How to Create a Car Rental App in 2023

Being a car owner, are you inspired by a peer-to-peer car rental app like Turo? Looking to build your own car rental app to take your business to the heights of success?

Why not? When a car rental app like Turo is making millions every year, you also have the opportunity to take your business online and make money with a successful car rental application.

If you want to quickly launch your app in the market and are looking for a complete guide on how to create a car rental app, then read this blog. We have exclusively crafted this guide to help you build a powerful car rental app.

Statistics of the Car Rental Industry

Today, car rental has become a beneficial business model for many, including Turo, Hertz, and Kayak. The statistics below will give you an idea of how much money these business owners and the industry make by offering car rental services.

Let’s dive in with the market statistics of car rental applications.

1. One report by Research and Markets shows that the car rental market is expected to reach USD 139.65 billion by 2027.
2. SafeGraph reports that there are 13,142 car rental sites in the United States as of 2023.
3. IBIS World reports that there are 17,287 car rental businesses in the USA alone as of 2023, with an increase of 2.7% from the last year.
4. Most revenue in the car rental industry is generated by the United States compared to other countries (USD 25,080 million in 2023).

There is no doubt that the market for car rental is growing, and more people are taking an active part in it. Car rental service apps are a great way to break into this industry as a car owner.

However, you must want to know the steps of how to create a mobile application from scratch. No need to worry, as we have discussed below how you can follow the step-by-step process to develop a car rental mobile app.

How to Build a Car Rental App in 5 Steps

This section will help you know the step-by-step car rental app development process if you are looking to build a car rental mobile app for your users and manage your business.

We will discuss how to build a car rental app for your users and an admin panel to manage your business. In short, you will be creating 2 separate apps for taping into the online car rental market.

1. Conduct Market Research on Your Car Rental App Idea

Before you directly jump into hiring an app development company and building a car rental app, you need to conduct market research to understand the market trends, audience pain points, and market requirements.

This is one of the essential stages where you will get clarity about what you will offer to your users and define the app development requirements.

Why Conduct Market Research?

How to Conduct Market Research?

To understand the requirements of your users To know the pain points of your target audience To define your app development requirements To get an idea about the revenue models and monetization ways for your app To enhance your app development idea and existing strategies To find out how your car rental app can help you grow your business

Go through the app stores and look for existing car rental apps which are doing exceptionally well to check their features, UI/UX design, reviews, and performance Evaluate feedback that these car rental applications have received to understand what a customer expects Find mistakes made by your competitors to look for opportunities and gain a competitive edge Hire a professional market research company

2. Set Your Requirements About Your Car Rental App

Researching the car rental market will help you define your requirements. So at this stage, it would be better if you are ready with your requirements before hiring a leading mobile app development company.

To make it easy for you, we are sharing a list of requirements that you can consider for your car rental app development. Also, this will help you explain your app requirements to potential developers while hiring them.

• Create a list of the features that you are planning to include
• Select one app development platform, either iOS or Android, or you can build a cross-platform app that works seamlessly on multiple platforms and devices
• Your choice of UX/UI designs, elements, fonts, logos, and colors
• Any advanced tech stack if you have in your mind

If you are confused about finalizing the features or tech stack, you should talk to car rental service providers.

3. Hire a Car Rental Mobile App Development Company

To build a car rental app like Turo or Hertz, you will need to hire talented mobile app developers. There are multiple ways to outsource your requirements to a mobile app development company that helps you with the car rental application development process.

Websites such as Clutch, Upwork, and Toptal and experienced agencies such as Space-O offer a platform to hire pre-vetted developers. While hiring, look for the experience of the company, specialization in building an app for the same industry, portfolios, and reviews & ratings of the clients.

In fact, you can choose to outsource your app development requirements to Space-O, as we have experience developing several on-demand taxi-booking apps, such as glspY and Houdini.
You might want to know more about the Houdini app to understand our expertise in this industry.



