How Much Does a Bodyguard Cost in US Dollars? A Straight Answer for American Clients
The number, and why it is in euros.
Professional close protection in Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom starts from EUR 850 per day for one licensed officer covering one principal for twelve hours. That is the market base, not a promotion, and it is the figure most American clients are actually quoted for a city stay. If you are reading this from the United States you will see an indicative US dollar figure beside it, calculated from the day's exchange rate. We quote in euros because that is the currency the officer is paid in and the currency your invoice will carry; the dollar figure is there so you can budget, and it moves a little from week to week.
What an American client needs to know beyond the base is short. A security driver with an executive car is priced as close protection with the vehicle added, and is the arrangement most US visitors end up with. A second officer, an evening or event extension, a female officer, a villa with a night presence and the peak weeks all sit above the base. A multi-city program gets one figure for the whole itinerary, not a stack of quotes. Payment is by card, including American Express, or by transfer, and the figure on the proposal is final. Send your dates and cities and you receive it in writing, usually within two hours.
- EUR 850 per day buys one licensed, insured, English-speaking officer for twelve hours with one principal: a sworn GPG in Italy, a CNAPS officer in France, an SIA officer in the UK, a Ministry-accredited officer in Spain
- A security driver with an executive vehicle is close protection plus the car, and is the right level for most American visits: the arrival, the shopping streets, the dinners and the late return
- Above the base: a second officer, hours beyond twelve, a female officer, villa or residential cover with a night presence, Fashion Week and the summer peaks, and armored vehicles where lawful
- A multi-city program receives one figure for the whole itinerary and one coordinator; you do not negotiate city by city
- We quote in EUR and show an indicative USD figure beside it for visitors from the US; the proposal figure is final and the invoice is in EUR
- Payment by card, including American Express, or by bank transfer, invoiced by Algoz FZ-LLC; allow seven days, and under 48 hours carries an urgency fee and no guarantee
What American clients ask about the price.
What does EUR 850 a day actually buy?
One licensed close protection officer, insured through the licensed company that employs them, English-speaking, briefed against your itinerary, for twelve hours with one principal. Not a guard from a directory, not an hourly rate, and not a security driver, which adds the vehicle.
How much does a security driver cost?
Close protection plus the executive vehicle, quoted as one line. It is the arrangement most US visitors book: one officer at the wheel of a sedan or SUV covering the airport, the city days and the evenings. The exact figure depends on the vehicle class, the hours and the city, and is confirmed in writing.
What if the day runs past twelve hours?
Overtime applies per hour beyond the twelve-hour block, agreed in advance and written on the proposal, for the officer and for the vehicle. Americans who extend the evening, and many do, see the rate before they do.
Does an armed bodyguard cost more?
Where it is lawful at all. The UK does not allow armed private protection; Italy, France and Spain allow it only through specific licensed channels, with about 30 days' notice and no guarantee of approval. It is quoted separately and is almost never the right answer for a visitor.
Can I pay in US dollars?
The invoice is in EUR; your US card converts at its own rate and most premium cards carry no foreign transaction fee. American Express is accepted. Card payments carry the processor's fee, shown on the invoice. Bank transfer in EUR is also fine. The indicative USD figure on this site is for budgeting and is not a fixed dollar price.
Do I tip the officer?
No. The rate is the rate, and the officer is a licensed professional on a day rate, not hospitality staff. Clients sometimes bring a small gift at the end of a good week. It is noticed and appreciated, and never expected.
The lines that appear on an American client's proposal.
Licensed Close Protection Officer
From EUR 850 per day, twelve hours, one principal. Licensed in the country where they work, insured, English-speaking, briefed in advance.
Executive Vehicle with Security Driver
The officer at the wheel of an executive sedan, SUV or van, quoted as one line with the vehicle class and the hours. The usual US booking.
Second Officer
For events, show weeks, evenings out, or a family that splits during the day. Same base, same hours, added when the plan needs it and not before.
Operational Coordination
A fixed line for the planning, the liaison with hotels, venues and the licensed company, and the single coordinator on call for the length of the program.
Villa and Residential Cover
A night presence at the villa, access control and staff coordination, priced by the night above the day rate.
Multi-City Program
Rome, Florence and Paris in two weeks as one figure, with officers handing over at each border and one coordinator. The way Americans usually travel Europe.
