Excavator hire prices
Last updated
Excavator hire rates for 2026
All prices exclude VAT and include an experienced operator. Lowbed transport is quoted as its own line. Prices updated: November 2026
| Size | Rate | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 20–25 t excavator | Per day, with operator | R3,500–R5,600 |
| 20–25 t excavator | Per hour, with operator | R340–R690 |
| 20–25 t excavator | Per hour, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | R340–R680 |
| 30 t excavator | Per day, with operator | about R4,500 * |
| 30 t excavator | Per hour, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | about R370 * |
| 30 t excavator | Per month, with operator | about R65,000 * |
| 36–55 t excavator | Per day, with operator | R6,500–R8,100 |
| 70 t+ excavator | Per day, with operator | about R11,000 * |
| 70 t+ excavator | Per hour, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | about R1,500 * |
| 70 t+ excavator | Per 200-hour month, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | about R189,000 * |
* Few price points for this one, so treat it as a guide; the exact price comes back on WhatsApp.
Rates marked * have few price points behind them, so treat them as a guide; the exact figure comes back on WhatsApp with your quote.
Get your excavator price on WhatsAppExcavator price list by size
| Size (also searched as) | Per hour | Per day with operator | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini, 1.5–6 t (3 ton, 5 ton) | on WhatsApp | R1,700–R3,000 | on WhatsApp |
| Midi, 8–14 t (8 ton, 13 ton, 14 ton) | on WhatsApp | on WhatsApp | on WhatsApp |
| 20–25 t (20 ton, 25 ton) | R340–R680 dry | R3,500–R5,600 | on WhatsApp |
| 30 t (30 ton, 35 ton) | about R370 dry | about R4,500 | about R65,000 with operator |
| 36–55 t (40 ton, 50 ton) | on WhatsApp | R6,500–R8,100 | on WhatsApp |
| 70 t+ (70 ton, 80 ton) | about R1,500 dry | about R11,000 | about R189,000 dry, about 200 hours |
“Dry” means the operator is included and you pay the diesel. Where a cell says “on WhatsApp”, we price that size and unit per job: send the size, days and town and the figure comes back in writing.
Worked example: a 20 ton excavator for 5 days in Midrand
A typical job: a 20–25 t excavator digging a sewer connection and foundations on a Midrand site for five working days, with the lowbed bringing it from and returning it to the nearest main centre.
| Example quote (for illustration only) | Amount |
|---|---|
| 20–25 t excavator, 5 days at R3,500–R5,600 a day with operator | R17,500–R28,000 |
| Transport both ways to Midrand | R6,000–R9,500 |
| Example total, excl. VAT | R23,500–R37,500 |
Midrand is about 21 km from Centurion by road, inside our normal delivery area, so the lowbed is charged at the in-city rate rather than by the kilometre. Add VAT to the total. Diesel is covered as agreed on your quote, and standing time only applies if the machine is ready but can't work for a reason on your side.
Example: a 30 ton excavator for a month near a mine
| Example quote (for illustration only) | Amount |
|---|---|
| 30 t excavator, 1 month at about R65,000 a month with operator | R65,000 |
| Transport both ways to Kriel | R6,000–R9,500 |
| Example total, excl. VAT | R71,000–R74,500 |
Kriel is about 52 km from eMalahleni (Witbank) by road. On a month-long job the lowbed is a small share of the bill; on a one-day job it can be close to half.
What changes the price of excavator hire
- Machine size. A 36–55 t costs about 1.5 to 1.9 times a 20–25 t per day, and needs a bigger lowbed. Pick the smallest machine that reaches your depth and keeps your tippers moving.
- Hours and minimums. Most bookings are by the day, often an 8–9 hour working day. Hourly rates apply inside that minimum, not instead of it.
- Wet or dry. Dry hire (R340–R680 an hour for a 20–25 t) leaves the diesel to you. Wet hire includes diesel and is priced per job, because fuel burn depends on how hard the machine works.
- Lowbed transport. Inside a main centre, both ways usually comes to R6,000–R9,500. Out of town it's R43–R52 a km each way from the nearest main centre. At 2.98 m wide, even a 20 t excavator is over the 2.6 m road limit, so it travels as an abnormal load.
- Rock and hard ground. Rock, calcrete and old concrete slow digging and need a breaker or ripper. We price that work by the day, with the attachment as its own line.
- Standing time. If the machine is on site and ready but stands because of your side (no tippers, site locked, services not marked), those hours are charged at the standing rate on your quote. If it breaks down, we send a replacement or there's no charge for the downtime.
- Monthly vs daily. Monthly rates work out cheaper per hour and are usually based on about 200 machine hours a month. Hours over that are charged at the agreed hourly rate.
- Attachments. A hydraulic breaker, ripper, grab, auger or mulcher is an extra on the day rate.
Excavator hire per hour vs per day
Per hour, a 20–25 t excavator costs R340–R690 an hour with operator. Per day it costs R3,500–R5,600 a day with operator. Eight hours at the hourly rate comes to R2,720–R5,520, close to the day rate, so the real difference is the minimum: most bookings carry a full-day minimum because the lowbed costs the same for two hours of digging as for ten.
