This is a list of extant paddle steamers, including those in active service as well as museum ships and surviving paddle steamers that have been proposed at some stage and are still possible candidates for restoration. It does not include submerged paddle steamer wreck sites.

While a paddle steamer technically means a paddle-propelled boat or ship powered by a steam engine, this list also currently includes paddle boats that began as paddle steamers but whose powerplant was later changed to a different type of engine, as well as paddle boats that have never had a steam engine as a powerplant but which emulate the style and appeal of historic paddle steamers.

Australia

Australia has a large collection of authentic and replica paddle steamers and paddle boats operating along the Murray and Darling Rivers and in other areas around the country, as well as several examples that are inactive or preserved as museum ships. Echuca/Moama has the largest fleet of paddle steamers in Australia, with seven operating commercially, and a large number of smaller privately owned vessels.

is the oldest wooden-hulled paddle steamer in the world.Paddle steamers back on River Murray for largest gathering in more than 50 years The Advertiser, 2 September 2012. Accessed 5 September 2014. Built in 1866, she operates from the Port of Echuca.

, a Murray River paddler built in 1876, that survives as a museum ship at Swan Hill, Victoria's Pioneer Settlement.

, built in Moama in 1911 and based in Echuca, is still working as a tourist attraction on the Murray River. Pevensey also starred as the fictional paddlesteamer Philadelphia in the TV series All the Rivers Run.

PS Etona is now privately owned, but was built as a church mission boat for the SA Murray: sponsored by the Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide, and funded by old boys of Eton (UK). It had a small chapel. Larger gathering were held on riverbanks and in woolsheds. After retirement, it became a fishing boat, then moved to Echuca to be a private houseboat. It also appeared in 'All the rivers' run, reprising its role as a mission boat.

PS Alexander Arbuthnot, built 1923 at Koondrook, and named after the former owner of the Arbuthnot Sawmills, works today as a tourist boat at the Port of Echuca.

, built 1913 at Goolwa, is currently operating public cruises in Echuca. Canberra was built for the Conner family of Boundary Bend, as their flagship fishing vessel, but has been in the tourism industry since 1944.

, a replica steamer, was built in 1982 at Barham, and operates a large range of cruises in Echuca – from one-hour sightseeing trips to three-night and four-day fully accommodated voyages. She is powered by an authentic steam engine, dating back to 1906.

PS Melbourne, built 1912, operates sightseeing cruises from Mildura.

, the largest of the paddle wheelers operating in Australia [diesel, not steam], is a recent build (1987). Murray Princess measures in around in length and in width (the maximum which can fit the standard size of locks 1 to 10), and has a remarkably shallow draft of . It has accommodation for 120 passengers and up to 30 crew, and operates three, four and seven-night cruises along the Murray, from Mannum in South Australia. Murray Princess was owned and operated for many years by Captain Cook Cruises in Sydney, but was sold to the SeaLink Travel Group, now the Kelsian Group, based in Adelaide. It was once in a fleet of three vessels.

PS Murray River Queen was built in 1974 and retired from active service in 1993. She was moved from Waikerie in 2017 and is now permanently moored in Renmark.

The replica paddle steamer was constructed in Gippsland, Australia, and launched in November 2008. As at 2020, it was on the hard at Paynesville, with an uncertain future.

PV Kookaburra Queen [diesel, not steam] operates on the Brisbane River as a floating restaurant or venue for hire, along with SWPV Kookaburra Queen II

, which was built in Echuca in 1876–78, was used on the Murray River, the Darling River and the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales. She was acquired by the National Museum of Australia in 1984, restored to full working order, and is now berthed as an exhibit outside the museum at a wharf on the Acton Peninsula, Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra.

PV Pyap runs tourist cruises from the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement in Swan Hill, Victoria.

PS Industry is based at Renmark.

PS Marion is based at Mannum. It is run by volunteers, and runs short local cruises, and extended overnight ones. PV Mayflower is run by the same people.

PS Ruby is based at Wentworth (NSW).

is based at Goolwa.

PS Canally is under restoration at Morgan.

PS Cumberoona was built as a bicentennial project by Albury City Council. It suffered from uncertain water levels, and has been transferred to Lake Mulwala (Yarrawonga Weir, on Murray River).

The paddle wheeler Nepean Belle operates cruises on the Nepean River at Penrith, New South Wales.

PV Thomson Belle operates cruises on Thomson River (Longreach, Qld). It was originally PS Ginger Belle on Maroochy River, and retains its steam equipment as a display item.

PS Decoy operates on Swan River (Perth, WA).

Replica PV Golden City is on Lake Wendouree (Ballarat, Vic.). The original was on that lake, then went to Caribbean Gardens (a Melbourne recreational park), then back to Ballarat for restoration. That was nearly complete when the shed and the vessel were destroyed by arson. The group then built a replica.

PV Begonia Princess on Lake Wendouree (Ballarat, Vic.).

Replica PS William IV on Hunter River (Newcastle, NSW). This was built as a bicentennial project (1988), languished on the hard for many years while fundraising took place, but is active again.

PV Julie Fay ran local morning/afternoon-cruises on Murray River for many years, then was sold for private use. It is now a static b&b, moored somewhere near Cobram or Tocumwal.

