A six-bedroom house on the Cliff, in Monomoy, or in town over an August peak week lists at $32,000 to $145,000 per week. Harbourfront and beachfront trophy estates run $90,000 to $220,000 across the same seven nights. After the 11.7 percent Massachusetts lodging tax (5.7 percent state plus a 6 percent Nantucket local option), the cleaning fee, the private-chef nights at $1,000 to $1,800 a service, the Steamship Authority car-ferry reservation, and the in-season car rental, the all-in week lands 22 to 38 percent above the headline. The structure here is lighter than the Caribbean because the island has no service charge culture and most houses are not fully staffed. The full breakdown, line by line, with three worked examples.
This site is editorially independent. We earn no affiliate commission and accept no payment to influence our rankings. More on our how-we-make-money page.
Nantucket pricing has three structural facts worth understanding before the bands. First, the lodging tax is 11.7 percent and that is the whole of it. Massachusetts charges a 5.7 percent state room occupancy excise on short-term rentals of 31 days or less, and the Town of Nantucket adds a 6 percent local option. Nantucket has not joined the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund, so the 2.75 percent that bumps most Cape towns to 14.45 percent does not apply here. Second, the season is short and weather-driven. The market runs mid-June through mid-September, with August the apex; the temperatures sit at 22 to 26 degrees Celsius, the water is warmest in early September, and fog (the island earned the name the Grey Lady honestly) is most common in June. Third, most Nantucket houses are not fully staffed in the Caribbean sense. The headline buys the house. Housekeeping, chef, and provisioning are arranged on top, and there is no service-charge line, which keeps the all-in premium lower than a comparable island week elsewhere.
The bands below were assembled from May 2026 cards on Plum Guide, Onefinestay, the major listing platforms, and the established Nantucket rental agencies that manage the in-town, Cliff, Monomoy, Sconset, and Madaket inventory. We rank and price at the pocket level. We do not publish a named villa rate we have not verified against a live contract. All figures are weekly except line items.
Headline weekly rate before the 11.7 percent lodging tax, the cleaning fee, the chef nights, and the ferry and car math. August peak includes the Race Week and Opera House Cup mid-month spike. Shoulder is June and September. Off-season covers October through May, when most of the inventory closes.
| Bedrooms (top pockets) | August peak | July | June & September | Off-season (Oct–May) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 BR | $16,000 to $35,000 | $13,500 to $28,000 | $9,500 to $19,000 | $5,500 to $11,000 |
| 5 BR | $24,000 to $58,000 | $19,000 to $44,000 | $13,000 to $30,000 | $7,500 to $16,000 |
| 6 BR | $32,000 to $90,000 | $26,000 to $68,000 | $18,000 to $46,000 | $10,500 to $24,000 |
| 6BR trophy (harbourfront, beachfront Cliff) | $90,000 to $220,000 | $70,000 to $165,000 | $46,000 to $105,000 | $26,000 to $58,000 |
| 8 BR | $48,000 to $135,000 | $38,000 to $100,000 | $26,000 to $66,000 | $15,000 to $36,000 |
| 10 BR+ estate (Squam, Wauwinet, Eel Point) | $110,000 to $280,000 | $85,000 to $200,000 | $56,000 to $130,000 | $32,000 to $74,000 |
| Pocket (6BR, August peak) | Headline weekly rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Town & Old Historic District | $42,000 to $110,000 | Walk to the harbour, restaurants, and ferry; no car needed |
| Brant Point | $48,000 to $135,000 | Lighthouse, harbour mouth, short walk to town |
| The Cliff (north shore) | $44,000 to $145,000 | Steps and Jetties beaches, north-shore sunsets, 12-minute walk to town |
| Monomoy (harbourfront) | $60,000 to $200,000 | The harbour trophy band, dock and water frontage |
| Sconset (Siasconset) | $32,000 to $78,000 | The quiet village seven miles east, Sankaty Bluff, Sconset Casino |
| Madaket (west end) | $30,000 to $66,000 | The sunset end, best dollar-per-bedroom, calmer surf days |
| Wauwinet & Squam | $70,000 to $220,000 | The remote north-east band, Topper's dining room, beach and bay frontage |
Town and Brant Point carry the access premium because you can run the week without a car. Madaket and Sconset deliver the best dollar-per-bedroom inside the island envelope; the trade-off is the drive to the harbour for dinner.
The combined rate is 5.7 percent state room occupancy excise plus the 6 percent Nantucket local option. The operator collects it and remits to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Because Nantucket has not opted into the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund, the 2.75 percent that lifts most Cape towns to 14.45 percent is not charged here. On a $48,000 weekly headline the tax line is $5,616. On a $145,000 August trophy headline it is $16,965. A November 2025 town vote confirmed the legal framework for short-term rentals across the island, so the tax is now a settled line rather than a contested one.
