Despite the escalating costs of tickets, festival enthusiasts are still as eager as ever to attend these unique events and see their favourite artists perform live. However, many festival-goers are starting to do so with a monetary budget in mind.
So, if you’re an avid festival fan on the lookout for the next event to sing your heart out at, dance ‘til you drop, and enjoy an all-around great atmosphere at an affordable price, then the team here at Wethrift has you covered.
To help get the best experience for your budget, we set out to discover the most budget-friendly festivals around the world by looking at the following elements:
Top 10 Most Budget-Friendly Festivals for 2024
Kendal Calling in the UK leads the way as the most budget-friendly festival to attend, with a total score of 102.4/130.
A weekend ticket will set festival goers back by £199, which works out at an affordable £0.80 to see each of the 249 artists. It’s definitely not one to be missed with the likes of headliners Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Streets and Paulo Nutini taking to the stage.
When it comes to accommodation, a standard tent is the cheapest option for campers. However, if you require more home comforts, there are other options available. The festival allows attendees to park up their campervans for £99.00, or you can rent a two-person sandstone bell tent for the weekend, which will set you back £495.00 and has everything from comfortable air beds to fairy lights to set the ambience. You can also pay £47.00 to gain access to ‘Soap Opera’, the festival’s premium shower and toilet facilities.
Benicàssim in Spain ranks as the fourth-most budget-friendly festival, scoring 78.2/130 overall.
Admission into the festival for the whole weekend will cost an extremely affordable £39.82. Benicàssim has 57 artists in its lineup, including headliners Black Eyed Peas, The Libertines and Yungblud – meaning that the price of your ticket works out at £0.70 per artist.
The festival has a range of different-priced camping options to choose from, including taking your own camping equipment free of charge. However, it’s important to consider that if you’re travelling to the festival by plane, this might end up costing you a lot more in luggage allowance, than simply renting a tent.
Instead, you can pay to camp at Campfest, a campsite with fewer people and a higher security level. You can choose the 2-person Easy Tent for £42.62, which includes padded flooring, a padlock, and a battery-operated LED light.
If you’re looking for a little more luxury, the Deluxe Double for £102.60 has an inflatable mattress, bedding, a padlock, and a battery-operated LED light. If glamping is more your vibe, you can hire a bell tent costing £384.03 for up to 4 people. This includes foam mattresses, bedding, a table and stools, a trash can, a padlock, a welcome bottle and a buffet breakfast.
In fifth place as one of the lowest-cost festivals researched is Sziget Festival in Hungary, scoring a total of 71.1 /130.
The event, which sees 82 artists perform across multiple stages, costs around £290.18 for a weekend ticket, allowing you to see the likes of Stormzy, Fred Again, Liam Gallagher and Halsey.
Travelling to the festival varies in cost depending on your chosen transport method. If you’d rather be taken to and from the festival by coach, you can purchase a coach pass for £57.00. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to drive to Sziget and park for the weekend, you can buy a parking pass for £127.33.
The Best Low-Cost Festivals in the UK
Topping the table as the most budget-friendly festival in the UK this summer, is Kendal Calling in Cumbria with a score of 102.4/130.
Costing £199.00 for a weekend ticket, this eclectic festival will have you singing to pop hits by the Sugababes one minute, and rocking out to bands like Feeder the next. And that isn’t all that’s included for the reasonable price. The festival has plenty of other activities to enjoy, whether it’s The Soap Box for watching comedy performances, Tim Peaks Diner for food and secret music sets, or The Picturehouse for watching movies after a long day on your feet.
There are a number of ways you can travel to the festival affordably. Whether you want to pay £43.50 for a coach pass to take you to and from the event or pay £18.00 for a parking pass, so you can drive to the festival and park up for the weekend.
Emerging as the second-most affordable festival to attend this summer is Houghton Festival in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, scoring 93.7/130.
The price of a weekend ticket comes in at £280.00, to celebrate live and electronic music by 200 artists (that’s £1.40 per artist – talk about a bargain). There are also lots of budget-friendly ways to travel to the festival, from a £65.00 coach pass to a £16.00 parking pass, if you’d rather travel in the comfort of your own car.
Alongside music, Houghton has lots of other activities to enjoy while you’re there. Visit its floating-on-a-lake restaurant, Turntable & Napkin, The Orchard (for activities like yoga, life drawing, cacao ceremonies, nighttime screenings, saunas and massages), Sculpture Park tours, and Trevinos (a self-contained record store).
Latitude Festival in Suffolk secures its position as the UK’s third-lowest-cost festival, boasting a score of 81.1/130.
The festival’s weekend tickets cost £308.00, which works out at around £1.99 per act and gives you access to all 155 artists in the lineup. This includes the likes of headliners Kasabian, London Grammar and Duran Duran.
