You may have come across Cosplay and thought it looked quite fun and interesting. Rightly so, Cosplayers around the world love it for a reason. And, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience that doesn’t only let you look like your favorite characters, but also feel like them.
But, how much does cosplay cost? Well, the short answer is that it varies.
In this article, we are going to take a look at how much cosplay costs to help you get a better understanding of what to expect.
How Much Does Cosplay Cost?
Cosplay costumes can vary in prices for several reasons.
All of these factors are of course related to what is used for the costumes including what materials. For some characters, you might be able to impersonate them perfectly with almost usual clothes. If you’re creative, you can also sometimes use low-cost materials effectively.
For bigger characters, you may need quite a lot of high-density EVA foam.
EVA Foam lets you create harder and heavy parts of your costume. This could be the wings, a crown, or a hat. And, it’s the densest foam used for Cosplay which gives it the benefits of being strong.
What you want to avoid though is low-density foam, as it’s not strong enough, meaning your outfit can often break. If you would like more information on that, you can read our post on high vs low-density foam.
Anyways, to give you some hard numbers on how much cosplay costs, we have found a survey by Cosplay Calamity. In this survey, 32% of Cosplayers said that they spend an average of $101-$200 per costume, which was the mode response to the survey.
Interestingly, 70% of Cosplayers spend between $101 and $600 per costume. And, some more advanced cosplayers even pay over $1000 per costume.
But, keep in mind other cosplayers only spend $20-$60 per costume. So, if you were worried about the costs, you can get in on the action at a much smaller price.
Why Do People Cosplay?
Some cosplayers don’t only spend a lot of money on their costumes, but also hundreds of hours creating the outfits. If cosplay isn’t a passion of yours, you might be wondering, well why do people cosplay and spend that amount of time or money to create their outfits?
The answer is simple, it’s a hobby. Cosplay is something that a lot of people enjoy, it allows them to feel like their favorite character. Some people like collecting cards or stamps, while others like to cosplay.
It’s a normal hobby that quite a lot of people enjoy. Plus, when you meet up with the characters of your favorite movie it’s a pretty cool feeling.
We’ve covered why people cosplay in a little more detail in our international cosplay day post.
Can Cosplay Be Low-Cost?
Yes! Don’t get discouraged by seeing what others spend on their outfits. Some cosplayers you see may even have chosen to make cosplay their career path which is why they naturally spend more.
You can join in on the action for less than $50 per costume, as long as you’re a little creative.
Some characters only require regular clothes that you may already have, or which can be purchased from a thrift store. Or, you can use the materials of your old clothes to create whatever you need.
Plus, you can also combine this with affordable foam from our store to build your dream cosplay outfit.
If you would like to read a little more about cosplay first, you can check out some of our articles below.
Costumes vs Cosplay: What’s the difference?