Austria

In Austria a small paddle steamer fleet operates. There is Gisela from 1872 in Gmunden at the Traunsee, Kaiser Franz Josef I. from 1873 in St. Gilgen at the Lake Wolfgang, Hohentwiel from 1913 in Hard (near Bregenz) at the Lake Constance and Schönbrunn from 1912 in Linz at the Danube.

Bangladesh

The fleet of four paddle steamers owned by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation was withdrawn from commercial operation in 2022. , the agency has undertaken renovation works for the PS Ostrich (1929), which has been leased to a private tour operator. An invitation to tender has been requested for leasing out the PS Lepcha (1938) and PS Tern (1950). The PS Mahsud (1928) is being retained by the government for tour purposes.

Canada

The ferries system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada operates , a paddle steamer originally built in 1910 and restored for operation since 1976. It is the last sidewheel-propelled vessel on the Great Lakes. Sister ships Bluebell and Mayflower became garbage scows and the former's hull is now a break wall in Toronto Harbour.

The S.S. Moyie is a half size replica of the original S.S. Moyie of Kaslo B.C. and it operates as part of Heritage Park, Calgary by providing cruises on the Glenmore Reservoir. More details about the original S.S. Moyie can be found in this article

China

In order to thank the Qing government for its support of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan specially built a paddle yacht called "Yonghe Steamer" for Cixi. It can be viewed in the Summer Palace.

Denmark has been operation with the same company since she was built in 1861. Sailing passengers to and from Silkeborg and Himmelbjerget ever since, using her original steam engine she was built with.

France

The former British paddle steamer, , a veteran of the Dunkirk Evacuations, is preserved as a restaurant in Dunkirk harbour.

Germany

The Elbe river Saxon Paddle Steamer Fleet in Dresden (known as "White Fleet"), Germany, is the oldest and biggest in the world, with around 700,000 passengers per year. The 1913-built Goethe was the last paddle steamer on the River Rhine.RMS Goethe KD – Köln-Düsseldorfer Rheinschiffahrt Previously the world's largest sidewheeler with a two-cylinder steam engine of , a length of and a height above water of , Goethe was converted to diesel-hydraulic power during the winter of 2008/09.

Paddle wheelers are still in operation on some lakes in Southern Bavaria, such as Diessen () on Ammersee, built in 1908 and converted to a diesel system in 1975. It was completely rebuilt in 2006. As paddle wheelers have proven to be such a great tourist attraction, even a new one was built in 2002 on Ammersee, Herrsching, but it has never been powered by steam. On lake Chiemsee, RMS Ludwig Fessler () is still in regular service. It was built in 1926, but since 1973 it has also been powered by diesel engines. The original diesel engine was the last ship engine built by Maffei (no. 576). This engine has ended up in Switzerland to drive the newly renovated Neuchâtel, launched in 2013.

Italy

In Italy, a small paddle steamer fleet operates on Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda, primarily for tourist purposes. The paddle steamer Piemonte (1904) operates on Lake Maggiore, and sister paddle steamers Patria (1926) and Concordia (1926) operate on Lake Como. Former paddle steamers Italia (1909) and Giuseppe Zanardelli (1903) operate on Lake Garda; their steam engines, unlike in the ships that sail on lakes Como and Maggiore, were replaced with diesel engines in the 1970s, thus making them paddle motorships.

In addition to these five operational paddle steamers, the former paddle steamer Milano (1904) operates on Lake Como as a screw motorship, still retaining its (empty) paddle wheels; the decommissioned paddle steamer Lombardia (1908) is used as a floating restaurant in Arona, on Lake Maggiore; while the decommissioned paddle steamer Plinio (1903) lies at the bottom of the Lago di Mezzola, where it sank due to neglect in 2010.

Japan

Michigan is a paddle wheeler built in 1982, for cruising on Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. The name is from Michigan, a sister region of Shiga Prefecture, also noted for lakes and for manufacturing.

The Netherlands

Kapitein Kok is a paddle steamer built in 1911 for ferry service on the river Lek. It was fully restored in 1976 and is still in use today as a party ship. Queen Beatrix chartered the ship in 1998 as part of her 60th birthday celebrations. The paddle steamer De Majesteit was built in 1926. In 1958, a part of the movie G.I. Blues featuring Elvis Presley was shot on board of this ship.

New Zealand

The restored paddle steamer is based in Wanganui. Waimarie was built in kitset form in Poplar, London in 1899, and originally operated on the Whanganui River under the name Aotea. Later renamed, she remained in service until 1949. She sank at her moorings in 1952, and remained in the mud until raised by volunteers and restored to begin operations again in 2000.

The 1907 Otunui Paddleboat operated on the Whanganui River until the 1940s in her original form as a tunnel screw riverboat. Lost from her mooring in a flood she was refloated in the late 1960s and rebuilt as a sternwheeled jetboat. Around 1982 she went overland to Lake Okataina and was converted to the sidepaddle vessel as she is today. Currently operating on the Wairoa River at Tauranga, this , diesel powered vessel with hydraulic drive for the paddlewheels offers scenic cruises and charters.

Norway

is the oldest steamship in regular operation. Built in 1856, she still operates on lake Mjøsa in Norway.

Romania As of 2024, two paddle steamers are operational in Romania. Tudor Vladimirescu, the oldest operational paddle steamer. Built in 1854, she is used for luxury cruises and as a protocol ship. The other paddle steamer in Romania is Borcea, built in 1914 at Turnu Severin, and owned by the School Inspectorate of Brăila.

Switzerland