At Mach 0.95, or roughly 627 mph at cruising altitude, Bombardier's Global 8000 outruns every other private jet in the world. Transport Canada certified it in November 2025, and it entered service a month later, pushing the Gulfstream G700, Gulfstream G800 and Cessna Citation X+ (all Mach 0.935) into a shared second place.

Maximum operating speeds don't necessarily reflect how fast a private jet flies during a typical trip. Cruising speed, flight distance, and weather conditions provide a more realistic picture of travel time.

What You'll Learn in This Ranking

  • Which three private jets share second place at Mach 0.935, including a super-midsize jet discontinued in 2018.

  • Why Mach 0.95 can translate to different speeds in miles per hour.

  • How upgrading to a larger jet can cost $2,000 more per hour while saving only nine minutes.

  • Which small jets offer the best combination of speed, performance, and runway flexibility.

  • Where private aviation delivers the greatest time savings beyond aircraft speed.

  • Which upcoming aircraft could change the rankings.

Private Jet Top Speeds, Ranked From Mach 0.95 Down to 0.90

Each rank below follows the manufacturer's maximum operating Mach (Mmo), the figure every website relies on when it compares top speeds and crowns the fastest private jet. Jets with the same Mmo share a rank, ordered within the tie by maximum range, and all mph and km/h figures assume cruising altitude above 36,000 feet.

Rank

Aircraft

Top speed

≈ mph

≈ km/h

Max range (nm)

Entered service

1

Bombardier Global 8000

Mach 0.95

627

1,009

8,000

2025

T-2

Gulfstream G800

Mach 0.935

617

993

8,200

2025

T-2

Gulfstream G700

Mach 0.935

617

993

7,750

2024

T-2

Cessna Citation X+

Mach 0.935

617

993

about 3,300

2014

T-5

Bombardier Global 7500

Mach 0.925

611

983

7,700

2018

T-5

Gulfstream G650 / G650ER

Mach 0.925

611

983

7,000 / 7,500

2012

T-5

Gulfstream G600 / G500

Mach 0.925

611

983

6,600 / 5,300

2019 / 2018

8

Cessna Citation X

Mach 0.92

607

977

about 3,000

1996

T-9

Bombardier Global 6500 / 5500

Mach 0.90

594

956

6,600 / 5,900

2019

T-9

Dassault Falcon 8X / 7X / 6X

Mach 0.90

594

956

6,450 / 5,950 / 5,500

2016 / 2007 / 2023

The Ten Jets, and What Their Speed Buys You on a Real Trip

1. Bombardier Global 8000 (Mach 0.95)

Shortly before certification, Bombardier raised the top speed of what it markets as the fastest business jet ever built from the Mach 0.94 it had announced earlier to 0.95, which is why older write-ups still quote the lower number. On a long flight, the figure worth watching is its Mach 0.92 "ultra-high-speed cruise," faster than the Mach 0.90 high-speed cruise Gulfstream publishes for the G700 and G800. Bombardier's spec page quotes 8,000 nm of range and lists Mach 0.85 as the normal cruise setting.

Bombardier Global 8000

Our closer look at the Global 8000 covers its four-zone cabin and air-purification system.

T-2. Gulfstream G800 (Mach 0.935)

Gulfstream designed the G800 for distance, giving it the G700's Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines in a shorter cabin so it can fly 8,200 nm at Mach 0.85, the longest rated range on this list according to Gulfstream's specifications. FAA certification followed in April 2025, and Gulfstream announced its first customer delivery in late August.

Gulfstream G800

T-2. Gulfstream G700 (Mach 0.935)

For most of 2024 and 2025, the G700 shared the fastest business jet title with the Citation X+, and Gulfstream says it has collected more than 50 world speed records since entering service. Its strength shows in the G700 spec sheet, where 6,650 nm at Mach 0.90 means a New York to Tokyo leg (about 5,850 nm) works at full high-speed cruise in still air.

