How much does a Cessna 172 cost? New, used, per hour and shared
November 2, 2026 · Chris van Eijk
The Cessna 172 is a common starting point for the question of what a plane costs, and the answers online differ by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The difference is mostly the year. We took the new price from Textron's own Fact Book, read 47 used advertisements on 2 November 2026, and put them next to the hourly figures we already publish.
Short answer: a new Cessna 172S Skyhawk has a 2026 list price of $580,000. In our sample, used ones were advertised from $54,900 for a 1960 172A to $599,000 for a 2020 172S. The median asking price in dollars was $139,000 for a 172N from the late 1970s, mostly conversions, and $424,900 for a 172S from 2001 to 2020. An hour costs about $184 to rent in the US and $130 wet at a club, and $274 to own a new 172S at 100 hours a year before insurance and depreciation. A quarter share of a $139,000 aircraft is $34,750.
What does a new Cessna 172 cost?
Textron's 2025 Fact Book lists the Cessna 172S Skyhawk at a "2026 MSRP" of $0.580 million, with a Lycoming IO-360-L2A and Garmin G1000 NXi. That is the only primary figure we found; the Skyhawk page on Cessna's own site prints no price. One site we read gives $480,000 to $520,000 for early 2026, below that list price, without naming a source. Our own calculator used its lower figure until November 2026.
For scale: Plane & Pilot gave $297,000 for a 2009 172S and $369,000 for a 2017 model. So the published figure is about 1.95 times the 2009 one, in dollars of the day, and a magazine's new price is not quite the same figure as an MSRP. A list price is not a delivered aircraft, and options, tax and delivery can change what you pay, so ask a dealer.
What does a used Cessna 172 cost?
These are asking prices from single advertisements, not sales, so what buyers paid can be lower. We could read only some sites, among them Aircraft24 and GlobalPlaneSearch; several large marketplaces do not let us read them. Take the table as a sample and the medians as a rough guide, especially where only a few aircraft stand behind them. Euro prices are not all on the same VAT basis: some include VAT and some exclude it.
Used Cessna 172: asking prices by generation
| Model | Listed in dollars | Listed in euros |
|---|---|---|
| 172 to 172Gto 1966 | $79,475 (4: $54,900–$169,000) | €94,000 (3: €69,000–€94,900) |
| 172H to 172L1967–1972 | $99,500 (3: $99,000–$135,500) | €90,000 (2: €80,000–€100,000) |
| 172M1972–1975 | $105,000 (3: $75,900–$149,900) | €72,000 (1) |
| 172N1977–1980 | $139,000 (5: $109,900–$169,000) | €108,750 (6: €71,400–€157,500) |
| 172R1997–1999 | None | €201,350 (2: €159,000–€243,700) |
| 172S2001–2020 | $424,900 (6: $315,000–$599,000) | None |
| RG, XP, R172, Rocket1967–1980 | $166,950 (6: $79,900–$214,900) | €95,000 (3: €78,000–€109,000) |
Three things stand out.
The later models ask much more. The dollar medians for models from the 1960s and 1970s are about $80,000 to $140,000, and the cheapest 172S we counted asked $315,000. In euros the 172N median is €108,750 and the two 172Rs asked €159,000 and €243,700. We have nothing in the sample between 1981 and 1997, so we can't say where the step falls.
Within one model year, the engine, panel and airframe hours move the price. Two 1975 172Ms in the US asked $75,900 with 2,137 hours since overhaul and $149,900 with 971, but the dearer one also has less than half the airframe hours and a newer IFR panel. An overhaul is a large bill: see our Lycoming overhaul prices. But engine hours alone don't settle it: two 1969 172Ks from the same place asked $99,000 at 445 hours since overhaul and $135,500 at 2,100, and the dearer one has a Garmin G500 panel. Read the logs, and pay for a pre-buy inspection.
The 172N figure is mostly conversions. Four of the five US 172Ns have a bigger O-360 engine, and the $139,000 median is a taildragger conversion. The one standard aircraft asked $165,000, with 142 hours since overhaul. In euros, six 172Ns asked €71,400 to €157,500, with a median of €108,750.
In the UK we found only two prices we could use: £55,000 for a 1969 F172H and £85,000 for a 1975 F172M.
What does a Cessna 172 cost per hour?
That depends on how you fly it, and for an owner on the price too, through insurance and depreciation.
What an hour in a Cessna 172 costs in the US
| Way to fly | Per hour |
|---|---|
| Member of a US clubwet rate, median of 4 clubs, plus dues | $130 |
| Own one, 300 hours a yearnew 172S model, before insurance and depreciation | $177 |
| Rent from a US operatormedian of 11 operators | $184 |
| Own one, 200 hours a yearsame model | $198 |
| Own one, 100 hours a yearsame model | $274 |
Renting from one of 11 US operators cost $139 to $263 an hour, with a median of $184; the rental guide has the operators. Members of four US clubs that fly a 172 paid $94.39 to $175 wet, median $130, plus dues; see what a flying club costs.
Owning a new 172S comes to $274 an hour at 100 hours a year, $198 at 200 and $177 at 300, at US prices in our ownership cost calculator. Those figures leave out insurance and depreciation, because both follow the price you paid. See what aircraft insurance costs and how aircraft lose value. So owning this model alone at 200 hours a year comes to $198, above the $184 rental median, with insurance and depreciation on top. An older aircraft has different figures, so run yours in the calculator. Owning rarely wins on price alone; what you get for it is an aircraft that is free when you want it.
What does a share of a Cessna 172 cost?
Sharing divides both the purchase and the fixed costs. In this small sample, a quarter of a $139,000 172N is $34,750, and four owners each pay a quarter of the hangar, the annual inspection and the insurance, plus the fuel and reserves for their own hours. The calculator shows what that comes to per owner for any type and number of owners. If you borrow to buy in, the aircraft loan calculator shows the monthly payment, and how to set up a partnership covers what to agree in writing first.
To compare it with other types, see what a small plane costs to buy.
Prices change, and an advertisement can disappear the day after we read it. The new price is from Textron's Fact Book, and the used prices are from advertisements read on 2 November 2026.