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 60m Benetti motor yacht in 2026 costs $4.6M to $5.4M per year to run, all-in, on a typical Mediterranean-summer and Caribbean-winter dual-program with 14 weeks of owner-and-guest use and zero charter weeks. Add 1 to 1.5 percent of operating cost per chartered week to cover the operational uplift. The number assumes a 2018 to 2022 build year, an Italian or Maltese flag, MCA-or-equivalent compliance, a crew of 16 to 18, twin-MTU diesel-electric or conventional propulsion, and a refit accrual schedule that averages 2 to 3 percent of replacement cost per year. The numbers below are pulled from operator interviews and yacht-management company quotes for three reference 60m Benetti hulls, anonymized at the owners' request, with cost-line variance noted where the spread is meaningful. The headline number is not the marketing brochure number. The marketing brochure number is roughly 60 to 70 percent of the real one.
The headline grid
| Cost line | Annual cost (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crew payroll | $1,600,000 to $1,800,000 | 16 to 18 crew, blended rate |
| Crew benefits and rotation | $220,000 to $290,000 | Health, travel, training, rotational pay |
| Dockage and port fees | $380,000 to $480,000 | Med summer + Caribbean winter |
| Fuel | $420,000 to $580,000 | 250 to 320 engine hours, plus generator |
| Insurance (hull and P&I) | $230,000 to $320,000 | $50M to $65M agreed value |
| Maintenance and consumables | $380,000 to $470,000 | Routine, scheduled, parts |
| Refit accrual | $650,000 to $850,000 | 5-year cycle, 10-year cycle blended |
| Yacht management fee | $180,000 to $230,000 | 1 of the major firms, 0.4 to 0.5% of replacement cost |
| Communications and IT | $90,000 to $140,000 | VSAT, Starlink, onboard network |
| Tender and toy maintenance | $80,000 to $120,000 | 2 to 3 tenders, 4 to 8 toys |
| Provisioning at owner level | $120,000 to $220,000 | Owner-and-guest weeks |
| Flag, registration, and admin | $35,000 to $55,000 | Flag dues, classification, audit |
| Repositioning fuel and crew | $180,000 to $280,000 | Med-Carib delivery and back |
| Depreciation (not cash, separate) | $1,500,000 to $2,200,000 | Memorialized for accounting |
| Total cash operating | $4,565,000 to $5,395,000 | Excluding depreciation and finance |
The total varies by $830,000 across the realistic range of operating choices. The owner who economizes can land at $4.6M. The owner who runs the program properly and refits on schedule lands at $5.4M. The owner who runs over $5.5M is either making bad decisions or running an unusually demanding program.
Crew payroll, in detail
A 60m Benetti crews 16 to 18 in standard configuration. The headcount breakdown for an MCA-compliant operation:
| Position | Count | Annual salary range (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | 1 | $180,000 to $240,000 |
| Chief Officer | 1 | $110,000 to $145,000 |
| Second Officer | 1 | $80,000 to $100,000 |
| Chief Engineer | 1 | $145,000 to $190,000 |
| Second Engineer | 1 | $90,000 to $115,000 |
| Third Engineer or ETO | 1 | $75,000 to $95,000 |
| Bosun | 1 | $70,000 to $90,000 |
| Deckhands | 3 | $48,000 to $60,000 each |
| Chef | 1 | $130,000 to $180,000 |
| Sous chef | 1 | $70,000 to $90,000 |
| Chief Stewardess | 1 | $80,000 to $100,000 |
| Stewardesses | 3 | $48,000 to $62,000 each |
| Purser (over 50m, common at 60m) | 1 | $90,000 to $115,000 |
Aggregate $1.6M to $1.8M depending on seniority of the senior officers, chef provenance, and whether the captain is on a rotational schedule (rotation adds approximately 15 percent to total payroll because the second-rotation captain is paid a percentage of the primary's package).
