Most piston owners outgrowing an SR22 or a Bonanza don't know exactly what they want yet — they just know they want more speed, more range, or a cabin that doesn't shrink the moment you fill the tanks. This guide compares eight of the most common step-up aircraft on the numbers that actually matter for a real mission, not brochure specs, then routes you into the full financing detail for whichever one fits.
Pricing reflects current new and pre-owned market activity per AvBuyer and FLYING Magazine reporting (see sources below), not list-price marketing. Range is shown two ways — a typical mission (four occupants and bags) and max range at minimal payload — because the gap between those two numbers is usually the real decision, not the headline spec.
| Aircraft | Market price | Cruise | Typical / max range | Full-fuel payload | Insurance & training | Financing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daher TBM 980 Turboprop |
~$5.4M new TBM 960 ran $4.8–5M new in 2022–23 |
330 kt | 1,580 / 1,730 nm | 913 lb | No type rating, single-pilot. 500+ TT and instrument rating typical for initial insurability. Market has moved fast: the 980 already outsold the 960 nine units to one in its first quarter on Daher's books (GAMA Q1 2026). | TBM financing → |
Pilatus PC-12 NGX Turboprop |
~$6.2M new Pre-owned PC-12s: $2.5M–$7.8M by vintage |
290 kt | 1,600 / 1,800 nm | 2,000 lb Best-in-class |
No type rating, single-pilot. Larger hull value and cabin often mean a broader insurer pool, not a narrower one. | PC-12 financing → |
Piper M700 Fury Turboprop |
$4.1M new 2024 used: $4.25–4.5M asking |
301 kt | 1,250 / 1,424 nm | 650 lb Compact cabin trades payload for speed |
No type rating, single-pilot. Newest type in this set (first delivery 2024) — insurer/lender comfort still building. | M700 Fury financing → |
Epic E1000 AX Turboprop |
~$4.95M new Epic moved production from the GX to the AX in 2025 (GAMA); still the least expensive fast single here |
333 kt approx. 311 kt / 47 gph real-world at FL340 — GX pilot-report figure, not yet independently confirmed for the AX |
1,450 / 1,650 nm approx. | ~950 lb approx. | No type rating, single-pilot. Composite/kit heritage means a smaller specialist insurer pool than TBM or PC-12. | Epic E1000 financing → |
Cirrus Vision Jet SF50 G2+ Light jet |
~$3.6M new Used 2020–24 models: $2.6–3.3M |
305 kt | 1,000 / 1,275 nm | 450 lb Tightest in this set |
The only single-engine jet — but it is type-rated despite that. Familiar Cirrus ecosystem often eases the SR22-to-jet jump. | Vision Jet financing → |
Embraer Phenom 100/300 Light jet |
~$10.5M new (300E) 2023 used 300E: ~$13M per Aircraft Bluebook |
453 kt | 1,800 / 2,010 nm | ~1,100 lb approx. | Type rating required, twin-engine, single-pilot certified. Most-delivered light jet for 8 straight years — deep insurer and lender familiarity. | Phenom financing → |
HondaJet Elite II Light jet |
$7.17M new (2024) 2023 used: ~$6.8M asking |
422 kt | 1,250 / 1,437 nm | ~850 lb approx. | Type rating required, twin-engine. Lowest variable cost per hour per seat mile in its class per AvBuyer market analysis. | HondaJet financing → |
Citation CJ4 Gen3 Light jet |
Gen3 enters production 2026 Gen2 market: $6.35M avg asking, 13 for sale of a 339-unit fleet, 3.2-month absorption |
451 kt | 1,950 / 2,165 nm | ~1,200 lb approx. | Type rating required, twin-engine. Gen2 remains in active production alongside Gen3's ramp-up — Textron shipped 30 Gen2 units in 2025 and 6 more in Q1 2026 (GAMA) — so pre-owned and new-Gen2 inventory both stay live options. Fastest and longest-legged aircraft in this set. | Citation financing → |
Figures marked "approx." are OEM-published specs not independently confirmed by AvBuyer or FLYING Magazine reporting for this guide — verify against current POH data before quoting a specific mission. Phenom 100/300 shown as one row using 300E figures; the 100EV is the lower-cost, shorter-range entry variant in the same family.
