Coachella, the music festival that occurred across two weekends this month, drew crowds of 125,000-plus attendees each day.
A report published by Billboard last week shows that most of the crowd, about 60%, used Coachella’s payment plan system to pay for their $600-and-up tickets. The plan allows attendees access to Coachella with an upfront cost of as little as $49.99.
Tickets started at $649 for the first weekend of Coachella from April 10 through 12 and $600 for the second weekend from April 17 through 19. People reported that tickets used to cost $429 per weekend in 2020. When Coachella started in 1999, tickets were $50.
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The festival first began offering the buy-now-pay-later option in 2009, and at the time, only 18% of attendees tapped into it, per People.
Coachella music festival 2025. Credit: Getty Images
Coachella partnered with ticketing company AXS to offer the buy now, pay later payment plan, which enables the festival goer to pay off their ticket over three months. Coachella does not charge interest for the ticket purchase, but does require that those who opt for the payment plan pay a $41 fee for using the service, which amounts to about 8% of the ticket price. The average credit card interest rate, in comparison, is about 20%.
Most fans bought tickets to Coachella after the festival announced its musician lineup in November, revealing that Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Green Day, Post Malone, and Benson Boone were headliners. Anyone who bought tickets before Jan. 25 and opted for the payment plan had the price of their ticket divided into three equal payments, with the final payment deducted from the attendee’s account in March, per Billboard.
If payments were more than 10 days late, the order was automatically cancelled and the fan given a credit for future festivals. The credit expires one year after being issued.
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Coachella makes more than $115 million in ticket sales on average per year. Artists who perform at the festival can earn up to $5 million per weekend.