Aircraft

Gulfstream G550 vs G700: Range, Cabin, and Price Gap

Gulfstream G550 vs G700 on range, cabin, and price

On every published spec, the Gulfstream G700 is newer, faster, and has a longer cabin than the G550. But a pre-owned G550 costs well under half as much as a new G700, often closer to a quarter of the price. That is a large part of why the G550 remains one of the most widely chartered heavy jets, despite being out of production since 2021.

The two jets sit at opposite ends of the same Gulfstream lineage. The G550 served as the company’s flagship for nearly a decade before the G650 replaced it in 2012. Certified in 2024, the G700 represents the current flagship generation. Comparing the two is really about weighing what a fully depreciated, deeply supported airframe buys against the cost of a factory-new one.

Gulfstream G550 vs G700 at a Glance

For the full spec sheet on either type, see our dedicated pages on the Gulfstream G550 and the Gulfstream G700.

Why These Two Get Cross-Shopped

The G550 and G700 are not adjacent generations. The G650 sits between them in Gulfstream’s own history, certified in 2012 as the G550’s direct successor, and the G700 replaced the G650 in turn when Gulfstream ended G650 production in February 2025. A shopper who puts the G550 and G700 side by side is really asking a wider question than “which generation is newer”: is a fully depreciated, 20-year-old design still worth flying against Gulfstream’s current flagship, and if so, at what mission length does the older jet stop being enough?

That question has a real answer because both aircraft remain in active service. More than 600 G550s were built before Gulfstream ended commercial production in 2021, and special-mission variants have continued since for military and government customers, which keeps parts and service support unusually healthy for a discontinued type. The G700, by contrast, only began reaching customers in 2024, and Gulfstream’s order backlog runs several years. One aircraft is a mature, deep used-market asset. The other is scarce, new, and priced accordingly.

Range and Speed Compared

The Gulfstream G700 flies 7,750 nautical miles at Mach 0.85, 1,000 nm farther than the G550’s published 6,750 nm with NBAA IFR reserves. Maximum operating speed is Mach 0.935 on the G700 against Mach 0.885 on the G550, a gap of roughly 29 knots at cruise altitude.

Work out what that buys on an actual route. The G550’s 6,750 nm covers New York to Dubai, Los Angeles to London, and Hong Kong to San Francisco nonstop. It falls short of the very longest pairings; New York to Singapore is out of reach, a trip the G700 flies with room to spare. On a leg both aircraft can already fly nonstop, the G700’s speed advantage saves roughly 30 minutes over a 4,000 nm ocean crossing, the same order of magnitude the G700 saves against the G650 on a shorter version of the same math. It is a real but modest gap unless your mission specifically needs the extra 1,000 nm of reach.

Cabin Dimensions and Cross-Section

Cabin height is nearly identical, 6 feet 2 inches on the G550 against 6 feet 3 inches on the G700. Width is where the generations diverge: the G550 measures 7 feet 4 inches, ten inches narrower than the G700’s 8 feet 2 inches, because the G700 carries forward the wider G650 fuselage the G550 predates.

Length is the bigger gap. The G550 cabin runs 43 feet 11 inches, while the G700 stretches to 56 feet 11 inches excluding baggage, a difference of 13 feet. That extra length is why Gulfstream configures the G700 with up to five living areas against the G550’s four. Both aircraft seat up to 19 in their maximum-density configuration, but real charter use looks different: the G550 typically sleeps eight, while the G700 sleeps up to 13 once a galley, divan, and crew area are built in.

If the fifth zone, the wider cabin, or a separate crew rest compartment on a 12-hour leg is the actual reason you are shopping in this class, that is what the G700’s extra cabin volume buys. If your trips run with eight or fewer passengers in a shared multipurpose cabin, the G550’s narrower, shorter cabin does the same job at a fraction of the cost.

Production Status and Pricing

This is where the two aircraft diverge hardest. The G550 is a mature, deep used-market asset: Aircraft Bluebook values for spring 2025 spanned roughly $11.5 million for an early 2003 airframe to about $34 million for a 2020 build, and current broker listings track that same band. Charter rates run about $8,000 to $10,000 per hour on broker rate cards.

The G700 sits at the opposite end. Gulfstream does not publish a list price, and market reporting puts a new G700 in the high $70 millions to around $80 million. There is effectively no pre-owned market yet, since deliveries only began in 2024 and early positions rarely resell at a discount while new deliveries stay years out. Charter rates for the type run roughly $13,000 to $16,000 per hour, higher than the G550 largely because so few aircraft exist to book.

