24 listed · ranked by PTO horsepower per $1,000 of list price, highest first
Every machine here lists at $20,000 or under, ranked by PTO horsepower per $1,000 of list price, so the tractor that puts the most usable power behind each dollar comes first. Sub-compacts dominate this band; a few base-trim compacts sneak in, and those are usually where the loader lift jumps. First on the list is the Massey Ferguson 1GC.23.
Every engine in this price band rates under 25 hp, and the emissions rules explain why. The EPA's Tier 4 categories break at 19 kW (25 hp). Below it, the final particulate limit is 0.4 g/kWh; from 19 kW up it drops to 0.03 g/kWh, a standard that took effect in 2013. Some engines above the line meet it with a diesel particulate filter, a service part that will need cleaning or replacement at some point in the tractor's life. Staying under 25 hp keeps a buyer out of that tighter category entirely.
The list price is the bare tractor. Kubota's BX page quotes MSRP for the base machine, with the Swift-Tach loader and mid-mount mower sold as separate options. Kioti's build-and-price tool makes the arithmetic plain: the CS2520H starts at $17,799, the SL2420 loader adds $3,972 and the SM2460 mid-mount deck $2,716, which puts a loader-and-mower tractor at $24,487 before freight, dealer setup or tax. A backhoe for the same tractor lists at $8,144. Ranking by PTO horsepower per dollar is a fair way to compare bare tractors, but budget for the attachments the job needs before deciding which of these fits under a number.
Implements are the other constraint. These are Category 1 hitches (Kubota lists Cat. 1 implements for the BX, and Deere's 1 Series sub-compacts use a limited Category 1), and three-point lift across this band runs from about 660 to 1,870 lbs. A heavy box blade or a tiller sized for a 35 hp compact may be more than the hitch on a sub-compact should carry.
Sources: dieselnet.com, agproud.com, kubotausa.com, kioti.com, blog.koenigequipment.com
Massey Ferguson
Entry point to the 1GC range that replaced the GC1700 line in 2025, and the cheaper half of a two-model choice: 2 hp and 0.9 gpm less than the 1GC.25 beside it, for the same 661 lb hitch and 662 lb loader. Fixed ROPS here; the 1GC.23B folds it and adds a factory backhoe.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Gear-drive value model of the B01 range and the cheapest tractor Kubota builds on a full B-series frame. A 9F/3R gear box replaces the hydrostatic, the engine grows to 68.5 cu in, and the price lands about $3,600 under the less powerful B2301HSD beside it.
Spec sheet & owner notesMassey Ferguson
Massey's 2025 renumbering retired the GC1700 line, and this is what took the GC1725M's place: the same 24.5 hp Iseki three-cylinder and two-range hydrostatic, now with push-button cruise control and a redesigned seat. The 1GC.25B adds a folding ROPS and a factory backhoe on the same frame.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Massey Ferguson
Massey's value compact, now badged MF 1E.25: a four-cylinder Iseki diesel, 1,598 lb at the hitch measured 24 inches back, and a deliberately short options list. Cheapest route into a full compact frame with a Massey dealer behind it.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
Kioti's cheapest way in: $13,983 buys 21 hp, two-range hydrostatic drive and a 675 lb SL2410 loader measured at the pivot pin. The CS2220 directly above it runs the same 1,007 cc engine, so stepping up buys loader and pump, not power.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Replaces the L2501 at the bottom of Kubota's Standard L range, now rated 23.3 gross hp where the older machine was rated 24.8. Same cast frame, all-metal hood and Kubota-built LA526 loader; the 8F/8R synchronised shuttle is the base build and a three-range HST is the alternative.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Bobcat
Same 1000-platform chassis and same 608 lb loader as the CT1021, but with 24.5 hp and 18.8 PTO hp - Bobcat pushing to the top of the sub-compact bracket while the engine still stays clear of a particulate filter. Starts at $17,205.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Top of the BX80 range and the last step before the B series: 23.3 gross hp from a 61.1 cu in three-cylinder against the BX2380's 21.6 from 54.8 cu in. Frame, 6.6 gal tank, 6.2 gpm pump and 680 lb hitch all carry over unchanged from the cheaper models.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Bobcat
