How Much Are World Cup Tickets? Historical Prices Since 1994

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation

Understanding How World Cup Tickets Are Priced
- World Cup Ticket Prices by Category
- World Cup Ticket Prices by Match
Visual Representation of 1994 to Current (2026) Prices
Sources
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UPDATED: March 2026 w/ 2026 Graphs

World Cup ticket prices held steady for three decades once you adjust for inflation. That pattern broke in 2026, FIFA’s first World Cup using dynamic pricing.

Across the previous eight tournaments from 1994 to 2022, a Final ticket cost roughly $1,300 in today’s dollars for the premium category and about $540 for the cheapest. In 2026, those numbers are $8,680 and $4,185.

What follows is the full data across every round of the tournament, 1994 to 2026. All figures are FIFA official prices, shown both at the time of sale and converted to today’s dollars via the Consumer Price Index.

If you want to find information about a specific World Cup and how to acquire those tickets, you should visit our generic post about acquiring World Cup tickets first, which will redirect you to a specific tournament.

If you’re curious about how much money it takes to attend the World Cup overall (flights, lodging, etc) – read our article that details the expenses tracked for multiple tournaments.

Understanding How World Cup Tickets Are Priced

If you need a more thorough understanding of World Cup tickets, you can read the aforementioned generic review of the process in our “how to buy World Cup tickets” article.

World Cup Ticket Prices by Category

The most recent World Cups are all based on 3 to 4 Categories where:

Category 1 = Most Expensive
Category 2 = Mid-Tier
Category 3 = Least Expensive
Category 4 = sub-section of Category 3 that has recently been dedicated to residents of the host country at a fraction of the cost.
- Category 4 is NOT represented in the visuals of this article.

FIFA shares the price of matches before a tournament starts and does not consider any 3rd party resale values in this evaluation.

Additionally, you’ll notice that this means that row 1 in a category is the same price as the last row within that category. Read that again, the seats for the last row of the stadium are the exact same price as the seats in the front row of the stadium; within the same category. Seats are not pre-selected in a World Cup.

World Cup Ticket Prices by Match

In addition to pricing by categories, FIFA will keep a standard price for each type of match.

The breakdowns for this are:

Opening Match
Group Stages
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semi-finals
3rd Place
Finals

FIFA’s ticketing policy typically has the pricing of Categories vary by “Round” of the tournament. Because there’s usually a ceremony of sorts involved in the Opening Match, its pricing is higher than the other Group Stage matches. We comment on this in the “Notes” section but it is worth mentioning that in 1994, each host city had its own opening ceremony so each of these initial matches were higher.

Lastly, the 3rd Place match will often times be equivalent to the prices of either the Round of 16 or Quarterfinals.

Visual Representation of 1994 to Current (2026) Prices

These values are sourced, as best as we can possible tell, from available and trusted parties that posted publicly.

After testing with various audiences, it was easiest to breakdown the costs by Round and Category for each year.

Comments / Notes:

1994
- The opening match for each stadium was priced slightly higher than remaining Group Stage matches but we didn’t summarize that in the graphs.
1998 & 2002
- We could not find virtually any data related to the 1998 & 2002 World Cups.
- Fore this reason, most of the data for 1998 and 2002 is omitted.
- Send a message if you have any info!
2014
- We could not find the prices for Category 4 tickets in 2014 and subsequently decided to remove Category 4 from the metrics and visuals for this article since these are only available to residents of the host.
2026
- FYI there will be a new round – the Round of 32 due to the field going from 32 to 48 teams.
  - We’ll skip this round for now
- Since 2026 has varying prices, we decided to represent these by:
  - Using Phase 3 prices
  - Using the AVERAGE price across the round
The link to our data sources will be included in the Sources section at the bottom.
For prices quoted in various currencies, we translated to USD via the foreign transaction value during the tournament.

There are TWO graphs so swiping at each stage includes:

Ticket Prices at the time of sale
Ticket Prices converted to January 2026 prices using Consumer Price Index

Opening Match: World Cup Ticket Prices

The Opening Match has historically priced higher than the rest of the Group Stage to account for the opening ceremony. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 Opening Match tickets ranged from about $263 to $707 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $88 to $329.

2026 has three separate Opening Matches, one in each host country. Phase 3 Category 1 prices run from $2,170 in Canada to $2,735 in the United States, with Mexico at $2,355. Category 3 runs from $930 to $1,120.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

Group Stages: World Cup Ticket Prices

Group Stage matches carry FIFA’s lowest pricing of the tournament. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 Group Stage tickets ranged from about $142 to $270 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $55 to $135. In 2026, Phase 3 prices are $563 for Category 1 and $201 for Category 3.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

Round of 16: World Cup Ticket Prices

The Round of 16 is the first knockout round of the tournament. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 Round of 16 tickets ranged from about $186 to $405 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $77 to $150. In 2026, Phase 3 prices are $770 for Category 1 and $294 for Category 3.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

Quarterfinals: World Cup Ticket Prices

The Quarterfinals are the second knockout round. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 Quarterfinal tickets ranged from about $307 to $541 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $120 to $225. In 2026, Phase 3 prices are $1,439 for Category 1 and $680 for Category 3.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

Semi-finals: World Cup Ticket Prices

The Semifinals are the third knockout round. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 Semifinal tickets ranged from about $657 to $1,040 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $197 to $389. In 2026, Phase 3 prices are $3,168 for Category 1 and $918 for Category 3.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

3rd Place: World Cup Ticket Prices

The 3rd Place match has historically been priced at or near the Round of 16 or Quarterfinal rate rather than the Semifinal or Final. From 1994 through 2022, Category 1 3rd Place tickets ranged from about $239 to $469 in today’s dollars, and Category 3 from about $120 to $225. In 2026, Phase 3 prices are $1,125 for Category 1 and $455 for Category 3.

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

The Final: World Cup Ticket Prices

This is WITHOUT Inflation. Scroll to see WITH Inflation
This is WITH Inflation. Scroll to see WITHOUT Inflation

Sources

1994 World Cup Tickets
2010 World Cup Tickets
2014 World Cup Tickets
2018 World Cup Tickets
2022 World Cup Tickets

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