What a trip to New York 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 New York come to $150 – $170 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
$2,100 – $2,400
$150 – $170 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people
Expected
$2,100 – $2,400
Most trips land in here
Set aside
$2,400
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
$230
10% of the trip
Food$1,200 – $1,500
Getting around$170 – $250
Airport, both ways$12 – $47
Sights and activities$420
Nights out$96 – $180
Lodging tax and odds and ends$90 – $110
Of that, in cash: $25 – $270
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 New York 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
$96 – $110 per person per day
Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
FoodLocal and cheap
$61 – $74
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
$15
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$4.40 – $5.40
Mid-range
$150 – $170 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
$87 – $110
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
$30
Nights outNow and then
$6.80 – $13.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$6.40 – $7.80
Comfort
$200 – $240 per person per day
The best food level we can price, public transport, two paid sights a day.
FoodRestaurants most of the time
$100 – $140
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
$60
Nights outNow and then
$6.80 – $13.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$8.70 – $11.00
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 New York
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
$300 – $350 $100 – $120 a day
$460 – $530 $150 – $180 a day
$610 – $730 $200 – $240 a day
5
$490 – $560 $98 – $110 a day
$740 – $850 $150 – $170 a day
$980 – $1,200 $200 – $240 a day
7
$680 – $780 $98 – $110 a day
$1,000 – $1,200 $150 – $170 a day
$1,400 – $1,700 $200 – $240 a day
10
$970 – $1,100 $97 – $110 a day
$1,500 – $1,700 $150 – $170 a day
$2,000 – $2,400 $200 – $240 a day
14
$1,400 – $1,600 $97 – $110 a day
$2,100 – $2,400 $150 – $170 a day
$2,800 – $3,300 $200 – $240 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 New York
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.
What
Price
Source
Eating and drinking
Coffee, Sarge's Deli
$4.07
From the sourceNov 2026
Coffee, Russ & Daughters Cafe
$5.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Bagel with cream cheese, Sarge's Deli
$6.13
From the sourceNov 2026
Three-egg breakfast, Sarge's Deli
$20.55
From the sourceNov 2026
Bagel and lox, Russ & Daughters Cafe
$24.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Pizza slice, Scarr's Pizza (counter)
$4.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Matzo ball soup, Russ & Daughters Cafe
$13.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Tuna melt, Russ & Daughters Cafe
$16.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Burger, Sarge's Deli
$20.55
From the sourceNov 2026
Pastrami sandwich, Sarge's Deli
$28.79
From the sourceNov 2026
Beer, Sarge's Deli
$9.27
From the sourceNov 2026
Draught Coors, 20 oz, at the bar at Scarr's Pizza
$10.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Glass of wine, Sarge's Deli
$10.25
From the sourceNov 2026
Glass of wine, Russ & Daughters Cafe
$12.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Getting around
MTA subway and bus, single fare
$3.00
From the sourceNov 2026
7-day OMNY cap (subway and local bus)
$35.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Q70 bus (LaGuardia Link, free) and subway, LaGuardia Airport–Manhattan
$3.00
From the sourceNov 2026
AirTrain ($8.75) and subway ($3), JFK Airport–Manhattan
$11.75
From the sourceNov 2026
Taxi, JFK Airport–Manhattan, flat fare before surcharges and tolls
$70.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Sights
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, adult
$30.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Menu prices here exclude tax and tip: the budget adds the 8.875% 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 Bagel with cream cheese, Sarge's Deli + Coffee, Sarge's Deli + Pizza slice, Scarr's Pizza (counter) × 2 + Burger, Sarge's Deli + Beer, Sarge's Deli ($49.02 on the menu; $61.37 with tax and tip) to Bagel with cream cheese, Sarge's Deli + Coffee, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Pizza slice, Scarr's Pizza (counter) × 2 + Pastrami sandwich, Sarge's Deli + Draught Coors, 20 oz, at the bar at Scarr's Pizza ($58.92 on the menu; $74.13 with tax and tip).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Three-egg breakfast, Sarge's Deli + Coffee, Sarge's Deli + Matzo ball soup, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Burger, Sarge's Deli + Beer, Sarge's Deli ($67.44 on the menu; $86.91 with tax and tip) to Bagel and lox, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Coffee, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Tuna melt, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Pastrami sandwich, Sarge's Deli + Draught Coors, 20 oz, at the bar at Scarr's Pizza ($83.79 on the menu; $108 with tax and tip).
Restaurants most of the time
From Three-egg breakfast, Sarge's Deli + Coffee, Sarge's Deli + Tuna melt, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Pastrami sandwich, Sarge's Deli + Glass of wine, Sarge's Deli ($79.66 on the menu; $103 with tax and tip) to Bagel and lox, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Coffee, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Matzo ball soup, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Tuna melt, Russ & Daughters Cafe + Pastrami sandwich, Sarge's Deli + Glass of wine, Russ & Daughters Cafe × 2 ($111 on the menu; $143 with tax and tip).
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.
Lodging tax
14.75% of the room price
On top of that
$2.00 per room per night, whatever the room costs
On top of that
$1.50 per room per night, whatever the room costs
It is charged per room, not per person. The calculator doesn't ask how many rooms you book: it counts one for every two people, and that is an assumption of ours.
How much money do you need for a week in New York?
For seven days, $1,000 – $1,200 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 New York?
For 3 days, $460 – $530 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 New York?
Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: $96 – $110 on the “Budget” style, $150 – $170 on the “Mid-range” style, and $200 – $240 on the “Comfort” style.
Can you travel to New York on a budget?
The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: $96 – $110 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
How much does food cost in New York?
From $61 per person per day (“Local and cheap”) to $140 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.
How much does transport cost in New York?
A ride on public transport costs $3.00.
Is there a lodging tax in New York?
Yes: 14.75% of the room price. On top of that, $2.00 per room per night. On top of that, $1.50 per room per night.
How much cash should you carry in New York?
For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about $12 – $130 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.
Do you tip in New York?
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.
