The tracks are lower maintenance than tires.
A flat track is not nearly as bad as a flat tire.

Better traction, better flotation on soft ground.
When you dig, you can dump the dirt anywhere in a 360 degree circle.
Backhoes are limited to 90 degrees or less to either side of center.
The dig power is usually better than a comparable weight backhoe.
Our Cat 304 mini weighs just under 10,000 pounds, which can be towed behind a 3/4 ton truck with a good tandem axle trailer.

The down side is the tram speed is slow, so they are not good for carrying something very far.

Just for reference a new Kubota KX 121 excavator sells for around 45,000 dollars.



A mini backhoe in that weight class is usually built a little light weight for much work.
Usually you have to dig the dirt loose with the backhoe before you can load it with the front bucket or you will break something.
You could get a 24 plus HP 4x4 backhoe for about the same money.
The only advantage to the backhoe is several of them can also take a belly mower or tow behind mower or brush hog after you remove the backhoe.
The mower will add to the cost though.

But as with all multi purpose tools, the more things it can do, usually means it does each of them less satisfactorily.

A full size backhoe will be in the 16,000 pound range or more.
You are going to need a much bigger truck and trailer to pull it anywhere.
Full size backhoes come in two forms.
The construction type where the backhoe/front loader is part of the machine and not removable.
Or the farm tractor type where the front loader/bachoe are just detachable attachments.

These machines are in the 100,000 plus price range for the construction model new and in the 65 or 70 thousand plus range for the farm tractor model new.

The construction grade machine will be much better suited for digging and much better built.

The farm tractor type, since the attachments are removable is more versitile.
But just like the mini backhoe, more versitility means less desirable operation speeds of the attachments and usually not nearly as sturdy in it's construction.

Warning, I have not priced any of these in the last several years.

Most of the prices I have been looking at recently have been in the 750,000 range.
But we are talking a 100,000 pound excavator with a 5 yard bucket for that kind of money that takes a 10 ton bite out of the ground with every bucket full an can reach anything inside an 84 foot circle.