Built from city council records, a manufacturer’s published price ranges, used-equipment and auction listings, and Chinese supplier prices, reviewed 3 November 2026.
On 27 April 2026, the city council of Seal Beach, California, approved $90,171.25 for a new Barber Surf Rake to groom its 1.75 miles of coastline. The machine it replaces, a BeachTech, had been working for more than 15 years, well past the manufacturer’s suggested complete overhaul at eight, and its parts often had to be ordered from abroad. City records like this are the best price guide for beach cleaning machines, because manufacturers rarely publish list prices and most buyers are public bodies that have to report what they spend.
What public buyers actually paid
| Buyer and date | Machine | Price |
|---|---|---|
| City of Seal Beach, California, April 2026 | Barber Surf Rake, replacing a 15-year-old BeachTech | $90,171.25 |
| City of Santa Monica, California, August 2013 | Cherrington Beach Cleaner Model 5500, replacing a 2002 unit | $137,543 including tax and shipping |
| City of Cape Coral, Florida, surplus auction, October 2024 | Used Barber 400HD Surf Rake, 6 ft cleaning width | Auction closed at $6,500 |
Both California cities bought without competitive bidding because only one supplier made the machine they wanted, and Santa Monica’s record shows a useful detail: while approval was pending, the city rented a new Cherrington and agreed that $43,920 of rental fees would count toward the purchase. Its previous machine had served eleven years. Seal Beach’s staff report chose the Surf Rake because it collects both small and large debris, while the BeachTech it replaced picked up only smaller waste, and because parts could be sourced locally.
The price ranges by machine type
H. Barber and Sons, which says it has sold more beach cleaning equipment than any other company, publishes its own guide to typical prices:
| Type | Typical price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Walk-behind beach cleaner | $10,000 to $25,000 |
| Small tractor-attachment sifter, machine only | $20,000 to $30,000 |
| Mid-range tractor-towed cleaner | $30,000 to $65,000 |
| Premium tractor-towed cleaner | $65,000 to $100,000+ |
| High-capacity towed and industrial machines | Above $100,000; an earlier version of the guide said over $150,000 |
A manufacturer’s own ranges are not neutral, but the Seal Beach purchase sits in the premium towed band as the guide suggests. Barber’s largest Surf Rake, the 600HD, is described as cleaning up to nine acres an hour across a seven-foot path. Most of these machines are towed, so a buyer without a suitable tractor has to add one.
Used machines
| Machine | Asking price | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Legiret Geomonier towed cleaner | €6,900 plus VAT | German dealer, 2024 |
| BeachTech STR, built 2018 | €19,900 plus VAT | German used-equipment site |
| Kässbohrer BeachTech 2800, built 2010 | €19,900 plus VAT | German used-equipment site |
| Rockland Beach King, built 2019 | $25,000 | US equipment marketplace |
| Cherrington 4500 | $47,895 | US equipment marketplace |
Government surplus auctions are worth watching, as the Cape Coral sale shows: cities sell old machines when they replace them. Ask for hours, the condition of the screen or conveyor and bearings, and whether salt corrosion has reached the frame.
Chinese machines
Chinese suppliers list tractor-towed beach sifters from about $1,800 to $7,400, walk-behind units from $5,300 and a diesel-powered towed sweeper at about $36,900 to $40,000. These are factory-gate asking prices before shipping and import duty, usually without published specifications for screen size, cleaning depth or throughput. Seal Beach’s report gives the reason many cities stay with established makers: when parts must come from overseas, a machine spends more time out of service. Before buying an import, ask for the parts list, lead times, and a video of the machine working in sand like yours.
What else to budget
- A tractor if the cleaner is towed and you do not already have a suitable one.
- Debris disposal: hoppers fill with seaweed, shells and litter that need trucks and tipping fees.
- Corrosion and wear: sand and salt water wear screens, chains and bearings; Seal Beach’s old machine was well past its suggested eight-year overhaul.
- Storage out of the weather between seasons.
Other municipal cleaning and maintenance equipment is priced in our guides to bin cleaning trailers and snow removal pricing.
Questions buyers ask
Walk-behind or towed? Walk-behind machines suit small beaches, coves and resorts; towed machines cover miles of public beach daily.
Does it remove seaweed? Some machines handle larger debris such as seaweed and driftwood and others only fine litter; Seal Beach chose its machine because it collects both.
How long does a beach cleaner last? Santa Monica replaced its machine after eleven years and Seal Beach after more than fifteen, beyond the eight-year overhaul interval its manufacturer suggested.
More public purchase records
Other public buyers confirm how prices vary by size and year. In 2021 the Borough of Longport, New Jersey, approved the purchase of a Barber Surf Rake 600HD for $48,459.70 through the HGACBuy cooperative contract, split across two budget years. Collier County, Florida, has also bought a Barber Surf Rake through the same type of cooperative contract, and in 2026 the Borough of Beach Haven, New Jersey, put out a request for proposals for a Barber beach rake or equivalent. Cooperative contracts such as HGACBuy let public buyers purchase without running their own tender, which is why many beach towns use them.
Buyer checklist
- Beach length, sand type and debris: fine litter, seaweed or both.
- Tractor horsepower and PTO needed to pull the rake.
- Storage space and local parts availability.
- Manufacturer’s recommended overhaul interval and its cost.
- Whether a cooperative purchasing contract is available to you.
How we priced this
Public purchase prices come from council records and local reporting; manufacturer ranges from Barber’s own guide; used and auction prices from equipment marketplaces; Chinese prices from Alibaba listings entered by hand. The chart covers only the Chinese listings, averaging five tractor-towed machines.
| Tracked listing | Configuration | Latest price | Previous price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henan Dexing tractor-driven beach cleaner | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $1,800 | No earlier snapshot |
| HONGYOU tractor-mounted beach sand cleaner | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $2,100 | No earlier snapshot |
| Jining Qingke beach sand cleaner (low end of $2,700-$2,750) | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $2,700 | No earlier snapshot |
| Qingzhou Real Mining tractor-mounted beach cleaner (low end of $5,000-$5,500) | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $5,000 | No earlier snapshot |
| Kellen tractor-attachment beach sand cleaning equipment | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $7,400 | No earlier snapshot |
| Henan Sincerely walk-behind beach sand cleaner (low end of $5,300-$6,800) not in average | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $5,300 | No earlier snapshot |
| HANDSOMER diesel-powered towed beach sweeper (low end of $36,899-$39,986) not in average | Alibaba-listed asking price, recorded by hand Nov 3, 2026 | $36,899 | No earlier snapshot |
Sources: Seal Beach Sun on the 2026 Surf Rake purchase and City of Santa Monica staff report, August 2013. H. Barber and Sons’ price guide, Royal Auction Group, Machinery Trader, Machineseeker and Alibaba listings were also reviewed.
Updated November 2026 with more public purchase records and a buyer checklist. Additional sources: Seal Beach Sun, April 2026, Borough of Longport resolution 2021-63 and Collier County executive summary.
