The National Retail Federation's 2026 Halloween survey puts costume spending at $4.4 billion nationally, with 71% of shoppers planning to buy at least one. Total Halloween spending is projected at $13.5 billion, averaging $115.14 per person -- costumes are one line item in that, alongside candy and decorations.
How much should I spend on a Halloween costume?
There's no single right answer -- it depends on how many costumes you're buying and for whom. The useful comparison isn't "what's the average," but "what would buying everything store-bought cost me versus making some myself."
Halloween costume DIY vs store-bought cost, honestly compared
DIY is usually cheaper, since you're paying for raw materials instead of packaging, licensing, and retail markup. But it's not guaranteed -- costumes needing specialty items like wigs, prosthetics, or specific fabric can end up costing as much as a store-bought option once you add it all up.
Cheap Halloween costumes for adults: mixing store-bought and DIY
You don't have to pick one approach for everyone in the household. A common pattern is buying simple, low-effort costumes store-bought while making higher-effort or higher-budget ones at home -- balancing time against money rather than treating it as all-or-nothing.
Calculate your actual costume budget
The Halloween Costume Budget Calculator lets you set how many costumes you need, your average store-bought and DIY prices, and a DIY-mix slider -- then shows your blended total against an all-store-bought baseline, so you can see the savings in real numbers.
Try the Halloween Costume Budget Calculator →
Sources: National Retail Federation, 2026 Halloween Survey (nrf.com).