How much is car rental in Pakistan? The day rate, deposit and extras

If you are asking how much is car rental in Pakistan, the honest answer has two parts, and most rate lists only show you one of them. The first part is what you actually spend: a daily rate for the car, plus the fuel you burn, motorway tolls, and any extras such as delivery, a second driver or a child seat. The second part is money that leaves your account for a while and should come back: the security deposit. Rates move with the car model, the city, the season and the supplier, so nobody can give you a single honest number for every trip. What you can do is ask every supplier the same questions and add up the same lines, so a cheap-looking day rate with heavy extras does not beat a fair all-in quote by accident. Below: which lines to add, which to keep separate, and a fill-in total for a one-week family visit.

The two numbers behind every rent car in Pakistan price

Think of a self-drive quote as two columns on a sheet of paper.

Column one: money spent. This is the true cost of the hire. It never comes back.

• The day rate multiplied by the number of rental days
• Fuel for every kilometre you drive
• Motorway tolls
• Extras you ask for: delivery and collection, an additional named driver, out-of-city use, a child seat
• Any charges at return, such as a refuelling fee or cleaning

Column two: money held. This is the deposit. It exists to protect the owner against damage, traffic fines, late return or a missing fuel level. If the car comes back as agreed, it should be released in full.

The mistake is adding the deposit to the cost, or ignoring it. The real questions are whether you can spare that sum for the trip, and exactly when it comes back.

What a daily self-drive rate usually includes

A day rate is the supplier's price for the car itself over a set period. What sits inside it varies more than you might expect, so treat each of these as a question, not an assumption.

The rental period

Ask how a "day" is counted. Some suppliers count 24 hours from handover; others count calendar days, so a car collected in the evening and returned the next morning may still count as two. Ask what happens if you return a few hours late, because a late return can turn into a whole extra day.

Kilometre allowance

Some day rates come with a daily kilometre limit, with a per-kilometre charge beyond it. Others are unlimited within a city but priced differently for long-distance use. If you plan a Lahore to Islamabad run in the middle of your stay, a low daily allowance can cost more than a slightly higher day rate with generous mileage. Ask for the allowance in writing and the rate for extra kilometres.

Insurance and damage terms

Ask what the car is insured for, and what you pay yourself if something goes wrong. The phrase to listen for is the amount you are liable for per incident. That figure often links directly to the deposit size, and it is the number that matters if a bumper gets scraped in a tight gali.

Breakdown, and what sits outside

Ask what happens if the car breaks down 80 kilometres from the city, and who pays for recovery. Fuel, tolls and traffic fines normally sit outside the day rate; if a quote says "all-inclusive", ask which of these it really covers.

Deposit held versus money spent

The deposit is the part that worries overseas families most, usually because nobody explains it clearly. Here is what to pin down before you agree to anything.

1. The amount, and why it is that amount. A larger or newer car tends to carry a larger deposit. Ask whether it is linked to the insurance excess, because that tells you the most you could lose from a single incident.
2. The form it takes. Cash, a bank transfer, or a hold on a card. Each behaves differently when it comes back, and each carries different exchange-rate risk if you pay from abroad.
3. What can be deducted. Damage, traffic challans, fuel shortfall, late return, cleaning, lost keys or documents. Ask for the list rather than a vague "any issues".
4. How damage is assessed. Who inspects the car at return, whether you can be present, and whether a workshop estimate is shared with you before money is taken.
5. When it comes back. Same day, a few days after return, or only once any fines have had time to appear. Ask for a date, not "soon".
6. How it comes back. To the same card, the same account, or as cash. If a relative in Pakistan paid on your behalf, agree in advance who receives the refund.

A large, clearly documented deposit is often less stressful than a small one with loose terms. For anything arranged through us, our booking terms (planned link) set out how planning, confirmation and changes work.

Protect the deposit at handover

Most deposit disputes are really arguments about what the car looked like on day one. Five minutes at handover saves a lot of back and forth:

• Walk round the car with the supplier and photograph every panel, the wheels and the windscreen, with the time stamp on
• Photograph the fuel gauge and the odometer
• Check the spare wheel, jack and warning triangle are actually in the boot
• Confirm the registration papers are in the car and note who to call if police ask for them
• Repeat the same photos at return, ideally with the supplier present

Extras that change the car rental price in Pakistan

Extras are where two similar day rates drift apart. Ask for each one to be priced separately, even if you think you will not need it.