Gulfstream G700

T-2. Cessna Citation X+ (Mach 0.935)

Only two jets on this list come from the super-midsize class, and the Citation X+ ranks as the joint second-fastest private jet, level with two Gulfstream flagships, in a cabin for 9 to 12 passengers. Textron built fewer than 30 before ending production in 2018 to clear room for its Citation Longitude.

It also cruises closer to its limit than most jets here, and AOPA's flight test recorded 524 knots true airspeed at 37,000 feet, about Mach 0.91. On a 2,150 nm Los Angeles to New York run, a G700 at its Mach 0.90 high-speed cruise wouldn't gain an inch on it. It suits three kinds of travelers best.

Domestic and shorter transatlantic legs that fit inside its roughly 3,300 nm range

Travelers who want near-top speed without long-range pricing, since super-midsize jets run $6,200 to $7,500 an hour in our directory against $12,000 to $17,000 for ultra-long-range types

Anyone flexible on dates, since so few were built that locating a free Citation X+ on short notice can take some searching

Cessna Citation X+

T-5. Bombardier Global 7500 (Mach 0.925)

Four separate living spaces and 7,700 nm of range made the Global 7500 the long-haul benchmark when it entered service in December 2018, and Bombardier now counts 135 city-pair speed records for the type, more than any other single business aircraft model.

Bombardier also sells owners an upgrade toward Global 8000 performance, so two Global 7500 listings can perform differently, and it's worth asking the operator which version you're booking.

Bombardier Global 7500

T-5. Gulfstream G650 and G650ER (Mach 0.925)

Gulfstream completed its last G650 on February 12, 2025, thirteen years after the type entered service, and it has committed to supporting the existing fleet for decades. The ER version lifts range from 7,000 to 7,500 nm with the same 0.925 top speed, which makes it a ready stand-in on ocean crossings when a G700 or G800 isn't free.

Gulfstream G650 and G650ER

T-5. Gulfstream G600 and G500 (Mach 0.925)

Both jets carry the G650's top speed in a smaller, newer cabin, and the gap between the two siblings comes down mostly to how far they'll go at speed, according to Gulfstream's G600 and G500 specifications.


G500

G600

Range at Mach 0.90

4,500 nm

5,600 nm

Range at Mach 0.85

5,300 nm

6,600 nm

In our aircraft directory, the G500 sits in the large-jet rate band, a step below the ultra-long-range band covering every other jet in this tie, so it delivers Mach 0.925 at the lowest hourly price in fifth place.

Gulfstream G600 and G500

8. Cessna Citation X (Mach 0.92)

Golfer Arnold Palmer took delivery of the first Citation X in 1996, and for well over a decade no private jet in production flew faster. Cessna delivered more than 300 before the X+ took over, so the Citation X is a far more common sight on charter ramps than its successor, and its Rolls-Royce engines and sharply swept wing still let it cruise faster than a widebody airliner.

Cessna Citation X

T-9. Bombardier Global 6500 and 5500 (Mach 0.90)

Bombardier built these two from the Global 6000 and 5000, adding new Rolls-Royce engines that lifted top speed to Mach 0.90 and stretched the 6500's range to 6,600 nm. The 6500 entered service in late 2019 and has the reach for city pairs such as New York and Dubai, about 5,950 nm apart.

Bombardier Global 6500 and 5500

T-9. Dassault Falcon 8X, 7X and 6X (Mach 0.90)

Dassault reaches the same Mach 0.90 ceiling two ways, with three engines on the 7X and its longer-range 8X and two on the newer 6X. The 8X flies 6,450 nm, and Dassault says it can use airports most rivals can't, London City and Lugano among them.

On the 6X, Dassault claims the tallest and widest cabin in business aviation along with 5,500 nm of range.

