Around twenty rental companies serve Keflavík Airport, and almost everything written about them is written by the companies themselves. This guide is independent. It compares the main players on structure: where you actually collect the car, what insurance sits in the base price, and what deposit is held. We earn a commission through the comparison widget, but we recommend no company in particular.
Search for car rental advice at Keflavík and nearly every result is written by a rental company about itself. This page is the other kind. We checked each company's own published terms in September 2026 and compared what they actually say. Where a company does not publish a term, we write "check at booking" instead of guessing. We are not affiliated with any company on this page; we earn a commission through the comparison widget below regardless of which company you pick.
The market has three structures. Local independents — Lava Car Rental and a dozen smaller outfits — own their fleets and write their own insurance packages. International franchises — Hertz, Avis, Budget, Europcar — put a global brand on an Icelandic operation; Europcar here is run by Höldur, an Icelandic franchisee. Marketplaces such as DiscoverCars own no cars at all: they list other companies' fleets and take a cut, much as we do.
No structure is better across the board; each is strong in a different place.
Everything below comes from the companies' own websites as of September 2026. Terms change without notice, so treat this as a map, not a contract.
| Company | Type | Pickup at KEF | What they're known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lava Car Rental | Local independent | Depot at Flugvellir 23; free shuttle, about 5 minutes | No deposit at pickup; rents from age 20 with no young-driver fee |
| Hertz Iceland | International franchise | Desk inside the arrivals hall | 24/7 summer desk for scheduled arrivals; Gold Plus Rewards loyalty programme |
| Avis | International franchise | Check-out desk in the terminal, daily 06:00–01:00; returns at the Arnarvöllur service area | Global network and corporate accounts |
| Budget | International franchise | States in-terminal pickup | Value brand of the Avis group; optional zero-excess cover |
| Europcar (Höldur) | International brand, Icelandic franchisee | Station at the airport, no shuttle transfer; 05:30–02:00 in summer | States it runs Iceland's largest fleet |
Lava Car Rental sits at Flugvellir 23, about five minutes away by its free shuttle. TPL, CDW, SCDW, theft and gravel protection are included, and the company states there is no deposit at pickup. It runs 24/7 from April through October; in winter the desk closes at 22:00, with self-service pickup outside hours if you buy full protection and check in online. Minimum age is 20 with no young-driver fee.
The pattern across the local independents: Iceland-specific covers — gravel protection above all — tend to be bundled or cheap, and deposits tend to be low or absent. Fleet-age claims we can note but not audit. What those covers actually do is its own subject; see our insurance guide and the deposit guide for the mechanics.
Hertz Iceland has a desk inside the arrivals hall, open 24/7 for scheduled arrivals in summer and 05:30–02:00 in winter. CDW and theft protection come standard; gravel protection, sand-and-ash cover and zero excess are sold separately. A credit card in the driver's name is required as security. Rentals start at 20 for smaller categories, with 23–25 minimums on some vehicles.
Avis keeps a check-out desk in the terminal, open daily 06:00–01:00, with returns handled at its Arnarvöllur service area nearby. Its Icelandic site publishes hours and contacts but keeps insurance and deposit terms inside the booking flow — check at booking.
Budget, the Avis group's value brand, states in-terminal pickup and offers an optional zero-excess product. Its published Icelandic pages are thin on deposits and hours — check at booking.
Europcar is run by Höldur, an Icelandic company operating as a Europcar franchisee. Its station is at the airport with no shuttle transfer, open 05:30–02:00 in summer and 05:30–01:00 in winter, and the company states it runs Iceland's largest fleet.
The structural trade is consistent. International base rates typically include CDW and theft protection but sell the Iceland-specific covers on top, so the headline price is rarely the finished price. In exchange you get loyalty points, corporate billing, and a global desk to call if something goes wrong after you fly home. Excess and deposit amounts vary by car class and are set at booking, not on a public page.
DiscoverCars is where the cheapest total for a given car class usually surfaces, comparing local and international suppliers in one search. Two things matter with any broker. Your rental contract is with the supplier, not the marketplace, so the depot, the desk queue and the damage inspection are whatever that supplier provides. And the "full coverage" sold at a broker checkout is often the broker's own reimbursement policy, not the rental company's waiver — you pay the excess at the counter and claim it back later. Neither is a flaw; both change what you are comparing.
Match the structure to the trip. Landing at 03:00: the field narrows to 24/7 or keybox pickup — Hertz in summer, Lava with online check-in and full protection outside its desk hours. Driving gravel or the interior: the locals' bundled covers get you to a known excess before you leave the lot. Collecting points or renting on a company card: the internationals. Squeezing the budget: a broker search, then rebuild the insurance to match.
Whichever desk you end up at, the walk or ride matters less than people fear — see the shuttle guide for how each depot works — and the ten minutes you spend photographing the car matters more; the pickup checklist covers that.
There is no best one, and anyone who names a single winner is usually selling it. The honest answer is a decision rule: night arrival favours 24/7 or keybox pickup; gravel and F-road plans favour bundled Iceland-specific insurance; loyalty points and corporate billing favour the international brands; a tight budget favours a broker search with insurance added back in before comparing totals.
As of September 2026, Hertz says it has a desk in the arrivals hall, Avis lists an in-terminal check-out desk, and Budget states in-terminal pickup. Europcar's Höldur station is at the airport without a shuttle transfer. The local independents work from offices a short walk or a five-minute shuttle away.
Often, but only from some companies. Hertz's arrivals desk runs 24/7 in summer for scheduled flights. Lava runs 24/7 from April through October and self-service pickup outside desk hours in winter if you carry its full protection and check in online. Avis, Budget and Europcar publish closing times in the small hours — check your flight against them at booking.
Several local companies state they hold no deposit at pickup — Lava among them, keeping a credit-card imprint instead. The international brands set holds by car class inside the booking flow rather than on a public page — check at booking, and see our deposit guide for how the holds actually work.
Not reliably, and that is the wrong comparison. Local headline prices include covers the internationals sell separately, and broker totals can undercut both. Price the same car class with the same effective insurance across two or three structures and the gap is usually smaller than the headline suggests.