Those days are gone when renting a car is a long process, and you face difficulties in renting a car for personal use. All credit goes to digital transformation, where an app like Virtuo makes it simple to rent a car for long and short trips. It enables users to browse a wide range of cars near their selected location and book in advance.
According to a study, the car rental app market will be valued at around $108.20 billion in 2025; it is projected to grow to around $124.12 billion by the end of 2029.
This data shows that building a vehicle booking app like Virtuo is a most income-generating opportunity for entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
We will explore how to build a car rental app like Virtuo and how it can be beneficial for businesses to invest in it.
Keep reading!
What is Virtuo?
Virtuo is a car rental service that provides a seamless, digital-first experience, allowing users to rent vehicles through a mobile app. It focuses on a contactless process, where customers can browse, book, unlock, and return cars entirely through their smartphones.
Car rental app like Turo or Virtuo offers a fleet of premium vehicles and aims to simplify car rental with flexible options, keyless entry, and a focus on convenience, quality, and customer experience.
- Seamless Digital Booking
- Flexible Rental Options
- Hassle-Free Returns
- Premium Fleet
Market Analysis of Car Rental Applications
- By the end of 2030, the auto rental app market is expected to have grown from its 2023 valuation of approximately $132.5 billion to $278.03
- It is anticipated that the user penetration rate will rise from 3% in 2025 to 10.1% in 2029.
- Furthermore, it is anticipated that internet sales will account for 75% of the entire revenue made in the car rental industry by 2029.
- Notably, the United States is anticipated to produce the highest revenue in this market globally, with a projected revenue of US$33 billion in 2025.
- As per the recent study, It is anticipated that the average revenue per user (ARPU) will reach US$167.45.
10 Best Car Rental Apps Like Virtuo
The following table lists ten top car rental apps that are comparable to Virtuo, together with information on download counts, reviews, launch years, and platform accessibility:
Applications | Download Users | Stores Ratings | Apps Launched On | Platform Accessibility |
Turo | 10M+ | 4.8 | 2010 | Android/iOS |
Getaround | 1M+ | 4.7 | 2009 | Android/iOS |
Zipcar | 10M+ | 4.5 | 2000 | Android/iOS |
Enterprise Rent-A-Car | 10M+ | 4.8 | 2004 | Android/iOS |
Lyft (Car Rentals) | 10M+ | 4.8 | 2012 | Android/iOS |
Europcar | 1M+ | 3.0 | 1951 | Android/iOS |
Sixt | 5M+ | 4.6 | 2008 | Android/iOS |
Avis | 10M+ | 4.4 | 2007 | Android/iOS |
Alamo | 5M+ | 4.6 | 2010 | Android/iOS |
Budget | 5M+ | 4.5 | 2012 | Android/iOS |
Why Entrepreneurs Invest in Car Rental App Development?
Entrepreneurs are expanding their investment in automobile rental app development for a variety of compelling reasons. These factors make car mobile rental app development a promising investment for entrepreneurs aiming to tap into the evolving transportation market. Here are five key motivators:
1. Demand for convenience and flexibility
As cities grow and transportation demands change, consumers seek more convenient and flexible alternatives to traditional car rentals. Vehicle rental apps enable customers to book vehicles instantaneously, and may also allow them to unlock and start cars with their cell phones.
This frictionless, seamless experience appeals to modern, tech-savvy customers, giving it a promising business potential for entrepreneurs.
2. Increasing Popularity of Car Sharing and Ride-Hailing
With the development of services such as Uber and Lyft, shared mobility is becoming more popular. Consumers are more willing to rent cars for short periods of time or use car-sharing services rather than buying them.
Entrepreneurs see an opportunity to profit from this transition by developing automobile rental apps that provide short-term rentals and peer-to-peer sharing.
3. Revenue Opportunities
Investing in RV rental app development enables businesses to build a scalable business model focused on fleet management. Entrepreneurs can make steady revenue from rentals by acquiring or collaborating with automobile owners to manage a fleet.
