How Much Does A Boeing 737 MAX Cost In 2025?

By 

Aaron Spray

How much does a Boeing MAX cost in 2025? As Simple Flying outlined in the cost of the A350, the answer to that question is not straightforward but depends on many factors. While the typical stated price for a MAX series aircraft is often said to be over $100 million, the current market values for the aircraft are around $55 million and the monthly leasing rates are around $400,000. Here are some things to know about the price of a Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft.

No Boeing MAX list prices

It should be noted that Boeing and Airbus no longer publish list prices for their aircraft. Aircraft list prices are the airplane maker's suggested retail prices. However, the actual selling prices can vary significantly on account of discounts, negotiations, configurations, number of aircraft ordered, and various other factors.

Airbus stopped publishing its list prices in 2019 and today, neither Boeing nor Airbus publishes those prices. Like Airbus, Boeing published some data in the past, but no more.

Boeing 737 MAX prices:

• "New price": $99.7 million for MAX 7 (per AXON Aviation Group)
• Market Price: Approx. $55 million for MAX 8 (per IBA Insight)
• Lease Rate: Approx: $400,000 a month for MAX 8 (per IBA Insight)

Airbus has said in the past that "catalog prices are relatively meaningless" and that its focus is on the "total cost of ownership" of the aircraft rather than just the initial purchase price. Boeing's position is something similar.

In 2019, FlightGlobal reported that Airbus said in 2019 that catalog prices for aircraft had become irrelevant to real-world deal values. In reality, negotiated aircraft deals are always significantly discounted on the aircraft's sticker price.

List prices have previously functioned more as a benchmark from which to negotiate. It was widely seen that Airbus had stopped publishing the data as a way to improve its negotiating position.

New-launch aircraft are cheaper

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) investigation found in 2018 pricing differed for new aircraft entering service for the first time. The airlines that are the first to accept delivery of a new aircraft enjoy a certain amount of prestige. However, they are also taking on more risk operating a new product.

Launch customers have to put up with more risks from difficulties and delays given the complexity of aircraft production. This suggests that airlines that take a 'wait and see' stance for the aircraft to mature, also have to pay a higher price.

The report noted that the "launch price" or "marquee deal" can be anywhere from 20% to 30% lower than the price of subsequent sales. It should be noted that the USITC report was only investigating imports of 100-150-seat CSeries (now Airbus A220) aircraft. It is unclear how true this is for Boeing's MAX series.

The report quoted Delta as saying, "one widely recognized and consistent feature {of this industry} is that launch or marquee customers receive favorable pricing that reflect their status and the risk associated with adopting new aircraft." The discount is intended to compensate airlines for the risk associated with operating new aircraft types.

This is particularly relevant to the Boeing MAX series. The Boeing MAX has four variants, the MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 9, and MAX 10. Of these, only the MAX 8 and MAX 9 have FAA certification and have been in production and service for years. Meanwhile, the delayed FAA certification for the MAX 7 and MAX 10 remains pending.

All else being equal, within the family, one should expect the MAX 8 and MAX 9 to sell for a relative premium as they have had a steady delivery stream. In-service disruptions have now been minimized, and the risks associated with them have declined. Therefore, risk-associated discounts should have evaporated and prices risen.

Conversely, when the first MAX 7s and MAX 10s are sold, they should theoretically come with more generous discounts. Some airlines like Southwest have purchased the delayed MAX 7s. Southwest has since removed the aircraft from its near-term acquisition plans to purchase variants currently available.

Boeing 737 MAX market value

Perhaps a better gauge of the value of a Boeing 737 MAX is the market value and not the list price. Various outlets report the value of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as being between $110 and $120 million, but this seems to be far off the actual market value of the aircraft.

For its part, AXON Aviation Group reports the value of a new Boeing 737 MAX 7 as $99.7 million in 2022. It is unclear where that figure comes from, seeing as the aircraft is not certified, Boeing no longer releases list prices, it is not in production and has not been delivered.

IBA Insight reports on the market values of commercial aircraft. In September 2024, it was reported that both the current-generation Airbus A320neo and Boeing MAX 8 narrowbodies have market values of around $55 million, slightly favoring the A320neo.

IBA Insight also stated that the Airbus A321NX (neo) is the best performer in the new family and a "typically specified new delivery Airbus A321NX" is now valued at around $64.0 million. Longer-range A321neo models can go into the upper $60 million range.

It is unclear how much more the Airbus A321XLR is worth, but it is reportedly around $7 million more than the A321LR.

Previous-generation narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A320-200 and the Boeing 737-800 are worth significantly less than their current-generation counterparts. However, their market value shows a distinct premium to base value, although it varies depending on the vintage. In recent months, the value of the Boeing 737-700 has shown signs of decline.

In 2015, aircraft leasing company AerCap was reported to have placed a firm order to purchase 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8s for $10.7 billion. Using back-of-the-envelope math, that works out to $107 million per aircraft. Adjusting for inflation, that would be $144 million per aircraft in 2025.

However, it is not possible to do back-of-the-envelope math as it is unclear what was included in the deal. It's unclear if the deal included things like extra engines, servicing of the aircraft, and more.

Leasing the Boeing 737 MAX

It's worth noting that airlines often do not purchase aircraft outright. Instead, they lease them from aircraft leasing companies like AerCap, the largest aircraft lessor.

IBA Insights also notes that the market lease rates for narrowbody aircraft types remained steady in 2024 (until September 2024) after a significant increase in the second half of 2023. In 2024, the market lease rates for a new Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8 were around $400,000 a month.

The larger Airbus A321neo attracts a lease rate of around $460,000. It's likely the A321XLR is somewhere north of that figure. Lease rates for previous-generation Boeing 737-800s and A320s that are around midlife were around $230,000 to $250,000 a month.

The looming threat of tariffs

In a sense, the complexities of the modern supply chain mean there is no such thing as a purely American or European commercial jet. The DNA of European aviation companies like BAE, Rolls-Royce, Safran, Thales, Airbus, and more can be found in Boeing aircraft (and vice versa).

A trade war between the United States and Europe could have massive impacts on the price of commercial aircraft. In March 2025, AerCap stated that in a worst-case scenario, the cost of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner could rise by $40 million. It's unclear how much tariffs could increase the MAX 8's price.

The Ireland-based aircraft lessor stated that the tariff war could favor Europe's Airbus as the world's airlines would turn to Airbus. It said Airbus could take 75% to 80% of the global market, essentially marginalizing Boeing.

For years, Airbus has been outgrowing Boeing, and its A320 family is set to overtake the Boeing 737 family as the most delivered commercial jet of all time. That is even though the 737 had a 20-year head start. Boeing has been hit by the Boeing MAX crisis, the pandemic, and supply chain issues. Its last 'normal' year was 2018.

Time will tell if these warnings come true and if the looming trade war drives up the price of the MAX family and further erodes Boeing's position with Airbus.

Boeing has a significant backlog of 4,747 Boeing 737 family aircraft, which is a respectable second to Airbus' backlog of over 7,000 A320-family aircraft. However, Boeing is also harmed by the fact that, of its four variants, only two have FAA approval, leading Airbus to offer more A320 family variants to fill more niches in the market.