What a trip to Chicago costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.
Food, getting around and sights in Chicago come to $130 – $140 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top.Prices reviewed: November 2026.
Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.
You still need, flights aside
$1,800 – $2,000
$130 – $140 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people
Expected
$1,800 – $2,000
Most trips land in here
Set aside
$2,000
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
$190
10% of the trip
Food$970 – $1,100
Getting around$130 – $210
Airport, both ways$20
Sights and activities$450
Nights out$84 – $160
Lodging tax and odds and ends$77 – $90
Of that, in cash: $21 – $220
The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.
Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
Flights are not included.
You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles
What a day in Chicago costs, by how you travel
Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.
Budget
$84 – $99 per person per day
Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
FoodLocal and cheap
$52 – $66
Getting aroundPublic transport
$9 – $15
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
$16
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$3.90 – $4.80
Mid-range
$130 – $140 per person per day
Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.
FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
$70 – $82
Getting aroundPublic transport
$9 – $15
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
$32
Nights outNow and then
$6 – $11
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$5.50 – $6.50
Comfort
$180 – $200 per person per day
The best food level we can price, a taxi when it helps, two paid sights a day.
FoodRestaurants most of the time
$89 – $100
Getting aroundPublic transport, and a taxi now and then
$11 – $17
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
$64
Nights outNow and then
$6 – $11
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$8.20 – $9.30
A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.
By length of trip
How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Chicago
Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.
Days
Budget
Mid-range
Comfort
3
$260 – $310 $87 – $100 a day
$400 – $440 $130 – $150 a day
$570 – $620 $190 – $210 a day
5
$430 – $500 $86 – $100 a day
$630 – $710 $130 – $140 a day
$920 – $1,000 $180 – $200 a day
7
$600 – $700 $85 – $100 a day
$900 – $1,000 $130 – $140 a day
$1,300 – $1,400 $190 – $200 a day
10
$850 – $1,000 $85 – $100 a day
$1,300 – $1,400 $130 – $140 a day
$1,900 – $2,000 $190 – $200 a day
14
$1,200 – $1,400 $84 – $99 a day
$1,800 – $2,000 $130 – $140 a day
$2,600 – $2,800 $180 – $200 a day
Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.
Prices
What things cost in Chicago
Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.
Menu prices here exclude tax and tip: the budget adds the 12% sales tax to everything, plus a 20%–20% tip on what you eat or drink sitting down, the range the tourism office gives. The tip is a custom, not a measured price.
From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.
What each food level is made of
A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.
Local and cheap
From Two-egg breakfast, Lou Mitchell's + Chicago-style hot dog, Devil Dawgs + Individual 6-inch cheese deep-dish pizza, Pizano's + Draught Gino's Lager, 16 oz, Gino's East ($39.40 on the menu; $52.01 with tax and tip) to Two-egg breakfast, Lou Mitchell's + Coffee, Lou Mitchell's + 7-inch Italian beef sandwich, Devil Dawgs + Individual 6-inch cheese deep-dish pizza, Pizano's + Draught Gino's Lager, 16 oz, Gino's East ($49.70 on the menu; $65.60 with tax and tip).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Two-egg breakfast, Lou Mitchell's + Coffee, Lou Mitchell's + 7-inch Italian beef sandwich, Devil Dawgs + Burger, Miller's Pub + Draught Gino's Lager, 16 oz, Gino's East ($52.75 on the menu; $69.63 with tax and tip) to Pancakes, Lou Mitchell's + Coffee, Lou Mitchell's + Italian beef sandwich, Gino's East + Chicken pot pie, Miller's Pub + Draught Gino's Lager, 20 oz, Gino's East ($62.17 on the menu; $82.06 with tax and tip).
Restaurants most of the time
From Two-egg breakfast, Lou Mitchell's + Coffee, Lou Mitchell's + Burger, Lou Mitchell's + Fish and chips, Miller's Pub + Glass of wine, Gino's East ($67.70 on the menu; $89.36 with tax and tip) to Pancakes, Lou Mitchell's + Coffee, Lou Mitchell's + Italian beef sandwich, Gino's East + Fish and chips, Miller's Pub + Glass of wine, Gino's East × 2 ($78.72 on the menu; $104 with tax and tip).
Getting around
Which ticket pays off
A pass is only cheaper past a certain number of rides. This is that number, worked out from the published fares.
1-day pass at $5.00: it pays off from 3 rides a day at $2.25 each.
3-day pass at $15.00: it pays off from 3 rides a day at $2.25 each.
7-day pass at $20.00: it pays off from 2 rides a day at $2.25 each.
A pass only counts on the lines it covers. Check which ones before you buy.
Accommodation
What the night costs, and the tax on top
There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.
For seven days, $900 – $1,000 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
How much money do you need for 3 days in Chicago?
For 3 days, $400 – $440 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
What is a realistic daily budget in Chicago?
Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: $84 – $99 on the “Budget” style, $130 – $140 on the “Mid-range” style, and $180 – $200 on the “Comfort” style.
Can you travel to Chicago on a budget?
The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: $84 – $99 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
How much does food cost in Chicago?
From $52 per person per day (“Local and cheap”) to $100 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.
How much does transport cost in Chicago?
A ride on public transport costs $2.25 – $2.50. “Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting time”: $9.76. The 1-day pass costs $5.00 and pays off from 3 rides a day at $2.25 each.
Is there a lodging tax in Chicago?
Yes: 17.397% of the room price.
How much cash should you carry in Chicago?
For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about $10 – $110 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.
Do you tip in Chicago?
Restaurants: customary. Bars and cafés: customary. Hotels: customary. Taxis: customary.
Sources
Where every figure comes from
Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: November 2026.
This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.
Joru works out the budget of your itinerary day by day and sets it against what you actually spend, by category and with the exchange rate. On your phone, with no account.
