The price of a pontoon boat depends on many factors. So determining an exact price will vary depending on exactly what you want. However, I’ve used countless examples in this article to give you the most accurate estimate.
So, how much does a pontoon boat cost?
This graph shows the average cost of luxury and regular pontoon boats based on boat length:
The reason for the stronger incline at around the 21-foot range is this is when most manufacturers start making tri-toons and start to recommend getting larger engines, thus raising the price slope. At around the 22-24 foot range is when most manufacturers start offering their luxury pontoon boats which have high-powered engines, special features, and stunning designs.
If you want an even more precise answer depending on each pontoon boat length, continue reading. I’ve also included additional costs you will need to consider when purchasing a pontoon boat later in the article.
Cost of luxury vs regular pontoon boats
Generally, manufacturers start making luxury pontoon boats around the 23-foot range. Luxury pontoon boats have larger motors, more features, and stunning looks, but as you can tell from the chart I made, they cost significantly more than regular pontoon boats. Here is an example of a regular pontoon boat and a luxury pontoon boat:
Regular pontoon boat
Although this pontoon has plenty of great features and is 25 feet long. It costs $57,286 with the 150hp motor (one of the most expensive regular pontoon boats). Lowe Boats RETREAT 250 RFL.
Luxury pontoon boat
Luxury pontoon boats have any feature you could think of, but they are very expensive. This 25-footer goes for $113,996 (one of the least expensive luxury pontoon boats). Bennington Q Line / 25QCW.
Cost of pontoon boats by length
One of the biggest factors besides age determining the price of a pontoon boat is how long it is. So, to make things easy for you, I found the average price that manufacturers were selling their pontoon boats for each length category.
New pontoon boats
| Pontoon Boat Length (ft) | Average New Price | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| 15′ | $23,539 | $17,038-$34,231 |
| 16′ | $24,759 | $19,504-$34,790 |
| 17′ | $26,045 | $19,657-$36,496 |
| 18′ | $27,593 | $20,134-$38,872 |
| 19′ | $30,563 | $20,497-$40,212 |
| 20′ | $33,027 | $25,595-$47,150 |
| 21′ | $42,776 | $31,830-$60,494 |
| 22′ | $54,789 | $30,171-$120,124 |
| 23′ | $84,334 | $45,621-$134,540 |
| 24′ | $96,489 | $46,821-$139,283 |
| 25′ | $101,223 | $47,604-$162,000 |
| 26′ | $116,138 | $50,342-$172,572 |
| 27′ | $121,853 | $68,152-$180,509 |
If you are considering purchasing a luxury pontoon boat, expect to pay in the higher end of the price range. Some luxury models even cost over $300,000. Later in the article, I discuss which manufacturers you should purchase from depending on how much you want to spend.
Used pontoon boats
| Pontoon Boat Length (ft) | Average Used Price (1-3 years old) | Average Used Price (4-9 years old) | Average Used Price (10-15 years old) | Average Used Price (16+ years old |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15′-17′ | $19,400 | $14,500 | $6,000 | $3,800 |
| 18′-20′ | $24,000 | $19,000 | $7,500 | $4,500 |
| 21′-23′ | $29,500 | $23,000 | $10,800 | $5,800 |
| 24′-26′ | $31,800 | $26,000 | $12,500 | $6,700 |
| 27’+ | 448,000 | $37,000 | $16,300 | $11,400 |
Finding the average prices of used pontoon boats is a little bit more difficult than finding new prices. So, I added a few columns for the age of the boat. To find the prices, I averaged the price of 3-7 boats on a country-wide Facebook Marketplace search for each length and age category and used my boat depreciation curve chart.
Additional costs associated with purchasing and owning a pontoon boat
B.O.A.T. doesn’t just stand for “bust out another thousand” for nothing. The purchase price of a boat is just the beginning to how much money you will be putting into it. There are taxes, fees, insurance, storage, maintenance, fuel, nagging from your wife to get rid of it (okay maybe that one doesn’t cost any money but still).
So in no particular order, let’s take a look at each one of these additional costs:
Sales Tax
Depending on where you are from, the cost of your state’s (or country’s) sales tax will differ. Where I’m from (Wisconsin), the sales tax is 5%. So if I were to purchase a new pontoon boat for $40,000 it would cost me an additional $2,000 in sales tax. See every state’s sales tax rate by clicking here.
Whether I pay with cash or take out a loan, I will still need to pay this sales tax. If you try purchasing a boat in a state that does not have a sales tax and bringing it back to your home state, you will most likely get charged with a use tax. This will most likely be the same rate as your state’s sales tax.
Fees
In addition to taxes, many other fees are associated with purchasing a pontoon boat. These include registration, freight, prep, and boat launching fees. This also depends on where you are from.
Registration fees only cost around $20-$30 for pontoon boats and must be renewed once every 1-3 years depending on your state. There also may be a slight fee for requesting a title or lien.