Dassault Falcon 8X, 7X and 6X

Mach, Knots and Why the mph Figures Don't Agree

Every top speed in this ranking comes as a Mach number because the speed of sound, and with it the way air behaves over a wing, changes with temperature, which drops as a jet climbs toward 36,000 feet. Federal rules define Mmo as a speed that may not be deliberately exceeded in climb, cruise, or descent, so it caps the airplane and says nothing about a normal flight.

Converting Mach to mph depends on where you run the numbers. Above about 36,000 feet, sound travels at roughly 574 knots, so Mach 0.95 comes out near 627 mph. Plug in the sea-level value, and you get about 723 mph, which is why the top speed of the fastest private jet shows up as two different numbers online. Down low, a separate indicated-airspeed limit takes over long before Mach 0.95, so the higher figure never happens in practice.

Below Mmo, spec sheets list a high-speed cruise (Mach 0.90 on every current Gulfstream from the G500 up) and a long-range cruise, usually Mach 0.85, which is where headline range figures come from. Speed costs range quickly. The G800 flies 8,200 nm at Mach 0.85 but 7,000 nm at 0.90, giving up about 15 percent of its reach for roughly 6 percent more speed, and the maximum ranges manufacturers quote assume a slower long-range cruise, as low as Mach 0.80 for the Falcon 7X and 8X.

How Fast Does a Private Jet Fly in Normal Cruise?

Away from the record-holders, the aircraft types in our charter directory list cruise speeds that run from about 305 knots (351 mph) for a single-engine Vision Jet to 525 knots (604 mph) for a Citation X. Bigger cabins generally mean faster cruise, with the Citation X pair standing out as super-midsize jets that outrun every large jet in our listings.

Category

Listed cruise (knots)

≈ mph

Example types

Very light

305 to 422

351 to 486

Vision Jet, HondaJet Elite

Light

380 to 464

437 to 534

Citation CJ3+, Learjet 40XR

Super light

453 to 464

521 to 534

Phenom 300E, Learjet 75

Midsize

430 to 475

495 to 547

Citation XLS+, Learjet 60

Super midsize

442 to 525

509 to 604

Citation Latitude, Citation X+

Large

459 to 513

528 to 590

Challenger 605, Global 5000

Ultra long range

480 to 516

552 to 594

Falcon 7X, Gulfstream G650ER

Our directory listings show normal cruise figures, which is why a Phenom 300E appears here at 453 knots and in the next section at its 464-knot maximum.

Fastest Small Private Jets, From the HondaJet to the Phenom 300E

With a Mach 0.80 limit and a 464-knot (534 mph) high-speed cruise, Embraer's Phenom 300E is the fastest of the small private jets still in production, and GAMA data ranks the Phenom 300 series as the world's best-selling light jet for 14 straight years. Its successor, the Phenom 300EV, keeps Mach 0.80 and stretches range to 2,055 nm, with deliveries planned from 2028.

Aircraft

Type

Max cruise (knots)

≈ mph

Range (nm)

Embraer Phenom 300E

Light jet, single-pilot

464

534

2,010

Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen3

Light jet

451

519

2,165

Pilatus PC-24

Light jet, unpaved-runway capable

440

506

2,000

HondaJet Elite II

Very light jet

422

486

1,547

Cirrus Vision Jet G3

Single-engine personal jet

317

365

1,275

If your small private jet has to be fast and also use a grass, gravel, or snow strip, the PC-24 gives up 24 knots to the Phenom 300E in exchange for unpaved-runway certification and a listed takeoff distance of 3,090 feet.

Private Jet vs Airliner Speed, in the Air and on the Ground

At the top of the range, a private jet beats an airliner, though by less than most comparisons suggest. A Boeing 787 is certified to Mach 0.90 and cruises around Mach 0.85, which matches the long-range cruise of a G700, and a light jet such as the Phenom 300E is slower than the airliner once both reach altitude.