The ability to increase the fleet based on demand also enables long-term growth and profitability.
4. Lower Operational Costs
Creating a car reservation app is frequently more cost-effective than operating traditional rental businesses. Entrepreneurs can focus on app development and digital infrastructure while avoiding the costs of physical premises.
The possibility to engage with auto owners or lease fleets allows for smaller initial investments, making the business more accessible to newcomers.
5. Data-Driven Insights
The car sharing app development provide significant information about consumer preferences, booking patterns, and car usage. Entrepreneurs may utilize this data to optimize fleet management, tailor marketing campaigns, and enhance consumer experiences.
Data analytics also enables dynamic pricing models, which increase income while maintaining consumer happiness.
7 Basic Steps To Build a Car Rental App Like Virtuo
We provide the basic steps to make a car rental app like Virtuo, which helps businesses understand each process of development easily. With the help of these development stages, developers or businesses can easily build a successful application with minimal errors. So, here we provide the car rental mobile app development process:
1. Clear Requirements and Demands
Let’s begin the development process by detecting the basic requirements that must be added to your apps similar to Virtuo. Then, identify the advanced requirements that you want to integrate to create a unique app. You need to know the ideal users of your project and make a list of your competitors.
What are your app’s basic or core requirements? |
Clear your app’s future goals. |
Which vehicle rental apps are more successful and trending in this competitive market? |
2. Features and Functions
Move to the second development process: Hire dedicated developers and identify the basic and advanced features for your project. You can also observe the existing app’s features and find some useful features that can lead to higher success rates. Make a plan for competitors and how you can compete with them.
What are your app’s basic features and functions? |
Observe the existing Virtuo clone apps for the best features. |
Make an organized sheet of features and functions to reduce data redundancy. |
3. Tech Stacks
Choosing the right tech stacks is an important task of overall app development. You need to decide on technologies according to your requirements and budget. It includes tech stacks for various fields such as security, testing, cloud storage, designing, backend processes, and databases.
Which type of tech stacks are used in your car rental mobile application development? |
Define your scalability requirements. |
Choose advanced or basic tech stacks. |
4. Design UI/UX
Coming to the fourth stage of development, hire mobile app developers to design a simple user interface that allows users or businesses to interact quickly with all functionalities. This involves various design resources such as customized templates, premium themes, and layouts.
What are wireframes in UX design? |
What tools do you use for prototyping? |
How do you ensure a responsive design? |
5. App Development
Connecting to the fifth stage of budget car rental app development, now the real coding begins for the development of the front end and back end. Implement the resources such as third-party integrations, APIs, server side, database, and more.
Do you want to create hybrid or native apps? |
Choose highly talented mobile app developers. |
Integrate a high number of features and functions. |
6. Testing and QA
In the second-to-last development process, test the app using robust testing techniques such as unit testing and functional testing to ensure its perfect working. Also, check the app’s quality, and QA evaluates the app’s usability to ensure an intuitive and user-friendly experience.
Make sure that all features and functions are working properly |
Use various testing methods, such as functional and unit testing. |
Check the app’s security measurements. |
7. Launching and Maintenance
Move to the last development process. Consult with a mobile app development company before launching the app on the selected platforms, such as Android and iOS. The maintenance phase monitors the app’s performance, fixes bugs and glitches, updates outdated features, and more.
Launch your app on selected platforms like Android and iOS. |
Use the best marketing techniques. |
Assign the post-maintenance phases to maintain the app’s performance. |
10 Must-Have Features of Car Rental Apps like Virtuo
Auto rental apps like Virtuo provide a seamless, user-friendly experience, but in order to remain competitive, certain features are necessary. Here are 10 essential features of a vehicle booking app:
1. User Registration and Profile Management
An app like Enterprise allow users to quickly register accounts, save preferences, and manage their rental histories for a more personalized experience.
