If you've spent any time browsing charter listings, you've probably noticed that catamarans and monohull sailboats get talked about as if they're rival tribes. They're both sailboats in the broadest sense — wind-powered, cabins below, a cockpit for lounging — but the way they sail, feel, and cost can be different enough to make or break a trip. Here's what actually separates them.
Stability: the biggest practical difference
A monohull heels — it leans over as the wind fills the sails, sometimes dramatically in a good breeze. Sailors who grew up racing dinghies find that heel exciting and informative; it tells you how the boat is loaded and how hard the wind is blowing. Everyone else tends to find it unsettling, especially kids, seasick-prone guests, or anyone trying to carry a drink across the cabin.
A catamaran's two hulls resist that heel almost entirely. It sails flatter, and — just as importantly — it sits flatter at anchor too, with none of the gentle-but-endless rocking a monohull does overnight. If your group includes non-sailors, first-timers, or anyone who gets queasy, this alone often settles the decision.
Space: beam changes everything
A monohull's living space is constrained by a single hull, which narrows toward the bow and stern. A catamaran's cabins sit inside two separate hulls connected by a wide bridgedeck, so for a similar overall length, a catamaran typically offers noticeably more usable space — more separated cabins (often with their own heads), a saloon that stays level, and a cockpit and foredeck area that can double as an outdoor living room. For a family or a group of friends who want private space to retreat to, this is usually the deciding factor.
Draft and anchorage access
Catamarans typically draw less water than a monohull of comparable size, since they don't need a deep keel for stability — their stability comes from the hull spacing instead. That shallower draft means a catamaran can tuck into skinnier bays, get closer to beaches, and access anchorages a monohull has to skip. If your itinerary leans toward quiet coves along the Croatian coast or the Greek islands, this matters more than it sounds like on paper.
Sailing characteristics and speed
This is where traditionalists push back, and fairly. A well-sailed monohull points higher into the wind and generally feels more connected to what the boat is doing — the heel, the tiller feedback, the way it responds to trimming. Catamarans sail well off the wind and can be genuinely fast in the right conditions, but they don't point as close to the wind and can slap or slam through short chop in a way monohulls don't. If sailing performance itself is the point of the trip — not just getting somewhere comfortably — a monohull is still the purist's choice.
Price
Charter a catamaran and a monohull sailboat of similar length side by side, and the catamaran will usually cost more — sometimes considerably more. Part of that is simple supply and demand (catamarans are in high demand for exactly the comfort reasons above), and part of it is that a cat with the same length carries more berths and more amenities, so you're often comparing more boat for the money rather than paying more for the same boat.
So which one suits you?
- Families, groups of friends, first-time charterers, or anyone prioritizing comfort and space — a catamaran is usually the better fit. Browse catamarans available to rent to get a sense of layouts and pricing.
- Experienced sailors, couples who want a more traditional sailing feel, or budget-conscious charterers — a monohull sailboat will likely suit you better, and there's a wider, often more affordable range of them available.
Neither is objectively "better" — they're built around different priorities. If you're still not sure which category fits your trip, the full boat types overview breaks down every vessel type on the platform, from RIBs to houseboats, so you can compare before you commit to a search.
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