Crew benefits add roughly 14 to 18 percent on top of payroll. This covers travel home and back at rotation, MLC-mandated leave pay, health insurance for crew on European or Caribbean contracts, and the training budget the captain runs each year.
Dockage and port fees
Mediterranean summer dockage at the 60m level is $4,500 to $7,500 per night for the top-tier ports (Monaco, Antibes IYCA, Porto Cervo, Capri, Saint-Tropez) and $1,800 to $3,500 per night for the second-tier ports (Mahon, Cannes Vieux Port, Naples). A typical Mediterranean summer at $5,500 average × 90 nights = $495K, but the yacht is at anchor a meaningful share of the time. Realistic Mediterranean summer dockage budget for a 60m Benetti: $220K to $310K.
Caribbean winter dockage runs lower per night ($1,500 to $4,000 in St Thomas, Antigua, St Maarten, BVI) and adds $90K to $140K across a December-to-April program. Total Mediterranean and Caribbean dockage and port fees: $380K to $480K per year, including the small ancillary lines (water, electrical, garbage, harbor master).
Fuel
A 60m Benetti running 250 to 320 engine hours per year burns approximately 280 to 380 liters per hour at cruise, which translates to 90,000 to 115,000 liters of marine gasoil per year. At 2026 Mediterranean dock prices of $1.20 to $1.60 per liter, fuel cost runs $130K to $185K for main propulsion. Generator hours add roughly 1,800 to 2,200 hours per year at 30 to 50 liters per hour, another 60,000 to 95,000 liters at the same fuel cost, contributing $80K to $150K. Tender fuel and ancillary diesel adds $20K to $40K. Total fuel and lubricants: $420K to $580K per year.
The owner who runs the yacht harder, with more underway days and longer cruise legs, runs above $580K. The owner who spends more time at anchor or at the dock with shore power runs closer to $420K.
Insurance
Hull insurance on a 60m Benetti at $50M to $65M agreed value runs $180K to $260K per year at standard rates with a clean claims history. Protection and Indemnity (P&I) cover at $1B per occurrence runs $40K to $60K. Increased risk areas (Russia, Eastern Mediterranean cruising in 2026, certain Caribbean coves) carry a war-risk and political-risk uplift of $15K to $30K per year. Total insurance: $230K to $320K, or roughly 0.4 to 0.5 percent of replacement cost.
Maintenance and consumables
The routine and scheduled maintenance line covers paint protection, varnish (teak deck and interior), engine consumables, anti-fouling, propeller dressing, dry-dock budget, and the steady spare-parts spend. Budgeted at $380K to $470K per year, separate from refit accrual. The yacht in third-and-later year carries higher maintenance loads than the just-delivered yacht because the original-build warranty covers the first 12 to 24 months of consumable spend.
Refit accrual
A 60m Benetti goes through a major refit on a 5-year cycle (mid-life cosmetic plus systems update) and a 10-year cycle (full strip-and-rebuild of major systems, often with a hull repaint and an interior refresh). The 5-year refit budget runs $1.5M to $3M. The 10-year refit runs $4M to $8M. Annualized across 5 years on the 5-year side and 10 years on the 10-year side, the refit accrual is $650K to $850K per year, payable into a sinking fund or absorbed at the refit moment.
The owner who skips refit accrual lands a refit bill that the year's operating budget cannot absorb and either defers necessary work (which compounds, badly) or sells the yacht. The well-run program accrues monthly.
Yacht management fee
The standard yacht management fee for a 60m Benetti runs 0.4 to 0.5 percent of replacement cost per year, which lands at $180K to $230K. The major management firms (V.Group, Y.CO Yacht Management, IYC, Burgess Yacht Management, Camper & Nicholsons Yacht Services, Fraser Yacht Management) all bid in this range. The fee buys flag-state liaison, payroll administration, ISM and ISPS code compliance, owner financial reporting, technical oversight on refit projects, and 24-hour incident response.
