The full-size truck argument used to be about brand loyalty. The 2026 versions make it about arithmetic. Ford's F-150 tows the most and hauls the most, and it is the only one of the three with a true hybrid. Chevrolet's Silverado starts thousands less and offers the only diesel in the class, which happens to be both its tow champion and the most efficient powertrain on this page. Ram's 1500 brings back the HEMI V8, builds the most powerful six-cylinder in the class, and then trails the other two on towing by nearly two thousand pounds. Every price below includes destination, and every figure is the manufacturer's published number, checked in October 2026.
The three trucks, priced
2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
$39,995 to start, with destination
WT Regular Cab, 2WD, 2.7L TurboMax (310 hp, 430 lb-ft). Four engines total, including the class's only diesel. Max towing 13,300 lb, max payload 2,260 lb. The lowest entry price here by $2,130.
2026 Ford F-150
$42,125 to start, with destination
XL Regular Cab, 2WD, 2.7L EcoBoost V6 (325 hp, 400 lb-ft). Six engines total, including the class's only full hybrid. Max towing 13,500 lb, max payload 2,440 lb, both best here.
2026 Ram 1500
$44,620 to start, with destination
Tradesman Quad Cab, 4x2, 3.6L Pentastar V6 with eTorque (305 hp). Four engines, including the returned HEMI V8. Max towing 11,610 lb, max payload 2,360 lb. The highest entry price, but the only base truck with four doors.
Read the Ram's price with the cab in mind. Chevrolet and Ford reach their starting prices with two-door regular cabs most retail buyers skip; Ram does not sell a regular cab at all, so its $44,620 buys a Quad Cab with a back seat. Crew-cab to crew-cab, the three bunch much closer than the headline numbers suggest. What does not change at any cab size is the capability order below.
The tow chart
Maximum towing, properly equipped, with the configuration that earns the number:
The fine print matters. Ford's 13,500 lb takes a 3.5L EcoBoost SuperCrew 4x4 with the Tow/Haul Package and Max Tow Axle. Chevrolet's 13,300 lb is diesel-only: a Duramax Double Cab with the Max Trailering Package. Ram's 11,610 lb comes from the standard-output Hurricane six in a Quad Cab 4x2. Payload runs Ford (2,440 lb), Ram (2,360 lb), Chevrolet (2,260 lb), and all three maximums belong to two-wheel-drive work-truck configurations, not the crew cabs in most driveways.
Side by side
| Silverado 1500 | F-150 | Ram 1500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (with destination) | $39,995 | $42,125 | $44,620 |
| Base cab | Regular Cab | Regular Cab | Quad Cab (no regular cab offered) |
| Engines offered | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Base engine | 2.7L turbo four, 310 hp | 2.7L EcoBoost V6, 325 hp | 3.6L V6 eTorque, 305 hp |
| Max towing | 13,300 lb (diesel) | 13,500 lb | 11,610 lb |
| Max payload | 2,260 lb | 2,440 lb | 2,360 lb |
| Best mpg, combined | 25 (Duramax diesel, 2WD) | 23 (PowerBoost hybrid, 4WD) | 22 (Pentastar, 2WD) |
| Full hybrid | No | Yes, 430 hp PowerBoost | No (eTorque mild hybrid only) |
| Diesel | Yes, 3.0L Duramax, 305 hp, 495 lb-ft | No | No |
| V8 | Yes, 5.3L and 6.2L | Yes, 5.0L | Yes, 5.7L HEMI, returned for 2026 |
| Most powerful engine | 6.2L V8, 420 hp | 5.2L supercharged V8, 720 hp (Raptor R) | 3.0L Hurricane HO, 540 hp |
Three engine philosophies
Ford sells the menu. Six engines is the widest choice in the class, and Ford owns both extremes: the 720-hp Raptor R at one end and the PowerBoost full hybrid at the other, 430 hp and 23 mpg combined with four-wheel drive, with a Ford-published hybrid tow rating of 11,600 lb. If your truck needs to be two things at once, tow hard and commute cheaply, only Ford builds it.