2. Vehicle Search and Filters
A Virtuo car mobile app give users search options based on car type, price, location, and availability to help them locate the perfect rental.
3. Real-Time Availability and Booking
Provide real-time automobile availability, allowing users to make fast bookings or reserve cars for future rentals.
4. Keyless Access & Digital Check-In
Virtuo alternatives allow users to unlock and start their automobiles using the app, eliminating the need for a physical key.
5. In-App Payments and Security Checkout
An app like Zipcar supports different payment methods, such as credit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers, to ensure secure transactions within the app.
6. GPS Navigation and Routing Assistance
The Virtuo car rental app integrates GPS to help consumers find automobile pickup locations and provide real-time directions.
7. Car Delivery and Pickup Options
Virtuo alternatives allow consumers to request vehicle delivery to their address and drop-off at convenient locations.
8. 24/7 Customer Support
A Virtuo car share app provide a responsive help center or live chat within the app to aid with questions, problems, or troubleshooting.
9. Ratings and Reviews
A car rental app like Hertz allows users to assess and review cars, as well as the overall rental experience, to encourage trust and openness.
10. Push notifications
Virtuo clone apps send reminders for bookings, payment confirmations, promotions, and rental period expiration to keep users interested.
What is the Cost to Build a Car Rental App Like Virtuo?
The cost to build a car rental app like Virtuo typically runs from $8,000 to $25,000, depending on the app’s complexity, functionality, and style. Basic features such as automobile booking, payment processing, and GPS integration may be inexpensive.
However, more advanced features like keyless access, real-time car availability, and fleet management may increase the car rental mobile app development cost. Additionally, charges will differ depending on the development team’s location, platform (iOS, Android), and continuous maintenance and updates.
Car Rental App Development | Estimated Cost | Time Frame |
Simple App Development | $8000 – $12000 | 2 to 5 Months |
Mid-Complex App Development | $14000 – $19000 | 6 to 8 Months |
High-Complex App Development | $25000+ | 9+ Months |
What are the Factors That Affect The Private Car Rental Clone App Development Cost?
The cost of developing a private car rental app is influenced by several factors, each contributing to the overall on-demand car sharing app development cost. These factors together determine the final cost of developing a private car leasing app. Here’s how the main factors impact the cost:
1. Development Team
The nature and expertise of the development team have a direct impact on the cost. Hiring an experienced development team in regions with higher labor expenses (e.g., the United States or Western Europe) raises the overall cost.
Alternatively, outsourcing development to locations with cheaper labor costs (such as Eastern Europe or India) might cut expenses while resulting in different project durations or quality levels.
Developer’s Experience Level | Cost Estimation |
Entry-Level Developer | $15 – $18/ Per Hour |
Mid-Level Developer | $18 – $22/ Per Hour |
Senior-Level Developer | $25+ / Per Hour |
2. Back End Development
The complexity of the backend systems has a significant impact on development costs. Real-time bookings, payments, and fleet data management require a powerful backend.
If you need to incorporate third-party systems (payment gateways, GPS tracking, and automobile unlock capability), the car ride sharing app development cost will rise. Back-end infrastructure for scalability and security significantly increases the overall cost.
Backend Development | Cost Estimation |
Basic Backend Process | $10,000 – $18,000 |
Premium Backend Process | $20,000 – $28,000 |
3. Application Design
The app’s design is a key cost factor. A simple, user-friendly interface with basic design elements will be less expensive than a high-end, custom-designed app with extensive UI/UX features.
Other apps like Virtuo, which provide seamless experiences, necessitate well-planned design and aesthetic appeal. The more elaborate and refined the design, the greater the car rental app development cost due to the demand for expert designers.
Design Quality | Cost Estimation |
Basic Design | $8,000 – $12,000 |
Complex Design | $15,000 – $22,000 |
4. Simple and Advanced Features
The amount and complexity of features have a substantial impact on the cost. Basic functionality such as automobile booking, payment, and profile maintenance are easy to implement.