Fright and prep fees are charged by the dealer. These fees don’t apply to privately sold boats. If your boat is not already at your local distributor, freight fees will generally be around $500-$1,300. Most distributors don’t charge prep fees for pontoon boats, but if yours did it would rarely be over $100.
Boat launching fees aren’t extremely expensive, but they will start to add up over time if you launch your boat often. Depending on where you live, expect the boat launching fee to be around $5-$20 for a day pass. However, most areas offer a yearly access for $40-$200 per year.
Insurance
Pontoon boat insurance generally costs around $300-$900 annually for comprehensive care. And If you get just Liability or collision insurance, it will cost around $100 annually. However, for boats, you will generally want to purchase comprehensive care because there is a much higher chance that something other than a collision will cause your boat to be damaged.
Comprehensive care will cover everything including weather damage, while liability/collision coverage just covers if you were to damage another boat or someone were to damage your boat due to collision.
Storage
It’s, free to store your boat in your garage or your driveway, but if the wife won’t let you do that there are some paid options.
The price of boat storage depends on the location you are storing your boat and if you are storing your boat in a garage, outside, or in the water. By using the averages I found from my article “How Much Does Boat Storage Cost? (15 Examples)“, I estimated the prices for pontoon boat storage:
| Boat length | Indoor storage (per month) | Outdoor storage (per month) | In-water storage (per month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15′ | $120-$270 | $60-$150 | $90-$180 |
| 16′ | $128-$288 | $64-$160 | $96-$192 |
| 17′ | $136-$306 | $68-$170 | $102-$204 |
| 18′ | $144-$324 | $72-$180 | $108-$216 |
| 19′ | $152-$342 | $76-$190 | $114-$228 |
| 20′ | $160-$360 | $80-$200 | $120-$240 |
| 21′ | $168-$378 | $84-$210 | $126-$252 |
| 22′ | $176-$396 | $88-$220 | $132-$264 |
| 23′ | $184-$414 | $92-$230 | $138-$276 |
| 24′ | $192-$432 | $96-$240 | $144-$288 |
| 25′ | $200-$450 | $100-$250 | $150-$300 |
| 26′ | $208-$468 | $104-$260 | $156-$312 |
| 27′ | $216-$486 | $108-$270 | $162-$324 |
If you live in a high-cost-to-live area such as Miami, Los Angeles, or Seattle, expect to pay on the higher end of this scale. Also, depending on where you are from, in-water storage prices will most likely differ depending on the season.
Maintenance
How well you maintain your boat will determine how much you will have to spend on maintenance. You will need to change your oil, wax your boat, change the impeller, and much more. All these and more cost money but must be done to prevent any expensive damages. This article I wrote will explain all the basic maintenance tasks you should be performing on your boat.
Expect to pay around 5%-10% of the new purchase price of your boat per year on boat maintenance. So if you bought a used boat for $5,000, but its new price was $30,000, expect to pay 5-10 percent of that 30,000 per year on maintenance. If you can do everything yourself, you could get that down to only 3-7 percent.
Fuel
Fuel is another very costly aspect of boating. You can save some money by filling up your boat at an automotive gas station instead of a marina, but still expect to be paying a lot for fuel especially if you plan on running your boat often.
Below is how much money your engine costs per hour of use due to fuel usage depending on its horsepower rating. Note that aluminum boats generally have less horsepower than similarly sized fiberglass boats, so consider them to be on the low end of the scale.
| Engine horsepower | Average fuel usage per hour | Estimated price per hour |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 2.4 gallons | $6.00-$10.80 |
| 40 | 3.9 gallons | $9.75-$17.55 |
| 60 | 5.5 gallons | $13.75-$24.75 |
| 100 | 9.5 gallons | $23.75-$42.75 |
| 125 | 11.3 gallons | $28.25-$50.85 |
| 150 | 15 gallons | $37.50-$67.50 |
| 200 | 19.5 gallons | $48.75-$87.75 |
| 250 | 24.5 gallons | $61.25-$110.25 |
Fuel prices fluctuate depending on if you need premium or regular fuel and they depend on where you live. However, for this estimate, I used $2.5-$4.5 per gallon.
The fuel type will depend on your engine (check the owner’s manual or look it up online), but most engines either run on 87-octane E10 fuel or non-ethanol premium fuel (never put fuel with more than 10% ethanol in a marine engine).
How much do premium options cost on pontoon boats?
When purchasing a new pontoon boat, the price that manufacturers’ websites display only includes the base model of the boat usually including the engine, and trailer, but not with any premium options. After selecting these premium options, most websites will tell you exactly how much each costs and add it to the total.
Premium options for pontoon boats include adding a
- Fishfinder ($500-$2,500)
- Special cosmetic packages ( $100-$5,000)
- Extra bimini cables stays ($300-$600)
- Upgraded bimini ($400-$3,000)
- Upgraded upholstery ($2,000-$4,000)
- Furniture add-ons ($500-$8,000)
- RGB light additions ($500-$6,000)
- Upgraded stereo ( $2,000-$4,000)
- Upgraded helm ($500-$5,000)
- And more
If you decide to select all premium options, expect to pay around $7,000-$35,000+ extra on top of the base price of the boat.
