People search for an excavator price meaning two different things, and this is the hire answer: about $250 to $400 a day for a 3 ton mini, $400 to $700 for a 6 to 10 ton midi, and $600 to $1,200 for a 20 ton class machine. Purchase and finance prices belong to dealers rather than to a rental yard.
A price is five lines, not one
The base rate for the machine, transport out, transport back, a damage waiver, and fuel or an environmental recovery line. On a mini for a weekend those extras can approach the machine itself. Ask every branch for the delivered total for your own dates rather than the headline number on a rate card.
Why two yards quote differently for one machine
Distance to your site, whether the branch hauls on a flat fee or by the loaded mile, how new the fleet is, and what else is out that week. A branch with three idle minis prices to move one. A branch with one left in spring does not. Call three, and call them the same morning.
The attachment changes the number
A bucket comes with the machine. A hydraulic breaker, an auger, a grading beam, a compaction plate or a thumb are separate daily lines, and some need extra pipework on the boom. Book them with the machine, because fitting a breaker circuit to a machine already on site means a second visit you pay for.
Where a longer hire gets cheaper
Weekly pricing usually lands near three to four day rates and a month near three weeks, so the cost for each working day falls sharply with the term. If the schedule is uncertain, price the week and ask what an early return does. On a month, ask for a rate that includes a service visit.
Questions people ask about excavator price
How much does it cost to rent an excavator for a day?
Roughly $250 to $400 for a 3 ton mini and $600 to $1,200 for a 20 ton class machine, before transport. Delivery adds $75 to $200 each way for a mini on a tag trailer, and considerably more for anything that needs a lowbed.
Is renting cheaper than buying?
For occasional work, comfortably. A yard's rate carries the servicing, the tracks, the insurance and the depreciation, and you use none of that between jobs. The comparison only changes when a machine would be working most weeks, which is a question for a dealer rather than for us.
What is included in the rental price?
The machine, a standard bucket, a full tank and a familiarisation on delivery. Not included: transport, attachments, the fuel you use, the damage waiver, and any hours past the meter allowance. Get all of those onto the quote before comparing two branches.
How do I get a firm price rather than a range?
Send the branch the machine size, the site address, the dates, the access and any attachment you need. With those five things a branch can price it exactly, and without the address nobody can, because transport is a real distance rather than an average.