Delivery and collection

Having the car brought to an airport, hotel or family home saves a taxi ride and a lot of waiting at a rental yard, but it is often charged, sometimes differently for each end of the hire. Airport handovers can also involve parking or waiting time if your flight lands late. Ask whether a delayed arrival changes the charge, and who waits if immigration takes longer than planned.

Additional driver

If two adults will share the driving, both usually need to be named on the agreement, and both need to meet the licence rules. An extra named driver is commonly a separate daily or one-off charge. Letting an unnamed cousin take the wheel can void the cover and put the whole deposit at risk.

Out-of-city use

Many suppliers price city use and intercity use differently, or ask to be told in advance where the car is going. A trip from Rawalpindi to Murree, or from Karachi up the M-9 towards Hyderabad, may be fine with one supplier and restricted with another. Some areas are off limits for insurance or safety reasons. Say exactly where you plan to drive before you compare prices.

Child seat and other equipment

Child seats, roof racks and similar items are often rented by the day. Ask what type of child seat is available and for what age or weight, and check it fits your child before you drive away. Families who fly with their own seat often find it simpler; if you do, tell the supplier so the car suits the seat.

Fuel and tolls on top of the day rate

Fuel

Petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan are notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. Its notified petroleum prices page lists each new notification, and they come often: September 2026 alone had notices effective on the 5th, the 12th and the 19th. The price at the pump can change more than once during a two-week visit, so a fuel estimate made at booking is only ever a guide.

To estimate fuel for your own trip:

1. Add up the kilometres you realistically expect to drive, including school runs, shopping and visiting relatives, not just the headline intercity trip.
2. Ask the supplier for the car's typical fuel use, and whether it runs on petrol, diesel or has a CNG kit fitted.
3. Check the current price per litre on the OGRA page close to your travel date.
4. Add a margin for city traffic, air conditioning in summer and the inevitable detour.

Then agree the fuel policy. Full to full is the easiest to check; same to same works if both sides photograph the gauge. A refuelling charge at return is usually higher than the pump price, so fill up yourself on the way back.

Tolls and M-Tag

On the motorway network, tolls are collected electronically through an RFID windscreen sticker called the M-Tag, which is debited as you pass the toll plaza and can be topped up at toll plazas. According to the Motorways of Pakistan overview, the system now covers every motorway except the M-8, plus the Lahore Ring Road, and a federal rule enforced from February 2026 allows only vehicles carrying an M-Tag to enter Islamabad Capital Territory. A hire car without a working tag is a problem the moment your plans include Islamabad.

For a hire car, ask three things:

• Does the car already have an active M-Tag?
• Who tops it up, and how will tolls be charged back to you: at return, from the deposit, or as you go?
• Can you see a statement of toll deductions at the end of the hire?

Toll amounts change, so ask the supplier for the current figure close to travel rather than relying on an old one. For a trip that is mostly within one city, tolls may be minor. For a return run on the M-2 between Lahore and Islamabad, a road of about 375 kilometres, they become a line worth estimating properly.

Paying from abroad: currency and card holds

Currency

Self-drive hire in Pakistan is normally priced in Pakistani rupees. If you pay in pounds, dirhams or dollars, someone converts it: your bank, a card network, or the supplier. The State Bank of Pakistan publishes daily reference exchange rates; in late September 2026 its revaluation rate sat at about 277 rupees to the US dollar. That figure moves daily, and what your bank actually gives you will include its own margin, so use the SBP rate as a sense check, not a promise.

If a supplier offers to charge your card in your home currency, compare that total with the rupee total converted at your bank's rate. The difference is the price of convenience.

Cash still matters

The US State Department notes on its Pakistan country page that only a few establishments accept credit cards, usually with a large additional fee, and that ATMs can be out of service or limit withdrawals. Plan for fuel and small costs in cash, and do not assume the fuel station on a quiet road will take your card.