Houdini

Houdini is a cross-platform on-demand ride-sharing app that helps existing customers book rides conveniently. This app has main features like ride tracking, scheduling, ride management, reports, and push notifications.

4. Develop User and Admin Panel App

As you will be managing your customers, you must also build an admin panel, along with an app for your customers. However, your hired app development company will already know this and help you make both applications for your selected OS platform.

Also, it is essential for you to share your requirements clearly with the developers to ensure they deliver you the best results. Meanwhile, the developers work on your project; you can stay in touch with them to know the progress of the project at regular intervals or milestones.

Hence, it is one of the most crucial stages which can make or break the success of your app.

5. Launch Your Car Rental App

Once your app is ready and 100% bug-free, the app development team will launch it on the desired app stores. It might take 2 business days or more to launch your app successfully on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Generally, the app gets launched on the app stores within 24 hours if the app is well developed considering the app store guidelines.

Now you know how to make a rental app, it’s time to find out the car rental app development timeline.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Car Rental App?

However, this range is generally influenced by several factors. Such as the location of the mobile app developers, the complexity of your car rental app, UX/UI services, the usage of third-party services, and the features and functionalities you want to integrate into your app.

To know exactly how much does it cost to create an app, get in touch with our senior and experienced tech consultant. We will discuss your requirements and help you with a custom quote for your uni1que car rental app.

How Much Time Does It Take to Build a Car Rental App?

The estimated hours to develop a car rental app range from 900 to 1000 hours.

We have classified the app development timeline based on several factors.

Now, we will discuss all the factors one by one, helping you define the development timeline of the car rental app.

1. Car Rental App Development Timeline Based on the App Development Stages

As we have just discussed the different stages of the car rental app, we will classify the timeline based on these 5 different stages. Let’s check how long it will take to build an iOS and Android app.

App Development Stages	Estimated Man Hours
BA & SRS & Wireframe	80 – 100 Hours
Design & Development	40 – 60 Hours
Backend	130 – 150 Hours
API Development	80 – 90 Hours
App Development (iOS + Android)	550 – 600 Hours
Testing	60 – 70 Hours
App Launch	10 – 20 Hours
Total Development Hours	950 – 1090 Hours

Now, we will check the app development timeline based on the app complexity. Please know that adding core and advanced features and functionalities to a car rental app solution increases its complexity.

Therefore, we will mention the car rental app development timeline based on the app’s complexity along with the features. Let’s find out the timeline.

2. Car Rental App Development Timeline Based on the Car Rental App Complexity

We have classified the app complexity based on 3 different types; simple, mid-level, and complex apps. Along with this, we have addressed the car rental app features for every kind of app complexity.

App Complexity	Features	Estimated Time
		iOS	Android
Simple App	Sign In/ Sign Up Variety of cars Schedule a booking for a car Manage bookings Calculate the fare Online payments	115- 145 hours	125 – 150 hours
Mid-size App	Pre-book the car ride Push notifications Real-time tracking SOS option Cancellation of booking Calculate the fare Online payments Review and ratings	300 – 330 hours	310 – 335 hours
Complex App	GPS tracking Real-time tracking Fee estimation SOS option Customer management Different payment options Management of the car Dashboard/user profile Previous rides Managing payments Managing fares	415 – 450 hours	425 – 460 hours

Apart from the complexity, the car rental app is divided into 2 different types; a user app and an admin app. Let’s discuss the development timeline for car rental app types.

3. Car Rental App Development Timeline Based on Operating System (iOS & Android)

Being an owner of the car rental app, you will be managing your customers as well as your business. Therefore, you will need 2 separate apps, one for managing your car rental business and one for your users, who will book cars for their rides. Let’s check how much time it will take to build a user and an admin app.

