Another difference between thule and yakima are the cross bars. Thule has square bars and yakima has rounded cross bars. I have a thule on my car (an older model infiniti). I chose it because of the square bars. I don't haul my bike on my roof, but I do haul my kayak and lumber and other stuff from the home improvement store. I personally think it is easier to tie off on the square bars (I bet there are lots of varying opinions on the bars though) and I feel like the square bars are more stable when it comes to my kayak. Now if you'll be using the rack only for bikes, you'll likely have the bike mount attachment and the bar shape won't really matter....in that case, I'd go by price. Both companies make a quality product.