Yacht Charter Rate Increase: 2026 vs 2019 by Size Class

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A 50m motor yacht that quoted €240K/week for peak August in the Mediterranean in 2019 quotes €395K/week in 2026. That is 65 percent in nominal terms across 7 years, or roughly 7.4 percent compounded annually. The same yacht's APA has moved from 28 percent to 32 percent over the same window. The crew gratuity expectation has moved from 10 percent to 12 percent. Net to the client, peak week on that 50m runs roughly 70 percent above 2019. This piece walks through what actually changed, by size class and by destination, using a baseline of the same hulls or comparable hulls priced at both points in time.

What we are measuring

Charter rate is the headline number on the MYBA contract: the base weekly charter fee, in euros, for a defined week. We are comparing 2019 rate cards as published in spring 2019 to 2026 rate cards as published in spring 2026, for the same yacht where possible, and for a like-for-like substitute where the original hull has left charter, changed builder, or been sold. The comparisons exclude APA (covered separately), VAT (covered separately), and crew gratuity (covered separately). The headline number is the cleanest data point because it is what brokers and central agents are quoting, but it understates the actual client-delivered cost change because every other line has moved up too.

Our dataset is roughly 180 hulls across the Mediterranean and Caribbean fleet that were on charter in both 2019 and 2025-26. For each, we pulled the 2019 peak weekly rate and the 2026 peak weekly rate, both in nominal euros. We then segmented by LOA class. The destinations are dominated by Med peak (weeks 30 to 34) and Caribbean peak (weeks 51 to 1), with secondary samples for shoulder Med (mid-September) and shoulder Caribbean (early March).

The summary number by size class

These are median peak-week rate changes, 2026 nominal vs 2019 nominal, in euros, for the Mediterranean peak week.

25m to 35m motor yacht: 2019 median around €70K/week. 2026 median around €115K/week. Up 64 percent.
35m to 45m motor yacht: 2019 median around €145K/week. 2026 median around €240K/week. Up 65 percent.
45m to 55m motor yacht: 2019 median around €230K/week. 2026 median around €375K/week. Up 63 percent.
55m to 65m motor yacht: 2019 median around €360K/week. 2026 median around €565K/week. Up 57 percent.
65m to 75m motor yacht: 2019 median around €520K/week. 2026 median around €790K/week. Up 52 percent.
75m to 90m motor yacht: 2019 median around €750K/week. 2026 median around €1.10M/week. Up 47 percent.
90m-plus motor yacht: 2019 median around €1.05M/week. 2026 median around €1.45M/week. Up 38 percent.
Sailing yacht 30m to 50m: 2019 median around €85K/week. 2026 median around €140K/week. Up 65 percent.
Sailing yacht 50m-plus: 2019 median around €240K/week. 2026 median around €370K/week. Up 54 percent.

The shape is consistent across our sample: the percentage increase is widest in the small-and-mid motor segment, narrows steadily as LOA rises, and is tightest on the 90m-plus segment. There is a reason for that, and it is not random.

Why the curve has this shape

The 90m-plus segment had already absorbed a major rate-card adjustment between 2016 and 2019, driven by the build-out of new tonnage at Lürssen, Oceanco, and Feadship and by the entry of a new generation of owners willing to charter at a premium. By 2019, an 80m motor yacht at €1.1M/week was already priced near the operational ceiling for that class. There was less room to move upward in percentage terms.

The 35m to 55m segment was structurally underpriced in 2019. Brokers in that period were still benchmarking against a 2014 to 2017 market where new tonnage was relatively abundant and where charter was a secondary business for many owners. The 2020 to 2022 shock, Covid-era restrictions on travel, then a sharp post-Covid demand spike combined with reduced charter supply because of crew shortages, caught this segment with rate cards that were behind the cost curve. The catch-up has been concentrated here.

