Festival budget,
done in a minute.

Festival budgeting comes down to five categories: your ticket, where you sleep, how you get there, what you eat and drink, and everything else. Most first-timers underestimate food and drinks — at $40–80 per day inside the gates, it adds up faster than the ticket itself.

The biggest variable is accommodation. Camping (often included or cheap as an add-on for multi-day events) can save you hundreds compared to a hotel. If you go with a group, splitting an Airbnb or campsite costs is the smartest move — and FestivalMates helps you find people going to the same festival to split costs with.

Travel scales with distance. Local festival? Train or carpool. Coachella from the East Coast or Tomorrowland from the US? Book flights 2–3 months ahead and aim for Tuesday or Wednesday departures. Add a buffer for ground transport on both ends — Ubers from the airport to a desert venue are not cheap.

Inside-festival spend creeps. $15 cocktails, $12 burgers, $40 hoodies. Set a daily cash limit. If a festival accepts only cashless payments (most modern ones do), pre-load your wristband at the lowest tier and top up only when you need to — the unused balance is often refundable.

Don't forget the boring stuff. Sunscreen, earplugs, a power bank, a water bottle, decent shoes. Buying any of this on-site costs 3× what it does at home. Pack it with your outfit.

Use this calculator to get a realistic estimate, then share it with your crew so everyone knows what to expect. No surprises, no running out of cash on day two.