When I first started to look around for my first pontoon boat in 2015, I spent some time at local docks and marinas. As a complete beginner, seeing a pontoon boat lift for the first time was really impressive! I had a budget set aside for my Bennington, but also wondered how much pontoon boat lifts would cost, as it looked like something I could need given my choice of docks to boat from. Here’s what I found out:
Depending on what type of pontoon lift you decide to buy, pontoon boat lift prices and costs can start as low as $1,555 for a smaller budget model, all the way up as high as $12,000 for a high quality larger lift that includes a canopy.
Did I end up buying one?
No, I didn’t, as I didn’t feel that I the investment in cost was a sound one for me to make.
But I did do enough to research into them to be able to offer you some very rough guidance on pontoon boat prices, including how much they could cost you.
How Much do Pontoon Boat Lifts Cost?
The table below shows some average prices and costs that I found whilst researching online back in 2015 during my investigation phase.
Please note that how much your pontoon lift will end up costing will depend on multiple different factors, and I will go into more of those below the pricing guide chart.
| Lift Type | Dimensions | Price / Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Budgets Cantilever Lifts | 84 inches wide x 19 feet long | $1,555 |
| 96 inches wide x 21 foot feet long | $2,005 | |
| Budget Vertical Lifts | 114 inches wide x 23 foot feet long | $2,280 |
| 114 inches wide x 26 foot feet long | $3,197 | |
| 120 inches wide x 23 foot feet long | $3,290 | |
| 120 inches wide x 26 foot feet long | $3,940 | |
| Shoremaster Premium Lifts | Various sizes | $6,000 to $12,000 |
Please note, that the prices above have been taken from various websites, and when calculating how much pontoon boat lifts costs on average, I was only looking at lifts that don’t come with canopies. Adding that accessory will cost extra.
What Type of Lift Will You Need?
This is the secondary consideration and could influence how much you end up paying for a lift. What you need to do is figure what style of lift you want to buy.
There are three main different types, and I won’t go into too much detail on the differences in this guide, as you can find that information elsewhere on Pontoonopedia using the search function.
In summary though, these are the different types you can buy:
- Free standing pontoon lifts including cantilever and vertical boat lifts
- Floating boat lifts including air and water displacement lifts
- Hydraulic floating lifts
You will need to take the draught and height (including Bimini) of your pontoon into account, as this will help to understand what lifting height you will need. This is particularly important if your pontoon is at a roofed dock area.
Armed with that information, you can then go visit or talk to the pontoon lift manufacturers and dealers, as they will want that information before you giving you an exact quote on prices and costs.
What is the Best Pontoon Boat Lift?
During my research phase there was one name which cropped up time and time again, and that was ShoreMaster.
They are an American company based in Minnesota, and have been established 1972, and since then have developed an outstanding reputation for high quality pontoon lifts.
Whilst many companies might try and fob you off with a standard boat lift that has simply been modified for pontoons, ShoreMaster actually design pontoon specific vertical and hydraulic lifts examples of which you can see photos below.
This is one of the cheaper ShoreMaster pontoon lifts.
The ShoreMaster pontoon boat lifts are especially designed to include features to work better with our type of boat. They will fit the larger and more powerful pontoons that are commonly sold in today’s marine market.
And this ShoreMaster pontoon lift will cost you a bit more money.
ShoreMaster lifts have longer bases, greater widths, and pontoon specific accessories as well, which all goes towards making them one of the market leaders.
However, you have to be prepared to pay more for ShoreMaster, as quality will come at a price. Their pontoon boat lift prices will be anywhere between $6,000 to $12,000 US dollars.
All of their lifts all come with long 15-year warranties on the aluminum structure, which is almost unheard of in the pontoon lift industry. I guess if anything that just goes to show how much faith they have in their product.
What Does a Pontoon Boat Lift Cost Annually?
If we take the ShoreMaster pontoon lift prices and costs as a guideline, and their 15-year warranty length as an estimate on how long you might own your actual boat, we can do some very simple maths.
If it’s the lower end $6,000 ShoreMaster lift you own, then over 15 years it’s going to average out as a $400 a year in cost. Divide that cost by 12 months, and you’re looking at a price of $33 dollars a month over the 15 years.
For their higher end and more expensive $12,000 dollar model, that same calculation will end up coming at with an annual cost of $800 a year, and $67 dollars each month over 15 years.
Obviously, you don’t have to buy ShoreMaster, and if you opted to buy a cheaper budget pontoon lift where prices start from just $1,555 then those costs are dramatically reduced.
Whichever way you look at it, with your boat possibly costing between $22,000 and $50,000 (sometimes even more on high performance models) then whichever lift you buy, the costs could be a worthwhile investment considering the convenience and protection that if offers you.
How Does a Pontoon Boat Lift Work?
Despite there being many different types of boats lifts, and I listed those further back up the page, the majority of them will work in pretty much the same way.
You drive the pontoon onto the lift bunk boards underneath the water. The boards are attached to a cradle on a motorized system. Once in place, you can press a button and the cradle will lift up (or down).
Getting your pontoon back onto the water is simple too. You press the button to lower the lift and are done once the boat has started to float freely in the water. You can see an example of some pontoon boat lifts in action in the video below.
Conclusion
I hope my research into pontoon boat lift prices and how much they cost has helped you in making your mind up on whether you can afford one or not.
Please be aware this is research I did a couple of years ago, and just takes some average prices and costs from manufacturer websites I have seen.
If you are worried about the corrosion and damage that can occur if you leave your pontoon boat sitting in the water for months can do, particularly in salt water environments, then it could be a great purchase.
Should you buy one?
Well, that’s up to you, I personally haven’t, but can definitely see the value in doing so.
With so many pontoon boats now being sold in the United States, it is no surprise that lifts are being more and more common, as owners want to protect their investment.
That’s why we now see companies like ShoreMaster coming into the market with specialist pontoon lifts. Before that we didn’t really have specially designed ones just for our type of boat.
In the past, you would typically see boat lift manufacturers just add little accessories and modifications onto their existing vertical and cantilever lifts, and then sell those into the pontoon market.
Whilst that still works as a concept to this day and is now the cheaper models are sold, I believe that pontooners want something that they know has been developed just this style of boat.
I am going to leave you with a statement from Don Harley, the president of ShoreMaster who had this to say on their website:
“We’ve been manufacturing boat lifts for pontoons for decades, so we have a lot of experience with the challenges and the opportunities that they present. We are always looking at updates to the design of today’s watercraft, and pontoons have definitely been on our radar for a while.”
“We saw an opportunity to take our experience with boat lifts and pontoon accessories and develop a vertical style pontoon lift that solves the challenges of accommodating todays more advanced pontoons and tritoons.”
I have no affiliation with ShoreMaster, but I appreciate how good their products are. If you do have the extra budget, then it is worth paying their more expensive prices.
