Amsterdam bike rental: what it really costs
The day rate on the sign is not the whole story. Cover for theft and damage, the deposit, and what you owe if the bike is stolen can matter as much as the rental itself. When we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, a city bike for one day came to €10.00 to €25.00 (leaving out the NS OV-fiets), including cover where offered, with €19.23 in the middle. This guide breaks down each part. See today's prices on Flit Bikes and confirm with the shop before you rent.
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Day rate vs real total
The headline day rate is a starting point. What you pay can include cover for theft and damage, a deposit held until you return the bike, and a set amount you owe if the bike is stolen. Flit Bikes compares 99 offers from 29 shops, and adds cover into the total where a shop offers it. That is a wide sample, but not every shop in the city.
| What you pay | Range we saw | Middle | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| City bike, 1 day, with cover where offered | €10.00 to €25.00 | €19.23 | 28 |
| City bike, 3 days, with cover where offered | €26.00 to €65.00 | €49.00 | 27 |
| E-bike, 1 day, with cover where offered | €22.00 to €60.00 | €37.80 | 17 |
| Paid theft and damage cover, per day | €2.50 to €22.75 | €4.00 | 51 |
| Cost to you if stolen, with cover | €50 to €1,000 | €160 | 34 |
| Cost to you if stolen, without cover | €250 to €1,500 | €450 | 26 |
These are from when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026. The middle figure is the median. The city-bike rows leave out the NS OV-fiets (see below). See today's prices on Flit Bikes and confirm with the shop before you rent.
Day rates by bike type and length
Longer hires usually cost less per day. For most city-bike offers (22 of 27), three days cost less per day than one. At the middle totals in the table, three days came to about €16.33 a day, against €19.23 for one day. The lowest one-day city total, €10.00, is for a coaster-brake bike with no cover offered.
OV-fiets, the Dutch railways' bike, cost €4.80 for 24 hours when we checked on 14 October 2026. You need an NS account to use it, so we leave it out of the city-bike ranges. See today's price on Flit Bikes and confirm with NS.
Our data also has cargo bikes (16 offers), tandems (12) and children's bikes (11). We have not summarised their prices here, so compare them on Flit Bikes with your own dates.
Theft and damage cover (insurance)
Of the 99 offers, 41 have optional paid cover, 10 have paid cover or a damage guarantee you must take, 21 include cover at no extra cost and 8 offer none. The other 19 give no cover price we could read, so ask.
When we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, optional cover cost €2.50 to €15 per day, with €3.50 in the middle. Compulsory cover or guarantees cost €6.49 to €22.75 per day. For city bikes with paid cover, it was €2.50 to €6.49 per day, with €3.50 in the middle. See today's prices on Flit Bikes and confirm the rate with the shop.
Cover does not always mean you pay nothing if the bike is stolen. Theft cost is published for 40 offers, and some give a figure both with and without cover. With cover, shops said you would pay €50 to €1,000 (most often €50, with €160 in the middle). Without cover, it was €250 to €1,500, with €450 in the middle. Check these amounts in the shop's own terms.
Shops may also set conditions on their cover. Read each shop's own terms, as those are what apply.
Deposits and ID
Of the 76 offers that publish a deposit rule:
- Credit card accepted (hold, authorisation or copy): 53
- ID or passport needed: 69
- Original ID kept while you ride: 13
- Cash option: 41
When we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, €50 was the most common cash deposit, named by 24 offers, and the highest we saw was €600. Card holds were mostly €50 to €500 (one shop took €20 by card). Nine offers took no deposit, but all of those need ID, a card in an app or an NS account. See today's details on Flit Bikes and confirm the deposit with the shop before you go.
If you plan to ride an e-bike, check its deposit separately, as it may differ from a city bike's, and check which ID the shop accepts.
Online discounts and extras to ask about
Booking online can help. When we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, 6 of the 29 shops offered 10% off online, and Flit includes that discount in its totals where it applies. See today's prices on Flit Bikes and confirm with the shop.
Our data does not cover extras, so ask the shop about each one you need:
- Is a helmet available, and what does it cost?
- Is a second lock included?
- Can you fit a child seat, and at what price?
- Are panniers or a basket available?
- What is the fee if you return the bike late?
Worked totals
These use the middle totals from when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, with cover where offered:
- One person, one day, city bike: €19.23.
- A couple, three days, city bikes: 2 × €49.00 = €98.00.
- How much of that is cover: if the shop charges the middle city-bike rate of €3.50 a day, cover for two bikes over three days is €21.00. That is already inside the €98.00, not on top.
Your total depends on the shop and the dates. See today's totals on Flit Bikes and confirm with the shop.
How to compare on Flit Bikes
Flit's total starts from the rental price, takes off any online discount and adds cover where a shop offers it. You can switch optional cover off to compare. Compulsory cover stays in. Where a shop publishes them, Flit shows the theft cost and the deposit rule next to each offer. It cannot see extras, stock on the day or terms a shop does not publish, so read the shop's terms before you pay. Each price shows the date it was last confirmed against the shop's own website. Some are a few days old, so confirm with the shop.
Flit costs nothing to use. You don't sign up, Flit takes no commission, and no shop pays to be listed higher. If you are planning time on the water too, see our guide to canal cruise prices.
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