How much does it cost to climb Everest?

Between about $35,000 and well over $100,000 for the expedition, depending on who you climb with, plus flights, gear, insurance and tips. In Alan Arnette's 2026 survey of operators' published prices, a basic Nepal-side trip with essential services started in the low $30,000s, the median for a Nepali operator was about $45,000, and an international operator with a Western guide charged around $76,000. Premium trips cost well above $100,000.

The permit

Nepal charges $15,000 per climber for the spring season, from 1 September 2025; it was $11,000 for the ten years before. Autumn costs $7,500. The permit is usually included in an expedition price. Every team also pays the fee that keeps the route through the Khumbu Icefall fixed and maintained. On the Tibet side the permit comes packaged with transport and services, at about $15,800 to $18,000 a person, but China kept that side closed to foreign climbers for the 2026 season.

What the price buys

The difference between a $40,000 and an $80,000 expedition is mostly oxygen, people and margin: how many bottles you get, whether you have a personal Sherpa, a Western guide or a doctor, the food, the tents, the radios, and how many spare days there are for weather. Since 2025 Nepal requires one licensed Nepali guide for every two climbers. Cheap can be expensive: a failed attempt you have to repeat costs more than doing it properly once, and people have died for want of a radio or medical care.

On top of the expedition

Flights to Kathmandu, a set of 8,000 m26.247 ft clothing and boots (several thousand dollars if you buy it new), rescue insurance that covers climbing above 6,000 m19.685 ft, and tips and bonuses for your Sherpas, cooks and guides, which run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

The current permit fees and prices are kept up to date on Everest permits and costs, and the companies are on Everest operators. What all seven summits cost together is in What do the 7 summits cost?