Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Cheaper option at your hours
Wet rental
Annual savings with cheaper option
$1,140
Wet rental annual total
$9,900
Dry rental annual total (incl. dues)
$11,040
Breakeven hours per year
-1
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter wet rental rate ($/hr).
- 2Enter dry rental rate ($/hr).
- 3Enter fuel burn (gal/hr).
- 4Enter fuel price ($/gal).
- 5Enter club dues (dry option only) ($/yr).
- 6Enter hours you plan to fly per year.
- 7Read your cheaper option at your hours on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Wet rental bundles fuel into the hourly rate; dry rental charges a lower hourly rate but you buy fuel separately at whatever the FBO or your own tank charges. Which is cheaper depends entirely on your fuel burn, local fuel price, and how many hours you fly per year, because dry rates sometimes carry a minimum monthly fee or require club membership dues that wet rentals don't. This calculator compares total annual cost under both structures across your expected hours and tells you the breakeven point.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Wet rental rate: 165 $/hr
- Dry rental rate: 120 $/hr
- Fuel burn: 9 gal/hr
- Fuel price: 6 $/gal
- Club dues (dry option only): 600 $/yr
- Hours you plan to fly per year: 60
Results
- Cheaper option at your hours: Wet rental
- Annual savings with cheaper option: $1,140
- Wet rental annual total: $9,900
- Dry rental annual total (incl. dues): $11,040
- Breakeven hours per year: -1
What each field means
Inputs
- Wet rental rate ($/hr)
- The wet rental rate used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 165 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Dry rental rate ($/hr)
- The dry rental rate used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 120 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Fuel burn (gal/hr)
- The fuel burn used in the calculation, measured in gal/hr. Starts at 9 gal/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Fuel price ($/gal)
- The fuel price used in the calculation, measured in $/gal. Starts at 6 $/gal so you have a working example on load.
- Club dues (dry option only) ($/yr)
- The club dues (dry option only) used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 600 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Hours you plan to fly per year
- The hours you plan to fly per year used in the calculation. Starts at 60 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Cheaper option at your hours
- Returned as a plain value and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Annual savings with cheaper option
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Wet rental annual total
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Dry rental annual total (incl. dues)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Breakeven hours per year
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why would dry ever cost more than wet?
If the club membership dues are high and you fly few hours, the dues alone can outweigh the per-hour fuel savings from dry rates. A $600/yr due spread over 20 hours adds $30/hr before you've bought a drop of fuel, which can flip the comparison entirely in favor of wet rental for low-time renters.
Does fuel price volatility change the answer?
Yes, materially. Dry renters bear fuel price risk directly; wet renters are insulated until the FBO raises its wet rate, which usually lags actual fuel cost changes by weeks or months. If you fly at an airport with volatile self-serve fuel pricing, wet rental reduces budgeting uncertainty even if it's not always cheaper on average.
What other costs aren't captured here?
Neither option includes renter's insurance (typically $200-500/yr for non-owned coverage), checkout fees for new aircraft, or minimum daily/weekly rental blocks some FBOs require for longer trips. Add those separately since they apply regardless of wet or dry structure.
Is dry rental always better for high-time pilots?
Usually, yes, because the per-hour rate difference (often $30-50/hr) compounds directly with hours while the fixed due amount stays flat. A pilot flying 150 hours/year on dry saves the per-hour spread 150 times over while the $600 due becomes a rounding error at $4/hr.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Aircraft Ownership Cost Per Hour Calculator
True cost per flight hour once fixed and variable costs are combined.
Block Time vs Flight Time Cost Calculator
See how much taxi and ground time inflates your real hourly billing.
Flight School Total Cost to PPL Calculator
Realistic total spend to earn a Private Pilot Certificate.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Wet vs Dry Rental Breakeven Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wet-dry-rental-breakeven
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wet-dry-rental-breakeven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wet vs Dry Rental Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Wet vs Dry Rental Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wet-dry-rental-breakeven) (2026).