Most Nantucket houses itemize a post-stay cleaning fee separate from the headline. The line runs $800 to $1,400 for a four to five bedroom and $1,400 to $2,500 for a six to eight bedroom. Mid-stay housekeeping is arranged on request rather than bundled, typically $45 to $75 per hour for a two-person team.
The Nantucket norm is an unstaffed or lightly staffed house. The headline buys the property; you add a housekeeper for mid-week turns, a chef for the dinners you want cooked in, and a sitter or driver if the trip needs one. The trophy harbourfront and Wauwinet-band estates are the exception and often include a property manager and a daily housekeeper. There is no service-charge line on the standard island contract, which is the single biggest reason the all-in premium runs lower here than on a comparable Caribbean week.
An independent evening chef runs $1,000 to $1,800 per service plus food at cost for ten. The bench is genuinely deep. Topper's at The Wauwinet is the island's only AAA Five-Diamond room and has held a Wine Spectator Grand Award since 1996; Straight Wharf, Cru, and Galley Beach round out the kitchens whose alumni work the villa circuit. Food cost lands at $110 to $240 per person, with August bay scallops and lobster the anchors. The August lead time runs eight to twelve weeks. A typical week books three or four chef nights and runs the rest as restaurant nights.
The Steamship Authority traditional ferry from Hyannis carries vehicles in 2 hours 15 minutes; a round-trip vehicle fare runs roughly $480 to $540 in season. The August car reservations sell out by mid-January, so the bring-the-car decision is made in winter or not at all. The fast passenger ferries (the Steamship Authority M/V Iyanough and Hy-Line Cruises) cross in about one hour and carry no cars; round-trip passenger fares run $75 to $140 per person. By air, Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) sits three miles south-east of town on JetBlue, American, Cape Air, and a heavy summer charter schedule.
On-island rentals run $200 to $400 per day in August and sell out months ahead. A second vehicle for the week runs $1,000 to $2,200. Town and Brant Point weeks often skip the car entirely; the harbour, the restaurants, and the beaches are walkable or a short bike ride, and a taxi handles the airport run. Sconset, Madaket, and Wauwinet weeks need a vehicle.
The dining line is high by US standards and reservations are the constraint, not the cost. Topper's at The Wauwinet runs $180 to $260 per head before wine. Straight Wharf and Cru run $120 to $190. Galley Beach runs $140 to $220. A family of eight at Straight Wharf with reasonable wine lands between $1,400 and $2,200. The August reservation lead time at the top rooms runs six to ten weeks; book before you book the chef.
Arrival provisioning runs $700 to $1,100 for a family of six and $1,300 to $2,000 for a group of twelve. Stop & Shop is the island's full-size grocery; Bartlett's Farm on the south shore is the produce and prepared-food anchor. Wine runs at mainland-plus prices through the in-town shops. Bike rentals run $35 to $55 per day per bike; for an in-town or Brant Point week, a bike per adult replaces most of the car case.
A cash gratuity on departure of $150 to $400 per regular service provider (housekeeper, chef, property manager where applicable) is the island practice. For a week that runs a housekeeper, a part-time chef, and a manager, plan for $600 to $1,400 in cash gratuities. The chef tip is typically 18 to 20 percent of the service fee, handled on the night.
Three trip configurations we priced for clients in 2024 and 2025, with numbers checked against the source contracts. The takeaway: the line items add 22 to 38 percent on top of the headline, a lighter premium than the Caribbean because there is no service charge and the staffing is arranged rather than bundled.
Headline: $19,000 / wk (June shoulder, walk to town, no car).
Lodging tax (11.7%) $2,223. Cleaning fee $1,200. Two chef services ($1,200 each) $2,400 plus food $1,300. Provisioning $760. Four bikes for the week $880. Round-trip fast ferry for four $480. Straight Wharf dinner for four $920. Cru dinner for four $840. Gratuities $520.
All-in: $30,523 for the week.
Premium over headline: 61%.
Headline: $88,000 / wk (Cliff, north-shore beach access, harbour-view rooms).
Lodging tax (11.7%) $10,296. Cleaning fee $2,200. Four chef services ($1,500 each) $6,000 plus food $4,800. Provisioning $1,800. Car ferry round trip $520 plus on-island SUV seven days at $320 = $2,240. Topper's dinner for 10 $3,400. Galley Beach dinner for 10 $2,100. Cru dinner for 10 $1,900. Bikes and taxis $900. Gratuities $1,400.
All-in: $125,956 for the week.
Premium over headline: 43%.
Headline: $135,000 / wk (Squam, beach and bay frontage, property manager included).
Lodging tax (11.7%) $15,795. Cleaning fee $2,500. Five chef services ($1,700 each) $8,500 plus food $7,200. Provisioning $2,000. Two SUVs for the week $4,400 plus car ferry round trips $1,040. Topper's dinner for 14 $4,600. Straight Wharf dinner for 14 $3,200. Restaurant lunches and the Sconset bluff walk day $2,400. Bikes $700. Gratuities $2,200.
All-in: $176,235 for the week.
