How 2026 World Cup Ticket Prices Compare to the U.S.’s 1994 World Cup

World Cup tickets go back on sale April 1 through the end of the tournament.

Many supporters have been priced out of purchasing tickets. | Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images

FIFA’s fourth and final ticket sales phase opens April 1 and remains open until the end of the tournament, with tickets made available to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Everybody wants a seat at this summer’s World Cup in North America, staged across host nations United States, Canada and Mexico, but many will miss out entirely.

There are more tickets on sale for the newly-expanded, 48-team tournament than ever before, with FIFA set to break the all-time World Cup attendance record of 3.5 million set in 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament; however, due to the exorbitant pricing for matches all the way from the group stage to the final, a number of fans will not be able to afford this summer’s festival of soccer.

FIFA’s decision to employ dynamic pricing for the event has been widely criticized after immediate and exponential surges in price. There has even been a formal complaint lodged against the governing body due to the cost of tickets.

But how do current ticket prices compare to those of the 1994 World Cup?

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How Do 2026 World Cup Ticket Prices Compare to 1994?

Prices to attend the most desirable matches have shot through the roof. | Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The last World Cup hosted by a North American nation was the 1994 tournament, staged across the United States. A stellar edition of soccer’s most prestigious competition raised the game’s profile in America and educated fans on the sport, with ticket packages even including a layman’s guide to understanding the game. The yellow pamphlet, titled “This is your guide to World Cup soccer,” included the definitions of key soccer terms like corner kick, striker and throw-in.

It helped lay the foundation for this summer’s event, back in the U.S. exactly 32 years later.

It’s difficult to track down the exact cost of tickets for the 1994 World Cup but, per ESPN, prices ranged from $25 to $475 for matches across the tournament. However, prices rose significantly for the final between Brazil and Italy, with tickets setting some supporters back upward of $1500.

These interviews with American fans at USA '94 are pure gold pic.twitter.com/J9CEqvWHmT

— COPA90 (@Copa90) March 26, 2026

Measured with the inflation rates in 2026, that means tickets generally ranged from around $55 to $1,050, with the cost of seeing the World Cup final at its upper limit equating to roughly $3,300 in today’s money.

Even adjusting for inflation, though, the 1994 tickets are still much cheaper than prices in 2026. The minimum price for standard tickets is $60 for the upcoming tournament—with only a small portion of tickets available at this price point—while the most expensive ones for the final come in at $7,875.

For a supporter looking to attend eight matches at the 2026 World Cup—one in each round—it would set them back approximately $6,900 for the cheapest category ticket for each fixture, according to BBC Sport. At its most expensive, the same bundle would cost around $16,400.

To provide a more recent contrast, to have seen a match in each round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—admittedly just seven games in that instance—would have cost approximately $1,950 at its cheapest and $5,200 at its most expensive.

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Transportation Costs

Train fares will likely go through the roof this summer. | Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Tickets prices aren’t the only exorbitant fee that fans will have to pay to see their favorite teams this World Cup. The transportation to and from the stadium will come at a premium.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) plans to nearly quadruple its usual prices for round-trip train tickets from central Boston to Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium) in Foxborough, Mass. during the World Cup, according to The Athletic.

Riders may be charged more than $75 per-person for the 27-mile journey, a steep increase from the $20 MBTA typically charges for NFL and MLS game day travel.

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