Apr 9, 2026
Coachella is returning to the Empire Polo Club on April 10 with a lineup engineered to tempt just about everyone. There’s buzz around Justin Bieber possibly revisiting his early hits, alongside chart-topping acts like Sabrina Carpenter, and legacy acts such as The Strokes and Iggy Pop.
While that breadth is part of the appeal – it’s also part of the cost.
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At the time of writing, resale prices for weekend one (April 10–12) have climbed higher than $2,000 on StubHub, including fees (1). Even the lowest available tickets, for one day at the festival, hover around $700, a baseline that excludes flights, accommodation and the now-infamous on-site food and drink prices.
But paying a premium doesn’t always guarantee a premium experience.
After last year’s festival, TikTok user Ruth Viveros posted a video showing what she ate on-site — a $17 lemonade she said was mostly ice, followed by $102 tacos she rated a 5 out of 10, pointing out the tortillas were “freezing cold,” (2).
“Coachella seems like a miserable money trap that everyone falls for,” a commenter named Val responded to the video.
Is it worth it?
If you’re trying to decide whether Coachella is worth the cost, it helps to look at what tickets were originally priced at. According to the festival’s website, tickets were released in September 2025 across four tiers: general admission, general admission with a shuttle pass, a four-pack option and VIP (3).
At face value, general admission started at $649 for weekend one and $549 for weekend two. Adding a three-day shuttle pass brought prices to $779 and $679, respectively. Four-pack tickets offered a slight discount per person, starting at $639 for weekend one and $539 for weekend two. VIP passes, which include access to premium viewing areas and amenities, started at $1,299 for weekend one and $1,199 for weekend two.
Even at those prices, many attendees aren’t paying all at once. In 2025, more than 60% of general admission ticket holders used a payment plan, putting down as little as $49.99 upfront, according to Billboard (4).
But affording the ticket is only one piece of the puzzle. Most concertgoers also have to find a place to stay. Coachella offers a camping setup that can range from DIY camping out of your car to glamping. The most affordable option is car camping but comes with no electricity or amenities. At the higher end, camper van packages with beds and added comfort range from roughly $2,900 to over $5,000.
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Even those higher-priced options don’t always live up to the expectation. In a post shared on Instagram, user @immrfabulous said the camping setup fell short of what was advertised (5).
“Trust me when I tell you I needed so much more,” he said in an Instagram reel. “The interior of the tent reached about 200 degrees (Farenheit) and all of our toiletries melted, including the lids and plastic bottles.”
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Affording the fun
For all the debate around rising prices, Coachella continues to draw crowds and for some, the value comes down to access. TikTok creator @eatwithsie described the experience as “worth the money,” even with the crowds and heat (6). Seeing multiple headline artists across a single weekend can, in their view, offset the cost of buying individual concert tickets throughout the year.
“You’re literally seeing all the biggest artists. All their best shows of the year,” she said.
If you’re thinking about going, timing and how you pay can make a difference. Buying tickets when they first drop, instead of scrambling on resale, can save you hundreds. It’s also worth carving out a little “Coachella fund” in your budget and setting money aside regularly just to soften the blow when those bigger charges inevitably roll in.
Where you stay matters just as much. Car camping, splitting an Airbnb nearby or getting a little creative with accommodations can cut costs. And then there’s getting there. Flights spike fast, so booking early, using points or even making a road trip out of it can help keep the overall spend a little more digestible.
At the end of the day, Coachella might be unforgettable but whether it’s worth the price is a decision your bank account will remember long after the music fades.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
StubHub (1); TikTok (2); Coachella (3); Billboard (4); Instagram (5); TikTok (6)
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Victoria Vesovski is a Toronto-based Staff Reporter at Moneywise, where she covers the intersection of personal finance, lifestyle and trending news. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a postgraduate certificate in Publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master’s degree in American Journalism from New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her work has been featured in publications including Apple News, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Her Campus Media and The Click.