Hourly rates are most useful on long jobs where hours vary day to day, and on monthly contracts that bill actual machine hours above the base. For a short dig of a few hours, a TLB that drives to site is usually cheaper overall.
Excavator wet hire and dry hire rates
In South Africa, dry hire means the operator is included and you pay the diesel. Wet hire means the operator and the diesel are both in the rate.
- 20–25 t dry: R340–R680 an hour.
- 30 t dry: about R370 an hour.
- 70 t+ dry: about R1,500 an hour, or about R189,000 for a 200-hour month.
- Wet rates for every size: exact price on WhatsApp. Tell us the work (soft soil, clay or rock) so the diesel is priced fairly.
Dry hire suits farms, mines and contractors that already buy diesel in bulk; wet hire suits a short job where you don't want to manage fuel. More on the difference across all machines: wet vs dry hire.
Monthly excavator hire
A 30 t excavator with an operator costs about R65,000 a month. A 70 t+ costs about R189,000 for a dry month of about 200 machine hours. Monthly hire suits mines, quarries, road contracts and big earthworks where the machine works most days.
A monthly quote sets out the base hours, the rate for extra hours, who supplies diesel, how services and breakdowns are handled, and the lowbed in and out. Formal quotes and company documents for mine and contract work: mining plant hire.
Hire vs buy: when does owning an excavator make sense?
Buying only pays when the machine works most days, all year. On top of the purchase or finance payments, you pay for:
- an operator's salary every month, whether the machine works or not;
- insurance, and a lowbed (bought or hired) every time the machine moves between jobs;
- services, hydraulic hoses, bucket teeth and undercarriage wear, which rise with every hour on hard ground;
- the months the machine stands between contracts.
Hiring turns all of that into one rate for the days you need, with a replacement machine on breakdown or no charge for downtime. A useful test: if you can't keep an excavator busy for most of the year, monthly or daily hire costs less than owning it.
How much does it cost to hire an excavator near me?
The hire rate is the same across South Africa; what changes with your town is the lowbed transport. Inside a main centre it's usually R6,000–R9,500 both ways. Further out it's charged by the kilometre: for example, Bela-Bela is about 112 km from Pretoria by road, so the lowbed there and back usually comes to R9,640–R11,640.
Use the price tool at the top of this page for your town, or see local detail on plant hire in Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and every area we cover. Sizes and specs for each machine are on excavator hire, and the full process on how it works.
WhatsApp us for your excavator priceQuestions people ask
How much to hire an excavator per hour?
A 20–25 t excavator costs R340–R690 an hour with operator, or R340–R680 an hour dry, where the operator is included and you pay the diesel. A 30 t is about R370 an hour dry and a 70 t+ about R1,500 an hour dry. Expect a minimum of a full day (often 8–9 hours) on most bookings, because the lowbed costs the same for a short job as a long one.
How much is a 50 ton excavator?
To hire, a 36–55 t excavator (the 50 ton class, Cat 352 or similar) costs R6,500–R8,100 a day with operator, plus lowbed transport. Buying one new is a multi-million-rand purchase before you add an operator, insurance, servicing and transport between jobs, which is why most contractors hire this size for the length of a contract.
How big is a 50 ton excavator?
A Cat 352 or similar weighs 48,900–50,500 kg in working trim. With a 6.9 m boom and 3.35 m stick it digs 7.51 m deep (8.21 m with a longer stick) and reaches 11.71 m along the ground. Its upper body is about 3.02 m wide, and its tracks measure 2.99 m across when retracted for transport and 3.49 m when extended for work. Its buckets hold 1.90–2.69 m³.
Is there a 70 ton excavator available for hire?
Yes. We hire 70 t+ excavators (Cat 374 or similar, about 73,890 kg) with an operator at about R11,000 a day, about R1,500 an hour dry, or about R189,000 for a dry month of about 200 machine hours. With a 4.4–4.6 m³ bucket it suits mine and quarry loading and mass excavation. It moves as an abnormal load, so give us the site early.
What does excavator hire with an operator cost per day?
Every rate on this page includes the operator. A 20–25 t excavator and operator costs R3,500–R5,600 a day; a 30 t about R4,500 a day; a 36–55 t R6,500–R8,100 a day.
How much does it cost to hire a digger with a driver?
A big digger (a 20–25 t tracked excavator) with its operator costs R3,500–R5,600 a day. A small digger (a 1.5–6 t mini excavator) with its operator costs R1,700–R3,000 a day. A TLB, the other machine people call a digger, costs R3,900–R5,150 a day with operator.
Related
Sources we checked
- Cat 320 hydraulic excavator specifications (Caterpillar)
- Cat 352 technical specifications sheet (Caterpillar, via Lectura)
- Cat 352 hydraulic excavator key specifications (Caterpillar)
- Cat 374 hydraulic excavator specifications (Caterpillar South Africa)
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 223, overall width of vehicles
Need an excavator?
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