People tell us how much they spent on Coachella 2026

Alongside the historic headliners, polarizing comebacks and surprise guests, one of the most buzzed-about discussions surrounding Coachella 2026 has been the unprecedented cost of attending the sold-out SoCal megafest this year. General admission passes to the three-day festival originally retailed at $649 and $549 for the festival’s two weekends, respectively, with VIP tickets priced at double. But fans hoping to attend after Coachella sold out were faced with a skyrocketing resale market, with Weekend 1 general admission passes going for between $4,000 and $5,000 on Stubhub in the days leading up to the festival.

Of course, the pass just gets you in the gates. Additional costs can include a shuttle pass ($130–$180), on-site camping ($150–$400+), and service fees ($50–$100). Nearby rental and hotel accommodations notably surge during Coachella’s two weekends, with the average Indio Airbnb asking for $1,200 a night — a 109% premium — during Coachella Weekend 2. Those driving into the festival faced high gas prices, while the cost of food and drink is also on the rise. Throw in some coveted Justin Bieber SKYLRK merch and the all-important Coachella ‘fit, and it comes as no surprise that more than 60% of general admission ticketholders have opted to use a payment plan to pay for the passes.

“I think the problem is less that Coachella is getting too expensive than people are getting too poor,” one attendee said of the squeeze he and his peers are feeling when it comes to going to the festival.

Still, this year’s festival sold out in record time, and with around 125,000 expected to attend each day — they can’t all be sponsored influencers — we had to know: How much are people spending, and how are they able to afford Coachella? And is it worth it?

Daphne Okoreeh

Wristband: VIP
Age: 35
Lives in: Corona

First time at Coachella?: Yes
Occupation: ICU nurse
Income: $170,000-200,000
Estimated Coachella spend: $3,000-4,000

 I think altogether I’m getting close to $3,000 or $4,000. But camping’s $150, so if you’re gonna come to Coachella, that’s the poor people Coachella. We camp. With camping, my wristband was $1,443.86.

Why did you come?:  
Justin Bieber, obviously. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.

Why VIP?:  
The bathrooms are always the number one reason we do VIP [at festivals]. Do I really think it’s worth it here? There’s not a lot of VIP access, so if I was to come back again I’d do an artist pass, I’d try to find [one]. That’s where I feel like you get more bang for your buck. If you’re gonna spend the money, you might as well do Coachella the right way and do it like that. But there’s a lot of GA areas where everyone can go, so it doesn’t really seem like there’s much of a difference.

Why Coachella vs. Couchella?:  
The people. Coming here I’ve met like 10 different people, a bunch of girliepops. We had a good time. I like making new friends ‘cause I find those friends to go the next festival with, and so I come just to [be with] like-minded people who love music.

Was it worth it?:  
I would come back at least one more time, depending on who’s headlining. But I would definitely stay in an Airbnb, a hotel — I’m not a camping girlie. I would work two other shifts just to not have to camp ever again.

 We’re lucky to be here, right? We work hard for our money and so I appreciate that we’re here. We weren’t given the pass. We earned it. We’ve worked for it. So I’m excited to see what else it has to offer. We’re waiting for Justin. I wish I could camp out [for him], but I’m just gonna excuse my way to the front.

Vanessa St. Clair

Wristband: VIP
Age: 40
Lives in: Menifee, Calif.

First time at Coachella?: Yes
Occupation: ICU nurse
Income: $150,000
Estimated Coachella spend: $6,000-7,000

It was $3,500 to rent a room out of someone’s house. Then plus the wristbands … probably at least 6 grand. I haven’t even totaled up [food, drink and merch] yet. That’s probably at least another grand. It’s an expensive weekend. You could go to Europe.

Khai Edwards

Wristband: GA
Age: 35
Lives in: Los Angeles
First time at Coachella?:  
This is not my first Coachella. This is like my 20th. I’ve been here every year for a million years and I would keep coming back.

Occupation:  I wish I had a sugar parent, but I bartend.
Income: $74,000
Estimated Coachella spend:  $1,200

That’s room and board and ticket.  I’m a thrift store legend. I’ll thrift anything before I [pay market price]. Same with my ticket. I’m like, I know I can get my ticket retail.  I’ve had some friends that have spent double what I spent and I’m just like, wow, I can’t relate.

