Sales · What a yacht costs
What a yacht actually costs to buy
On Ahoy Club's own books, an 18 to 24 metre motor yacht typically asks around US$2.5 million, a 24 to 30 metre around US$5.7 million, a 30 to 40 metre around US$12 million, and a 40 to 50 metre around US$24 million. Above 50 metres, pricing is generally quoted on application. Those are asking prices from 952 live listings measured on 21 September 2026 — not estimates — and the brokerage commission is paid by the seller, not added to your side.
Asking prices on our books
US$104,000 to US$73M
Priced on application
11% of listings
Brokerage commission
Paid by the seller, not the buyer
What yachts are actually asking, by size
Every figure below is the median asking price of the yachts on our own books on 21 September 2026, with the spread most listings fall inside. You can check them against the boats on yachts for sale.
| Length | Typical asking | Most sit between | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 – 24 m | US$2.5M | US$1.2M – US$4.9M | 523 |
| 24 – 30 m | US$5.7M | US$3.0M – US$9.7M | 220 |
| 30 – 40 m | US$12M | US$7.3M – US$20M | 131 |
| 40 – 50 m | US$24M | US$14M – US$36M | 59 |
| Above 50 m | Quoted on application | ||
Asking prices, not sale prices, in US dollars. Measured 21 September 2026 from 952 priced listings.
What you pay on top of the asking price
The asking price is not the whole number, and the additions are predictable rather than mysterious. Budget for a marine survey and a sea trial before you commit; for registration and flag; for any tax or import duty that applies where the yacht will be owned and used; and for delivery from wherever she is lying today to wherever you want her.
Brokerage commission is the one buyers most often ask about, and on a yacht sale it is conventionally paid by the seller out of the sale price, not added to the buyer's side. That is how Ahoy Club works.
We do not publish a percentage for survey, duty or delivery, because an honest figure depends on the yacht, her age, where she is flagged and where she is going — a 20-metre boat staying in Australian waters and a 45-metre boat moving from the Mediterranean are not the same exercise. Ask us for the specific yacht and you will get the specific number.
What she costs to run each year
The long-standing rule of thumb in the industry is that a yacht costs around 10% of her purchase price a year to run. It is a rule of thumb rather than a quote, and it moves a great deal with how you use her: crew salaries, berthing, insurance, fuel, routine maintenance and the yard period all scale differently.
Crew is usually the largest single line on a yacht big enough to need permanent crew. Berthing varies more than anything else on the list — a marina berth in a popular Mediterranean port in August is a different world from a home berth in Australia.
Chartering the yacht out when you are not using her offsets part of it. Ahoy Club runs both sides of that: we sell yachts and we manage and charter them, and we own and run our own boats, so the numbers we give you are the numbers we pay ourselves.
Buying new versus buying brokerage
A brokerage yacht is available now, at a price the market has already tested, and you can survey and sea-trial the actual boat. A new build is specified to you, arrives in two to four years depending on the yard and the size, and is paid for in stages against construction milestones.
Our books carry both, from 248 builders and build years from 1955 through to yachts contracted for 2029. If you are weighing a new build against a recent brokerage boat of the same size, the comparison that matters is not the headline price but the delivery date and what the stage payments do to your money in the meantime.
Why the prices are on the page
Most yacht brokers hide the number behind an enquiry form. Ahoy Club publishes the asking price on every listing where the seller allows it — 89% of our inventory carries a price you can read without speaking to anyone.
The remaining 11% are marked price on application, which is usually the seller's preference rather than ours, and is most common at the very top of the market.
We are yacht owners ourselves. That is the whole reason the prices are visible: we have been on the buyer's side of a brokered sale and know what it is like to be quoted nothing until you have given up your phone number.
Questions buyers ask
- How much does it cost to buy a yacht?
- On Ahoy Club's own books as at 21 September 2026, an 18 to 24 metre motor yacht typically asks around US$2.5 million, with most between US$1.2 million and US$4.9 million. A 24 to 30 metre yacht typically asks around US$5.7 million; 30 to 40 metres around US$12 million; and 40 to 50 metres around US$24 million. Above 50 metres, pricing is generally quoted on application. Those are asking prices from 952 live listings, not estimates.
- What is the cheapest yacht Ahoy Club has for sale?
- Asking prices on our current books run from about US$104,000 at the smallest end to US$73 million at the top. The inventory spans 1,200 listings from 248 builders, with build years from 1955 to yachts contracted for delivery in 2029.
- Does the buyer pay the broker's commission?
- No. On a yacht sale the brokerage commission is conventionally paid by the seller out of the sale price rather than added to the buyer's side, and that is how Ahoy Club works. What a buyer should budget for separately is the marine survey and sea trial, registration and flag, any applicable tax or import duty, and delivery.
- What does a yacht cost to run each year?
- The long-standing industry rule of thumb is around 10% of the purchase price a year, covering crew, berthing, insurance, fuel, maintenance and the yard period. It is a rule of thumb rather than a quote — how you use the yacht moves it a great deal, and crew is usually the largest single line on any yacht big enough to need permanent crew. Chartering her out when you are not aboard offsets part of it.
- Why do some listings say price on application?
- Ahoy Club publishes the asking price on every listing where the seller allows it, which is 89% of our inventory. The remaining 11% are marked price on application, which is usually the seller's preference and is most common at the very top of the market.
- Is it better to buy new or buy brokerage?
- A brokerage yacht is available now, at a price the market has already tested, and you can survey and sea-trial the actual boat. A new build is specified to you, arrives in roughly two to four years depending on the yard and size, and is paid in stages against construction milestones. The comparison that matters is usually the delivery date and the stage payments rather than the headline price.
Want the number for a particular yacht?
Survey, duty, delivery and running costs all depend on the specific boat, her flag and where she is going. Tell us which yacht you are looking at and we will put real numbers against it.
Browse yachts for sale