How much it costs to rent an aerial work platform in Portugal: prices per day, week and month, by type and height (2026)

In short: renting an aerial work platform in Portugal costs, VAT included and transport excluded, €45 to €75 a day for an 8 to 12 m electric scissor lift (€250 to €400 a week, €650 to €900 a month), €100 to €220 a day for a 16 to 20 m diesel articulating boom (€525 to €750 a week, €1,350 to €2,200 a month) and €230 to €320 a day above 26 m. A 19 m spider lift or an 18 m van-mounted platform costs €185 to €253 a day. Add transport (€100 to €250 per trip), diesel and a deposit. A week costs about five days and a month about two and a half to three weeks. Always get two or three quotes from the rental companies in your district.

Price table by type and height (2026)

Few Portuguese rental companies publish prices; most answer quote requests. The table combines the published tariffs (Equipa de Aluguer in Seixal and Akiloc in Maia), the CYPE cost database used in construction estimates and rental listings, and gives the range a normal quote should fall in. To find out which type suits your job, see the guide Types of aerial work platforms.

Three quick readings of the table:

• Height matters most. On an electric scissor lift, going from 8 to 12 m costs €20 a day more; on a diesel boom, going from 16 to 26 m doubles the price, and 26 to 32 m adds another 30 to 40%.
• Diesel costs more than electric at the same height. A 12 m scissor lift is €70 a day electric and €100 diesel. Diesel only pays off on rough ground or where there is no power socket.
• A boom costs twice a scissor. For the same 12 to 14 m, an electric articulating boom costs €100 to €130 a day against €60 to €70 for a scissor lift. If you do not need to reach over anything, rent the scissor.

Tariffs published by Portuguese companies

For anyone who wants to check the numbers, these are the tariffs published online in October 2026. Note the different methods: Equipa de Aluguer has a first-day, additional-day, weekend, week and month price; Akiloc has a daily price that falls with duration.

How time is counted: day, weekend, week and month

• Day. A rental day is a calendar day with a limit on machine working hours, typically 8 to 10 hours read on the hour meter. Exceeding it is charged as extra hours. Some companies offer half days (for example €50 for an 8 m scissor at Akiloc).
• Weekend. Collecting on Friday evening and returning on Monday morning costs about 1.8 times the day rate (€90 for an 8 m scissor that costs €50 a day). It is the best deal for jobs at home.
• Week. Five working days, or seven calendar days, cost about 5 to 5.5 days: €250 for an 8 m scissor at €50 a day. From the third day on, asking for the week usually costs the same or less.
• Second week. Adds about 80% of the first: €450 for two weeks of the 8 m scissor (against €250 for one).
• Month. Costs 2.5 to 3 weeks, that is 13 to 15 days at the daily rate: €650 for the 8 m scissor, €2,200 for the 20 m diesel boom. At companies with falling rates, the day drops 40 to 45% after 15 days (from €62 to €34 on the 8 m scissor).
• Long term. For three months or more a specific monthly price is negotiated, often 10 to 20% below the list month, and some companies offer long-term rental contracts with maintenance included.

What is not in the price

The machine price is only part of the invoice. On a short rental, transport can cost as much as the rental itself.

Four complete quotes, step by step

Note the weight of transport in the two-day job: €240 of truck for €220 of machine. When the job is short, look for a company with a nearby depot, group several jobs into one rental or, for heights up to 18 m, consider a van-mounted platform the customer drives on a car licence.

What pushes the price up or down

• Working height. Every step in height is a step in price. Measure the height you really need (height of the work point plus 1.5 to 2 m) and do not rent 20 m for a job at 12.
• Machine type. In order of price for the same height: vertical mast, electric scissor, diesel scissor, electric boom, diesel boom, telescopic boom, spider lift, truck-mounted.
• Duration. The day is the most expensive unit. Week and month discount 20 to 50% per day.
• Distance to the depot. Most companies charge transport per trip, based on distance. Outside the main cities a machine may travel 100 km.
• Season and availability. In spring and summer, and in the weeks before big events, the most requested machines (10 to 12 m electric scissors, 16 to 20 m diesel booms) sell out and the price is not negotiable. In winter there is room.
• With or without operator. An operator costs €55 to €90 per hour. With a platform operator certificate in the team (€120 to €170 per person, 8 to 12 hours) you save it on every following rental.
• Market. In Europe, platform rental rates rose about 1% in 2024, with average fleet utilisation of 64%, according to IPAF's rental market reports. Portugal follows southern Europe, now the fastest-growing rental region.

How to pay less

1. Get two or three quotes with the same description: machine type, working height, location, dates and whether you need an operator. The rental company directory lists contacts by district.
2. Choose the simplest machine that does the job. Scissor instead of boom, electric instead of diesel, 12 m instead of 16.
3. Rent by the week or month if the job runs over three days, and group jobs to use the machine while it is on site.
4. Look for nearby depots and ask whether there are machines already in the area: some companies discount transport when the machine comes from a neighbouring site.
5. Ask for the weekend price for jobs at home or in closed shops.
6. Prepare the site. Access for the truck, doors wide enough, a floor that takes the weight (a 12 m scissor weighs 2 to 3 tonnes) and a socket for charging. A machine that cannot get in is paid for all the same.
7. Return the machine clean and full, with photos at delivery and collection, to avoid cleaning, fuel and damage invoices.
8. Check the insurance. Know the excess and what your liability policy covers before signing. The guide Insurance for construction machines and equipment explains who pays for what.

Rent or buy?

The industry rule of thumb is that buying pays off from 100 to 150 days of use a year, or 16 to 24 weeks, because at that pace the annual rental approaches the cost of ownership (depreciation, insurance, mandatory periodic inspection, maintenance and transport). Below that, renting is cheaper and avoids tying up capital.

A used electric scissor pays for itself in about a year of continuous rental; a new diesel boom needs five to six years. Companies with regular work at height (industrial maintenance, installers, painters, façade cleaners) usually buy the scissor and rent the big machines. If you are thinking of buying, see the checklist for buying a used platform and the new and used JLG platforms Trapézio de Prismas sells.

Platform or scaffolding?

For façades that take several weeks of continuous work, scaffolding is usually cheaper per m² and lets several people work at once, but it needs erection, a public-space occupation permit and the municipal fee. For jobs of hours or days, one-off or at several points, the platform wins: it arrives, works and leaves the same day. For the façade of a four-storey building, for example, a week of a 16 m boom costs about €800 with transport, against €1,500 to €3,000 for scaffolding erected for a month.

Where Trapézio de Prismas comes in

We do not rent platforms: we are the JLG representative in Portugal, we sell and service new and used aerial work platforms and carry out the mandatory periodic inspections. We maintain the directory of platform rental companies by district so you can quickly find who rents near you. If your workload already justifies buying, ask us for a proposal.