How Much Does Stuff Cost at Oktoberfest? What to Budget for Beer, Food, & Beyond

When planning your trip to this most epic of festivals, knowing ahead of time what everything costs at Oktoberfest is crucial. Even though Oktoberfest is a “free” event, it’s anything but cheap. You’ll definitely want to set the appropriate expectations so you can (hopefully) budget accordingly.

This post breaks it all down—what you can expect to pay for everything at Oktoberfest, from beers to balloons to brats and beyond. As always, if you have questions about anything specific I don’t cover here, ask away in the comments. Enjoy!

How much does it cost to go to Oktoberfest?

How much it costs to go to Oktoberfest fully depends on you and your personal habits—how much you personally tend to eat, drink, and buy. In the most general sense, attending Oktoberfest is actually “free.” There’s no cost to enter the park and no cost to enter the beer tents. You only have to pay for what you consume inside.

If you tend to drink and eat a lot, you’ll be spending quite a bit. If you tend to buy souvenirs for everyone you know, you’ll spend more than others. And if you don’t drink at all and will maybe only eat a small sandwich, Oktoberfest isn’t going to be all that expensive for you. And so on.

How much does it cost to get into a beer tent at Oktoberfest?

Nothing. Getting into an Oktoberfest beer tent is absolutely free. You don’t need to make any reservations or be put on any list. There are no tickets to buy, no wristbands, etc. You just walk right on in.

BUT, you do have to buy something while you’re in here or you may be kicked out of your seat during busier times. If it’s early in the morning and not crowded yet, sure you can sit at a table and just do nothing. Otherwise, you’ll need to buy some food or drinks in order to keep your seat. This is just standard restaurant etiquette anywhere you go.

The Oide Wiesn

The Oide Wiesn is the one exception here. This is the (hidden) historical part of Oktoberfest. They have beer tents, rides, games, and everything else. But you have to pay to get into this section; this is the only place at Oktoberfest where you do need a wristband. The cost to get into the Oide Wiesn is €4 per person.

How much does beer cost at Oktoberfest?

The price of beer at Oktoberfest ranges from €13.60 to €15.30 and varies by tent. (The average being €14.70 per liter.) Each year this price goes up because CaPiTaLiSm and iNfLaTiOn. But the good thing is that every year, usually in June, the Oktoberfest committee releases this year’s official beer prices.

I’ll update this post when beer costs for Oktoberfest 2025 are released, but for now you can check out this page to see what they were in 2024 and how much they increased from 2023.

What about outside the tents?

However, you can also find these drinks at vendor stands outside the beer tents too, where they’re usually cheaper. In fact, you can pretty much find coffee/tea/hot chocolate, and ½ liters of soda, mineral water, and apfelschorle all for around €4.

Pro tip: Some food stalls charge an extra €1 or €2 on top of the drink price if they serve it to you in a glass. This is a deposit for the glass called a pfand. You can get that money back by returning the glass.

But, they count on tourists not knowing this so you have to ask for the deposit back when you return the glass or they’ll just take it back and walk away. Don’t let them swindle you! (The same goes for any plates or silverware they give you with food.)

How much does food cost at Oktoberfest?

The cost of food at Oktoberfest varies wildly depending on what you get and where you get it. Inside the tents, you’ll be able to order full meals which can cost anywhere from €10 to €100. (Some of these tents are bougie af.) Outside the tents, you can order simpler/single items which all run significantly cheaper than inside the tents.

Food costs inside the tents

One barometer by which to judge the cost of food at Oktoberfest is the ½ chicken. Half chickens (Hendl in German) are by far the most popular food item at Oktoberfest. Every tent sells them, and all together they sell around half a million of them each year. The average cost of a ½ chicken in 2024 was €17.90. That’s just half a chicken on a plate, nothing else.

Beyond hendl, here are a few average food prices at Oktoberfest:

• Appetizers (like obatzda): €14
• Soups: €10+
• Vegetarian dishes: €17
• Steak dishes: €38 and up
• Pork, ox dishes: €23+
• Bratwurst plates: €19
• Pork knuckles: €27
• Desserts: €11-13

How much are beer tent reservations at Oktoberfest?

So even though you don’t need beer tent reservations, you can certainly still make them, if the conditions call for it. Summed up, you have to book entire 8- or 10-person tables; you can’t just make reservations for 2 or 4 people. If that’s something you’ve decided you want to do, read on.

