You’ll either feel seen or scared after reading this.
Hundreds of thousands head to the California desert each spring for Coachella—equal parts music festival, fashion runway, and cultural spectacle.
But behind the flower crowns and headliners lies a growing financial reality: in 2025, more than 60% of general admission attendees used payment plans to afford their tickets, spreading out the cost in a way that’s become increasingly common among younger fans.
The Real Cost of Coachella
A weekend at Coachella isn’t exactly a budget-friendly getaway.
General admission tickets this year were priced at $599, and that’s before you even think about travel, lodging, food, drinks, and the inevitable impulse-buy merch.
All in, most people end up spending well over $1,000—and that’s if they’re being somewhat frugal.
For Coachella’s mostly 20-something crowd, that kind of price tag can feel like a lot to handle. So instead of dropping all that cash at once, many fans opt for payment plans.
It makes the whole thing seem more doable—$50 now, worry about the rest later. But for those already dealing with rent, loans, and a stack of other expenses, it can quietly turn into just one more monthly hit to the bank account.
The Rise of Festival Payment Plans
Coachella first rolled out payment plans back in 2009. At the time, only about 18% of ticket buyers used them—probably still clinging to the hope of splitting a hotel room five ways and scraping together the cash. Fast forward to 2025, and that number has shot up to around 60%.
The current setup makes it pretty easy to lock in a ticket. Fans can put down as little as $19.99 or $49.99, then pay off the rest in monthly chunks between January and March—just in time to start shopping for outfits.
It’s technically interest-free, but not totally cost-free.
That money doesn’t just vanish into the desert dust. It gets split between the ticketing platforms—like AXS—and Coachella’s promoter, Goldenvoice. While exact percentages vary, industry sources say the revenue is divided based on negotiated contract terms.
Coachella isn’t the only one cashing in on the payment plan trend. Lollapalooza, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Rolling Loud all sell most of their tickets this way too. Bonnaroo offers a similar plan but wants 50% up front—so fans need to be a little more committed before locking in their spot.
Who It Serves and Who It Strains
Festival promotions have shifted their focus.
Instead of leading with artist lineups or the immersive experience, many now emphasize how little you need to pay upfront. Ads that once highlighted headliners now push affordability: $20 down gets you in the door, $50 secures your pass. For fans in their 20s juggling rent, loans, and everyday expenses, that message is hard to resist.
It works—until it doesn’t. What seems manageable at first can quickly add up, especially for fans attending more than one event. Sources say it’s not uncommon for people to be paying off four or five festivals at once. That $20 deposit starts to feel a lot heavier when the monthly deductions stack across multiple calendars.
At a glance, Coachella’s system might seem like your usual Buy Now, Pay Later setup—Klarna, Affirm, that whole crowd. But it’s structured more like a layaway. Fans pay in full before the event, and even with an added fee, many see it as a way to secure access without a massive upfront hit.
That structure isn’t just about flexibility—it also works in the festival’s favor.
Payment plans lower the barrier to entry and help promoters lock in revenue months before the gates even open. Promoters have every reason to encourage follow-through—not just to recover ticket costs, but to drive on-site spending on food, drinks, merch, and parking.
Other festivals have embraced similar models. At California Roots, a smaller Monterey-based festival, organizer Dan Sheehan estimates 65–70% of attendees use payment plans. For him, the model is built on mutual trust. Organizers promise a memorable experience. Fans promise to pay. And for now, that system seems to work.
But Coachella isn’t an outlier.
A 2023 LendingTree study found that 32% of all U.S. music festival attendees go into debt to attend—and that number jumps to 50% among Gen Z.
Even with that financial weight, 57% of those who went into debt said the experience was worth it. That speaks volumes about how music festivals have evolved—not just as entertainment, but as a once-a-year cultural rite of passage.
For a generation already navigating rising costs and student debt, even a weekend in the desert may carry long-term tradeoffs that still feel justified.