Car sharing, peer-to-peer car hire, specialist insurance: this section compares Citiz, Getaround and OuiCar to help you choose the option that fits your budget and journeys without buying a car.
At a glance
- Citiz hires out cars on a self-service basis by the hour or day, while Getaround and OuiCar connect a car owner with a hirer.
- The price shown almost always hides the key details: excess, fuel and mileage included.
- Reviews left by other users quickly separate the reliable platforms from the listings to avoid.
Car sharing vs peer-to-peer car hire: the real difference
The two terms sound similar, but they work in opposite ways. Car sharing, run by an operator like Citiz, provides a fleet of professional vehicles parked in fixed stations: you book, drive and return the car to the same spot. Peer-to-peer car hire, on the other hand, uses a platform like Getaround or OuiCar to connect an owner with a hirer, and the car actually changes hands in a car park or outside a block of flats.
The choice mainly depends on how often you need a car and the type of journey. An employee who takes the tram every day but needs a car on a Saturday to take a round trip to the recycling centre will find car sharing more convenient—predictable and with no need to arrange a handover. A student who travels home every other weekend, two hundred kilometres away, will usually look at peer-to-peer car hire, which is often cheaper for long distances and offers a wider choice of vehicles.
Winter also changes the equation. When icy conditions are forecast, a short-term car-sharing contract is more reassuring than a peer-to-peer hire where you only discover the state of the tyres when you pick up the keys.
| Criteria | Car sharing (Citiz) | Peer-to-peer car hire (Getaround, OuiCar) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of vehicle | Professional fleet, regularly maintained | Private owner’s car, model and condition vary |
| Booking | App, pick-up at fixed station | Direct message with owner, handover in person or via connected box |
| Billing | By the hour or day, fuel often included | By the day, fuel usually extra |
| Availability | Concentrated in large cities and their outskirts | Wider geographical coverage, depends on local listings |
Which driver profile suits which option
Beyond the table, the right option depends on your routine. A car-free couple who do their shopping once a week and go away for two weekends a month will find a car-sharing subscription cost-effective, with a predictable monthly fee even if they don’t use it. A young parent who occasionally needs a people carrier for a house move or family trip will often prefer peer-to-peer car hire, where the choice of models is wider than Citiz’s standardised fleet.
Where you live also makes a difference. In a dense city centre, Citiz stations are easy to find on foot; in the suburbs or rural areas, Getaround and OuiCar listings are often the only option, as there are no nearby car-sharing stations. Before comparing prices, check what’s actually available in your area.
When to book and for how long
Booking at the right time affects both price and availability. On a Friday evening or a Sunday at the start of the school holidays, cars go fast on Getaround and OuiCar in large cities—sometimes as early as the previous Wednesday. For Citiz, the opposite is true: stations near workplaces are busiest during office hours, making evening trips during the week more difficult.
Last-minute bookings work on both models, but they drastically reduce vehicle choice and often push prices up. If you’re on a tight budget, it’s better to plan several days ahead rather than hoping for a last-minute bargain—especially during school holidays or cold snaps, when demand for cars with winter tyres suddenly spikes.
For a full weekend hire, also check the tiered pricing: many owners lower their daily rate after three consecutive days, a detail that doesn’t always appear in the headline price.
Getaround or OuiCar: which platform to choose
The difference between Getaround and OuiCar isn’t just about the price shown—it’s also about whether there’s a connected box (which lets you unlock the car without meeting the owner) and the average response time to booking requests. For a trip planned on a Friday evening, that response time can matter more than a few euros’ difference in the daily rate. Our comparison between Getaround and OuiCar details the differences in commission, availability by city and cancellation terms between the two platforms.
Citiz and car sharing by subscription
Citiz works on a different principle: a monthly subscription gives access to a fleet of vehicles parked in dedicated stations, with pricing by the hour and kilometre. This option makes financial sense for regular use—two or three trips a month, for example—but much less for an isolated need during the year. Our page on Citiz car-sharing rates details the subscription plans and how to calculate the real cost based on how often you use it.
The real cost, beyond the advertised price
The daily rate shown on a Getaround or OuiCar listing often hides the excess in case of an accident, fuel costs and mileage beyond the included allowance. Before booking, always add up these three factors over the actual duration of your hire rather than just comparing the headline daily rate.
Owning your own car also comes with costs that are easy to overlook when only looking at the monthly finance payment. A simple set of rear brake pads costs between €50 and €200 including fitting, depending on the vehicle—and that’s just one line on the annual maintenance bill. Car sharing and peer-to-peer car hire avoid this accumulation of small bills, at the cost of a pay-per-use rate that quickly adds up if you drive every day. For a student budget, occasional car sharing is often cheaper than owning a car insured all year, even with several trips a month.
For a cross-border road trip in a hired car, also consider the cost of tolls in the destination country—it varies hugely from one country to another. In the Netherlands, for example, there’s no vignette or toll for light vehicles, and the motorway network is free for private users, unlike some neighbouring countries where the cost quickly adds up on a long journey.
Insurance—the most common sticking point
A scrape in a car that isn’t yours changes everything when it comes to insurance. Each platform has its own excess and exclusions, and a poorly covered owner can end up paying for repairs they thought were included in the contract. Our dedicated page on insurance for peer-to-peer car hire details the cover offered by Getaround and OuiCar—and what they don’t cover.
What reviews say before you book
Reviews left by hirers and owners quickly separate the wheat from the chaff on a platform. A profile with no reviews, or one that takes several hours to respond on a holiday departure day, is worth hesitating over before paying a deposit. Our summary of reviews on peer-to-peer car hire lists the signs of a good experience—and those that often precede a last-minute cancellation.
Common mistakes to avoid
A few simple habits can help you avoid most bad surprises, whichever platform you choose.
- Booking without reading the mileage terms: every extra kilometre beyond the included allowance is charged—and can be expensive on a long trip.
- Skipping the photo condition report at pick-up: without proof, a pre-existing scratch could be blamed on you when you return the car.
- Choosing solely based on the daily rate, without adding up the excess and fuel costs.
- Ignoring return times: even a small delay on a peer-to-peer hire often incurs a flat-rate penalty.
- Forgetting to check the fuel level at pick-up: many contracts require you to return the car with the same level as when you took it—or face a flat-rate charge.
- Only comparing Getaround and OuiCar without checking if there’s a nearby Citiz station—when a subscription might work out cheaper for regular use.
Broaden the comparison
These pages cover the essentials for comparing platforms, calculating the true cost of a hire and avoiding the most common insurance pitfalls. To explore other ways of getting around without owning a car, our shared mobility and transport section also covers carpooling and public transport.