Hire vs. Rent — What's the Difference?
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Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on September 22, 2023
"Hire" generally refers to paying for a service or for temporary use of labor, while "Rent" typically involves paying for the temporary use of property like a car or apartment.
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Difference Between Hire and Rent
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The terms "Hire" and "Rent" both refer to obtaining something for temporary use in exchange for payment, but they differ in context and nuance. Hiring often refers to employing someone or paying for services. For instance, you might hire a contractor to build a deck or hire a tutor for educational guidance. Renting, on the other hand, usually pertains to property or goods. You might rent a car for a day or rent an apartment for a year.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Additionally, the term "hire" is often used more broadly to refer to the action of bringing someone into employment, usually on a more long-term basis. "Rent," however, is rarely used to refer to long-term property acquisitions; terms like "lease" or "purchase" are generally more appropriate for such transactions.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
In summary, while both "hire" and "rent" involve a temporary arrangement in exchange for payment, "hire" is generally associated with labor or services and "rent" with the temporary use of property or goods.
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Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Both hire and rent imply a temporary arrangement, but the focus of what is being obtained varies. When you hire, you are generally obtaining labor or skills from an individual or company. The payment typically goes towards the service provided. In renting, the payment is for the temporary use of a physical item, such as a vehicle, a piece of equipment, or a living space.
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Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Comparison Chart
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Definitions
Hire
To employ someone temporarily or permanently.
They decided to hire a new marketing manager.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
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Rent
To pay for the temporary use of a property or item.
She rents an apartment downtown.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Hire
To engage services for a short period.
We need to hire a plumber to fix the leak.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Rent
To let out property for income.
They rent out their second home during the summer.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Hire
Obtain the temporary use of (something) for an agreed payment
We flew to San Diego, hired a car, and headed for Las Vegas
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
Employ (someone) for wages
Management hired and fired labour in line with demand
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
Payment, usually of an amount fixed by contract, made by a tenant at specified intervals in return for the right to occupy or use the property of another.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
The action of hiring someone or something
Car hire is recommended
A hire charge
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
A similar payment made for the use of a facility, equipment, or service provided by another.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
A person who is hired; an employee
New hires go through six months of training
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
The return derived from cultivated or improved land after deduction of all production costs.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To engage the services of (a person) for a fee; employ
Hired a new clerk.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
The difference between the price paid for use of a resource whose supply is inelastic and the minimum price at which that resource would still be provided. Also called economic rent.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To grant the services of or the temporary use of for a fee
Hired himself out as a cook.
Hired out the cottage for the summer.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To obtain work
She hired on as a deck hand. He hired out as a photographer.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To obtain occupancy or use of (another's property) in return for regular payments.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To grant temporary occupancy or use of (one's own property or a service) in return for regular payments
Rents out TV sets.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
A payment made by a tenant at intervals in order to occupy a property.
I am asking £100 a week rent.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
Payment for the temporary use of something.
The sign offered pedalos on hire.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
(economics) A profit from possession of a valuable right, as a restricted license to engage in a trade or business.
A New York city taxicab license earns more than $10,000 a year in rent.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
When my grandfather retired, he had over twenty mechanics in his hire.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
We pair up each of our new hires with one of our original hires.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
(transitive) To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment.
We hired a car for two weeks because ours had broken down.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
(transitive) To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job.
The company had problems when it tried to hire more skilled workers.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
(transitive) To occupy premises in exchange for rent.
I rented a house from my friend's parents for a year.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
(transitive) To exchange the services of for remuneration.
They hired themselves out as day laborers.
They hired out their basement for Inauguration week.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
(transitive) To grant occupation in return for rent.
We rented our house to our son's friend for a year.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
(transitive) To accomplish by paying for services.
After waiting two years for her husband to finish the tiling, she decided to hire it done.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
(transitive) To obtain or have temporary possession of an object (e.g. a movie) in exchange for money.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
(intransitive) To be leased or let for rent.
The house rents for five hundred dollars a month.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
(transitive) (neologism) (in the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory) To buy something in order for it to perform a function, to do a job
They hired a milkshake.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
The price, reward, or compensation paid, or contracted to be paid, for the temporary use of a thing or a place, for personal service, or for labor; wages; rent; pay.
