If you're hiring an excavator on the Gold Coast, the first call is wet hire (we send the machine + the operator) or dry hire (you collect the machine and run it yourself). The wrong choice can cost you a day's wages or a damaged hire machine. Here's the honest breakdown from someone who runs both sides.
Quick price ranges (Gold Coast, 2026)
Dry hire — machine only
- 1.7T mini excavator: $250 – $350/day, $900 – $1,200/week
- 5T excavator: $450 – $600/day, $1,800 – $2,400/week
- 8T excavator: $700 – $900/day, $2,800 – $3,500/week
- 13T+ excavator: $1,000 – $1,500/day
Add: float-on/float-off transport ($300 – $700 each way), fuel ($100 – $250/day), insurance excess ($2,500 – $10,000 if you damage it).
Wet hire — machine + experienced operator
- 1.7T + operator: $130 – $160/hour (4-hour minimum)
- 5T + operator: $150 – $190/hour
- 8T + operator: $180 – $220/hour
- 13T+ + operator: $220 – $280/hour
Float is usually included. Fuel is included. Operator is licensed and insured. No excess to worry about.
When dry hire makes sense
- You hold the relevant ticket (or your guy on site does)
- It's a multi-day job with simple, repetitive digging (e.g. trenching a long fence line)
- You have downtime between digs — you're paying daily, so a 50% utilisation day still costs the full day rate
- You can store the machine securely overnight on site
- You're confident your operator won't damage anything (yours, neighbours', services underground)
When wet hire is cheaper than dry hire (counter-intuitive)
Most homeowners and small builders are better off with wet hire. Why?
- An experienced operator is 2–4× faster than a first-timer. A job a homeowner takes 3 days dry-hiring, an operator does in 1 day wet-hiring — usually cheaper.
- No transport fees. The float is in the wet hire rate, not on top.
- No fuel surprises. Big diggers burn $200/day in diesel.
- No damage liability. Hit a Telstra cable on dry hire and you can be looking at $5k–$50k. Wet hire = our problem.
- No PPE, ticket, or insurance hassle.
- We bring the right bucket, hammer, ripper for the job. Dry hire usually comes with one bucket.
If your job is less than 4 days of actual digging, wet hire almost always wins on total cost. Run the maths with all the dry hire add-ons (float in, float out, fuel, insurance excess buffer) and the gap closes fast.
Hidden dry-hire costs that catch people out
- DBYD (Dial Before You Dig) is your responsibility — and so is hitting anything underground
- Damage to the machine: bent buckets, broken hydraulic hoses, tracks coming off
- Off-hire fuel charge — return it less than full and they charge $3+/litre
- Cleaning fee if it's not pressure-washed back to clean ($150 – $300 typical)
- Operator hours if you bring one in separately ($80 – $130/hour for a casual operator)
- Standby — if it sits one rainy day on your block, you're still paying
Real Gold Coast example
A homeowner in Robina wanted to dig a 25m drainage trench plus level a 60m² shed pad. Dry hire of an 8T excavator: $750/day × 3 days = $2,250 + $700 float + $400 fuel + insurance excess risk = $3,350+. Wet hire of the same 8T with our operator: 8 hours × $200/hour = $1,600 — done in one day, no float on top, no risk. Wet hire saved $1,750.
When dry hire is the right call
Dry hire wins for licensed civil crews on long jobs (5+ days), where they're paying their operator anyway and the per-day rate is cheaper than per-hour wet hire over the long stretch. For everyone else — especially residential customers, owner-builders, and one-off projects — wet hire is the better deal.
Get a wet hire quote
We do wet hire across the whole Gold Coast — Mudgeeraba, Robina, Tallai, Burleigh, Hope Island, Coomera, the lot. Owner-operated, fully insured, all gear and tickets in order. Call John on 0487 193 085 or see our tipper wet hire page for current rates.