Compare the two aircraft on cost per nautical mile rather than sticker price alone. Dividing a representative charter rate by realistic block speed puts the G550 at roughly $19 per nm against roughly $29 per nm for the G700. The G700 costs about 50 percent more to move you the same distance, before counting the roughly $44 million to $69 million gap in what the two aircraft cost to buy outright.

Who Should Charter or Buy Which

Choose the G550 if cost per mile is the deciding factor and your longest routine leg stays under about 6,500 nautical miles, where cabin width is not the constraint. It is the default recommendation for anyone without a specific, named reason to pay the G700’s premium, and it remains one of the most widely chartered heavy jets despite being out of production for more than four years.

Choose the G700 if the extra cabin length, the fifth living area, or the 1,000 nm of additional range is the actual reason you are shopping in this class, not a nice-to-have you assumed would come with “the newer one.” A dedicated crew suite on 14-hour legs, a genuine private sleeping zone separate from the main cabin, or a mission that regularly needs to clear 7,000 nautical miles are all legitimate reasons. Wanting the newest airframe without a concrete use for the extra space and range is not.

Who This Comparison Does Not Fit

Neither aircraft suits a buyer or charterer whose longest routine leg runs under about 4,000 nautical miles. A super-midsize jet like the Bombardier Challenger 350 covers that mission for a fraction of either hourly rate, and the ultra-long-range cabin goes unused for what it was built to do. And the G700 specifically is the wrong choice for anyone who needs a tail in the next few months, since new-build lead times rule out near-term delivery entirely. A used Gulfstream G650 splits the difference in both price and availability if the G550’s range genuinely falls short; see our G650 vs G700 comparison for that middle option in full.

How to Fly Either Aircraft Without Buying One

On-demand charter through a broker gives access to either type per trip with no commitment, at the highest per-hour cost of the available paths. Jet cards lock in a fixed hourly rate with guaranteed availability, and large-cabin tiers at NetJets and Flexjet both include G550-class aircraft, with the G700 remaining thin across every fractional and card program simply because so few exist. Fractional shares make sense once you are flying more than roughly 100 hours a year in this class and want a dedicated interest in a specific tail type.

If you fly 25 to 100 hours a year in this cabin size, start with our jet card comparison before pricing a fractional share. Our private jet cost per hour breakdown runs the same per-trip arithmetic across every cabin class, including where the G550 and G700 sit relative to the rest of the heavy-jet field on cost per mile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Gulfstream G700 better than the G550?

On every published spec, yes. The G700 flies 1,000 nautical miles farther, cruises faster at Mach 0.935 against the G550's Mach 0.885, and has a cabin 13 feet longer and 10 inches wider. It also costs roughly $44 million to $69 million more to buy and charters for around 50 to 60 percent more per hour, so "better" only means "worth it" for a buyer who specifically needs the extra range or cabin space.

Is the Gulfstream G550 a good value compared to the G700?

For most buyers, yes. The G550 covers the large majority of ultra-long-range missions at roughly $19 per nautical mile in charter, against $29 for the G700, and its pre-owned price tops out around $34 million versus $78 million to $80 million for a new G700. The G550 loses only on the longest legs, the widest cabin, and outright scarcity of the newer type, none of which matter on most trips.

How much more does a Gulfstream G700 cost than a G550?

Roughly $44 million to $69 million on current pricing. A new G700 runs $78 million to $80 million based on market reporting, while a pre-owned G550 typically asks $11.5 million to $34 million. The gap buys 1,000 nautical miles of extra range, a wider and 13-foot-longer cabin, and a factory-new aircraft under full warranty.

Can you still buy a new Gulfstream G550?

No. Gulfstream delivered its final commercial G550 on June 30, 2021, ending an 18-year production run of more than 600 aircraft. Every G550 available today, for purchase or charter, is a pre-owned aircraft, while the G700 remains in production with a multi-year order backlog.

What is the range difference between the Gulfstream G550 and G700?

1,000 nautical miles at Mach 0.85. The G700 flies 7,750 nm and the G550 flies 6,750 nm, both figures published by Gulfstream. That gap decides a small set of the longest city pairs, such as New York to Singapore, which the G550 cannot fly nonstop; most other ultra-long-range routes already fit within the G550's range.

Run the Gulfstream G550 vs G700 math against a jet cardA prepaid block of flight hours on a set aircraft category, bought at a fixed or capped hourly rate. No aircraft ownership is involved. hour in this cabin class before you buy either one, since access cost usually moves the decision more than the 1,000 nm range gap between them.

We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.