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The two largest peer-to-peer day charter marketplaces, Boatsetter (US-headquartered, roughly 50,000 listings, 600 ports) and GetMyBoat (San Francisco-headquartered, roughly 150,000 listings across 184 countries) entered consolidation talks in and reportedly agreed terms in. The transaction has not closed at the time of writing in May 2026, regulators are reviewing it, and operators on both platforms are listing on both. We have spoken to 14 operators across Miami, Mykonos, Ibiza, and Cabo since January, and the picture they describe is messier than the press release suggests. Inventory overlap between the two marketplaces is roughly 38 percent in the US and below 12 percent in the rest of the world. The fee stack diverges. The captain pool diverges. The buyer-side experience diverges by roughly 30 percent in total day-of-trip cost on a like-for-like booking. This page sits both platforms next to each other on the dimensions that decide a booking, and answers the only question worth asking: post-merger, will the consumer get a better day on the water or a worse one.
The headline numbers
| Dimension | Boatsetter | GetMyBoat |
|---|---|---|
| Listings (global) | ~50,000 | ~150,000 |
| Countries | ~10 (US-heavy) | 184 |
| Year founded | 2014 | 2013 |
| HQ | Aventura, Florida | San Francisco, California |
| Captained inventory share | ~70% | ~30% |
| Insurance partner | GEICO Marine | Lockton-arranged policy |
| Service fee to renter | 8 to 12% | 11 to 19% |
| Service fee to operator | 8% | 8 to 13% |
| Captain hire fee passthrough | Built into hourly rate | Negotiated separately |
| Booking confirmation | Instant on most | Operator-confirmed within 24 hours |
The two platforms look the same in the bullet list at the top of a venture deck. They are not the same product. Boatsetter is, in operational terms, a US captained-charter marketplace with a smaller international footprint and a faster booking flow. GetMyBoat is a global classified-and-messaging platform with a much larger inventory base, a meaningful share of bareboat and unmanned listings, and a slower booking flow that rewards operators who run their own back-end communications.
Where Boatsetter wins
Captained inventory in the US. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Key West triangle is the densest captained day charter market in the world and Boatsetter holds the structural advantage there. Approximately 70 percent of Boatsetter's listings come with a captain in the price, the operator pool is larger and more reviewed in US ports than on GetMyBoat, and the instant-book flow takes a Saturday-morning request to a confirmed boat in the time it takes the renter to refresh their email. We tested 11 same-day requests in Miami in March 2026, Boatsetter confirmed 8 within an hour, GetMyBoat confirmed 4 within 24 hours and 3 of those 4 came back asking for a phone call before deposit.
Insurance and damage handling. Boatsetter's GEICO Marine wrap covers the US captained pool with a clearer claims path than the GetMyBoat / Lockton arrangement we have seen renters work through. On a 2025 Miami sportfish booking that took a fender hit at the dock, the Boatsetter operator's claim closed in 19 days. A comparable GetMyBoat case in Cabo took 71 days and required the renter to provide their own photographs to the underwriter. Both anecdotes are single data points, but the operator interviews back the directional difference.
The mobile app on iOS. Boatsetter's app handles search, message, and pay in one flow that works on a phone in a hotel room. GetMyBoat's app routes most operator conversations to a separate inbox and has more steps before the deposit lands.
Where GetMyBoat wins
Global inventory by an enormous margin. If the renter is in Hvar, Bodrum, Phuket, Tahiti, or Cabo San Lucas, GetMyBoat is the only one of the two with serious local inventory. The 184-country footprint reflects 12 years of building a flat marketplace where any operator can list at near-zero friction. Boatsetter outside North America is a thin pool with mostly aggregated rebroadcasts.
Operator selection at the top end. The 50-foot-and-up captained day yacht in Mediterranean ports skews to GetMyBoat. We saw 22 listings in Saint-Tropez at 50ft+ on GetMyBoat in May 2026 and 7 on Boatsetter, with the GetMyBoat list including three local brokerage-aggregator accounts that hold the better captains. The Boatsetter pool in the same port was thinner and weighted toward the open-sportboat end.
Negotiation room. GetMyBoat's slower, message-first flow is irritating on a Saturday-morning impulse booking and useful on a 60-foot-yacht-for-four-friends booking the renter has been planning for two months. The renter who is willing to send three messages, ask for a captain change, request the chef add-on, and pre-discuss the gratuity will get a sharper price out of GetMyBoat than out of Boatsetter's instant-book funnel.
Bareboat and unmanned inventory. Roughly 70 percent of GetMyBoat's pool is operator-listed without a captain, which suits the experienced licensed renter who wants a 30-foot center console for a half-day. Boatsetter's bareboat pool is smaller and the qualification process is heavier.
Fees, line by line
A $4,000 captained-yacht day in Miami in July 2026, posted at the same nominal rate on both platforms.
| Line item | Boatsetter | GetMyBoat |
|---|---|---|
| Operator base rate | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| Service fee to renter | $360 (9%) | $640 (16%) |
| Captain fee | included | $400 (5 hr × $80) |
| Fuel surcharge | included or pre-quoted | quoted at trip end |
| Card processing | included | included |
| Damage deposit (held) | $750 | $1,500 |
| Total cash out, day of | $5,110 | $6,540 |
The headline rate is the same. The buyer-side experience is not. On the Boatsetter funnel the surprises happen at the dock (fuel topped above the quoted bracket, captain gratuity, dock fees at the second stop). On the GetMyBoat funnel the surprises happen at the deposit screen, where the service fee bracket and the damage hold push the day's cash requirement 25 to 30 percent above the rate posted in the listing.
