Guides & questions · 2026-09-19 · 8-minute read
Limo prices are quoted per vehicle, not per person, which means the cheapest way to move a group is almost never the cheapest vehicle. This article lists the classes in the chauffeured fleet from the executive sedan to the minicoach, with their capacities and their indicative prices by the hour, by the transfer and by the day, so that a group of two, six or twenty can see which vehicle is the right one. The figures are for North America and Western Europe; the other regions run 20-45 percent lower, and the regional detail is in how much does a limo cost. The exact fare for any vehicle on any journey is fixed in the booker before you confirm. The fleet page has photographs and specifications.
Indicative limo prices by vehicle (North America; Western Europe similar): executive sedan US$130-240 per hour, US$140-270 airport transfer, US$975-1,950 full day; luxury sedan US$195-345 per hour; executive SUV US$165-285 per hour; first-class SUV US$210-360 per hour; stretch limousine US$195-375 per hour with a three-hour minimum; Sprinter van US$330-600 per hour; party bus US$300-750 per hour; minicoach US$350-700 per hour. Per head, the Sprinter and the minicoach are the cheapest vehicles for groups of six or more.
The price list
| Vehicle | Seats (with bags) | Hourly | Minimum | Airport transfer | Full day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive sedan (E-Class, 5 Series, Cadillac) | 3 (2) | US$130-240 | 2 h | US$140-270 | US$975-1,950 |
| Luxury sedan (S-Class, 7 Series) | 3 (2) | US$195-345 | 2-3 h | US$210-390 | US$1,400-2,800 |
| Ultra-luxury (Maybach, Bentley, Rolls-Royce) | 3 (2) | US$300-600 | 3-4 h | US$400-800 | US$2,400-4,800 |
| Executive SUV (Escalade, Suburban, GLS) | 6 (4) | US$165-285 | 2 h | US$180-330 | US$1,200-2,400 |
| First-class SUV (Range Rover, Escalade top trim) | 4 (3) | US$210-360 | 2-3 h | US$225-420 | US$1,500-3,000 |
| Executive van (V-Class, Transit) | 7 (5) | US$180-300 | 2 h | US$200-360 | US$1,300-2,500 |
| Sprinter (executive / shuttle / lounge) | 8-14 | US$330-600 | 3 h | US$330-600 | US$2,000-3,900 |
| Stretch limousine | 8-10 (0-2) | US$195-375 | 3 h | US$300-550 | US$1,500-2,900 |
| Stretch SUV limousine | 14-18 (0-2) | US$255-450 | 3-4 h | - | US$1,900-3,500 |
| Party bus / limousine bus | 14-40 (0) | US$300-750 | 3-5 h | - | - |
| Minicoach | 20-35 (20-35) | US$350-700 | 3-4 h | US$400-800 | US$2,600-4,800 |
| Full-size coach | 45-56 (45-56) | US$450-900 | 4-5 h | US$550-1,100 | US$3,500-6,500 |
"Seats (with bags)" gives the comfortable capacity and, in brackets, the capacity when every passenger has a large case. A sedan takes three people or two people with luggage; the difference matters at an airport. Party buses have no luggage space at all.
Sedans
The executive sedan is the workhorse: the E-Class and its rivals, the right answer to most bookings, at the bottom of the price list and the top of the punctuality one. The luxury sedan is 40-60 percent more for a materially better cabin and the operator's senior chauffeurs; the luxury car service article explains when that is worth it. The ultra-luxury tier is a small market with long minimums, booked for weddings and VIPs. For two people with two cases on an airport transfer, the executive sedan is the value choice; for the same two people on a three-hour journey, the luxury sedan earns its premium in comfort.
SUVs
The executive SUV carries four with bags or six without, for a quarter more than the sedan; in North America and the Gulf it is the default vehicle and its price band overlaps the sedan's. The first-class SUV - the Range Rover class - is the luxury tier in SUV form, and the vehicle for country estates, ski resorts and cities with poor roads. For a family of four with bags, the executive SUV is the value choice over two sedans by a wide margin; the SUV limo explained article covers the class in detail.
Vans and Sprinters
The executive van - the Mercedes V-Class in Europe and Asia, the Ford Transit or Toyota Sienna in North America - carries five with bags or seven without and is the vehicle for a family or a small team in cities where the Sprinter is too large. The Sprinter carries eight to fourteen depending on interior and is the most economical chauffeured vehicle per head in the fleet; the Sprinter limo article covers the interiors and the comparisons. For any group of six or more with luggage, the Sprinter is the value choice over multiple SUVs.
Stretch limousines
The stretch carries eight to ten in a lounge cabin with a bar, no luggage, and a three-hour minimum. It is priced per hour below the Sprinter and per head above it, and it survives for weddings, proms and occasions where the photograph is the point. The stretch SUV - the elongated Escalade or Navigator - carries up to eighteen at a higher rate. Neither is an airport vehicle; the transfer prices in the table are for a wedding-day pickup, not for a flight. The limousine bus and party bus article compares the stretch with the vehicles that replaced it.