Premium over headline: 31%.
Dollar figures as quoted. Example I carries the highest percentage premium because the chef and ferry lines are large relative to a modest June headline. Example III lands at 31 percent because the headline already absorbs the property manager and the per-head lines spread across 14 guests.
Six levers move the all-in figure on a Nantucket week.
Move to early September. The headline drops 25 to 40 percent from August peak, the ocean is at its warmest of the year, and the restaurant tables open up. Late June is the second-best value window; the only caveat is fog.
Trade town for Madaket or Sconset. Same island, 30 to 45 percent cheaper at matched bedroom count. The cost is the drive to the harbour for dinner; the gain is a calmer beach line and the best sunsets on the island at Madaket.
Leave the car home. For an in-town or Brant Point week, a bike per adult plus the occasional taxi replaces the $480 ferry reservation and the $200-to-$400-a-day rental. The island is eight miles across; the harbour and beaches are walkable from town.
Pace the chef nights. Three cooked dinners, not six. Run the other nights at the harbour restaurants or a lobster bake on the beach. Save $3,000 to $6,000 on the combined chef and food line.
Book the ferry reservation in January. If you do want the car across, the Steamship Authority August vehicle slots sell out by mid-January. Missing that window means a standby queue or paying a premium to a car-shipping broker; plan the date in winter.
The sixth lever. The established island agencies run a quiet rebook list when an August booking moves. Trophy houses release 10 to 20 percent below the original rate inside the 45-day window. Email the agencies in early July for an August opening, or take the shoulder and skip the queue entirely.
For a six-bedroom house on the Cliff, in Monomoy, or in town over an August peak week, the headline weekly rate runs $32,000 to $145,000. Harbourfront and beachfront trophy estates run $90,000 to $220,000 across the same seven nights. After the 11.7 percent Massachusetts lodging tax, the cleaning fee, the private-chef nights, the car-ferry reservation, and the in-season car rental, the all-in week typically lands 22 to 38 percent above the headline.
Massachusetts applies a 5.7 percent state room occupancy excise to short-term rentals of 31 days or less, and the Town of Nantucket adds a 6 percent local option, for a combined 11.7 percent on the rental rate. Nantucket has not opted into the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund, so the additional 2.75 percent that applies on most of Cape Cod does not apply here. On a $48,000 weekly headline, the tax line is $5,616.
The season runs mid-June through mid-September, with August the apex, sharpened by the Boston Pops on Nantucket concert in early August and Nantucket Race Week and the Opera House Cup in mid-August. July is the second band. June and September are the shoulder, the best value-to-weather window on the island. The Christmas Stroll on the first weekend of December is a small winter spike. October through May is off-season; most rentals close or drop 50 to 65 percent.
Four answers depending on the trip. Town and Brant Point (walk to the harbour, restaurants, and ferry) is the standard first-time recommendation. The Cliff (north shore, Steps and Jetties beaches, a short walk to town) is the second band. Sconset, the village seven miles east, is the quiet-week pick with Sankaty Bluff and the Sconset Casino. Madaket (west end) holds the sunsets and the lowest dollar-per-bedroom. Wauwinet and Squam (north-east, Topper's dining room) run a separate remote trophy band.
An independent evening chef runs $1,000 to $1,800 per service plus food at cost for ten. The island restaurant bench is deep: Topper's at The Wauwinet (the island's only AAA Five-Diamond room, a Wine Spectator Grand Award holder since 1996), Straight Wharf, Cru, and Galley Beach all run alumni who work the villa circuit. Food cost lands at $110 to $240 per person depending on protein, with local bay scallops and lobster the August anchors. The August lead time runs eight to twelve weeks.
Decide in January. The Steamship Authority traditional ferry from Hyannis carries vehicles in 2 hours 15 minutes, but the August car reservations sell out by mid-January. A round-trip vehicle fare runs roughly $480 to $540 in season. The fast passenger ferries (the Steamship Authority M/V Iyanough and Hy-Line Cruises) cross in about one hour and carry no cars. On-island rentals run $200 to $400 per day in August and also sell out early. Many in-town and Brant Point weeks skip the car entirely and run on bikes and the occasional taxi.
Yes, for most trips. Headline rates in June and September run 25 to 40 percent below the August peak. The water is warmest in early September, the restaurants are reservable on shorter notice, and the ferry car reservations are obtainable weeks rather than months out. The trade-off is fog, which is most common in June, and the risk that an Atlantic system tracks up the coast in September. For a beach-first week, early September is the sharpest value on the island.
The 20-page PDF with line-item math for town, Brant Point, the Cliff, Monomoy, Sconset, Madaket, and the Wauwinet band; the chefs we have used by name across the island; the ferry-reservation calendar that decides the car question; the restaurant lead times by room; and the rebook list for August. Free. We trade it for an email.
When a hotel beats a house on the booking math. The restaurants worth booking before the ferry. The bars that take a serious list seriously.