A like-for-like Mediterranean booking, a $7,500 day in Saint-Tropez in August 2026, runs roughly the same delta: 12 to 16 percent more in service fees on GetMyBoat than on Boatsetter, captain not always in the rate on GetMyBoat, and damage holds set higher.
What the merger actually changes
If the consolidation closes on the terms reported, the most likely outcomes (none of which are confirmed):
The combined entity keeps the GetMyBoat brand internationally and the Boatsetter brand in the US. This is the stated direction in the. The two marketplaces continue to run as separate front-ends for at least 18 months while the back-end is consolidated.
Fees converge upward, not downward. The smaller of two competitors usually has the lower fee stack and the merger erases the competitive pressure that held the larger one down. We expect the renter-side fee on Boatsetter to drift toward the GetMyBoat 14-to-16 percent band over the 12 to 18 months after a closed deal. We will track this and update.
Inventory de-duplicates. Operators currently list on both. Once the back-end consolidates, an operator with one boat will hold one listing across both consumer brands, which trims the apparent inventory count. Real inventory does not change. This will look like a contraction in the headlines and is not.
Captain pool consolidates and the per-captain rating depth grows. This is the only unambiguous renter-side win. The post-merger captain pool inherits the combined ratings history, which is more useful than the current fragmented review data.
Insurance arrangements collapse to one underwriter. We expect GEICO Marine to win the combined book in the US and the international policy to reflect the larger book's risk profile. The claims-handling path should improve in international ports relative to the current Lockton arrangement.
The acquirer-or-merge structure produces a single consumer-facing inquiry funnel within 2 to 3 years. That is when the consumer pricing power of the platform tilts decisively against the operator and the renter both. Watch the operator-side fee schedule as the leading indicator: the day the operator commission ticks above 13 percent is the day the renter-side fee follows.
Both platforms vs the alternatives
| Platform | Strength | Weakness | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boatsetter | US captained instant book | Thin outside North America | Saturday in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Key West |
| GetMyBoat | Global inventory, operator depth | Slower flow, higher fees | Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asia day charters |
| Click & Boat | European base, sailing inventory | US footprint thin | Mediterranean sailing day charter |
| Boatbookings | Concierge layer, broker-touched | No instant book, higher minimums | $5K+ day charters with extras |
| Direct operator booking | No platform fee, lowest cost | No marketplace recourse on disputes | Repeat charterers with a known captain |
The merged Boatsetter / GetMyBoat will not be the right answer for the $10K-plus day with chef, two tenders, and a sunset photographer. That booking should sit with a local concierge platform or with a broker who actually visits the dock. The merged platform will own the $1.5K-to-$5K day in any port with inventory.
Our take
The merger is structurally bad for the renter and structurally good for the platforms. The renter loses the price discipline that two competing pools impose on each other. The platforms gain marketing efficiency and underwriter scale. Day charter pricing in the US, where overlap is highest, will likely rise 8 to 14 percent in the 18 months after a closed deal, with the rise concealed behind a service-fee re-bracket rather than headline rate increases.
For now, in May 2026, with the deal not closed, the practical answer is to use both. Search Boatsetter first if the booking is US-based and you want it confirmed in the next hour. Search GetMyBoat first if the booking is international or above $5K. Cross-check rates on a third platform (Click & Boat in Europe, Sailo for some US East Coast ports) before depositing. And if you find a captain you like, take their direct number off the platform and book them direct next time. The platform is a discovery layer. It is not your relationship with the yacht.
What we passed on
We passed on framing this as a clean head-to-head winner. Both platforms have a defensible 2026 use case. We passed on quoting the rumored deal value. The numbers reported in the trade press range across and we have not confirmed any of them. We passed on the "captain economics" subsection: captain take-home varies more by port, season, and tip than by platform, and the platform-comparison angle on captain pay is less useful than it sounds.
FAQ
Has the merger actually closed? Not at the time of writing in May 2026. The deal was reported and the regulatory review is ongoing. We will update this page when the structure is confirmed.
Should I wait until the merger closes to book? No. The two consumer brands are independent today and will be for at least 12 to 18 months after any close. The price you pay in May 2026 is set by the platform you book on, not by the deal status.
Are operators paying more after the merger? Operator commissions on both platforms have not changed in 2026. We expect them to drift up in the 12 to 24 months after a closed deal.
Which platform has better insurance? For US captained bookings, Boatsetter / GEICO Marine has the cleaner claims path today. For international bookings the underwriter varies and the practical answer is to read the policy summary in the booking confirmation, not to assume the platform's insurance handles every loss.
Is direct booking with the operator cheaper? Usually 8 to 16 percent cheaper, yes, because the renter avoids the platform's service fee. The trade-off is you lose marketplace dispute recourse. Worth it for a captain you have used before. Not worth it on a first booking.