Buses and coaches
The party bus is a lounge on a bus chassis for fourteen to forty, priced per hour with a long minimum and no luggage space; it is a vehicle for a night out, not a transfer. The minicoach is a forward-facing coach for twenty to thirty-five with luggage, the vehicle for conference shuttles, wedding guests and sports teams, and the cheapest per head at full load of anything in the fleet. The full-size coach carries up to fifty-six and is booked for large events and long transfers. The event transportation page explains how coaches, minicoaches and Sprinters are combined for a large group.
Price per head, worked through
For an airport transfer in a major North American city at the middle of each band:
- 2 passengers: executive sedan, US$200 - US$100 each.
- 4 passengers with bags: executive SUV, US$255 - US$64 each. (Two sedans: US$400 - US$100 each.)
- 6 passengers with bags: Sprinter shuttle, US$450 - US$75 each. (Two SUVs: US$510 - US$85 each.)
- 12 passengers with bags: Sprinter shuttle, US$465 - US$39 each. (Three SUVs: US$765 - US$64 each.)
- 25 passengers with bags: minicoach, US$600 - US$24 each. (Two Sprinters: US$930 - US$37 each.)
The pattern is clear: the larger vehicle wins per head as soon as the group fills it. What the larger vehicle loses is flexibility, which is why a conference of forty is often moved in a minicoach and a Sprinter rather than one coach.
What changes the price within a class
The city, the season, the hour and the notice, as set out in how much does a limo cost. Within a vehicle class, the interior also moves the price: an executive Sprinter costs more than a shuttle Sprinter; a long-wheelbase S-Class more than a standard one. Amenities - a specific bottle, flowers, a particular newspaper - are included or quoted at cost, never marked up.
Which vehicle to book
- One or two people, bags, airport: executive sedan.
- One or two people, long journey or VIP: luxury sedan.
- Three or four with bags: executive SUV.
- Five to seven: executive van, or Sprinter if the bags are large.
- Eight to fourteen: Sprinter, in the interior that suits the occasion.
- Fifteen to thirty-five with bags: minicoach.
- A party of fourteen or more, no bags: party bus.
- A couple on their wedding day: luxury sedan, classic car or stretch, by taste; the wedding car hire article compares them.
The fleet page has the vehicles; the booker has the fixed fare for each on your journey. The full explanation of what a chauffeur service is and why it costs what it does is in the black car service explainer, and the licensing behind the price in the what is a chauffeur article.
Where the numbers come from
The prices above are drawn from the reservations we handle and cross-checked against the rates published by licensed operators in each region; they are not app estimates, which exclude the chauffeur standard and the insurance, and not the rates of unlicensed operators, which exclude the licence. The wages behind them are visible in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational data for chauffeurs and in the equivalent European figures; the insurance behind them is set by the minimums the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the European transport authorities require for passenger carriers. A price well below the bottom of a band is a price that has left something out, and the thing left out is usually one of those two.
Vehicle age and specification
Within a class, operators specify a maximum vehicle age - typically three to five years for sedans and SUVs, five to seven for Sprinters and coaches - and the price band assumes it. A fleet of older vehicles can undercut the band; the passenger finds out in the cabin. Ask the maximum age when comparing quotes, and ask for the model. The fleet page lists ours by class with the models in service.
The seasonal calendar
The prices move through the year in a pattern that is predictable enough to plan around. In North America and Europe, the peaks are the wedding season from May to October (Saturdays especially), the conference calendar in spring and autumn, the December holiday weeks, and any city's signature events - fashion weeks, film festivals, motor shows, the Masters, the Super Bowl, Formula 1. The troughs are January and February outside the ski markets, and the August holiday weeks in the European capitals. In the Gulf the pattern inverts: the winter is the season and July and August are quiet. In the Caribbean and Mexico the winter and the school holidays are the peaks. A booking made a week ahead in a trough sits at the bottom of the band; the same booking made two days ahead in a peak sits at the top, if the vehicle exists at all.
A note on quotes in other currencies
Fares in the booker are shown in the local currency of the journey - dollars, euros, pounds, dirhams, yen - and the bands above are converted to US dollars for comparison. Corporate accounts can be billed in a single currency across all cities, which removes the conversion from the expense claim; the corporate account page explains how.
Reading a quote
A quote from any operator should let you identify the vehicle class, the hours or the journey, and everything included. The items that should be inside: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, insurance, taxes, tolls on the journey, airport fees on a transfer, the waiting allowance, and gratuity where customary. The items that are legitimately outside: waiting beyond the allowance, additional stops, parking at venues that charge, and overtime on a day rate. The items that should not appear at all: a fuel surcharge on a fixed fare, a booking fee, a processing fee, an "administration" fee, or a cleaning fee without evidence. Two quotes for the same vehicle on the same journey that differ by more than a third differ in what has been left out, and the chauffeur services compared article lists the questions that find it. The contact page reaches a dispatcher who will price any journey in any vehicle before you book.
Every figure on this page is indicative and every fare in the booker is exact; the gap between the two is the difference between a market and a journey.