The 25m to 35m segment is partly a function of where the day-charter operators have moved in to charge week rates. A 30m motor yacht in Ibiza or Saint-Tropez is competing both with weekly charter and with high-end day-charter operators who can run a €15K to €25K day. The week math now reflects that.

Sailing in the 30m to 50m range tracks the small-motor curve. Sailing in the 50m-plus range has been moderated by the limited new-build pipeline in that segment, fewer Royal Huisman and Perini Navi launches in the 2019 to 2024 window kept supply tight, but the cost basis has not climbed as fast as motor.

The cost components that drove the increase

The base rate is the only line we are measuring here, but it does not exist in isolation. Owners' rate cards are set by management companies and central agents against an operating-cost model. That model has these inputs:

Crew wages. A 50m yacht with 12 crew now runs an annual payroll of roughly €1.4M to €1.7M in 2026, compared to roughly €950K to €1.1M in 2019. That is a 45 percent step. The increase is concentrated in the captain, chief engineer, chief stew, and chef. Junior crew wages are up too but the percentage is smaller in absolute euros.

Insurance. Hull and liability insurance for a charter yacht is up roughly 40 to 60 percent on 2019 in 2026, with the largest jump occurring in 2022 to 2024 as the market adjusted to Russian-asset impounds, the Black Sea war risk, and a few high-profile losses. Charter yachts in the 50m-plus class are paying €120K to €280K/year on hull alone in 2026, before P&I.

Fuel. Marine diesel in the Med has tracked the broader oil market with a Med-specific premium. 2019 marine diesel ran around €0.85 to €1.10 per litre at most Med fuel docks. In 2026 H1 we are seeing €1.40 to €1.85. Fuel sits in APA, not in the base rate, but the underlying yacht-operations cost model reflects fuel pricing and the rate card has caught up.

Refit and maintenance. The cost of a major paint job, a generator overhaul, a stabiliser retrofit, and a teak deck replacement has all moved 30 to 50 percent above 2019. Refit yards in Italy, France, and Northern Europe have backlogs of 6 to 14 months and they are pricing accordingly. The owner amortises this cost into the charter rate card.

Marina and dockage. Monaco Port Hercule, Cala di Volpe, Porto Cervo, and IYCA Antibes have all repriced marina contracts upward. Port Hercule peak-month dockage for an 80m is up roughly 35 percent on 2019.

The destinations where the gap is widest

Saint-Tropez. The Saint-Tropez peak-week premium has widened most among all Med destinations. A 50m yacht that was €270K/week peak in 2019 with a Saint-Tropez itinerary is €445K/week in 2026. Up 65 percent. The structural reason is supply restriction, the 2026 anchorage permit regime has reduced cruising-ground capacity, which has pushed yachts further afield and pushed broker-quoted Saint-Tropez itineraries to a premium.

Sardinian Costa Smeralda. Up 60 to 70 percent on most hulls. Cala di Volpe and Porto Cervo are now the most expensive marinas in the Med for a 50m yacht and the cruising-ground capacity is tight in peak August.

Croatian Dalmatian coast. Up 55 to 65 percent, but with the Croatian charter tax and the licence regime adding further to client-delivered cost. The headline rate is one piece. The full Croatia-delivered week is more expensive than the headline suggests.

BVI peak. Up 45 to 55 percent. The BVI fleet has expanded faster than demand and the headline-rate inflation has been more moderate than in the Med. Caribbean Christmas remains a peak that does not move, but the rate of growth has been slower.

Where the gap is narrowest

The 80m to 100m segment in Mediterranean shoulder weeks. A 90m yacht that quoted €950K/week peak in 2019 and €1.35M/week peak in 2026 (up 42 percent) is shoulder-quoting at €850K/week in 2026 vs €700K/week shoulder in 2019. Up 21 percent on shoulder. The owners of this class are using shoulder weeks to drive utilisation and are pricing them more aggressively against an older 2019 baseline.

The mid-Caribbean shoulder. Late March and early April BVI on a 50m motor yacht is up roughly 28 to 35 percent on 2019. The Caribbean shoulder market has not absorbed the same rate-card pressure as Med peak.

