How do Rentovation and HQ Rental Software compare?
What each company publishes about the things operators ask first. HQ Rental Software facts are numbered to the page they came from; Rentovation facts come from our own pricing page and product.
| Question | Rentovation | HQ Rental Software |
|---|---|---|
| Published price, month to month | Starter $197/mo or Pro $297/mo, flat, billed monthly. While founder seats last: Pro Founder, the full Pro plan for $197/mo for the first 20 operators, locked while your subscription stays active. | Basic $120/mo (10 vehicles), Standard $175/mo (25), Professional $250/mo (50). Enterprise, above 50 vehicles, is priced with its calculator. Annual billing saves up to 8%.[1] |
| Onboarding fee | None. | One-time $550 on Basic, $950 on Standard and $1,500 on Professional and Enterprise.[1] |
| Vehicle limit | None on either plan. | 10, 25 or 50 vehicles by plan; Enterprise above 50.[1] |
| Branches and locations | One fleet per account, with multiple pickup, dropoff and delivery locations. | One branch included, $50/mo for each extra branch, with separate fleets, staff and settings per branch.[1][2] |
| Booking website | A hosted, branded booking site on both plans, on your own domain if you connect one. | A reservation widget you install on a website, or connect through its API. For operators without a website, HQ offers a website builder service.[4][2] |
| Free trial | 14 days free. Card required. Cancel anytime for free before day 14. | 7 days, no credit card.[1] |
| Payments | Your own Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree or Authorize.net account. Rentovation never holds your money. | 15 or more payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal.[4] |
| Renter ID and insurance checks | Built into booking on both plans. Each check uses a prepaid credit: $1.50 per ID check, $2.00 per insurance check. | Its integrations page lists Vouched and GWS Insurance, and its Axle consent page describes HQ accessing a customer's insurance carrier, policies and coverages through an Axle integration.[5][6] |
| Agreements and signatures | E-signed rental agreements and card deposit holds on both plans. | Digital signature on every plan. Customers sign on a tablet, through a link or in the mobile app.[1][2] |
| Mobile app | Runs in the browser on a phone or a laptop. No app-store app. | iOS and Android app on every plan, for pickups, returns, photos and signatures.[2][1] |
| Channels | One-way Turo Calendar Sync on both plans: Turo trip emails you forward block that car on your Rentovation calendar. Rentovation bookings do not block Turo. | Channel management on every plan, syncing availability with Expedia, Kayak and Turo. Additional fees may apply by channel.[3][1] |
| Accounting | Built-in bookkeeping with a tax report CSV for your accountant. No accounting software integration. | Bookkeeping on Standard and up. Integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Exact and Holded.[1][2] |
| Tolls, telematics and API | No toll-agency integration, telematics or public API. | Toll management and API access on Professional and Enterprise. A telematics module that captures location, mileage and fuel data.[1][2] |
| Getting started | Self-serve setup, with video walkthroughs on rentovation.co/start and a migration wizard for CSV imports. | Onboarding with 1 to 4 hours of configuration and training, plus support credits. HQ says most small operators go live within a few days.[1][2] |
HQ Rental Software column: HQ Rental Software's own pages, checked September 30, 2026. A row describes what each company publishes, not how well a feature works.
What does each cost at your fleet size?
A pricing model only matters at the size you actually run, so here is the published price for the same fleet on both, using the cheapest HQ Rental Software plan that fits it.
| Fleet | Rentovation Starter, year one | HQ Rental Software plan, month to month | HQ Rental Software, year one with onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 vehicles | $2,364 ($197/mo) | Basic, $120/mo | $1,990 |
| 25 vehicles | $2,364 ($197/mo) | Standard, $175/mo | $3,050 |
| 50 vehicles | $2,364 ($197/mo) | Professional, $250/mo | $4,500 |
Published prices, checked September 30, 2026. Year one is 12 months at the month-to-month price plus HQ's one-time onboarding fee. HQ's annual billing lowers its figures by up to 8%, and each extra HQ branch adds $50/mo. Rentovation has no onboarding fee. After year one the 25-vehicle row turns around: HQ Standard is $22/mo less than Starter, so over several years it costs less in total.[1]
Who should pick which?