How much do pontoon boat trailers cost?
Pontoon boat trailers generally cost around $2,900-$7,000 depending on the size of the trailer, carrying weight rating, materials, and design.
Below I have estimated the cost of a new boat trailer price by comparing a few different manufacturers and finding an average for each pontoon boat length.
| Pontoon boat length | Average new boat trailer price |
|---|---|
| 15′ | $2,900 |
| 16′ | $3,100 |
| 17′ | $3,500 |
| 18′ | $3,900 |
| 19′ | $4,200 |
| 20′ | $4,700 |
| 21′ | $4,900 |
| 22′ | $5,300 |
| 23′ | $5,700 |
| 24′ | $6,000 |
| 25′ | $6,300 |
| 26′ | $6,500 |
| 27′ | $7,000 |
You can find used trailers for 10 to 50 percent cheaper than this depending on their condition on places such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
How much should you spend on a pontoon boat?
I’ve written a popular article covering this topic called “How Much Boat Can You Afford? (Simple Calculator)“. You can check it out and use the calculator to get an exact recommended number on how much you should spend on a boat, or use my summarized version in this article.
Most people can afford a boat that has a monthly payment of 10% or less than their monthly income. Keep in mind, monthly payment includes more than just loan payment, they also include storage costs and don’t rule out fuel and maintenance costs as well.
The 10% or less rule may not apply to everyone though. If you are already paying a high percentage of your income to other debts like a mortgage or car payments, you may not be able to afford anywhere near 10% or even a boat at all. Also, some people might just want to spend cash on a boat and not get a loan for it.
In my opinion, the best way to pay for a boat is to save enough cash to just buy it outright. This way you won’t have to go into debt to pay for a boat. However, if you do go take out a loan, make sure that you have a relatively good DTI (debt to income ratio).
According to Wells Fargo, a good DTI is 35% or less, 36%-49% could improve but is ok, and 50% and over is bad and action should be taken. So as long as you’re under 50% after you add in the debt you will receive from a boat loan, you should be fine depending on your comfort level.
In order to find your DTI, check out the part of my article that goes over it by clicking this link.
Should you buy a new or used pontoon boat?
Depending on exactly what you want and how much money you can spend, a used or a new boat may be better for you. I wrote a whole article on this topic called “New vs. Used Boat: What Should You Buy?” that you can check out. Here are some of the main points from that article:
If you purchase a new boat than
- You don’t have to be worried about how previous owners treated the boat.
- You can buy exactly what you want.
- They come with a warranty.
- It’s easier to finance a new boat.
- It’s quick and easy.
- Latest and greatest design and gadgets.
If you buy a used boat than
- You get a better bang for your buck.
- The engine is already broken in, and any initial faults have probably been dealt with.
- You know if the boat make/model is faulty or not.
- Boat technology hasn’t changed much in the past 5-10 years.
In my personal opinion, if you can find a good deal on a boat that is around 3-6 years old, that is the best pontoon boat to get. This way, you can still purchase a very new boat with many of the new features and a good engine, while also saving some money.
The 3-6 year range is also a great range based on boat depreciation. It’s passed the initial new boat depreciation, and it’s still far from the sharp depreciation dip due to an old or broken engine (usually around the 13-19 year range). You can see this clearly in the graph I made below from my article “How Much Do Boats Depreciate? (Helpful Chart)“.
Pontoon boats would be considered the red line on this graph.
What are some top pontoon boat manufacturers?
If you’ve made it this far in the article, you’re probably ready or almost ready to take some action into purchasing a pontoon boat. If you don’t know where to start, check out these top brands:
- Avalon & Tahoe (luxury)
- Bennington (standard and luxury)
- Godfrey (luxury)
- Harris (luxury)
- Manitou (standard)
- Sun Tracker (standard)
- Sylvan & SunChaser (standard)
- Lowe (standard)
Each of these brands are well-respected manufacturer’s that make quality products. I recommend checking them all out before determining the pontoon boat you want.
Where to buy a pontoon boat?
2 of the most popular places to buy a pontoon boat include from a dealer or on Facebook Marketplace. Your local dealer will have some big brand-name boats in stock that you can check out, but if you want a specific boat from a specific manufacturer, you will have to go to that manufacturer’s website.
Manufacturers will let you customize a boat to fit precisely what you want. If you buy a used boat (either from a dealer or Facebook Marketplace) you won’t be able to customize the boat. However, a new boat depreciates around 10% to 20% in just the first few years.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
No, pontoon boats don’t actually require much maintenance. They aren’t delicate and don’t need to be waxed. If you take them in salt water, they will need to be flushed with freshwater and cleaned more regularly, but besides that, pontoon boats are very low maintenance when compared to other boats.
Luxury pontoon boats can cost 2-4 times more than similarly sized standard pontoon boats. However, they have more features, a prettier design, more comfort, and bigger engines. If you don’t really care about any of that, just stick to getting a standard pontoon boat.
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