What this means for a charter client

If you chartered a specific yacht in 2019 and you are quoting that same yacht in 2026, expect to pay 50 to 65 percent more in nominal terms on the base rate, plus 4 to 6 percent more on APA percentage, plus a similar gratuity uplift. Your actual delivered cost is up roughly 60 to 75 percent.

If you are new to charter and you are using 2019 as a mental baseline because you read a piece in 2019, throw that baseline out. The reference is 2025. Pricing has flattened from 2024 to 2026 and the 2026 quote is closer to the new equilibrium than to a continuing-trend trajectory.

The two ways to absorb less of the rise: shoulder weeks, where percentage growth has been smaller, and the 80m-plus segment, where the rate-card adjustment had largely happened pre-pandemic.

What we passed on

Brokers quoting "back to 2019 rates" as a marketing claim on a specific yacht. We have seen this on three specific listings in the past 12 months. In each case, the headline number was at or near 2024 rates and the broker was using "below 2023" as a softer way of saying "this hull is not booking and the owner is willing to release the week below the peak rate card." That is a valid reason to consider the yacht. It is not the same as the rate being 2019-equivalent. Ask for a specific number, not a comparison to a year.

Yachts where the 2019 rate was an outlier. A few hulls in our dataset were priced unusually low in 2019 for reasons specific to that calendar year, a new central agent trying to build a book, a captain change creating uncertainty, a refit that overran into early summer. Comparing the 2019 number to a 2026 number on these hulls overstates the increase. Look at 2017 or 2018 for a cleaner baseline if you have access to those rate cards.

Comparisons in dollars rather than euros. The euro has moved against the dollar over this window. Most charter contracts in the Med settle in euros and most Caribbean charter contracts settle in dollars. If you are pricing in dollars and comparing to a 2019 dollar reference, you are mixing the FX move into the rate move. Compare in the contract currency.

What we expect through 2027

The 2024 to 2026 flattening looks structural rather than temporary. New build pipelines at Feadship, Lürssen, and Oceanco are delivering tonnage through 2027. Crew wages have absorbed most of the post-Covid step. Insurance is the line item still moving, the 2026 to 2027 renewal cycle in the spring will tell us whether the post-sanctions premium continues to widen or stabilises.

The rate environment in 2027 we expect to look similar to 2026, with destination-specific outliers. Saint-Tropez and Costa Smeralda will continue to price ahead of the broader Med curve. Greek peak will continue to look modest relative to the western Med. Croatian peak will continue to rise.

If you are comparing 2026 prices to 2019 because someone told you the market is back at 2019 levels, the simple answer is no, it is not, and it is not going to be.

FAQ

How much have yacht charter rates gone up since 2019? Between 38 and 64 percent depending on size class and destination, with the widest gap on the 50m to 70m motor segment. The smallest gap is on 80m-plus, where rate cards had already adjusted upward through 2017 to 2019.

Are charter rates still going up in 2026? The trend has flattened. 2024 to 2025 rate growth was around 4 percent at the midpoint. 2025 to 2026 H1 is showing 2 to 3 percent at the midpoint, which is below recent inflation. The compounding from 2019 to 2022 was the bulk of the rise.

Will rates come back down to 2019 levels? No. The fleet has aged, fuel and insurance have permanently repriced, crew wages stepped up, and post-sanctions insurance and flag risk premiums are now baked in. Selected hulls have softened in nominal terms but the 2019 reference is gone.

Has APA moved with the base rate? Yes. APA went from a 25 to 30 percent norm in 2019 to a 30 to 35 percent norm in 2026, with high-fuel itineraries running 35 percent and light cruising sometimes still negotiated at 28.

Is the increase the same in the Caribbean as in the Med? No. Caribbean Christmas peak is up roughly 45 to 55 percent. Med August peak is up roughly 55 to 70 percent. The Caribbean has had more new tonnage absorption.