Why we quote in euros and show dollars
The officer who walks beside you in Rome is paid in euros by the licensed Italian institute that employs him, and the vehicle, the hotel liaison and the coordination are all paid in euros. A proposal in dollars would carry an exchange risk that someone has to absorb, and the honest way to handle that is not to hide it in a padded dollar figure but to quote the real currency and show you the conversion. That is what this site does: every EUR figure carries an indicative USD figure beside it for visitors from the United States, calculated from the day's rate and rounded. Your proposal and your invoice are in EUR, the figure on the proposal is final, and your card converts at its own rate. Most premium US cards carry no foreign transaction fee; it is worth checking yours.
Executive protection in Europe for US clientsWhat EUR 850 per day buys, and what it does not
It buys one licensed close protection officer for twelve hours with one principal: a sworn Guardia Particolare Giurata from a Prefettura-authorized institute in Italy, a CNAPS-licensed officer in France, an SIA-licensed officer in the United Kingdom, a Ministry of the Interior accredited officer in Spain. English-speaking as standard, insured through the licensed company that employs them, NDA-bound, briefed against your itinerary before you land, and run to a written plan with a named coordinator. It does not buy a vehicle, a second officer, hours beyond twelve, or a weapon. It is a day rate, not an hourly rate, because that is how licensed protection is sold everywhere in Europe and because an hourly officer is a guard, not protection.
Bodyguard and close protectionThe security driver: what most Americans actually book
Most American visits to Europe are best covered by one officer at the wheel of an executive car. The arrival at the airport, the shopping streets, the museums at opening, the dinners and the late return are all moments where the exposure is the walk from the car to the door, and a security driver removes the walk. The line on the proposal reads as close protection plus the vehicle: the officer's day rate, the car by class, sedan, SUV or van, and the hours. It costs more than a chauffeur and less than an officer plus a separate driver, and for a family, a shopper or an executive it is usually the whole answer. A second officer joins for an event or an evening that needs one.
Executive transportationWhat moves the price above the base
Hours beyond twelve, charged per hour for the officer and for the vehicle at a rate agreed in advance. A second officer for events, show weeks and evenings. A female officer where the family prefers one, available in every city on request. Villa or residential cover with a night presence, priced by the night. The peak weeks: Fashion Week in Milan and Paris, the summer on Lake Como, the Riviera and Marbella, Christmas and New Year in the Alps, when the good officers are committed early. Armored vehicles where a threat assessment justifies them. And the profile itself: a recognizable principal needs a more senior officer and more advance work than a family who simply want the day to run. All of it is written on the proposal before you say yes.
Is Europe safe for Americans right now?How this compares with what Americans pay at home
Executive protection in the United States is sold the same way, by the day, and the range Americans see at home runs from several hundred dollars for a single agent to several thousand for a senior detail. European base rates sit inside that range and tend toward its lower half for a single officer, because the officer is paid in euros and because the European model is one good licensed professional rather than a team. The real difference is not the number. It is that your US agent cannot legally work in Europe at any price, so the question is never "my team or theirs" but "which licensed local officer, and who writes the plan." Your security director writes it with us; the officer who is legal where you are carries it out.
What a bodyguard costs, the general guideHow Americans pay, and what to expect on the invoice
A proposal arrives in writing with one final figure in EUR, usually within two hours of your inquiry and always within 24. A deposit invoice confirms the booking; the balance is invoiced before or at the start of the program. Payment is by card, including American Express, with the processor's fee shown on the invoice, or by bank transfer in EUR. Some clients pay in stablecoin or cryptocurrency, which we accept for applicable services. Overtime, if any, is settled at the end against the hourly rate written on the proposal. Everything is invoiced by Algoz FZ-LLC, a licensed UAE company, with the licensed European institute named in the plan. No surprises on the card statement; that is the point of a final figure.
Private driver and bodyguard in RomeThe honest version of "do I need one"
Most Americans traveling to Europe do not need a bodyguard, and this page exists partly to say so. The visitors who do are a short list: a public figure who will be recognized, a family with young children or an older parent in the summer crowds, an executive whose week cannot slip, a woman traveling alone who would rather have a person on the ground, a collector or a shopper with something to lose, and anyone with a specific concern. For almost all of them the right spend is one licensed officer, often at the wheel, from EUR 850 per day. The wrong spend is a team, a weapon, or a US agent who cannot legally work. Tell us the trip and we will tell you which you are, including when the answer is a written briefing and no officer at all.
Private security for solo women in ItalyA worked example, in euros and in dollars
An American client spends two days in Rome with one licensed officer and an executive car, twelve-hour blocks, plus coordination. The proposal carries three lines: the officer per day, the vehicle with driver per day, and a fixed coordination fee for the two days, with an indicative USD total beside the EUR total. One evening runs two hours late; the overtime for the officer and the car, at the hourly rates on the proposal, is settled at the end. A deposit secures the dates, the balance is paid by American Express before arrival, and the only figures that move are the overtime the client chose and the exchange rate on the card. That is the whole model: one plan, one coordinator, one final figure, in the currency the work is done in.