Pick HQ Rental Software if
- You run more than one branch. HQ manages separate fleets, staff and settings per branch, at $50/mo for each branch after the first.[2][1]
- Your team works from a phone app. HQ has iOS and Android apps for pickups, returns, photos and signatures; Rentovation runs in the browser.[2]
- You need integrations: QuickBooks, Xero, Exact or Holded for accounting, toll management, telematics or an API. Rentovation has no accounting integration, toll-agency integration, telematics or public API.[2][1]
- You sell through channels such as Expedia, Kayak or Turo from one back office.[3]
- You already have a website and want a booking widget on it. At 10 vehicles or fewer, HQ Basic also costs less from year one, even with its onboarding fee: $1,990 against $2,364 for Rentovation Starter.[4][1]
Pick Rentovation if
- You want a booking site included in your plan. Rentovation's branded storefront is part of both plans. HQ's booking engine is a widget you install on a website, and its website builder is a separate service.[4][2]
- You want to set it up yourself, without an onboarding fee. HQ charges $550 to $1,500 once; Rentovation charges none.[1]
- You run 26 to 50 vehicles. HQ Professional is $250/mo ($2,750 a year on annual billing) plus a $1,500 onboarding fee; Rentovation Starter is $197/mo, $2,364 a year.[1]
- You want marketing work done for you. Pro adds the AI local SEO engine and up to 3 SEO articles a week for your storefront blog.
Where is Rentovation the weaker choice?
A vendor comparison is only worth reading if it says this part plainly, so here it is.
- Fewer integrations. We have no accounting software integration, toll-agency integration, telematics or public API; HQ lists all of these.[2][1]
- Total cost at 11 to 25 vehicles over several years. HQ Standard costs more in year one ($3,050 against our $2,364), but at $175/mo it is $22/mo less than Starter, so it costs less in total from about month 44 month to month, or by the end of year 3 on HQ's annual billing ($6,725 against $7,092).[1]
- One fleet per account. HQ manages multiple branches with separate fleets and staff; we do not.[2]
- No native mobile app. HQ has iOS and Android apps; Rentovation runs in the browser.[2]
- Fewer channels. Our Turo sync is one-way and we do not connect to Expedia or Kayak; HQ lists all three channels.[3]
- Price at 10 vehicles or fewer. HQ Basic is $120/mo plus a $550 onboarding fee: $1,990 in year one against our $2,364, and less every year after, if you already have a website for its widget.[1]
- Verification has a per-check cost: $1.50 per ID check and $2.00 per insurance check.
- Our trial asks for a card at signup. HQ's 7-day trial does not, though ours runs 14 days.[1]
How do you switch from HQ Rental Software to Rentovation?
- Export your data. HQ's FAQ says data can be exported to Excel, and that on termination HQ provides all data in a readable format such as SQL or CSV.[2]
- Start a Rentovation trial and open the migration wizard from Fleet: Start the switch while the fleet is empty, or Import fleet only, then Import my whole business. Pick the spreadsheet or generic CSV source, upload vehicles, customers and bookings as CSV files (save any Excel export as CSV first), and map the columns.
- Read the import receipt. Rows that could not be matched go to a downloadable exceptions file; fix them and import again, and a second run never creates duplicates. Imported bookings do not send renter emails, payment links or deposit holds.
- Connect your own payment processor in Settings. Saved renter cards cannot move between systems, so renters enter a card again on their next booking.
- Replace the HQ booking widget on your website with a link to your Rentovation storefront, or point your domain at the storefront.
- Rentovation syncs only Turo, one way, so manage Expedia, Kayak and other channel listings separately, or close them.
- Run both systems until the bookings already made on the old one are complete. Then point your domain and your links at your Rentovation storefront, and cancel the old subscription.
Try Rentovation with your own fleet
Add the cars you already run, connect your own payment processor and take a real booking on your own storefront. 14 days free. Card required. Cancel anytime for free before day 14.
Start your 14-day trial