How Much Does a Cargo Plane Cost?

Published Prices at a Glance

The freighters on this page fall into three tiers. Small turboprops can reach places the big jets skip. Mid-size freighters sit in the middle. Widebody freighters cover the long routes.

The Boeing figures come from a 2019 price table published by The Points Guy. The Airbus figure is from Airbus's own 2018 average list price sheet. Both are old, and neither includes discounts. Textron's Caravan prices are its 2026 MSRPs from the company's 2025 Fact Book. We found no current published list price for the A350F or the 777-8 Freighter.

What the Money Buys

A price means little without the load. Three freighters have a payload figure on the maker's own page.

The last column is our arithmetic: the list price divided by the payload in tonnes. It mixes price years (2018 for the A330, 2019 for the Boeings) and it ignores discounts, so read it as a rough guide to which airplane gives the most capacity for the money, and not as a quote. On these numbers the 777 Freighter gives the most payload per list dollar, and it has the longest range of the three.

Two cautions. Airbus's A330-200F page headlines "up to 70 tonnes" in its introduction and shows 61 tonnes in its key figures box, and we used the key figures. And payload definitions differ between makers' pages, so the three rows aren't a like-for-like test. The A330-200F page also says it takes up to 22 main-deck pallets, and the lower deck holds 26 LD3 containers or 8 pallets plus 2 LD3.

How Many Freighters Have Been Delivered

Boeing and Airbus publish factory delivery counts by model, and the freighter versions have their own rows.

Boeing's six freighter model rows add up to 964 deliveries to 30 September 2026: 332 of the 777 Freighter, 279 of the 767-300F, 126 of the 747-400F, 107 of the 747-8F, 80 of the 757-200PF and 40 of the 747-400ERF. Airbus's table shows 38 delivered A330-200Fs.

The order books are short. Boeing's table shows 38 unfilled orders for the 777 Freighter and 9 for the 767-300F, and none for the 747 and 757 freighters. The A350F is the exception: Airbus lists 115 orders and none delivered.

These are cumulative factory deliveries. They aren't the fleet flying today, since aircraft retire and others convert, and they leave out converted freighters entirely. A converted airliner doesn't appear in these rows. The 747's last delivery was a 747-8 Freighter in January 2023, as we cover in our 747 guide.

Small Cargo Planes: The Caravan Class

The Cessna Caravan is the workhorse of small-scale freight. It's a single-engine turboprop with a large cargo door, and it flies feeder routes for express carriers and moves freight to remote airstrips. A new Caravan lists at $2.808 million, and the longer Grand Caravan EX lists at $3.261 million.

On 14 October 2026 we read 35 Controller.com listings for the Caravan family, and 14 showed a price. Five priced Caravan 208s asked a median of $2.2 million, with asks from $1.573 million to $2.45 million on aircraft built 1998 to 2020. Five priced Grand Caravan EX airplanes asked a median of $2.15 million. A single Super Cargomaster from 1989 asked $1.299 million. In each sample the median ask was below the new MSRP, though individual used asks can run higher. Our Cessna Caravan cost page breaks these down by year and hours.

The FAA's type certificate data sheet for the Caravan (A37CE, revision 25, dated 1 August 2025) gives the certified weights and engine.

Later serial ranges and configurations on the same sheet carry other engines and ratings, so check the data sheet for the airplane you're pricing.

The FAA register lists 987 Caravan-family aircraft with a valid registration as of 12 October 2026. Corporations hold 564 of them and LLCs 362, while 13 belong to individuals. By build year there are 173 from the 1980s, 248 from the 1990s, 176 from the 2000s, 202 from the 2010s and 119 from the 2020s so far. For 2000 through 2025 the NTSB file records 260 Caravan-family accidents, 94 of them fatal, with 318 reported event fatalities. One fatal-coded event has no recorded fatalities, so the death total may be incomplete. Those are counts without flying hours, and they can't rank the Caravan against other airplanes.

Mid-Size and Widebody Freighters

The Boeing 767-300 Freighter had a published list price of $220.3 million (2019) and the Airbus A330-200 Freighter an average list price of $241.7 million (2018). Both are purpose-built cargo jets with a main-deck cargo door. At the top end, the Boeing 777 Freighter listed at $352.3 million and the 747-8 Freighter at $419.2 million (both 2019). The 747-8 Freighter's nose opens on a hinge so long loads can be pushed straight in.

Operators also buy used passenger jets and convert them. A converted freighter costs the price of the used airliner plus the conversion work, which is why the secondhand market for older 737s and 767s matters so much to freight carriers. Consultancies and converters publish some indicative figures, but a quote depends on the airframe, the scope of work, the converter and the slot, so we don't print one.

List Price Isn't What Operators Pay

Every new-aircraft figure above is a list or average list price. Large customers negotiate, and deals vary with delivery slots, engine choices and volume. Contract prices can differ from list prices, and they aren't normally published. Used cargo aircraft are priced by market value, which moves with age, hours and the freight market.

What It Costs to Operate One

The purchase price is only the first bill. Fuel, crew, maintenance, landing fees and insurance run for the life of the aircraft, and freight carriers pay for cargo handling on top. We don't quote an hourly cost for a freighter. The FAA publishes historical operating-cost averages per block hour for all-cargo aircraft categories, but those aren't current quotes for individual freighters. For passenger-airliner operating costs reported by airlines, see our data pages for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family, and the guides to commercial plane prices and Airbus prices.

Which Cargo Plane Fits Which Job

• Remote delivery or feeder routes: a Caravan-class turboprop.
• Regional and overnight express: a mid-size freighter such as the 767-300F or A330-200F.
• Intercontinental bulk freight: a 777 Freighter or 747-8 Freighter.

A cargo plane costs from about $2.8 million for a Caravan to about $419 million for a 747-8 Freighter, measured by list price. If you're pricing a real purchase, use these figures to set the range and then ask a broker for current quotes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the cheapest cargo plane?

The Cessna Caravan is the cheapest new cargo-capable aircraft we price. Textron lists a new Caravan at $2.808 million and the Grand Caravan EX at $3.261 million (2026 MSRP). Used Caravan 208s asked a median of $2.2 million in our 14 October 2026 sample.

How much does a Boeing 747 freighter cost?

Boeing's 2019 list price for the 747-8 Freighter was $419.2 million, from a price table published by The Points Guy. Actual contract prices can differ and aren't normally published.

Which freighter carries the most for the money?

On list prices and the makers' payload figures, the 777 Freighter works out at about $3.45 million per tonne of payload, against about $3.96 million for the A330-200F and $4.20 million for the 767-300F. That's our arithmetic and it mixes price years.

How many 777 Freighters have been built?

Boeing's delivery table shows 332 deliveries of the 777 Freighter to 30 September 2026, with 38 orders unfilled.

Are list prices what airlines actually pay?

Not necessarily. List prices are a starting point. Large buyers negotiate, and the price actually paid isn't normally published.

Is it cheaper to convert a passenger jet to a freighter?

Operators buy a used passenger jet and pay for a freighter conversion. The total depends on the airframe, the scope of work, the converter and the market, so get a quote for the airframe you're considering.