Raleigh-Durham Airport (RDU) Parking Rates: ParkRDU Lots Compared

Where these numbers come from

RDU brands its parking as ParkRDU and splits it into four tiers. Premier is $34 a day and sits steps from both terminals. Central is $22.75 and lies between them. Express is $18.50 with a trunk-to-terminal shuttle, and Economy is $14.50 with a shuttle every 20 minutes. The airport page lists hourly and daily rates but no separate daily maximum.

The spread between tiers adds up fast. Three days cost $102 in Premier, $68.25 in Central, $55.50 in Express and $43.50 in Economy. A week is 7 x $34 = $238 at the top and 7 x $14.50 = $101.50 at the bottom. Two weeks are $476 and $203. Choosing Economy over Premier saves $19.50 every day, or $273 across 14 days.

Hourly rates also help you find the crossover. Economy at $3.65 an hour hits its $14.50 daily rate near four hours, because 14.50 divided by 3.65 is about 3.97. Premier at $8.50 an hour reaches $34 at exactly four hours. So for any visit over four hours the daily price is the cost that counts, and the hourly rate only matters for quick pickups.

Express is a middle path worth considering. It costs $4 a day more than Economy, or $28 across a week, and gives a trunk-to-terminal shuttle with luggage assistance plus bottled water. Families with heavy bags may value that. The Economy shuttle arrives every 20 minutes, so a 6 a.m. flight is best served by leaving 20 minutes earlier than you would for Express.

No RDU lot here has a weekly cap, so long trips scale in straight lines. To see how it compares with a hotel or off-site operator, use the airport parking on-site vs off-site calculator. For other mid-size hubs, compare St. Louis, where the remote lot is $11, or Sacramento, where the economy cap is $12 now and $14 after its new garage opens.

A final practical point is timing. The quoted daily price is per day of parking, so a Friday-to-Sunday trip counts three days, not two. At Economy rates that is 3 x $14.50 = $43.50, while a late Monday pickup adds a fourth day for $14.50 more, bringing the total to $58. Count calendar days carefully when you pick a return flight.

Sources

• RDU Parking Information

Figures checked on September 30, 2026.

This page is general information, not legal, insurance or travel-agent advice. Fees, rules and limits change, so confirm the figures with the official sources listed above before you book or travel.