The most expensive submarines in the world are the US Navy’s Columbia-class ballistic missile boats: on 29 July 2026 the Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat $29.5 billion for five more, or roughly $5.9 billion each. Private submarines for billionaires cost far less, from a few million to tens of millions of dollars, and we show them in their own section. We rank the submarines with a published contract price. Figures are per boat, our division of the announced contract totals, as of October 2026.
| Rank | Submarine | Price per boat (our division) | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbia class, Build II (SSBN 828 to 832) | about $5.9 billion | $29.5 billion for 5 boats | 29 July 2026 |
| 2 | Virginia class, Block VI | about $4.7 billion | $42.1 billion for 9 boats plus material for a tenth | 29 July 2026 |
| 3 | Virginia class, Block V | about $2.5 billion | $22.2 billion for 9 boats plus an option | 2 Dec 2019 |
| 4 | Virginia class, Block IV | about $1.8 billion | $17.6 billion for 10 boats | 28 Apr 2014 |
1. Columbia class, Build II: about $5.9 billion per boat
Columbia-class boats will replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. On 29 July 2026 the Navy announced a $29.5 billion award to General Dynamics Electric Boat for five more, SSBN 828 through 832. The contract notice lists the modification at about $29.77 billion, a gap we could not explain. Completion is listed as June 2035.
The lead boat, District of Columbia, is a different measure: in June 2021 the Navy budget office put its total at $15.03 billion, which includes planning costs for the whole program.
Basis: the contract total divided by the number of boats. It includes design, materials and yard work, so it is a program price and not a sticker price.
2. Virginia class, Block VI: about $4.7 billion per boat
In the same July 2026 package the Navy awarded $42.1 billion for nine Block VI attack submarines and material for a tenth. The package, announced as $76.6 billion in total, also holds about $5 billion for shipyard workforce and infrastructure. Our division ignores the tenth-boat material, so the true per-boat price is slightly lower.
Valuation: the $42.1 billion award divided by nine, a figure we calculated, from the company’s announcement.
3. Virginia class, Block V: about $2.5 billion per boat
On 2 December 2019 the Navy ordered nine Block V Virginia-class boats from Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding for $22.2 billion, with a possible tenth boat if Congress funds it and $450 million in the deal for that boat’s materials. Block V boats are longer, 460 feet against 377 feet, and heavier.
Method: the $22.2 billion contract total divided by nine, in 2019 dollars.
4. Virginia class, Block IV: about $1.8 billion per boat
Awarded on 28 April 2014, a $17.6 billion contract for ten submarines was the most costly shipbuilding contract in history at the time.
Counted as: the reported contract total divided by ten, in 2014 dollars.
Other costly programs
The UK’s Dreadnought class, four boats to replace the Vanguard class, has a reported programme cost of about 31 billion pounds, with a new phase of contracts worth 8.4 billion pounds let in 2026. That figure includes shipyard modernisation and contingency, so we do not rank it per boat. The US Seawolf class was planned at $33.6 billion for twelve boats, but only three were built after the Cold War ended.
What about private submarines?
Private submersibles are built to order, so there is no sticker price. Triton Submarines of Florida, which has delivered fewer than 25 of them as of August 2023, sells at prices from about $5 million to $40 million. In May 2024 Larry Connor commissioned a $20 million Triton 4000/2, the Abyssal Explorer. A 2017 concept from Aston Martin and Triton, Project Neptune, was expected to cost about $4 million, with a run of about 12. The full-ocean-depth DSV Limiting Factor was sold in 2022 to Gabe Newell’s Inkfish and renamed Bakunawa, at an undisclosed price. These are builder prices and commissions, so we keep them out of the ranking above.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
The July 2026 award of $76.6 billion for fourteen submarines is the largest single submarine package we found.
What drives these prices
- Nuclear power. Reactors, shielding and crew systems dominate the cost.
- Ballistic missile role. Strategic missile boats are bigger and more complex than attack boats.
- Low volume. Few boats per year means fixed costs spread thinly.
- Workforce limits. Skilled-labour shortages have pushed prices up.
- Inflation. Later contracts price the same hull at today’s dollars.
FAQ
What is the most expensive submarine in the world?
The Columbia class, at about $5.9 billion per boat in the July 2026 award for five boats.
How much does a Virginia-class submarine cost?
About $4.7 billion per boat in the July 2026 Block VI award, by our division of $42.1 billion by nine.
How much does the lead Columbia boat cost?
The Navy put District of Columbia at a total of $15.03 billion in June 2021, including program planning costs.
How much is a private submarine?
Triton Submarines sells at prices from about $5 million to $40 million, and a $20 million Triton 4000/2 was commissioned in 2024. Builders do not publish rate cards.
What is the UK’s costliest submarine program?
Dreadnought, with a reported programme cost of about 31 billion pounds for four boats.
Why not rank the Phoenix 1000 or Migaloo?
They never had a published sale or contract, so they are not ranked.
How we put this list together
We ranked submarines by announced Navy contract totals divided by the number of boats, compiled in an internal valuation model. Figures are approximate and contract totals change.
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Last updated: October 2026.
