This page contains affiliate and referral links. If you charter, book, or buy through them we earn a referral fee, paid by the broker or platform, at no cost to you. We have not adjusted our rankings for the referral rate. Full breakdown on our how-we-make-money page.
A new 30m motor yacht from a credible builder costs $9M to $18M depending on yard, specification, and slot. A 10-year-old equivalent in survey-clean condition costs $4M to $8M. The annual operating cost on either, properly run with a full-time crew of five to six, is $700,000 to $1,200,000, or 8 to 11 percent of value. This is the smallest superyacht size class, the entry to true crewed yacht ownership, and the size where the new-versus-pre-owned math is most lopsided. Most first-time superyacht owners overpay at this band by buying new from a builder whose 5-year-old hulls trade at 60 percent of new-build price. This guide is the worked version of the math, by builder, by year, and by line item.
The 30m band covers yachts from roughly 28m to 33m LOA, the upper end of what most flag states still permit on a private (non-commercial) registration without commercial certification overhead, and the lower end of what brokers consistently call a "superyacht" in current usage. The fleet at this size is the largest of any superyacht band, with more than 4,000 yachts in active service worldwide and roughly 200 new builds delivered each year.
New build cost, current 2026 to 2028 slot pricing
Builder-by-builder, current asking on semi-custom and production 30m motor yachts. Prices ex-yard, ex-VAT, before owner specification upgrades that typically add 8 to 15 percent.
| Builder | Model band | Asking price ($M) | Build time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanlorenzo | SD96 / SD112 | 9.5 to 13.5 | 24 months | Italian semi-custom, the most-built motor yacht in this band globally |
| Benetti | Oasis 28m / 34m | 11.0 to 15.0 | 22 months | Italian production, beach-club led design |
| Heesen | 30m steel and aluminium | 13.5 to 17.5 | 26 months | Dutch semi-custom, displacement and fast-displacement hulls |
| Sunseeker | 100 Yacht / 116 Yacht | 9.0 to 12.5 | 18 months | British production, planing hull |
| Princess | Y95 / X95 | 8.5 to 11.0 | 16 months | British production, the volume builder at this band |
| Ferretti | Custom Line 33 / 37 | 10.0 to 14.0 | 22 months | Italian production, broad availability |
| Azimut | Grande 32m | 10.5 to 13.0 | 20 months | Italian production, design-led |
| Pearl | Pearl 95 / 116 | 7.5 to 10.0 | 16 months | British production, the value end of the band |
The middle of this market is Sanlorenzo SD96 at roughly $11M with a typical owner specification list, delivering 24 to 28 months from contract. The Sanlorenzo build slot for a 2028 delivery is currently around 18 months out. The Heesen 30m custom band runs higher, with longer build times and harder-to-resell specification choices.
Pre-owned cost, by age
Survey-clean asking on 30m motor yachts in current brokerage inventory, weighted to credible builders:
| Year band | Typical asking ($M) | Discount to new | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 to 2026 (1 to 2 years old) | 7.5 to 14.0 | 10 to 20 percent | Mostly cancelled-order sales and motivated first owners |
| 2020 to 2023 (3 to 6 years old) | 5.5 to 10.5 | 30 to 40 percent | The sweet spot for first-time superyacht buyers |
| 2014 to 2019 (7 to 12 years old) | 3.5 to 7.5 | 45 to 60 percent | Requires careful refit history check |
| 2008 to 2013 (13 to 18 years old) | 2.0 to 4.5 | 60 to 75 percent | Pre-2008 hulls often need full refit |
| Pre-2008 | 1.2 to 3.0 | 75 to 85 percent | Specialist buyers only |
The new-to-pre-owned curve at 30m is steeper than at 50m or 80m. The reason is the fleet density at this size: more units in the market means more comparable sales per quarter, more aggressive broker positioning, and harder negotiation room on new build. The 5-to-10-year band is where the value sits.
What the full check looks like at purchase
Asking is not selling, and the wire is not the asking price. The closing wire on a survey-clean 30m motor yacht runs:
| Line | Typical share or amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiated sale price | 8 to 15 percent below initial asking | Larger discount on pre-owned, smaller on new build |
| Brokerage commission | Paid by seller (typically 8 to 10 percent of sale) | Buyer's broker fee is split from seller's broker commission |
| Survey | $25,000 to $45,000 | Hull, machinery, paint, interior, sea trial |
| Sea trial costs | $15,000 to $30,000 | Fuel, captain, yard time |
| Flag, registration, and import | 0 to 22 percent of price | EU VAT exposure dominates this number |
| Legal and structure | $15,000 to $50,000 | Yacht ownership entity, financing |
| Crew handover and delivery | $40,000 to $120,000 | First crew month wages, repositioning to home port |
A buyer who lands on a $6M survey-clean 9-year-old 30m motor yacht should plan a closing wire of $6.0M plus another $200,000 to $450,000 in transaction costs, before any first-month refit.