Advanced features like keyless entry, real-time availability, GPS integration, and car tracking systems would necessitate more development time and skill, increasing expenses.
Features | Cost Estimation |
Core Features(Car Booking & Reservation and Vehicle Search) | $8,000 – $10,000 |
Advanced Features(Keyless Entry & Car Unlocking and Car Delivery & Pickup) | $13,000 – $19,000 |
5. Support and Maintenance
Following the on-demand car rental app development, ongoing support and maintenance expenditures should be considered. Bug repairs, security updates, and the inclusion of new features will result in additional costs.
The more complicated the app, the greater the time and money required to maintain and update it on a regular basis.
Maintenance Phase | Cost Estimation |
Simple Maintenance Phase | $2,000 – $4,000/year |
Complex Maintenance Phase | $7,000 – $9,000/year |
How To Make Money From Car Sharing App Like Virtuo?
There are several ways to generate revenue from the best car rental apps like Virtuo. By combining these strategies, entrepreneurs can build a sustainable and profitable business model for similar apps to Virtuo. So, here we offer the best monetization techniques:
1. Rental Fees
The Virtuo alternatives principal revenue source is the rental price charged for utilizing the automobiles. The app can utilize a pricing mechanism based on the length of the rental (hourly, daily, or weekly), with users only paying for the time they use the vehicle.
Dynamic pricing based on demand, location, or time can also be used to increase profits.
2. Subscription Model
Introducing a subscription-based top car sharing apps like Virtuo allows consumers to pay a recurring fee for exclusive privileges such as lower rates, priority booking, and access to premium cars.
According to the taxi app development company, this regular income stream promotes long-term client loyalty and ensures steady revenue.
3. Insurance and Additional Features
Provide users with optional insurance packages and add-ons such as GPS rentals, additional driver alternatives, or child seats for an additional cost. These value-added services generate cash while improving the user experience.
As we discussed earlier with door to door car service app development company, many consumers prefer the peace of mind that comes with supplementary insurance coverage.
4. Commissions from Car Owners (peer-to-peer model)
If the software uses a peer to peer car sharing app (like Turo), it can earn a commission on each transaction. Car owners post their vehicles, and the app charges a percentage of the rental rate as commission, ensuring revenue while providing customers with a broad vehicle selection.
5. Advertising and Partnerships
The taxi booking app like Gett can work with local businesses, car parts suppliers, and tourism companies to feature advertisements or promotions on the site. These collaborations may include affiliate marketing, in which the app gets commissions from referred consumers or sales.
Conclusion
Let’s discuss the final thoughts about this blog. We explored how to develop an app like Virtuo and the various benefits that help businesses. It enables users to book a car in advance and schedule the pickup and delivery time. Building a car booking app with unique features can attract more users than existing apps. We also offer the overall development cost and the factors that highly affect the cost.
Do you want to create a car rental app like Virtuo? Then what are you waiting for? Connect with our leading car rental app development company to receive affordable development solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How Much Does It Cost To Build a Car Rental App Like Virtuo?
The Virtuo app development cost between $8,000 and $25,000. The cost is determined by the features, design complexity, platform (iOS, Android), and location of the development team, with more advanced features costing more.
Q2. How Much Time Does It Take To Make A Car Rental App Like Virtuo?
Building a car booking app like Virtuo can take 3 to 9 months, depending on the complexity, features, and platform. Custom features, design quality, and backend infrastructure may all contribute to a longer development period.
Q3. How to Make Your Own Car Rental?
Create your own automobile rental service by acquiring a fleet of vehicles, developing a dependable booking system (app or website), integrating payment processing, ensuring legal compliance, establishing insurance policies, and providing customer support for reservations, questions, and vehicle maintenance.
Q4. Which Technologies are Used to Develop a Car Rental App Like Virtuo?
There are various high-tech technologies that are used to create a car rental app like Virtuo:
- Java
- Python
- C++
- Flutter
- PHP
- Swift