Jets are faster in a straight line — the Citation CJ4 and Phenom 300E both cruise above 450 knots, roughly 50% faster than any turboprop in this set. But turboprops are dramatically more efficient at the altitudes and stage lengths most owners actually fly, and every one of them handles a shorter or rougher strip a light jet simply can't use. The PC-12's reputation as a backcountry-capable cabin-class aircraft isn't marketing — it's a direct consequence of turboprop short-field performance.
The question isn't "what's the longest trip this aircraft could theoretically make," it's "what does my typical trip actually look like." A 700nm regional hop with three passengers and golf clubs is a completely different airplane than an 1,800nm coast-to-coast run with a full cabin. Buyers who spec for their longest possible mission instead of their actual median mission routinely end up paying for range and speed they use twice a year.
Every turboprop in this set steps up from piston relatively gently: no type rating required under 12,500 lbs MGTOW, and most insurers want 500+ total time and an instrument rating for initial coverage. The jets are a real step change — all four require a type rating (yes, even the single-engine Vision Jet), meaningful simulator time, and materially higher first-year premiums. That cliff is real money and real time before you ever fly the mission, and it belongs in the financing conversation as much as the loan itself.
A max useful load number by itself is close to meaningless. The real question is what's left over after you tank for the range you need — and that's exactly why the Vision Jet's 450 lb full-fuel payload and the PC-12's 2,000 lb tell such different stories despite both aircraft having respectable max useful load on paper. Use the tool below to see it directly instead of doing the math in your head.
Pick a departure and destination airport, then toggle aircraft on and off. The solid ring is typical-mission range (four occupants and bags); the dashed ring is max range at minimal payload. Great-circle distance and time only — no wind, ATC routing, or terrain factored in, so treat this as a planning start, not a flight plan.
Typical trip, not longest. Sizing an aircraft for the one or two trips a year you might fly furthest usually means overpaying for range and speed you don't use on the other 90% of your missions. Use the tool above with your actual common routes, not your dream trip.
Type ratings are driven by weight and turbojet power, not engine count — any jet over 12,500 lbs MGTOW requires one, and the FAA specifically requires a type rating for the SF50 regardless of its single-engine, single-pilot design. It's a genuine outlier in that respect, though most SR22 owners find the transition smoother than a from-scratch jet type rating given Cirrus's shared ecosystem and training pipeline.
Materially. Turboprop step-ups from a high-performance piston are usually a straightforward underwriting conversation — most insurers want 500+ total time and an instrument rating, with premiums scaling normally. Light jets add mandatory type-rating training, often a higher minimum-hour threshold, and noticeably higher first-year premiums that typically ease after your first renewal with hours in type.
Not harder to finance, but underwritten more conservatively until a delivery and resale track record builds — similar to how any first-generation aircraft is treated. Expect a lender to look closely at your documentation and possibly ask for a bit more down until the type has a few years of transaction history behind it.
Both sit in the turbine-rate tier, starting from 6.34% for well-qualified borrowers, but the specific rate and terms on a given aircraft depend on its market track record, your down payment, and your experience — a well-established type like the PC-12 or TBM underwrites differently than a brand-new-to-market type in its first delivery year.
FLYING Finance is part of Firecrown Media — the same company that publishes FLYING Magazine and owns AvBuyer. The market and pilot-report content below is independent editorial, not sales material, and is the primary non-OEM sourcing for the figures in the matrix above.
The CJ4 Gen2 market figures above (13 for sale, $6.35M avg asking, 3.2-month absorption) come from a market-intelligence report Vertical Jet Sales & Consulting prepared directly for FLYING Finance — proprietary data, cited here in aggregate, not linked as a public source. Manufacturer shipment volumes referenced throughout (TBM 980's fast start, Epic's GX-to-AX transition, CJ4 Gen2's continued production) are sourced from GAMA's public shipment reports.
Full pilot report on the TBM 960 airframe the 980 is built on.
Market pricing and residual-value context across PC-12 generations.
Pilot report on cruise performance, avionics, and cabin tradeoffs.
Head-to-head market comparison across three fast singles — GX-era, Epic has since moved to the AX (see GAMA data above).
Cross-country pilot report, Pacific Northwest to the Florida Keys. Cruise/range figures in the matrix are sourced from this GX report pending an AX-specific pilot report.
Pilot report on the only type-rated single-engine jet in production.
New and pre-owned market pricing across Phenom 300/300E.
Cabin, avionics, and market-position editorial feature.
Entry-level jet market comparison and variable-cost analysis.
In-depth pilot report on the CJ4 platform this Gen3 builds on.
FLYING Finance's own turbine financing primer, referenced sitewide.
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