What makes it worth the money? What keeps you coming back?:
The prices have kept going up, but unfortunately, in a hyper-capitalist regime, that’s what’s gonna happen. But the people — the people are legit. There’s always good artists.  I know this started as an indie music festival, but they do a really good job of including everyone. I’ve never felt out of place here.

How do you afford Coachella? Was there anywhere that you cut corners?:
Yeah. Wait until the last second to buy a ticket and wait until a month before to get your Airbnb.  Because people get an Airbnb on a payment plan, and unfortunately, some people default and so those Airbnb hosts repost those listings.  Our Airbnb was 30K like a month ago. It was literally half the price two weeks ago.  Just wait. People are gonna sell their tickets. Life happens for a lot of people — people get pregnant, people get married, people accept new positions, they get a new job, they can’t come anymore. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t want it to be.

The resale market was especially expensive this year. It sounds like you had a different experience?:
 I always get super lucky. One year — I’m a gamer, I play competitive video games — I bought my ticket in a match. My friend and his girlfriend had broken up and he’s like, “I’m not going anymore.” I was like, “Can I buy your Coachella ticket?” I bought a Coachella ticket on PlayStation Party! This year, same. My friend got sick and she couldn’t go, so I ended up being able to buy her ticket. There’s always a way without you getting taxed. There’s always a way.

Emilio Espinosa

Wristband: Artist Guest
Age: 29
Lives in: San Francisco

First time at Coachella?: This is my third time.
Occupation: I work in creative strategy and I’m a DJ
Income: Around $145,000 a year, plus additional income through DJing
Estimated Coachella spend: $2,000+

We received [our passes for free] from one of the managers of one of the bands that are playing. But we got flights really late, and then hotels are insane in Palm Springs and in Indio. The food prices are not that bad. We’ve been splitting food, so it’s been OK. Drinks are egregiously expensive, unfortunately.

Have you paid for a pass before? Would you pay to come again?:  
The last couple times I paid.  It [originally] was not in the cards to come this year, but I think in the future I would still pay to come to Coachella. We’re having a good time.

Why did you come?:
 The livestream made us want to come.  We totally had FOMO and then we’re like, “We gotta go.” And then we had to just figure it out.

Worth it?
Yes. I know what the vibe is here and every time I’ve come I’ve had just such a great time. It’s one of the biggest festivals in the world. There’s people from all over the place, and I’m super grateful for all the music that’s here and all the people that have come down for something like this. It’s really inspiring to see all the artists. So being here makes it totally worth it, always.

I think the biggest misconception is that it’s an influencer festival, because I don’t think it is. There’s people from all over the world, all walks of life, making it happen to come here. And that’s why I have a lot of gratitude to be here, because everyone’s probably worked so hard to be here. And if you just come with your best friends, it’s not all about like, photos and getting on Instagram. It’s about having a good time with your people.

Lola Lott

Wristband: GA
Age: 24
Lives in: Palm Springs

First time at Coachella?:  No, this would be probably my sixth.
Occupation: Registered nurse

Betza Lopez

Wristband: GA
Age: 27
Lives in: Palm Springs

First time at Coachella?: No, this is my sixth.
Occupation: Registered dental assistant

Estimated Coachella spend: About $1,000 each

Lola: We live in the Coachella Valley so we don’t have to pay for lodging. But even drinks and stuff, it’s the pricier side of it because we just buy drinks here. We don’t really bring anything with us.

How are you paying for Coachella?
Lola: We do the payment plan. I feel like it’s different now that, as we’re older, we have more expenses. So it’s easier just to just be worried about like $60 a month versus the whole $650 at once.

If there wasn’t a payment plan, would you be able to afford Coachella?
Betza: If you save in advance, I feel like you can afford it if you budget correctly, but yeah.

Lola:  It’s just having to think ahead, like, “OK, if I’m planning to go to Coachella, I need to be setting money aside.” For sure, it’s a little bit hard.

Is there anywhere you cut costs to be able to afford Coachella?
Lola: Going out to eat more often. So I cut out that, for sure.

What makes the cost worth it to you?
Lola: I think you really get the most out of your money here ‘cause you have three full days of different artists that you wouldn’t really see at other places, or you don’t really have the opportunity to see at other spots.