The lines that surprise the buyer
Repositioning. The Mediterranean to Caribbean delivery in November runs $90K to $150K each way at the 60m level: roughly 14 to 17 days at sea, two to three rotational crew positions, and approximately 32,000 to 45,000 liters of fuel. Most owners do not budget the repositioning weeks until the first November.
Provisioning at owner level. The 14 weeks of owner-and-guest use generates $120K to $220K of provisioning spend at standard owner-level catering: chef-driven menus, wine list, fresh fish daily, and the run-rate of stewardess-and-bar consumables. The owner who hosts large parties on board pushes this line above $300K.
Tender and toy maintenance. Three tenders (one limousine tender, one chase boat, one dive tender), four to eight toys (jet skis, e-foils, paddleboards, a SeaBob or two, dive gear), and the maintenance, fuel, and storage adds $80K to $120K per year. The tender package is the line item the operator's brochure underweights most consistently.
Communications. Starlink-plus-VSAT redundancy on a 60m Benetti runs $90K to $140K per year on standard subscriptions. The owner who treats the yacht as a floating office with continuous video-conference traffic pushes this above $140K.
What we passed on including
We passed on financing cost because the owner-by-owner variation makes a single number useless. A 50 percent financed purchase at 7 percent on a $55M acquisition adds approximately $1.92M per year in interest. Add this to the operating number for the financed buyer.
We passed on depreciation in the cash operating total. Memorialize it separately for accounting. The 60m Benetti at the year-5 mark sells at approximately 38 percent off original purchase price, which is $1.5M to $2.2M per year in depreciation.
We passed on charter income offset because this page is the running cost of the yacht used by the owner. The yacht placed on the charter market generates roughly 30 to 60 percent of operating cost in net revenue, depending on weeks placed and rate achieved. Cover that on the Charter vs buy calculator.
Comparison: 60m Benetti vs 60m peer builders
| Builder | Estimated annual cash operating cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Benetti 60m | $4.6M to $5.4M | This page |
| Heesen 60m | $4.4M to $5.2M | Tighter steel-hull build, similar crew |
| Sanlorenzo 60m (SD/SX class) | $4.7M to $5.5M | Heavier on tender package |
| Lurssen 60m | $5.4M to $6.6M | Larger crew, higher refit accrual |
| Feadship 60m | $5.2M to $6.4M | Higher dockage and refit costs |
Benetti runs at the low end of the Italian-builder cost band and meaningfully below the Northern European builders at the same LOA. The cost-of-ownership gap reflects build philosophy: Northern European yachts cost more to operate because they were built to a heavier spec and require more crew and more refit.
FAQ
Is the 60m Benetti running cost typical of all 60m motor yachts? It is at the lower end of the 60m motor yacht cost range. Northern European builders at the same LOA run 15 to 25 percent higher cost per year.
Does this number include financing? No. Add interest expense separately for financed purchases, typically 5 to 9 percent of the financed portion per year.
How much does charter income offset this? A 60m Benetti placed on the charter market for 8 to 12 weeks per year nets 30 to 50 percent of operating cost in charter revenue, after broker commission and the operational uplift. Charter income does not pay for the yacht. It softens the carry.
What changes the cost most year-to-year? Refit timing. A year with a $2M scheduled refit can push annual cash spend to $7M+. The refit accrual line absorbs this if the owner has been disciplined. Most owners are not.
Can I run this yacht with fewer crew? Below 16 crew, the operating tempo and the MCA compliance get harder. Some owners run 14, but the crew works longer hours, refit prep is delayed, and the second-tier of port operations (provisioning, tender turnover, guest service) suffers. Not recommended.
How much should I budget per chartered week? Add 1 to 1.5 percent of operating cost per chartered week, which lands at $50K to $80K per chartered week in operational uplift. The charter rate covers this and the broker commission, with the surplus being net charter income to the owner.