Oktoberfest beer tent reservations are free!* However, you do have to pay for the equivalent of food and beer for each seat. Each tent has different conditions, minimums, and menus to choose from so prices will vary, but I’ll give you a few examples.

For instance, if you reserve a 10-person table, you’ll need to pay for the equivalent of two beers and a meal for ten people. Even if you only have 8 or 9 people sitting there, you still need to pay for ten. But the good thing is that you’ll still get beers and food for ten people, and that definitely won’t go to waste, I can assure you.

There are many variables

Note that there are tons of variable as to how much you’ll pay for a beer tent reservation. These are just some of the most basic examples, but there are many food options to choose from, add-ons, different sections, different times of day, etc.

At most of the tents, you can simply use these vouchers for the monetary value instead. Meaning, if you don’t want a ½ chicken, you can apply that cost to something different and just pay the difference. Check each tent’s website for all the details.

How much do outfits for Oktoberfest cost?

How much you’ll pay for your Oktoberfest outfits will also very GREATLY. There are €20 options (don’t buy those) and then there are €1000+ options (you do you I guess).

The price is mostly determined by where you buy them and quality. Handmade, designer tracht is going to be hella expensive; train station tracht is going to be hella cheap (but still overpriced for the garbage you get). So, let me give you some popular middle-of-the-road examples.

You can see tons of specific examples on the websites I list in my guide to where to buy dirndls and lederhosen for Oktoberfest. It has tons of Munich shops and some online-only options as well. (Like Amazon where you can find some decent options for around $80.)

Pro tip: Most tracht retailers also have a basement where they keep their sale/clearance items. I bought the green/yellow one above in the Angermaier basement for €75 and it’s actually one of my favorites.

How much do hotels cost for Oktoberfest?

It’s really impossible to say how much hotels are going to cost for Oktoberfest since there are so many factors at play here. The big one being how far ahead you book them, but also the quality of the hotel, its location, and its proximity to the Wiesn. Regardless, let’s just say, they’re not cheap.

This is definitely going to be the biggest expense of your trip, so please book as early as possible to get the best deals! But if I were to give just a super general average of a good quality hotel relatively close to Oktoberfest, I’d say expect to pay between €400 and €600 a night. The closer you get to September, the higher that’s going.

That’s only a super general average based on what I’m seeing as I write this in February 2025. See my guide on where to stay for Oktoberfest to see a long list of hotel recommendations and compare their current costs.  

How much does luggage storage cost at Oktoberfest?

There are several luggage storage tents outside the Oktoberfest entrances. All of them charge €5 per item. Look for the signs pointing to the Gepäckaufbewahrung and the white tents. Read more about Oktoberfest luggage storage here.

How much are ATM fees at Oktoberfest?

Oktoberfest is a cash-only event, so they do have ATMs all over the place in case you need one. I’ve found the fees here to be totally reasonable and expected. Of the ATMs I’ve used at Oktoberfest, the ones inside the tents charge a €3.95 transaction fee and the ones outside the tents charge €2.99.

The important thing to know is that the ATMs make their money here by being as confusing as possible, banking on the fact that the majority of their clientele is hammered. When you get to the screen with all the numbers, be sure to always DECLINE CONVERSION. Always take money out of the ATM in the local currency (euros in this case).

As you can see from these pictures, if you choose “With Conversion,” you’re actually paying up to an additional 19% for literally NO GOOD REASON. Your bank converts the currency automatically; there’s no need for this. Always decline conversion.  

How much should I tip at Oktoberfest?

Even though Germany (and Europe in general) doesn’t have the same tipping culture that we do here in the US, it’s still standard to tip at Oktoberfest. Considering each beer is around €15, and the servers are put through all kinds of hell to get it to you, an additional €2 per liter is good. The same goes for food; somewhere between 10% and 20% is a good tip.

In the restrooms, I usually leave €1 every time I visit, but even €0.50 is good. They really do work hard and you’ll see they appreciate every single coin dropped into their tray.

Again, this is totally optional and you’re free to leave whatever you feel is warranted. (Just keep in mind that Oktoberfest is definitely one case where the tip you give will reflect the quality of service you get.)

Like this post? Have more questions about Oktoberfest costs? Let me know in the comments below. Have fun in Munich!

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