Card holds for the deposit

If the deposit is taken as a hold on your card, the money is not charged but your available balance or credit limit drops by that amount. As the authorisation hold explainer sets out, debit card holds commonly last from one to eight business days depending on the bank, while credit card holds can run for up to thirty days, and car rental holds in particular can be kept for up to 30 days from the original charge. For a family trip, that matters:

• Use a credit card for the hold where you can, so your current account is not squeezed during the visit
• Check your credit limit has room for the hold plus flights, hotels and daily spending
• Tell your bank you are travelling, so the first rental transaction is not blocked as suspicious
• Ask the supplier to confirm in writing when the hold will be released after return

A worked total for a one-week family visit

Here is how to build the number for a real trip. The scenario is an example, and the letters stand in for the figures each supplier gives you, because rates differ too much between cities, cars and seasons to print one honestly.

The example trip: a family of four flies into Lahore, needs a seven-seater for seven days, wants the car delivered to the airport and collected from the family home, will share the driving between two adults, needs one child seat, and plans one return day trip to Islamabad on the M-2 plus local driving.

Total cost of the hire = (D x 7) + extra km + A + C + (N x 7) + (S x 7) + fuel + tolls.

Money you need available on day one = the hire payment the supplier asks for upfront + H, plus cash for fuel.

Run the same sheet for each quote. A lower day rate can end up dearer once delivery, the second driver and a tight kilometre allowance are added, and two suppliers close on cost may differ sharply on the deposit.

One more check: add up the kilometres honestly. Lahore to Islamabad and back is roughly 750 kilometres on the M-2 before you drive a single kilometre in either city. That is often the line that pushes a trip over its allowance.

Rent a car without driver price versus hiring with a driver

The phrase rent a car without driver price is popular because self-drive looks cheaper on paper. Sometimes it is. But the comparison is not just day rate against day rate.

Before choosing self-drive, check the paperwork. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says in its Pakistan safety and security advice that UK visitors need both the 1968 international driving permit and their UK licence in the car, that you cannot buy the permit outside the UK, and that driving without the correct documents can get you detained. It also notes that road quality outside the major motorways is variable, that some mountain roads are inaccessible at times of year, and that landslides frequently block roads in remote areas. The FCDO advises against all travel to the whole of Balochistan, to a list of districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to areas near the Afghan border and the Line of Control, and against all but essential travel to places including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Dera Ghazi Khan and northern Sindh from Nawabshah upwards. That is one reason suppliers restrict where their cars can go. Read the current advice for any area outside your planned cities before you pick up the keys.

The US State Department adds that Pakistan drives on the left, that night driving is risky because of unlit roads and vehicles without working lights, and it recommends travelling with experienced local drivers. For some families that settles it: a driver for the intercity day and the wedding evenings, self-drive for the quiet local days.

If you want to weigh that choice in more depth, our guide to self-drive eligibility, deposits and handover for overseas bookers goes through the questions, and the car with driver service shows how a driven day is planned.

Questions to send every supplier before you decide

When you ask how much to rent car in Pakistan, the model, the season and the handover point all shift the answer. A seven-seater, like those on our family vehicle page (planned link), usually carries a higher rate and deposit than a hatchback. Send every supplier the same questions:

1. What is the day rate for this exact model, and how is a day counted?
2. What kilometre allowance is included, and what does extra cost?
3. How much is the deposit, in what form, and when is it released?
4. What is my liability per incident?
5. What do delivery, collection, a second driver and a child seat cost?
6. Can the car leave the city, and does it have a working M-Tag?
7. Can I have all of this in writing before I pay anything?

Planning your hire with Pakistan Taxi

Our self-drive hire service is a planning route: you tell us the dates, the city, the car you need and where you plan to drive, and the team comes back to you with what is available and what it involves. Nothing is confirmed, and no fare is fixed, until the details have been checked and you have agreed the terms in writing. If you are comparing several providers, our sister service iDrive, the network behind Pakistan Taxi, also explains how car rental in Pakistan is arranged across its partner suppliers.

When you are ready, start with planning your journey (planned link), and include the arrival airport, the number of drivers, any child seats and your intercity days.