How Much Do Airplane Tires Cost? | Price By Aircraft Type

A single aircraft tire can cost about $100 for a light plane and around $5,000 or more for a large jet.

Airplane tires cost far more than car tires, but the spread is huge. A light trainer may wear tires in the low hundreds. A wide-body main-gear tire can climb into the low thousands, and some current listings for large-airliner sizes sit around the $4,000 to $5,000 mark each.

That gap comes from load, speed, heat, certification, and whether the tire is new or retread. A small piston airplane lands at a fraction of the weight and brake energy of a jet, so its tire is smaller, lighter, and cheaper to build.

How Much Do Airplane Tires Cost? By Aircraft Size

If you want the short version without the fluff, here it is: many small general aviation tires land around $60 to $400 each, many business-jet tires fall around $700 to $1,800, and large-airliner main tires can sit around $4,000 to $5,000 or more.

The price curve gets steep once you leave the small-plane world. That’s why two people can answer the same question and sound miles apart. One may be pricing a 6.00-6 tire for a trainer. The other may mean a radial main tire for a 787 or 747.

What Changes The Price So Much

• Size and load rating: Bigger tires carry more weight and use more material.
• Speed rating: Jet tires face brutal takeoff and landing loads, so the build is tougher.
• New or retread: A retread can cost less than a brand-new tire if the casing is still fit for service.
• Tube-type or tubeless: The build and fitment rules change the quote.
• Wheel position: Nose tires and main tires on the same aircraft often cost different amounts.
• Brand and trace paperwork: OEM paperwork, stock source, and shelf age can push the number up.

That’s why two tires that look close in a catalog photo can be priced far apart in a real quote.

Typical Price Ranges Per Tire

The table below gives rough current single-tire price bands you’re likely to see in the market. These are per-tire ranges, not full shipset totals.

Aircraft Class	Common Tire Examples	Typical Price Per Tire
Homebuilt or ultralight	Small tailwheel and nosewheel sizes	$60 to $180
Trainer piston single	5.00-5, 6.00-6	$100 to $400
Heavier piston single	6.00-6, 8.00-6, 8.50-6	$200 to $700
Light twin or turboprop	8.50-10 and nearby sizes	$350 to $1,200
Entry business jet	18×5.5, 22×8.0-10	$700 to $1,400
Midsize business jet	18×5.5, 22×8.0-10, 24×7.7	$900 to $1,800
Narrow-body jetliner	27×7.75-15 nose tires to larger mains	$760 to $4,500
Wide-body jetliner	50×20.0R22, 54×21.0R23	$4,000 to $5,000+

Those ranges are broad on purpose. Stock swings, brand choice, freight, and paperwork can move quotes in either direction. Retail buyers also pay a different number from fleet buyers with contract terms.

New Tires, Retreads, And The Real Bill

One thing trips up a lot of readers: airlines and maintenance shops do not always buy a fresh new tire at every swap. Retreads are normal in aviation when the casing still meets the standard. That can bring the cost per landing down by a lot.

The FAA’s retread approval material lays out accepted methods for inspection, retread, repair, and alteration of aircraft tires. That matters because a tire quote is not just about rubber. It’s also about whether the casing can go back into service and how long it will stay there.

Fitment matters just as much. A manufacturer’s Goodyear tire databook lists size, ply rating, speed limit, wheel fit, and aircraft application. Order the wrong build and the cheap quote stops being cheap.

Why One 737 Tire Can Cost Less Than You’d Guess

Not every airliner tire is a four-figure giant. Current listings for 27×7.75-15 Boeing 737 nose tires sit around the high hundreds. Step over to larger main-gear tires and the price jumps fast. Wide-body radial sizes can land in the $4,000 to $5,000 range each.

That split is why cost chatter sounds all over the map. One person may mean a nose tire. Another may mean a main tire for a heavy long-haul jet. Same topic, totally different piece of hardware.

What A Full Shipset Can Cost

Most owners and operators care about the total, not the single tire. The table below gives rough tire-only totals using common tire counts and the price bands above. Tubes, mounting, balancing, shipping, and wheel work are not included.

Aircraft Class	Common Tire Count	Rough Tire-Only Total
Light piston single	3	$300 to $1,200
Light twin	3 to 5	$900 to $3,500
Light turboprop	3 to 5	$1,000 to $6,000
Light or midsize business jet	3 to 5	$2,500 to $9,000
Narrow-body jetliner	6	$4,500 to $18,000
Wide-body jetliner	10 to 22	$40,000 to $110,000+

A big jet’s tire bill adds up fast, but the raw tire price still doesn’t tell the whole story. Shops also budget for storage, wheel turnaround, brake inspection, and the labor tied to every change.

What To Ask Before You Buy

If you’re getting a quote, these are the details that stop mistakes before they turn into returns or grounded time:

• Exact size: Include every dash, letter, and speed marking.
• New or retread: Ask which one you’re being quoted.
• Tube-type or tubeless: They are not interchangeable by guesswork.
• Nose or main position: Same aircraft does not always use the same tire at every wheel station.
• Date code and paperwork: Shelf age and trace documents affect value.
• Freight and stock status: A low sticker price can get beaten by shipping or lead time.

That little checklist saves money because aircraft tires are not an impulse buy. One wrong character in the part description can derail the whole order.

The Price Spread Makes Sense Once You Match The Tire To The Job

A trainer tire and a 787 main tire do the same job in name only. One handles light loads and modest landing speeds. The other absorbs punishing landing energy, heavy braking, and much tougher service conditions.

So when someone asks how much airplane tires cost, the honest answer is a range. Many small-airplane tires sit around $100 to $400 each. Many business-jet tires land around $700 to $1,800. Large-airliner main tires can run around $4,000 to $5,000 or more. Once you match the tire to the aircraft, the number stops looking random.