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 51m motor yacht with 6 cabins typically lists at $375K to $480K per week in shoulder season and $550K to $750K per week in Mediterranean peak. Divide that by 6 and you get a per-cabin figure between $62K and $125K per week. Add 30% APA and 20% French VAT and the all-in number per cabin lands closer to $95K to $190K. That is the math most brokers will not show you on a single page, because it is the math that decides whether you should be looking at a 6-cabin yacht at all.
This post does the per-cabin teardown across the full charter fleet, from 5-cabin 40m motor yachts to 12-cabin 90m-plus charter platforms. We use 2026 Mediterranean rates, separate low season, shoulder, and peak, and show where the per-cabin curve breaks. We also name three yachts where the per-cabin number flatters the listing and one where it understates how good the value actually is.
What "per cabin" actually measures
Per-cabin pricing is not a real number in the yachting industry. Brokers quote yachts at a weekly rate, plus APA, plus VAT, plus gratuity. The per-cabin figure is a derived metric we use to compare yachts of different size classes when the question is "how many couples are we taking on this charter".
It matters because cabin count is the constraint on group composition. A 14-guest yacht with 7 cabins fits seven couples or a family of two parents, three kids, and one nanny in a two-cabin split. The same yacht with 6 cabins fits six couples and forces the seventh person into a single sofa-bed conversion in the saloon, which never works on charter.
So we do not use per-cabin to find a "cheap" yacht. We use it to find the right yacht for the group at the lowest defensible price. The cheapest per-cabin number on a list is usually a sign of an oversized yacht with under-utilised berths, which is its own problem.
The 2026 per-cabin curve, by yacht size class
Rates below are MYBA weekly base rates in the Mediterranean, low season / shoulder / peak, as of May 2026. APA at 30%, VAT extra. Source: broker quotes pulled from inventory at three top-five central agencies in late April. Where a yacht's published weekly rate is in EUR we converted at 1.08.
40m to 49m motor yachts, typically 5 cabins, 10 to 12 guests
Base weekly: $180K / $250K / $340K. Per cabin: $36K / $50K / $68K. The 40m to 49m range is the entry to true crewed yacht charter. A well-kept yacht in this class will have 8 to 10 crew, an at-rest stabiliser set, and a sea-keeping window that covers most Med weather. The per-cabin figure looks attractive, but you are renting volume more than amenities. The beach club is small or absent, the tender garage holds one tender and the toys live on deck. If your group is 8 to 10 and you do not need a heli touch-and-go, this is the size that delivers the most per-cabin value.
50m to 59m motor yachts, typically 6 cabins, 12 guests
Base weekly: $300K / $440K / $620K. Per cabin: $50K / $73K / $103K. This is the bread-and-butter Mediterranean charter size. M/Y Home (Heesen, 50m), is the cleanest example: hybrid propulsion, two tenders, an at-rest stabiliser pair, a six-cabin layout that includes a true master suite. Per-cabin around $65K to $80K in shoulder. The trap in this class is the older 50m yachts that list at a discount, around $230K per week in shoulder, but burn 30% more APA because their MTU pair was due for an overhaul two refits ago.
60m to 69m motor yachts, typically 6 to 7 cabins, 12 guests
Base weekly: $450K / $620K / $900K. Per cabin: $75K / $103K / $150K. The 60m class is where per-cabin pricing stops being the useful comparator. You are now paying for an Imax-class master suite, a full beach club, a tender garage that swallows three tenders and a six-jet-ski fleet, and a 16 to 18-crew payroll. Cabin count is mostly a constraint, not a feature. The yachts that price well in this class share a common pattern: they were built 2014 to 2018, had a 2022 to 2024 refit, and are run by a captain with at least four years on the yacht. The yachts that do not price well share another pattern: they are 2020-builds with a 2024 owner change and a captain who started six months ago.
70m to 79m motor yachts, typically 6 to 8 cabins, 12 guests
Base weekly: $700K / $950K / $1.35M. Per cabin: $100K / $140K / $190K. The 70m segment is the most over-priced per cabin in the Med. The reason is that the 12-guest charter cap (Cayman Red Ensign, MCA LY3) means that adding a seventh or eighth cabin only adds flexibility for split sleeping arrangements. It does not raise the headline guest count. So you are paying 1.5x the 60m base rate for marginal returns on the cabin count itself. The reason buyers still book here is volume: 70m gives you a second saloon, a dedicated gym, a cinema, and a beach club big enough to deploy a Seabob and a Jet Surf at the same time.
80m to 99m motor yachts, typically 7 to 9 cabins, 12 guests (or 36 day-guests)
Base weekly: $1.1M / $1.5M / $2.1M. Per cabin: $137K / $187K / $263K. The 80m+ class breaks the per-cabin model entirely. You are no longer pricing accommodation. You are pricing a charter platform with helicopter capability, a beach club that doubles as a wellness floor, and a 22 to 24-crew complement. Cabin counts in this size range vary wildly. M/Y Madsummer (95m, Lürssen, 2019) lists with 8 cabins. M/Y Lana (107m, Benetti, 2020) lists with 6 cabins plus a beach-deck VIP. Same 12-guest cap. Different math.