Comparisons that make private jets sound far quicker usually set a business jet's certified maximum against an airliner's everyday cruise, such as the Boeing 747-8's Mach 0.855, which is an apples-to-oranges match-up.

The bigger time savings happen on the ground, before the engines even start, as our first class vs private jet comparison lays out in detail.

Where the time goes

Airline, first class

Private charter

Arrival before departure

1 to 2 hours

Minutes

Airports you can use

About 500 hubs

5,000+

Connections

Common on smaller routes

None

In still air, a jet cruising at Mach 0.90 saves about 7 minutes per 1,000 nm over one at Mach 0.85, roughly 20 minutes on a 3,000 nm New York to London crossing. A westbound jet-stream headwind on that same route can cost more than that, so the one to two hours saved at the terminal outweighs anything the fastest jet you can fly privately gains in the sky.

Falcon 10X and the Next Jet to Challenge This List

The nearest new contender is still in flight testing, after Dassault flew its Falcon 10X for the first time on June 19, 2026. With a target top speed of Mach 0.925, it would join the tie for fifth and pose no threat to the Global 8000's place as the fastest of today's private jets. Service entry has slipped from 2027 to 2029, according to Dassault's half-year results, so this ranking should hold through 2027.

Falcon 10X

Choosing the Fastest Private Jet for Your Charter

Eight of the ten jets ranked here have their own pages in our directory, and we arrange every flight through FAA Part 135 certificated operators, vetted against third-party safety ratings such as ARGUS and Wyvern. For the two newest types, the Global 8000 and G800, we confirm operator availability on each request before quoting.

On a 600 nm hop, choosing a Citation X+ over a Phenom 300E trims about 9 minutes off the flight, and the private jet rental rate climbs by roughly $2,000 to $3,000 an hour, so the fastest business jet for a trip won't always be the one worth paying for. We'll say so before you book, and you can reach the team at +1-877-727-2538 ext. 1 or charter@paramountbusinessjets.com.

FAQ

Can I charter a Global 8000 right now?

You can, though deliveries only began in December 2025 and the fleet is still small, so availability depends on the week and the operator. We check each request against the operators we work with, and if none can fly your dates, we'll offer the closest match, such as a Global 7500 or G700, with the time difference spelled out.

How far can a private jet fly without stopping?

Rated ranges in our directory run from about 1,100 nm for very light jets, enough for New York to Chicago with room to spare, up to 7,750 nm for the G700. In 2019, a Global 7500 flew 8,152 nm nonstop from Singapore to Tucson, which shows how far a jet can stretch past its rated range when winds and payload line up.

Has a business jet ever flown faster than sound?

Two jets have come close or crossed it, though only in flight testing. In May 2021, a Global 7500 flight-test aircraft, chased by a NASA F/A-18, repeatedly passed Mach 1.015 in the test program that produced the Global 8000. A Gulfstream G650 reached Mach 0.995 in a planned flutter-test dive in September 2010.

Is there a supersonic private jet I can book?

You can't book one today, since Concorde (Mach 2.04) was an airliner retired in 2003, and the best-known supersonic business jet project, Aerion's Mach 1.4 AS2, shut down in May 2021 for lack of funding.

How high do the fastest private jets fly?

Gulfstream's G700 and G800, Dassault's Falcon 6X and the Citation X+ all list a 51,000-foot ceiling, high enough to cruise above most airline traffic. Altitude also shapes how you feel on arrival, and Gulfstream says the G700 holds its cabin at the equivalent of 2,840 feet when flying at 41,000 feet.

Do faster jets need longer runways?

Big, fast jets need more pavement at full weight, and Gulfstream lists a 5,995-foot takeoff distance for a G700 at maximum takeoff weight, which can rule out smaller airports on a long trip. Bombardier says the Global 8000 has runway performance comparable to a light jet, and any of these aircraft needs less runway on a short leg with less fuel aboard, so mention your preferred airport when you ask for a quote.