Betza:  I think the experiences and listening to music and being able to dance in your own world, I think that’s fun.

Being from the Valley, what are some misconceptions people have about Coachella?
Lola: The majority of influencers, they go to Weekend 1, and us locals, we already know like, “We come Weekend 2!” Because it’s way better, the vibes are way better. Everyone’s here more for the music and just vibing out versus having to like record everything, every single set.

Do you think Coachella is getting too expensive, or is it just rising with the costs of everything else?
Betza:  I definitely think this year is more expensive than any other year. But I think that has to depend on the headliners as well. With Justin Bieber, I think people resold their tickets for a lot more money. I think that’s an ugly thing to do.

Lola: Yeah, even for us, we’ve never seen prices go that high, even with third-party sellers and all that.

Tara Dactyl-Fox, a.k.a “Grandmother Coachella”

Wristband: VIP
Age: 48
Lives in: Phoenix

Occupation: Teacher
Income: $60,000
First time at Coachella?: No, this is my 26th, including two “Backyardchellas” I hosted during the pandemic. 2001 was my first.

Estimated Coachella spend: $1,000+
Camping is about $500.  I do Lot 8 ‘cause I’m old and I don’t wanna walk all the way through camp. So I am closer to the front entrances. But I split it with my partner. Camping is where it’s at, because you get here for Day Zero. Not everybody gets Day Zero. And we have our own entertainment, a whole DJ just for us. And there’s so many activities, it’s great. We bring most of our own food and drink ‘cause I’m a great cook. So we just make our own food. But I get Spicy Pie every day.

How did you pay for your pass? 
I have free VIP for life — I won Carpoolchella in 2008 when Prince played.  I camped next to neighbors and they were on a beer run and they put me in their car and they pulled us over with a Winnebago with streamers and a camera crew and said we won Carpoolchella. I don’t think they anticipated me doing it this long.

Would you still come to Coachella if you had to buy your pass and pay full expenses?
One hundred percent. This is my annual mecca of art, friends, camping. I just get to release this weekend. ‘Cause I’m a teacher, it’s very regimented and this is the one time of year I just get to let loose and dance my a— off. I’m a reading specialist, I teach third through eighth grade, and they’re two or more years behind in their reading. Actually, my seventh- and eighth-graders helped me pick who I’m gonna see, ‘cause I don’t know all the new stuff.

Who did they recommend?
 Sabrina Carpenter. I had no idea who she was. And all my Hispanic girls are like, “You have to see Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G!”

How much did a Coachella ticket cost when you first started coming in 2001?
$150.  That was it. And they were paper tickets, and paper wristbands. And it was only one day. We drove from Phoenix. We saw the show — it was like, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers — and then we drove home that same night. And then they introduced camping, and we had to haul all of our bags from the car lot with dollies to our campsite. And they were like, “Hey, this is great. Let’s let them camp with their cars,” which was amazing. And then they split into two weekends. It’s been a ride.

If you did pay for your pass this year, would you still buy a VIP pass? Is VIP worth it still?
No. I’m a Very Important Pooper.  I go in there to poop.  And there’s like sneaky entrances into the stages. Not all my friends have VIP, so only sometimes I’m like, “I’m gonna pull the VIP card.” Like for the Yuma tent last year with Fatboy Slim. But I don’t do it often. All the people that I won VIP with, they’re raising families now and none of them come. I’m the oldest one. I’m the last soldier.

How would you afford Coachella if you had to pay for your pass?
I used to set up a separate bank account and it would automatically withdraw how much money it would cost. And so when it came time for Coachella, I had all the money. Because I’m a teacher, I have to budget, you know?

What makes it worth it to keep coming back year after year?
Have you seen it?! This is freaking amazing! I just wish everybody could have this weekend escape. And, sorry, Weekend 2 is way better than Weekend 1. Weekend 1 is all the influencers and like the frat bros. Weekend 2, everyone’s about the music, good vibes, all the campground people are amazing. They’ve already worked out all the bugs on the sound system. I’m here to dance my a— off and I’m here for the sound. I’m not here to be seen or whatever. It’s just the buzz, the energy. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com