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Mini Excavator Hire

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Over 6,500 Mini Excavators for Hire on iseekplant

Use one of Australia's top marketplaces for wet and dry hire machines and earthmoving equipment to find the ultimate mini excavator supplier. With thousands of excavator hire companies listed nationwide, we make it easy for you to request multiple rental quotes from reliable suppliers local to your job site.

If you’re standing on a residential, commercial, or civil job site and you’re in need of something urgently - our iseekplant suppliers offer competitive hire rates on mini excavators and other earthmoving equipment at locations near you.

Start now, and Get a Quote today.

Below, we take you through your mini excavator rental options by size, model, attachments, and wet or dry hire options.

Mini Excavator Hire Rates - Wet and Dry Hire

To calculate a day rate from any provided hourly rate, multiply the hourly rate by 8-10 hours (depending on site operating hours) and apply a 5% discount.

If you’re offering a hire contract over 30 days you can often get a substantial discount on these rack rates. We recommend using our Get a Quote function to get multiple accurate quotes.

All rates below are average estimates and are exclusive of GST.

Mini Excavator Size1-2 Tonne2-3 Tonne3-4 Tonne4-5 Tonne5-6 Tonne
Dry Hire Rates (per hour)$30$40$50$60$70
Wet Hire Rates (per hour)$110$115$120$125$130
Standard Day Rate - Dry Hire$605$720$765$800$815
Standard Day Rate - Wet Hire$1,200$1,320$1,460$1,580$1,780
Minimum Hire Duration - Dry Hire Pick Up4 Hours4 Hours4 Hours4 Hours4 Hours
Minimum Hire Duration - Dry Hire Delivery1 Day1 Day1 Day1 Day1 Day
Minimum Hire Duration - Wet Hire3 hours + 1 hour travel3 hours + 1 hour travel3 hours + 1 hour travel3 hours + 1 hour travel3 hours + 1 hour travel
Float Cost$250 - $270$250 - $270$250 - $270$250 - $270$250 - $270

Additional Costs for Hiring an Excavator

When hiring a mini excavator, be aware of additional costs, which may include:

  • Fuel Surcharge: 10% added to the agreed hourly rate.
  • Penalty Rates: Apply for weekends after midday on Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays, Night Work, and typically long or close together shifts.
  • Tip Fees: To dump spoil, material, or remove any dirt from your site. These fees usually attract a 15% markup.
  • Attachments: Special attachments like rock breaker, ripper, broom, etc. can be hired with the machine for anywhere from $20 - $40 per hour.
  • Wear and Tear: Charges may apply if the mini excavator is returned in rough shape.
  • Security Charges: Charges may apply for overnight security guards if the mini excavator cannot be parked securely.

Remember that these costs may vary based on location, hire company, current market conditions, and additional services or features required. It's best to get quotes from multiple suppliers to ensure competitive pricing.

Sizes & Common Brands of Mini Excavators for Hire

Micro Excavators - <1 Tonne Operating Weight

Micro excavators are a popular choice for very small residential jobs, as they can handle extremely compact spaces and are ideal for excavating around obstacles. They are commonly used for tasks such as trenching, digging foundations, excavating footings, grading, and excavating drainage systems. Otherwise, your alternative is to pick up a shovel and start digging!

Mini Excavators - 1 Tonne to 5 Tonne Operating Weight

When it comes to small-scale projects and tight spaces, our supplier's mini excavators have unbeatable valuable and reliable quality. They offer ideal solutions for residential landscaping, plumbing, or small construction jobs. Refine your hire search using the size filters available on our platform - the best ones for mini excavators are the 1 - 3.4 Tonne and 3.5 - 5.4 Tonne filters.

Here is a table of the most common excavators available on our site (and the most prolific in Australia).

Mini Excavator BrandsOperating WeightModel (Product Code)
Caterpillar~1 tonneCat 301.5
~2 tonnesCat 302.5
~3 tonnesCat 303E CR
~5 tonnesCat 305E2 CR
Komatsu~1 tonneKomatsu PC14R-3HS
~2 tonnesKomatsu PC20MR-5
~3 tonnesKomatsu PC30MR-5
~5 tonnesKomatsu PC55MR-5
Kubota~1 tonneKubota K008-3
~2 tonnesKubota U20-3
~3 tonnesKubota U35-4
~5 tonnesKubota U55-4
Hitachi~1 tonneHitachi ZX10U-2
~2 tonnesHitachi ZX17U-5
~3 tonnesHitachi ZX33U-5
~5 tonnesHitachi ZX55U-5

Who can operate a mini excavator?

If you are hiring a mini excavator for a project at your residential property where you intend to do the work yourself, you are permitted to operate the mini excavator provided the hiring company has given you operation instructions. If you are inexperienced, some of the dry hire companies won't agree to your hire request, due to potential damage to their assets.

However, if you are hiring in a B2B capacity, then there are much stricter rules on the safe operation of Mini Excavators as laid out in the Safe Work licensing guidelines in each state and territory. These guidelines push the liability for your actions as an operator onto the supervisor on the site.

If you haven't operated a mini excavator before, consider hiring a skilled and experienced operator via a wet hire agreement.

Common Mini Excavator Attachments

If you need a particular attachment for your mini excavator, you can refine your search using the filter panel and select from over 30 different types of attachments. Below is a table of common attachments and their applications.

Mini Excavator AttachmentApplication
BucketUsed for digging and moving material such as soil, gravel, and sand.
AugerUsed for drilling holes in the ground. This is useful for planting trees, installing posts, or constructing footings for buildings.
Breaker/HammerUsed for breaking up concrete, asphalt, or other hard surfaces.
RipperUsed for breaking up hard soil or rock into smaller pieces.
CompactorUsed for compacting soil and other materials. This is often used in road construction or to prepare a site for building.
GrappleUsed for grabbing, lifting, and moving materials like logs, debris, or rocks.
Clamshell BucketUsed for digging and removing material in difficult to reach places or ditches.
TiltrotatorIncreases flexibility by allowing the operator to tilt and rotate the attachment, making it easier to work in confined spaces.
Flail MowerUsed for cutting grass, small branches, and other vegetation.
Pallet ForksUsed for lifting and moving pallets or other heavy objects.

Multiple Mini Excavator Hire Quotes from Local Suppliers

Our Get a Quote tool asks you a bunch of questions about your mini excavator job so it can be sent to a large number of local suppliers. Usually, your best results come from sending your job to about 10 local suppliers. On average, about 3 will respond and be available (depending on the quality of your job and requirements). Our goal is to try to get every Seeker on iseekplant 3 responses.

Alternatively, search our database of mini excavator hire companies in a location near to your job site and review the supplier’s fleet of machines, then call or SMS them directly.

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Mini Excavator FAQs

Here's some tips & frequently asked questions on how to find the right mini excavator for your job

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