Business AviationHow to Buy a Private Jet: Price, Steps and Costs (2026 Guide)
How much a private jet costs to buy, new and used, and every step of the purchase from budget to pre-buy inspection and closing.
Buying a private jet feels closer to buying a small company than a car. You pay the price, then you inherit maintenance records that set the jet's value, a registration that sets where it can fly, crew to hire and train, and ten years of running costs that will likely exceed the price.
If you fly several hundred hours a year, owning can still be the most convenient way to fly private, and per hour the cheapest. You need to buy in the right order and with the right advisers.
Experienced buyers work in this order: the trips they need to fly, then the budget, then the aircraft, and they give the paperwork the same scrutiny as the paint.
In This Article
- 1.Step 1: Define Your Mission Before You Look at Aircraft
- 2.Step 2: How Much Does a Private Jet Cost to Buy?
- 3.Step 3: Decide How You Will Pay and Own It
- 4.Step 4: Choose a Buyer's Broker and Build Your Team
- 5.Step 5: Shortlist Aircraft and Read the Records
- 6.Step 6: Letter of Intent and Deposit
- 7.Step 7: The Pre-Purchase Inspection
- 8.Step 8: Registration, Insurance and Closing
- 9.Before You Buy: Try the Aircraft Type by Charter
1. Step 1: Define Your Mission Before You Look at Aircraft
Start with a written mission profile. List the trips you take: the longest non-stop leg, how many passengers travel on a normal trip, how much luggage, which airports you use (short runways and steep approaches rule out some types) and how many hours you expect to fly each year.
Size the aircraft for the trips you take most often. A super midsize jet that covers 90% of your flying, plus a charter for the odd long-range trip, costs far less than a long-range jet that spends most of its hours on two-hour hops.
- Typical passengers per trip, and the maximum
- Longest non-stop leg you need, with headwinds and reserves
- Shortest runway and highest-elevation airport you use
- Expected flight hours per year (this decides almost everything else)
- Where the aircraft will be based and who will fly it
2. Step 2: How Much Does a Private Jet Cost to Buy?
Plan a budget in three parts: the purchase price, the one-off costs of putting the aircraft into service, and the yearly cost of operating it.
One-off costs (inspection, legal work, registration, refurbishment, crew recruitment and first training) add 3% to 10% to the price of a pre-owned jet. Fixed yearly costs, before you fly a single hour, range from about $600,000 for a light jet to $3 million or more for an ultra-long-range jet. Our guide to annual ownership costs lists them line by line.
| Category | New (list, approx.) | Pre-owned, 8 to 15 years | Example types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light jet | $9M to $12M | $3M to $7M | Phenom 300E, Citation CJ4 |
| Midsize jet | $14M to $20M | $5M to $10M | Citation Latitude, Praetor 500 |
| Super midsize | $22M to $30M | $9M to $16M | Challenger 3500, Citation Longitude |
| Heavy jet | $35M to $55M | $12M to $28M | Falcon 6X, Gulfstream G500 |
| Ultra long range | $60M to $80M | $25M to $50M | Gulfstream G700, Global 7500 |
*Indicative 2026 ranges. Pre-owned values depend on hours, cycles, maintenance program status and interior condition.
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