Gift Budget Calculator
How much should you spend? Real answers from the prices of 15,151 curated gifts, updated 2026-11-01. Pick a person and an occasion for a quick answer, or plan a whole list against one total.
Modest
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Typical
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Generous
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Add the people on your list. The planner weights each one by the typical gift cost for that relationship and scales to your total.
Typical gift spend by relationship
Median price of gifts in our guides for each relationship. The middle-half range shows where most options sit.
| Relationship | Median | Middle half | Gifts analyzed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brother-in-law | $60 | $22–$72 | 42 |
| Parents | $40 | $25–$70 | 105 |
| Son | $29 | $17–$60 | 203 |
| Boy | $28 | $17–$45 | 194 |
| Men | $26 | $18–$43 | 699 |
| Dad | $25 | $17–$43 | 851 |
| Girl | $25 | $17–$36 | 192 |
| Daughter | $25 | $14–$39 | 214 |
| Grandmother | $25 | $17–$34 | 205 |
| Sister-in-law | $25 | $22–$60 | 46 |
| Uncle | $25 | $17–$60 | 137 |
| Aunt | $24 | $15–$39 | 109 |
| Friend | $24 | $15–$37 | 198 |
| Grandfather | $24 | $17–$40 | 172 |
| Mom | $23 | $15–$38 | 611 |
| Father-in-law | $23 | $18–$43 | 68 |
| Nephew | $22 | $11–$42 | 175 |
| Son-in-law | $22 | $19–$60 | 131 |
| Wife | $22 | $14–$36 | 715 |
| Couple | $22 | $13–$35 | 315 |
| Her | $21 | $14–$32 | 1,349 |
| Employee | $21 | $14–$35 | 76 |
| Boyfriend | $20 | $13–$36 | 719 |
| Brother | $20 | $13–$35 | 420 |
| Girlfriend | $20 | $13–$30 | 417 |
| Mother-in-law | $20 | $15–$30 | 67 |
| Niece | $20 | $13–$30 | 150 |
| Sister | $20 | $14–$28 | 391 |
| Teacher | $20 | $13–$30 | 221 |
| Stepmom | $20 | $13–$22 | 67 |
| Husband | $19 | $12–$30 | 745 |
| Women | $18 | $13–$28 | 411 |
| Him | $17 | $10–$30 | 1,093 |
| Teenager | $17 | $12–$26 | 502 |
| Stepdad | $15 | $9–$19 | 42 |
| Best friend | $15 | $12–$22 | 104 |
| Boss | $15 | $10–$23 | 125 |
| Coworker | $15 | $10–$22 | 246 |
| Daughter-in-law | $15 | $13–$24 | 74 |
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Data is also available as JSON under CC BY 4.0. Full analysis in the Gift Price Index.
How we calculate gift budgets
Every gift in our guides carries a current Amazon price. For each relationship and occasion we take the median price of the well-reviewed products we recommend, along with the 25th and 75th percentiles; that is the table and chart below. The calculator blends that live median with a common-sense etiquette baseline for the relationship (partners and parents higher, coworkers and acquaintances lower), so neither a cheap-skewing product mix nor an old rule of thumb decides the answer alone. An occasion factor nudges the result up for milestones like anniversaries and graduations and down for stocking stuffers and office exchanges, and the closeness setting scales it further. The planner uses the same per-relationship figures as weights and scales them to the total you enter. Because the price index is recomputed on every site build, the numbers move with real prices rather than with a survey from years ago.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I spend on a gift?
Across 15,151 gifts in our guides the median price is $21, with the middle half of gifts falling between $14 and $35. Spend more for a partner, parent or milestone occasion and less for coworkers, acquaintances and stocking stuffers. The calculator above adjusts for both.
Where do these numbers come from?
Two inputs: the live median price of products in ThousandGiftIdeas' gift guides for that relationship, refreshed from Amazon's product API and recomputed on every site build, blended with a standard etiquette baseline for how much people usually budget for that person. The table below shows the raw price data on its own.
How should I split a holiday budget across my whole list?
Use the planner. Enter your total and add each person with their relationship. The planner weights each person by the typical gift cost for that relationship and scales the result to your total, so a partner gets more than a coworker without you doing the arithmetic.
Can I embed the chart on my site?
Yes. Copy the embed code under the chart. The image regenerates automatically as our data updates, and the link credits the source.