Bobcat's cheapest way into a diesel tractor is a Daedong-built sub-compact: 21 hp, 16.3 PTO hp, 46 in across, and a published starting price of $15,086. The 608 lb loader rating is what pays for that number.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
Kioti's biggest sub-compact frame, and the real jump in seriousness above the CS line: 1,647 cc, 11.3 gpm of pump and a 1,203 lb hitch against the CS's 700. Sold as gear at $17,827, hydrostatic at $19,524, or with a cab for $30,084.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Cheapest diesel tractor Kubota sells in the US at $12,798 base, and the 16.6 hp D722 is the compromise that buys that number. It mows an acre or two and moves light loads; it is not the one to buy if a loader bucket will be full most days.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Five more horsepower than the BX1880 for about $3,800 more, on the identical BX80 chassis, LA344 loader and drive-over deck. That single step is the whole BX buying decision, and 21.6 hp is where most of the volume lands.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
Mechanically a CS2230 with the same 1,233 cc engine turned up to 24.5 hp and 19.3 at the PTO - identical loader, hitch, pump and weight. It is also the only CS Kioti will sell with a cab, as the CS2530HC at $26,849.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
Undercuts a Deere 1025R and a Kubota BX2380 on price while out-lifting both at the loader - 1,062 lb at the pin from 24.5 hp of Daedong diesel. Six years of powertrain cover is the other lever Kioti pulls; thinner dealer coverage is what it costs.
Spec sheet & owner notes
John Deere
Same 21.5 hp Yanmar and same 758 lb hitch as the 1023E it replaces for model year 2027, on a simplified frame with a folding ROPS. Deere keeps this one to the essentials - no cruise control, no cab option - while the 1M 25 a step above gets both.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
Same 1,007 cc engine and same 21 hp as the CS2210, but the SL2420 loader lifts 1,062 lb at the pin instead of 675 and the pump goes to 7.0 gpm. That makes it the cheapest CS with a front end worth putting real dirt in.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kioti
A 1,233 cc three-cylinder in the small CS body, still rated 21 hp but pulling 16.7 at the PTO from 250 lb more tractor. The SL2530 loader lifts 871 lb at the pin, less than the cheaper CS2220, so this one is bought for the engine and the ballast rather than the front end.
Spec sheet & owner notes
John Deere
Replacing the 1025R for model year 2027, this one adds what the 1025R never offered: a factory-installed HVAC cab. Same 758 lb hitch, a 6.3 gpm pump and cruise control standard, sitting between the stripped 1E 23 and the heavier, longer 1R 25.
Spec sheet & owner notes
LS Tractor
Smallest machine LS sells in the US, and the only one under 1,500 lb. The Yanmar 3TNV76F stays under the 25 hp emissions line so there is no DPF to regenerate, and the 1,008 lb loader rating is unusually strong for a tractor this light.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Massey Ferguson
Replaces the single MF 1526 at the bottom of the new M Series, and it buys real capacity over the 1GC sub-compacts below it: 1,058 lb at the hitch against 661, and 852 lb at the loader against 662, for about the same engine. Air-conditioned cab is optional, which no 1GC offers.
Spec sheet & owner notes
LS Tractor
Yanmar's 3TNV80F under the hood is the reason to look at the top of the MT1 line: 24.7 hp kept deliberately under the 25 hp emissions threshold, so there is no diesel particulate filter and no regeneration cycle to sit through. LS publishes no price, so the figure here comes from dealer books at around $18,600.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Kubota
Cheapest hydrostatic B-series Kubota sells, sitting between the BX80 range and the B2601 on 20.9 gross hp from the 61.1 cu in D1005. It shares the B2601's LA435 loader, 8.3 gpm pump and 1,411 lb hitch outright - the difference between the two is 3.4 gross horsepower.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Yanmar
Cheapest tractor Yanmar sells in the US, and the least expensive way into its ten-year powertrain warranty. At 21.5 hp with an 825 lb loader it lines up against a 1023E and a BX1880, with a thinner dealer network behind it.
Spec sheet & owner notes
Yanmar
Sits between the SA223 and SA425 on price while running the same 23.9 hp 3TNV80F diesel as the dearer SA425, so what the badge buys over the SA223 is horsepower rather than a different machine. Full-frame chassis, dual-range hydrostatic, 1,200 lb loader.
Spec sheet & owner notes