100m+, 6 to 12 cabins
Base weekly: $1.8M / $2.4M / $3.2M and up. Per cabin: not a useful number. The 100m-plus segment is priced on the all-in week, not on a derived per-cabin figure. The honest broker move at this level is to set the weekly rate, set APA at 30% to 35%, walk the client through expected fuel burn for the itinerary, and then estimate gratuity at 10% to 12% of the base. The cabin count is a constraint on group composition, nothing more.
Where the per-cabin number flatters the listing
Three patterns to watch:
1. The "extra cabin" that is actually a crew cabin convert. A 7-cabin yacht where the seventh cabin is a converted crew bunk in the lower deck, no view, fixed twin beds, head shared with a corridor. Two yachts in our 50m to 60m sample currently market this layout. The cabin count is technically correct. The cabin is not chartertable in any normal sense.
2. The "12-guest 8-cabin" listing on a 65m yacht. This usually means the master and VIP both count as one cabin each, plus three doubles and three twins. It looks like a great per-cabin number. In practice, two of the twins are tight Pullman conversions and the family that goes for the 12-guest line ends up with two adults in a 12m2 cabin with a port-side shower.
3. The "discount per cabin" on a yacht with a known mechanical history. A 56m built in 2008, refit in 2019, that has been on the market at $260K per week shoulder. The per-cabin figure looks like a steal at $43K. Then you read the captain's notes and discover the at-rest stabiliser pair was last serviced in 2021, the genset pair was rebuilt in 2022 after a mid-charter failure, and the APA on the last two charters ran 40%, not 30%. The per-cabin number is meaningless when the all-in cost is unpredictable.
Where the per-cabin number understates the value
The 50m hybrid Heesen segment, currently. The 2024 to 2026 deliveries are pricing 8% to 12% above the older 50m boats but delivering 25% lower fuel burn at cruising speeds, lower APA exposure, and a longer at-anchor silence window. The per-cabin number looks marginal. The all-in cost over a 7-day charter with two long passages built in is materially better. We would look at this segment before a 55m to 60m that prices 30% higher and offers similar guest accommodation.
What we said no to
Any 6-cabin yacht under 50m being marketed as a 12-guest charter platform. The cabin count works on paper, but the saloon, the dining table, the beach club, and the tender complement are sized for 10 guests, not 12. By day three of the charter, the eleventh and twelfth guest are eating in a saloon that seats 10 around the table and there is a queue for the single tender at every shore excursion.
Any yacht being quoted with "per-cabin" pricing in the broker brief itself. If the broker leads with per-cabin, the underlying weekly rate is high relative to the size class and they are trying to make it look smaller. Ask for the all-in delivered cost on a sample 7-day Med itinerary with 30% APA and 20% VAT, with fuel and dockage modelled at standard burn. That number is the only one that counts.
How to use the per-cabin figure when reading a broker brief
Use it as a sanity check. If the broker quotes a 55m yacht at $350K per week shoulder, that is $58K per cabin on a 6-cabin layout. Reasonable for the size class in 2026. If the same yacht is at $480K per week shoulder, that is $80K per cabin, which is above the segment median. Ask why. Reasonable answers: 2025 refit, new captain, new tender complement, full hybrid propulsion. Unreasonable answers: "rate set by the owner", "high demand on these dates", "this is the published price".
Per cabin is a back-of-envelope tool. It does not replace running the all-in cost. It is faster than running the all-in cost when you are trying to triage a 30-yacht shortlist down to 6.
FAQ
Q: Should I book a yacht with fewer cabins to save money? A: Only if your headcount supports it. Six couples on a 6-cabin yacht is the right configuration. Six couples on a 7-cabin yacht because it was cheaper per cabin means you are paying for empty volume, and there is no rebate for the unused cabin in the MYBA contract. Match the cabin count to the group.
Q: Is per-cabin pricing standard across brokers? A: No. Most central agents quote the weekly base rate plus APA plus VAT plus gratuity. Per-cabin is a derived figure we calculate. It is not a published rate. If a broker volunteers per-cabin pricing, it usually means they are trying to make a high weekly rate look more digestible.
Q: Does cabin count affect the gratuity? A: No. Gratuity is calculated on the base charter fee, typically 10% to 15% in the Med, 10% to 12% in the Caribbean, distributed across the entire crew complement. A 7-cabin 70m yacht with 18 crew earns the same gratuity at 12% as a 6-cabin 70m yacht with 18 crew.
Q: What is the most cost-efficient cabin count for a family of 8? A: Five cabins on a 45m to 50m yacht is the cleanest answer. Two parents in the master, two pairs of children in twin cabins, two singles in a third twin if the kids are under 12, and one cabin held for a nanny or grandparent. The 5-cabin layout matches the headcount and the per-cabin figure is the most favourable of any standard charter class.