A standard US Powerball ticket costs US$2 per play. Adding the Power Play multiplier makes it US$3, adding Double Play (where offered) makes it US$3, and a play with both add-ons costs US$4. Those are the official prices at any US retailer; buying online can cost more depending on the route you use.
Powerball ticket prices at a glance
| Entry | Price per play | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Standard play | US$2 | One line in the main draw |
| + Power Play | US$3 | Multiplies non-jackpot prizes 2-5× (10× when the jackpot is US$150 million or less); the US$1 million second prize doubles to US$2 million |
| + Double Play | US$3 | Enters your numbers in a second drawing with a US$10 million top prize (offered in participating jurisdictions) |
| + both add-ons | US$4 | Power Play and Double Play on the same line |
Add-on availability varies by state — California, for example, doesn't offer Power Play because its prizes are pari-mutuel by law. Multi-draw and advance-play tickets simply multiply the per-play price by the number of draws; there is no discount for buying more draws.
How much does Powerball cost online?
It depends on the route. Official state lottery platforms sell at face value — US$2 a line. Licensed US ticket couriers sell at face value too, though some charge service fees or a subscription. Lottery messenger services, which buy official tickets for players outside the US, price a line above face value because the local purchase, ticket scan and prize handling are bundled into it — typically a few dollars more per line, shown upfront before you pay. The routes themselves are compared in our guide to buying Powerball tickets online.
Is Power Play worth the extra dollar?
Power Play never touches the jackpot — it multiplies non-jackpot prizes only. Its headline effect is on the match-5 second prize, which doubles from US$1 million to US$2 million regardless of the multiplier drawn. For the small fixed prizes, a 2-10× multiplier on US$4-US$100 wins is nice but rarely decisive. Whether that is worth 50% more per line is a preference, not a mathematical edge: the odds of winning each tier are identical either way — see the full Powerball odds and prize table.
How Powerball prices compare with other big lotteries
Powerball's US$2 line is now the cheaper of the two big American games — Mega Millions moved to US$5 per play in its 2025 revamp, with the prize multiplier built in rather than sold as an add-on. Across the Atlantic, a EuroMillions line costs €2.50, and Australian Powerball — a different, unrelated game — costs about AU$1.35 per game. Ticket price alone says little, though: what a line buys in odds and prize structure differs game by game.
What would it cost to buy every combination?
There are 292,201,338 possible Powerball combinations, so covering them all at US$2 a line would cost US$584,402,676 — before taxes, the cash-option discount and the risk of splitting the jackpot with another winner. It has never been a profitable idea in practice, which is exactly why jackpots can roll as high as they do.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a Powerball ticket cost with Power Play?
US$3 — the US$2 base play plus US$1 for the Power Play add-on, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2–10× and fixes the match-5 second prize at US$2 million. With Double Play as well (where offered), the line comes to US$4.
Why did my online Powerball ticket cost more than $2?
US$2 is the face value at US retail. Official state platforms charge face value; couriers may add service fees; and messenger services for overseas players price the purchase, ticket scan and prize handling into the line, so a few dollars more per line is normal there.
Is a Powerball ticket cheaper than a Mega Millions ticket?
Yes. Powerball is US$2 per play (US$3–4 with add-ons), while Mega Millions has cost US$5 per play since its April 2025 revamp, which built the prize multiplier into every line instead of selling it separately.
Does buying more draws in advance make Powerball cheaper?
No — multi-draw tickets are a convenience, not a discount. Ten draws cost exactly ten times the per-play price. The only prices that vary are online service fees, which depend on the platform rather than the number of draws.