While camping at a festival is often a given, that doesn’t mean you have to skip showering or dread a trip to the toilets. Latitude offers the silver package that can be added to your ticket for £55.00, which gives you access to luxury toilets, showers and the ‘refresh lounge’.
Latitude offers more than just music, with its Comedy Arena, Theatre Arena, The Listening Post (with performances from award-winning authors, speakers and poets), and The Waterfront Stage (for dance acts from ballet to swing dance).
When it came to the top 10 most affordable festivals in the UK, it’s no surprise that the more costly Glastonbury in Somerset didn’t make the cut, with a weekend ticket costing £355.00.
However, Glasto, with its star-studded lineup and unique atmosphere, still reels in the crowds, with the demand for tickets far exceeding the availability. This creates a sense of exclusivity for the event and has many festival goers desperate to get their hands on tickets that are like gold dust.
The 10 Most In-Demand Festivals Around The World
Tomorrowland in Belgium tops the leaderboard for being the most in-demand festival around the world, with a score of 29.2/30.
It’s no surprise that the world’s biggest EDM (electronic dance music) festival boasts a significant online following, with a search volume of 24.68M, 260.1K TikTok hashtags, and 4.98M Instagram hashtags. The popular festival has a line-up of 200 must-see artists, alongside DreamVille – a welcoming village where people can eat at food stands from around the world, enjoy a BBQ, or shop for clothes, jewellery and other festival essentials.
Taking second place for being the next most popular festival online is Coachella, USA, scoring 25.7/30.
The festival, set in the Californian desert, is known for its iconic music lineup of 233 artists, vibrant atmosphere, trendsetting fashion, and crowds of celebrities in the audience. The 2024 festival saw the likes of Justin and Hailey Bieber, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Barry Keoghan and Emma Roberts attending – making it understandable why the festival has amassed 18.51M searches, 5.45M Instagram hashtags and 402.1K TikTok hashtags.
Ranking as the third-most desirable festival to attend around the world is Lollapalooza, USA, with a total score of 24.3/30.
Lollapalooza, known for its immersive art installations and lively atmosphere, has a lineup of 171 artists with the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Blink 182, The Killers and SZA headlining the stages in 2024. The Chicago-based festival is so popular it has 8.45M searches for it online, alongside 246.6K TikTok hashtags and 100.1K Instagram hashtags.
How to Save Money When Attending a Festival This Summer
Nick Drewe, Discount Expert at Wethrift: “There is no denying that the growing cost of living has impacted festivals around the world, as monetary increases in several areas including production costs, increased artist fees, venue rental, staffing, and security fees have led to a surge in prices.
“However, despite this, the biggest driver of festival price increases is the sheer demand for tickets. As the popularity of a festival increases, this also fuels people’s desire to experience the unique event – and a great example of this is Glastonbury. The exclusivity and innovative experience the festival has created sees people desperately trying to secure tickets to the event, despite it not being the most affordable festival.
“So, with ticket prices at an all-time high, we wanted to provide you with some alternative ways you can make your festival experience more affordable…”
- Early Bird Tickets: A great way to purchase your tickets to a festival at a discounted rate is by purchasing an early bird ticket. This is often before the full lineup for the festival is released and tickets are put on at a lower rate.
- Arrange Affordable Transport: Getting a taxi to a festival is likely to come with high surge prices, so if you’re planning to, it’s important to bag the best deals. Alternatively, you can use public transport or opt for a coach pass to take you straight to and from the festival. Often, a parking pass for a festival is quite affordable, so if there is a group of you that can pool your money together for a pass and fuel costs – this could be the most budget-friendly option.
- Accommodation: While the majority of festivals have the option to camp or even glamp, some festivals don’t accommodate festival goers staying on the premises. So, if you need to find somewhere affordable to stay close to the festival, it’s best to keep an eye out for any hotel deals, for instance on booking.com.
- Eating and Drinking: Before heading to the festival, make sure to stock up on snacks, drinks, and quick and easy meal options. While it can be tempting to just buy a burger and chips from one of the many food vans, they often come with a high price tag, and eating this way throughout the weekend can add up to a significant amount.
- Avoid Impulse Purchases: While a band tee or flowery crown might seem like a must-have amidst the buzz of the festival, these items are often overpriced and likely to be unnecessary purchases. Instead, stick to your budget and avoid looking around the festival shops and stalls – unless you have strong willpower.
- Volunteer: If you love going to festivals but are struggling to afford the price of a ticket, working at the festival is a great way around this. You’ll simply be allocated some shifts to work at the festival, and the rest of your time there will be free to enjoy however you’d like.
Methodology: To discover the most affordable festivals, the team analysed the following: ticket price, booking fee, historical price increase, group booking discount, payment plan, price of glamping accommodation, VIP ticket, luxury showers, price per artist, parking pass, campervan pass, coach tickets, and public transport incentives.
To discover the most in-demand festivals, the team analysed Google search data, TikTok hashtags and Instagram hashtags for each festival.