Car Rental App Type	Features	Estimated Time
		iOS	Android
User App	Login Multiple cars Choose a car Schedule a booking for a car Pick up location Manage bookings Past rides Fare calculation Online payments Push notifications Real-time tracking Booking cancellation Customer support	330 – 375 hours	350 – 380 hours
Admin App	Management of the car Dashboard Customer management Payment management Data analytics Category Management Managing the fares Fare estimation Ratings and reviews Offers and deals API development	195 – 245 hours	200 – 250 hours

Now you know almost all the essential details on building a full-fledged car rental app. However, having a car rental company, if you are looking to find the top apps which are performing exceptionally well in the market, then check the following section.

10 Best Car Rental Apps in 2023

We have accumulated a list of top car rental mobile apps and compared each app based on the Play Store reviews and features. So, let’s have a look to find what unique features these apps are offering to be at the top in the car rental app industry.

Logo	App	Features	Reviews (Play Store)	Download
	Turo	Choose from a unique list of over 800 rental cars The direct booking process of cars from the local hosts AI chatbot integration for better communication between the parties on the occasion The host can manage the vehicle and monitor its performance through this rental app Go remote technology for local car owners to earn more from the car-sharing marketplace	4.9 178K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Getaround	The quick and easy way to verify renting or hosting a car Users can book a car on an hourly, as well as a daily basis The host and representative can easily list down the number of share cars without any limit The Getaround connect feature helps the host with keyless entry and enhanced security The rental car users, can locate and unlock the car with their phone	3.6 8.16K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Kayak	Secure booking via the app without re-entering the traveller’s data and credit card information Filter your search according to destination, dates, and best flying time Price forecast to know the airfare trends The app navigates a user around the airport with step-by-step directions on the device Share travel plans with friends and family members	4.5 251K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Zipcar	The users can book through check-in options their round-trip cars Organizing upcoming trip details in one place, from car’s location to details on reservation changes Unlock the car with the in-app unlocking feature The app has more than one language to communicate with users Change or extend the car service on the go	4.0 45.7K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Hertz	A user can have a look at his upcoming reservation details It allows accessibility of receipts for expense tracking Users can search parking slots through SpotHero The previous car rentals service is also saved for faster booking and check-in options Social media channel sign up like Facebook	4.2 8.75K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Enterprise Rent-A-Car	It allows everyone to narrow their search and filter vehicles, and save rental details for future reservations from a review 24/7 road assistance and consumer support service Visit the favorite location and access the information whenever needed for the reservation Earn and redeem points for free rental days Fast signing through fingertip recognition technology	5.0 35.3K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Virtuo	Complete the car rental counter process in one go Select from a wide range of premium cars, vans, and trucks Download the digital key and unlock the Virtuo Automatic transmission facility for better navigation A user can add four friends as additional drivers for free	3.8 4.72K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Carngo	Select location, age, date Book a car and get a voucher through email Choose from a wide range of cars Compare prices before booking a car via check-in options	4.7 3.87K Reviews	iOS | Android
	Skyscanner	Book the whole trip with just one app Search and compare flight prices before booking it Get the best deals on hotels, hostels, resorts, and apartments with a proper comparison Customize flight search (flight duration, departure-arrival time, travel class) Select a car rental and pickup location	4.7 806K Reviews	iOS | Android
	SIXT	A user can book trips with the car-sharing marketplace feature without any limits on duration, drop-offs, destinations It provides the filter for price, type of car, equipment, and driver age An individual can manage multiple profiles with a single login View and manage upcoming reservations and also get an overview of past reservations Pre-schedule a rental car and pay via credit card easily and securely	4.7 56.6K Reviews	iOS | Android

Looking for more answers on car rental application development? Want to know the app development timeline, trends, and other details? Quickly check the following section highlighting the most asked questions by car rental business owners.

Ready to Build Your Own Car Rental App?

In this blog, you learned almost all the essential information that you need to create a successful app for your car rental business to boost sales. In addition, you now know the 5 steps of the car rental app development process, the app development timeline and cost, and the top car rental apps.

Now, it will be easy for you to step into this booming industry to take your business to the next level. But, in case you are still facing a challenge, contact us with your car rental app development requirements. Our app development consultant will validate your app idea and help you develop a car rental app from scratch tailored to your needs.