Chevrolet sells the diesel. The 3.0L Duramax is the Silverado's whole argument in one option: 305 hp, 495 lb-ft, the truck's maximum tow rating of 13,300 lb, and 25 mpg combined in two-wheel drive, the best fuel economy of any powertrain in this comparison. Around it sits a simple lineup, a strong 310-hp turbo four as the base engine and two V8s for traditionalists. What Chevrolet will not sell you is a hybrid, at any price.
Ram sells the comeback. The HEMI V8 returned for 2026 after a year away, 395 hp, available across most of the range and rated to tow 11,320 lb. The modern choice is the Hurricane twin-turbo six: 420 hp in standard form, more than any base V8 here, and 540 hp in high-output form, the strongest six-cylinder in the class. The base Pentastar is quietly the most efficient gas engine in the comparison at 22 mpg combined. The problem is the ceiling: 11,610 lb of maximum towing trails Ford by 1,890 lb, and no option package closes that gap.
The verdict
- Buy the F-150 if you tow the heaviest, haul the most, or want the hybrid. It wins towing, payload, and powertrain choice outright, and the PowerBoost has no direct rival here.
- Buy the Silverado if you want the lowest entry price or the diesel. The Duramax matches Ford's towing within 200 lb and beats every gas powertrain here on fuel economy.
- Buy the Ram if you want a four-door truck at the base price, the HEMI's character, or the Hurricane's power, and your trailer stays under 11,000 lb. Its ride and interior have long been the class's comfort benchmark.
- On all three, price the exact configuration, not the headline. Max tow and max payload live on different trucks, and a crew-cab 4x4's real ratings sit well below the numbers on this page.
Shopping these trucks? The doc fee on the same truck varies by hundreds of dollars between stores. CarThrive grades every dealer's fee transparency; check the dealer grades before you visit, and see how all seven full-size trucks stack up in our Best Full-Size Trucks of 2026, Ranked.
Where to buy in New England
CarThrive grades dealer doc fees and price transparency across New England. For these three trucks, one New England store from our grades for each brand is below. Each store itemizes its doc fee inside the advertised price, so the price you see already accounts for the fee.
Quirk Chevrolet of Braintree
Braintree, Massachusetts · Silverado 1500
$499 doc fee, itemized inside the advertised price and published on a dedicated fee page. Google 4.5 stars from 3,088 reviews.
Quirk Ford
Quincy, Massachusetts · F-150
$499 doc fee, itemized inside the advertised price and published on a dedicated fee page. Google 4.5 stars from 1,066 reviews.
Quirk Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts · Ram 1500
$499 doc fee, itemized inside the advertised price. The B reflects an unidentified "Dealer Add Ons" line in the store's price stacks, detailed on its grade page. Google 4.5 stars from 1,177 reviews.
Disclosure: CarThrive's publisher also handles marketing for Quirk Auto Dealers. The Quirk stores above are graded on the same published rubric applied to every dealer CarThrive grades. Grades are scored from each dealer's own published pricing, checked in October 2026. Shoppers closer to other stores can check any dealer's grade in the dealer fee grades.
Sources
Pricing and specifications from Chevrolet, Ford, and Ram published pricing, specification, and towing documents for the 2026 model year, cross-checked against Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, Car and Driver, and Autoblog in October 2026. Prices are MSRP including destination (Chevrolet and Ford $2,795, Ram $2,595) before tax, title, and dealer fees. All three brands raised prices or destination charges during the 2026 model year; the figures here are the latest published as of late October 2026, and earlier listings show lower starting prices for the F-150 (from $40,085 delivered) and slightly different Ram figures by source. Ford's own pages list the PowerBoost hybrid's towing at 11,600 lb; some Ford dealer guides list 11,200 lb. Towing and payload figures are maximums for properly equipped models in the configurations named in the text.