Enterprise Leads Best Rental Companies for 2026, According to JD Power | Jalopnik

Satisfaction improves in 2026

JD Power’s 2026 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study found gains in customer satisfaction compared with 2025. The average score climbed from 691 to 707 on a 1,000-point scale.

At pickup, 90% of customers said a vehicle in their reserved class was waiting. Another 85% said they could choose a specific vehicle within the class they received. Those results rose by 3 and 5 percentage points, respectively.

How the rankings were calculated

The study evaluates ease of rental, pickup and drop-off, trust, vehicle, staff, value for price paid, and digital tools. JD Power weights those seven dimensions in the order listed.

The findings draw on 7,845 people who rented from airport-based companies between August 2025 and August 2026. Six of the 13 agencies scored above the study average: Enterprise, National, Advantage Rent A Car, Alamo, Sixt, and Hertz.

Enterprise remains at the top

Enterprise ranked first with 739 points, up five from 2025. National was second at 726, also five points higher, while Advantage Rent A Car rose six points to 717.

Alamo scored 716 and placed ahead of Sixt, which moved to fifth despite gaining three points. Advantage had shared a position with Sixt in 2025, but the ranking order among the leading agencies otherwise remained unchanged.

Lower-ranked brands also gain

Every agency received a higher score than in 2025, with some of the largest gains among lower-ranked companies. Dollar remained last, but improved from 641 to 663 points; Thrifty also finished near the bottom.

Payless made the biggest points gain, moving from 650 points and 11th place to 699 points and eighth place. The study named Thrifty and Dollar as the lowest-ranked agencies.

Major brands share three owners

The article says the country’s major rental brands belong to three companies. Enterprise Mobility owns Enterprise, National, and Alamo; Avis Budget Group controls its namesake brands and Payless; and Hertz owns Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty. Hertz previously owned Advantage after purchasing it, but the FTC required the company to sell the brand when Hertz bought Dollar and Thrifty in 2012, to preserve competition.