Annual operating cost, line by line
For a privately-flagged 30m motor yacht running 8 to 12 weeks of use per year with a permanent crew of five (captain, chief stew, two crew, chef):
| Line | Annual ($K) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crew wages and benefits | 350 to 500 | Captain at $130K to $180K; chief stew and chef in the $70K to $100K range |
| Fuel | 60 to 110 | Depends on cruising hours |
| Dockage (home berth plus cruising) | 80 to 140 | Mediterranean home berth is the largest single line |
| Insurance (hull, machinery, P&I) | 50 to 95 | Cruising-area surcharges matter |
| Refit reserve | 100 to 200 | Build the reserve every year, deploy on the 5- and 10-year cycle |
| Classification and survey | 15 to 25 | Annual class survey, every 5-year docking |
| Management and accounting | 30 to 55 | Yacht management firm, 0.5 to 1.0 percent of value per year |
| Provisions and consumables | 15 to 30 | Crew food, cleaning, spares |
| Total annual | 700 to 1,155 | 8 to 11 percent of value |
This is the figure that surprises first-time owners. The yacht costs more to run than to buy on a present-value basis, because the run-cost runs for 15 to 25 years and the purchase is one event.
New versus pre-owned: the math on a 30m
Two illustrative cases, both for a buyer with a 10-year holding plan and 10 weeks of annual use.
Case A: new 30m Sanlorenzo SD96 at $11.0M, owner-spec to $12.3M.
| Line | Total ($M) |
|---|---|
| Purchase | 12.3 |
| Year-1 commissioning and warranty work | 0.2 |
| Annual operating cost x 10 years | 9.5 |
| 5-year refit (light, mostly warranty-covered) | 0.6 |
| 10-year resale value | (6.8) |
| Net 10-year cost | 15.8 |
Case B: 6-year-old Sanlorenzo SD96 (2020 hull) at $6.8M, $250K refit at purchase, same usage.
| Line | Total ($M) |
|---|---|
| Purchase | 6.8 |
| Year-0 refit, paint touch-up, electronics | 0.4 |
| Annual operating cost x 10 years | 9.5 |
| 5-year refit (full, year-11 of hull life) | 1.5 |
| 10-year resale value (16-year-old hull) | (3.2) |
| Net 10-year cost | 15.0 |
The pre-owned net 10-year cost lands $800,000 below the new-build case, with a longer hull life on year-1 of ownership and the depreciation hit already absorbed by the first owner. This math holds for the credible builders. It does not hold for builders with weaker secondary markets, where the pre-owned discount looks larger up front but the resale value at year 10 is closer to scrap.
Where the math breaks for new build
The new-build math at 30m works for two buyer profiles. One is a buyer who wants a specific custom layout that does not exist in the secondary market, typically a sub-niche like an explorer hull or a sailing-style profile. The second is a buyer who values warranty coverage above resale recovery, accepts the depreciation curve, and treats the yacht as a consumable rather than a capital asset. For every other 30m buyer, the secondary market is the right answer.
What we mark up and what we pass on
We mark up brokers who present the closing wire as the closing wire rather than the asking price as the buying price. We mark up Sanlorenzo and Heesen secondary inventory in the 5-to-10-year band as the best risk-adjusted entry to crewed yacht ownership at this size. We pass on new build orders for first-time owners who have not yet chartered the same builder for a full season, because the order-to-delivery period is long enough that the buyer's actual preferences will shift. We pass on pre-2010 hulls from production yards where the resale market is thin, because the refit math erases the headline discount.
For purchase-side reading, see new vs pre-owned, the Sanlorenzo review, and the Buy hub. For 50m and 80m comparables, see 50m purchase cost and 80m purchase cost. For the annual line items, see yacht ownership annual costs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 30m yacht cost to buy? A new 30m motor yacht runs $9M to $18M. A 6-year-old equivalent runs $5.5M to $10.5M. A 10-year-old at survey-clean condition runs $4M to $8M.
What does a 30m yacht cost to run annually? $700,000 to $1.2M, or 8 to 11 percent of value. Crew is the largest line at $350K to $500K.
Is new or pre-owned the better buy at 30m? Pre-owned at 5 to 10 years from a credible builder is the better buy for most first-time owners. The new-build premium at 30m is steeper than at 50m or 80m.
How long does a 30m new build take to deliver? 18 to 30 months for semi-custom production, 30 to 42 months for full custom. Top yards have 2027 to 2029 slot availability.
What is the typical depreciation curve at 30m? Roughly 10 percent in year 1, 5 to 7 percent per year through year 5, 3 to 5 percent per year thereafter. Steeper for production builders with thin secondary markets.