks prices; you book on the offer page.

**Why only three prices checked?**

Each check opens the offer page; three keep a search quick and cheap. Every other price is the search result as shown.

### Related Actors from Zaiq

- [holiday-planner](https://apify.com/zaiq/holiday-planner): the whole holiday in one run: stays, days, car hire, experiences and a budget

### Support

Questions, a site that changed, or a field you need? Open an issue on this Actor's **Issues** tab: we answer there, usually within a day.

***

Also found as: car hire, car rental prices, rental car comparison, airport car hire, cheap car rental, car rental API.

# Actor input Schema

## `city` (type: `string`):

The town or city you collect the car in, with its country if it is ambiguous, for example Cape Town.

## `pickUpPlace` (type: `string`):

airport (the main airport), city (a city branch), or an airport name or code such as CPT.

## `pickUpAirport` (type: `string`):

Optional IATA code when the city has several airports, for example LGW.

## `pickUpDate` (type: `string`):

The day you collect the car. Leave empty for 30 days from today.

## `pickUpTime` (type: `string`):

HH:MM, for example 10:00.

## `dropOffDate` (type: `string`):

The day you return it, at the same place. Leave empty for five days later.

## `dropOffTime` (type: `string`):

HH:MM, for example 10:00.

## `driverAge` (type: `integer`):

Prices and young-driver rules depend on it.

## `driverResidenceCountry` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code, for example ZA or GB. Prices can depend on it.

## `passengers` (type: `integer`):

Everyone travelling, the driver included. Cars with fewer seats are flagged.

## `bags` (type: `integer`):

Large bags to fit; leave empty if unsure.

## `currency` (type: `string`):

Three-letter code, for example ZAR, EUR, USD or GBP.

## `maxOffers` (type: `integer`):

Offers returned, cheapest that fits first.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "city": "Cape Town",
  "pickUpPlace": "airport",
  "pickUpTime": "10:00",
  "dropOffTime": "10:00",
  "driverAge": 30,
  "driverResidenceCountry": "ZA",
  "passengers": 4,
  "bags": 2,
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "maxOffers": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset: the results.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

What each input returned, and notes.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "city": "Cape Town",
    "pickUpPlace": "airport",
    "pickUpTime": "10:00",
    "dropOffTime": "10:00",
    "driverAge": 30,
    "driverResidenceCountry": "ZA",
    "passengers": 4,
    "bags": 2,
    "currency": "ZAR"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("zaiq/car-hire-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "city": "Cape Town",
    "pickUpPlace": "airport",
    "pickUpTime": "10:00",
    "dropOffTime": "10:00",
    "driverAge": 30,
    "driverResidenceCountry": "ZA",
    "passengers": 4,
    "bags": 2,
    "currency": "ZAR",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("zaiq/car-hire-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "city": "Cape Town",
  "pickUpPlace": "airport",
  "pickUpTime": "10:00",
  "dropOffTime": "10:00",
  "driverAge": 30,
  "driverResidenceCountry": "ZA",
  "passengers": 4,
  "bags": 2,
  "currency": "ZAR"
}' |
apify call zaiq/car-hire-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,zaiq/car-hire-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Yla5vfV45M8Xbb5bm/builds/kpa6znUYI0KSZALqq/openapi.json