The laborer is worthy of his hire.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
A bailment by which the use of a thing, or the services and labor of a person, are contracted for at a certain price or reward.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To procure (any chattel or estate) from another person, for temporary use, for a compensation or equivalent; to purchase the use or enjoyment of for a limited time; as, to hire a farm for a year; to hire money.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To engage or purchase the service, labor, or interest of (any one) for a specific purpose, by payment of wages; as, to hire a servant, an agent, or an advocate.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To grant the possession and enjoyment of, for a rent; to lease; as, the owwner of an estate or house rents it.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To grant the temporary use of, for compensation; to engage to give the service of, for a price; to let; to lease; - now usually with out, and often reflexively; as, he has hired out his horse, or his time.
They . . . have hired out themselves for bread.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To take and hold under an agreement to pay rent; as, the tennant rents an estate of the owner.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
Engage or hire for work;
They hired two new secretaries in the department
How many people has she employed?
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To be leased, or let for rent; as, an estate rents for five hundred dollars a year.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
An opening made by rending; a break or breach made by force; a tear.
See what a rent the envious Casca made.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
Engage for service under a term of contract;
We took an apartment on a quiet street
Let's rent a car
Shall we take a guide in Rome?
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
Figuratively, a schism; a rupture of harmony; a separation; as, a rent in the church.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To pay for the use of something temporarily.
Let's hire a boat for the afternoon.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Rent
Income; revenue. See Catel.
[Bacchus] a waster was and all his rentIn wine and bordel he dispent.
So bought an annual rent or two,And liv'd, just as you see I do.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Hire
To contract a professional for specialized tasks.
The company hired a consultant for the project.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Hire
To add to a team or workforce.
The startup is looking to hire new engineers.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Rent
A certain periodical profit, whether in money, provisions, chattels, or labor, issuing out of lands and tenements in payment for the use; commonly, a certain pecuniary sum agreed upon between a tenant and his landlord, paid at fixed intervals by the lessee to the lessor, for the use of land or its appendages; as, rent for a farm, a house, a park, etc.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
That portion of the produce of the earth paid to the landlord for the use of the "original and indestructible powers of the soil;" the excess of the return from a given piece of cultivated land over that from land of equal area at the "margin of cultivation." Called also economic rent, or Ricardian rent. Economic rent is due partly to differences of productivity, but chiefly to advantages of location; it is equivalent to ordinary or commercial rent less interest on improvements, and nearly equivalent to ground rent.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
An opening made forcibly as by pulling apart;
There was a rip in his pants
She had snags in her stockings
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
The return derived from cultivated land in excess of that derived from the poorest land cultivated under similar conditions
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
The act of rending or ripping or splitting something;
He gave the envelope a vigorous rip
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
Grant use or occupation of under a term of contract;
I am leasing my country estate to some foreigners
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
Engage for service under a term of contract;
We took an apartment on a quiet street
Let's rent a car
Shall we take a guide in Rome?
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Aug 07, 2021
Rent
To make a contractual arrangement for temporary usage.
I need to rent a car for my trip.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
Rent
To grant temporary use of property for payment.
The company rents out construction equipment.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 21, 2023
FAQs
What does Rent mean?
Rent typically refers to paying for the temporary use of property like a car or apartment.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
What does Hire mean?
Hire generally refers to paying for services or labor for temporary or permanent use.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Is Rent usually short-term?
Rent is usually a short-term arrangement, although it can be extended through renewals.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Can you Hire equipment?
In some contexts, you can "hire" equipment, especially in British English, but in American English, we usually say "rent" for equipment.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
What verb forms are used with Hire?
Hires, hiring, hired are common verb forms.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Do both Hire and Rent involve a contract?
Typically, both involve some form of agreement or contract.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Is Rent only for property?
Rent is most often used for property but can extend to any good that is borrowed for a fee.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Can companies both Hire and Rent?
Yes, companies often hire employees and rent equipment or property.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Can Hire and Rent be used interchangeably?
In some contexts, they may be, but they generally have distinct meanings.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Is Hire specific to employment?
While commonly used in employment contexts, "hire" can also mean contracting for short-term services.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Can Hire be long-term?
Yes, you can hire an employee for long-term or permanent employment.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
What is the main difference between Hire and Rent?
The main difference is that hire focuses on labor or services, while rent focuses on property or goods.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Is it correct to say “Rent a service”?
It's unusual; typically, one would "hire" for a service.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Can you Hire a house?
In American English, you would typically "rent" a house, not "hire" it.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
What verb forms are used with Rent?
Rents, renting, rented are the common verb forms.
![](webp/364083f859b0c0321128971c30b9de40c3b8.webp)
Fiza Rafique
Sep 22, 2023
Author Spotlight
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content editor at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
![](webp/e71d67b1aba47c9e5bd8eb22e21c1ed55332.webp)
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.