Nine categories, turboprop to bizliner, three comparable aircraft in each, on identical assumptions. The cheapest to buy is almost never the cheapest to own, and the reason is always the same two levers.
The verdict
Across every category, sticker price barely predicts the five-year bill. Fuel burn and resale value do. The most capable aircraft in a tier is usually the most expensive to own, not the least, and the cheapest to buy is rarely the cheapest to keep. Pick the question you are actually answering first. The aircraft follows.
Five-year cost to own
Single-engine turboprop
For once, cheapest to buy is cheapest to own. Yet the PC-12 outsells both, on cabin and resale.
Very light jet
The price of a second engine, stated plainly.
Light jet
Within $800k to buy, up to $570k apart to own.
Midsize jet
What the badge actually costs: the Gulfstream name is roughly $3.4M over five years.
Super-midsize jet
The clearest case of one aircraft winning on every number that counts.
Large-cabin / long-range
Resale changes everything: the G600 costs most to buy, finishes second to own.
Ultra-long-range
The $7M question: the most capable jet is the most expensive to own, mostly on fuel.
Bizliner (VVIP)
Order-of-magnitude only; completion is bespoke and where the real budget lives.
When each makes sense
Buying capability
If you genuinely need the cabin, the range and the hours, the most capable aircraft is the right call, with the operating cost understood in advance.
Buying cost discipline
If the mission is modest, the efficient airframe with the deep resale market protects you on both the running cost and the exit.
Buying liquidity
If you may trade within five years, resale is the lever that matters most. Pay up front for the airframe the market always wants back.
Weighing an acquisition?
We will model your real number against live comps, not the flattering one. Tell us the mission.