Bodyguard in RomeThe weeks that sit above the base.
Milan and Paris
The officers who know the venues are committed weeks ahead. Book the detail with the flights.
Como, the Riviera, Marbella, Sardinia
Villa season and wedding season. Residential cover by the night and a driver for the lake and coast roads.
St. Moritz, Courchevel, Gstaad
Alpine weeks with winter roads, chalet cover and the busiest two weeks in the resorts.
Monaco, Monza, Barcelona
Road closures, credentials and jetty access planned, not hoped for. Priced to the weekend.
Short notice
Allow seven days. Under 48 hours is an urgency case with an additional fee and no guarantee of cover.
About 30 days
Quoted separately, needs about 30 days, may be refused, and almost never the right answer for a visitor.
Inquiry, proposal, deposit, program, settlement.
The inquiry
Dates, cities, hotels, who is traveling, and what you want covered. Under NDA from the first message, in US hours as well as European.
The proposal
One written document: the licensed company, the officer, the vehicle, the hours, the hourly overtime rate, and one final figure in EUR with an indicative USD figure beside it. Usually within two hours.
The deposit
A deposit invoice secures the dates and the officer. Card, including American Express, or transfer.
The balance
Invoiced before or at the start of the program. The figure is the one on the proposal.
The program
The officer and the car where they said they would be, the plan held when the diary moves, and any overtime agreed before it is incurred.
Settlement
Overtime, if any, settled at the end at the written hourly rate. Then nothing: no newsletter, no follow-up calls.
“The price is in euros because the work is. The honesty is in showing you the dollars anyway.”
The figures, in one place.
Licensed close protection in Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom from EUR 850 per day, one officer, twelve hours, one principal; a security driver with an executive vehicle is close protection plus the car; a second officer at the same base; overtime per hour beyond twelve at a rate written on the proposal; residential cover by the night; armed protection, where lawful, quoted separately with about 30 days' notice. Where a stay combines protection, transportation, airport greeting and concierge into one coordinated program, engagements typically start from EUR 1,800 per day. Indicative USD figures appear beside each EUR figure for visitors from the US.
For clients who travel more than once a year, membership starts at EUR 95 per month for Client Access and annual memberships from Guild at EUR 6,000 per year, with services passed through at cost and our fee shown separately. Every figure is confirmed in writing on inquiry with no obligation. See also the general cost guide and executive protection in Europe for US clients.
Send the dates. We reply with a figure.
A person reads every message and replies, usually within two hours and always within 24. No commitment, no obligation.
Send the trip. Get the figure.
Share your dates, cities and party and you receive a written proposal with one final figure in EUR and an indicative USD figure beside it, usually within two hours and always within 24, confidential from the first message.
Enquire WhatsAppAnd what each of them is usually quoted.
A European summer
A security driver in each city, a female officer where it suits, villa cover by the night on the lake or the coast, one figure for the whole program.
A week or a month alone
One licensed officer, often at the wheel, for the evenings and the days that matter, from the base rate, with no team and no theater.
A board week in three cities
A security driver per city with one coordinator and one figure, overtime written in advance for the dinners that run.
Recognized on the shopping streets
A senior officer, more advance work, a second officer for events, and a quote that reflects the profile honestly.
Family offices and security directors
A line-item proposal your compliance team can read, the licensed company named, the officer licensed where he works, and a report afterwards if you want one.
Clients who travel often
Client Access from EUR 95 per month or Guild from EUR 6,000 per year: the relationship in place before the trip, services at cost, our fee shown separately.
Western Europe, and the same model elsewhere.
Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal, Monaco and Morocco at the base described here; the Gulf, Latin America, Africa and Asia through the same licensed model with the local base confirmed on inquiry. Flying in from New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Texas, Chicago, Boston or Washington? Read the page written for US clients in Europe.
Related pages for an American budgeting a trip.
Algoz FZ-LLC (Trade License 5033995 | TRN 105119056700001) is licensed by RAKEZ for Businessmen Services and Lifestyle Development Consultancy. Operational services such as security, transportation and concierge are delivered through vetted, licensed specialist partners, selected, contracted and overseen by Algoz. All operational execution is performed exclusively by licensed third-party partners holding the necessary local permits. We provide direct assistance and support in partnership with regulated local providers, in compliance with local law. Clients remain responsible for obtaining any required approvals. Armed services require a minimum 30-day lead time for authorisation, which may be refused. All activities comply with UAE law and RAKEZ regulations.