Car Rental DFWDFW Rental Car Center field guide
Toll checker

DFW toll roads: which drives use them, and what skipping costs

North Texas has a dense web of NTTA toll roads, and the fastest route often uses them. Pick a drive from the DFW Rental Car Center to see the toll roads out and back and how many minutes the toll-free route adds.

Downtown Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington can be reached without tolls. The northern suburbs are where NTTA toll roads save the most time.

  • 14of 14 drives: toll road with a free detour

Routes computed 2026-10-27 from OpenStreetMap, out and back, and hand-checked against the toll operators below. Drive times assume no traffic or stops.

Check your drive

DFW Rental Car Center to Downtown Dallas

Free if you skip the airport passthrough

19 mi, about 23 min on the fastest route, without traffic or stops.

The fastest line on the map drives through the airport on International Parkway. DFW charges a Passthrough rate for driving from one end of the airport to the other: from Oct. 1, 2026 it is $12 with a TollTag or $15 by credit card at the exit. Leaving by the south side and staying on free freeways takes about the same time, and the drive back is toll-free. DFW Airport: Parking and Access Savings for TollTag Customers (Sept. 14, 2026); DFW Airport: Parking FAQs (Passthrough rate)

Going
Airport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)
23 min; avoiding tolls: +0 min
Coming back
No tolls
21 min

All 14 drives at a glance

DriveTimeGoingComing backAvoiding tolls
Downtown Dallas23 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tollsSame time
Deep Ellum28 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Dallas Love Field28 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Downtown Fort Worth27 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Fort Worth Stockyards33 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tollsSame time
AT&T Stadium21 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tollsSame time
Six Flags Over Texas23 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)PGBT and TX 183 toll lanes (skippable)+1 min round trip
Frisco (Frisco Square)35 minSam Rayburn Tollway, Dallas North TollwayDallas North Tollway, Sam Rayburn Tollway+39 min round trip
Plano (Legacy West)29 minSam Rayburn TollwaySam Rayburn Tollway+30 min round trip
McKinney (downtown)44 minSam Rayburn TollwaySam Rayburn Tollway+13 min round trip
Waco (Magnolia Market)1 h 47 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Austin3 h 21 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Houston3 h 59 minAirport Passthrough on International Parkway (skippable)No tolls+1 min round trip
Oklahoma City3 h 07 minSam Rayburn Tollway, I-35E toll lanes (skippable)Sam Rayburn Tollway (skippable)+9 min round trip

Who charges the tolls around DFW

DFW Airport

Runs International Parkway, the road through the middle of the airport. Cars enter and exit through the airport toll plazas, where parking and access rates are charged.

Without a pass: Driving from one end of the airport to the other is charged the Passthrough rate: from Oct. 1, 2026, $12 with a TollTag or $15 by credit card at the exit.

In a rental car: In our routes, the drives back to the Rental Car Center from Dallas and Fort Worth do not cross a plaza, and free routes out avoid them too. Only a trip that cuts through the airport pays the Passthrough rate.

DFW Airport: Parking and Access Savings for TollTag Customers (Sept. 14, 2026); DFW Airport: Parking FAQs (Passthrough rate). Checked 2026-10-27.

North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA)

Runs the toll roads around Dallas and Fort Worth, including the President George Bush Turnpike, Dallas North Tollway and Sam Rayburn Tollway. Without a TollTag, cameras read the plate and the toll is billed to the registered owner.

Without a pass: ZipCash, NTTA's pay-by-mail option, bills the registered owner at higher toll rates: NTTA says ZipCash customers pay twice as much as the TollTag rate.

In a rental car: Adding a rental car to your own TollTag account does not get the TollTag rate. NTTA bills those trips at the ZipCash rate, because the TollTag sticker must be on the car's windshield.

NTTA: Pay Your Bill (ZipCash); NTTA: Get a TollTag (rental vehicle FAQ). Checked 2026-10-27.

TEXpress Lanes (LBJ, NTE, NTE 35W)

Managed toll lanes separate from the free general lanes, with their own entrances. Prices are shown on signs before each entrance.

Without a pass: They accept Texas tags (TollTag, EZ TAG) and tags from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Florida, or pay by mail for an additional surcharge. Single drivers without a TollTag or EZ TAG pay 50% more than the posted price.

In a rental car: Stay in the free lanes and these lanes cost nothing.

TEXpress Lanes: FAQs. Checked 2026-10-27.

Before you take the counter's toll plan

Around DFW the toll plan question is real: the fastest route to the northern suburbs uses NTTA roads, and NTTA bills a car without a TollTag at the higher ZipCash rate to the registered owner, which for a rental is the rental company. Even your own TollTag account is billed at the ZipCash rate in a rental. If you want to skip tolls, the table shows how many minutes each drive adds. Each rental company's plan and fee is in its rental agreement; read that before you accept a plan at the counter.

Toll questions

Is there a toll leaving DFW Airport?

Only if you drive through the airport. DFW charges a Passthrough rate on International Parkway for driving from one end of the airport to the other: from Oct. 1, 2026 it is $12 with a TollTag or $15 by credit card. From the Rental Car Center, the drives to Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington have free routes that take about the same time.

Can I drive from DFW to downtown Dallas without tolls?

Yes. The drive back to the Rental Car Center is toll-free, and the free route into Dallas takes about the same time as the fastest line through the airport.

How does NTTA bill a rental car?

NTTA roads have no cash booths. A car without a TollTag is billed by ZipCash to the registered owner, which for a rental is the rental company, and NTTA says ZipCash customers pay twice as much as the TollTag rate. Adding a rental to your own TollTag account still bills at the ZipCash rate.

Which DFW drives are worth the toll roads?

Frisco and Plano. The Sam Rayburn Tollway and Dallas North Tollway save a large share of the drive time there; the table shows the minutes.

Returning your car at DFWDFW toll pass guideCompare rental companies

Sources

Fastest car route out and back from the public Valhalla router run by FOSSGIS (OpenStreetMap data, no live traffic), once allowing tolls and once excluding every tolled road. Toll flags come from OpenStreetMap toll tags, which are set per direction, so a bridge tolled one way only shows in that direction. Every toll verdict on this page was then checked by hand against the toll operator sources listed. Destinations geocoded with Nominatim. Drive times are free-flow estimates; real times are longer with traffic and stops.