What does your yacht actually cost to run?
An annual operating budget in seconds — crew, fuel, berthing, insurance, maintenance and refit reserve. Indicative figures; a management quotation confirms the real numbers.
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Questions owners ask
What does it cost to run a superyacht per year?
The industry rule of thumb is 10% of the yacht's value per year, but size is a better predictor: a 40m motor yacht typically runs €1.2–2M annually, a 60m €3–5M, and an 80m+ €7–12M, including crew, fuel, berthing, insurance, maintenance and periodic survey costs.
What is the biggest operating cost on a yacht?
Crew. Salaries, training, insurance and repatriation are usually 40–50% of the annual operating budget. A 50m yacht with 12 crew spends roughly €1–1.4M per year on crew alone.
How much fuel does a superyacht use?
A 50m motor yacht burns roughly 500 litres per hour at cruising speed. At €1.20/litre and 200 cruising hours a year, that is about €120,000. Active charter seasons and long passages can double or triple the figure.
Does chartering my yacht cover operating costs?
A well-booked charter yacht can offset 40–70% of operating costs in a strong season, rarely all of them. Charter income also concentrates maintenance wear. Most owners charter to reduce net cost, not to make a profit.
Chartering a yacht instead? See superyacht charter prices or run the charter cost calculator.