Use the wedding gift calculator below to work out how much to give for a wedding gift, based on your relationship to the couple.
Wedding Gift Calculator
Pick your relationship to the couple to start.
Wedding gift amount
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The line marks the $130 average wedding gift.
How we got this number
You already gave once. Here is how the total splits across all three events.
Use this as a starting point. What you can comfortably afford matters just as much.
Want to give something they keep? Put this amount on a bouquet preservation gift card. They send in their bouquet after the wedding and pick how they want it preserved.
Most wedding guests give $100 to $150 for a wedding gift. The average wedding gift amount is $130 per guest. Five things move your own figure: your relationship to the couple, a plus-one, travel costs, earlier gifts, and where the wedding is held. Below you will find the amounts by relationship and the five factors behind them. Then the dollar figures guests ask about most, the choice between cash and a keepsake wedding present, and how the calculator works.
What Is the Average Wedding Gift Amount?
The average wedding gift amount is $130 per guest, according to Zola's 2026 First Look Report. The Knot puts a casual friend's gift a little higher, at $140. Fidelity Investments and Western Union both use $100 to $150 as the normal range.
Do you have to cover the cost of your plate? No. The Emily Post Institute says clearly that a wedding gift is a gesture rather than payment for your seat at the reception. So use the normal range instead of whatever the caterer charged. Nobody expects you to match a pricey plate. Your relationship to the couple is what changes the number.
Wedding Gift Amounts by Relationship
Five relationship tiers set the wedding gift amount: coworker, casual friend, friend or extended family, close friend, and immediate family. Each range below assumes one guest attending alone.
| Your relationship to the couple | Wedding gift amount |
|---|---|
| Coworker, acquaintance, or distant relative | $50–$75 |
| Casual friend or distant family member | $75–$100 |
| Friend or extended family (cousin, niece, nephew) | $100–$150 |
| Close friend or wedding party member | $150–$200 |
| Sibling, child, or parent of the couple | $200–$500 |
This table shows the wedding gift amount for each tier, from $50 to $500. Those ranges are a starting point. Five factors can move you up or down inside them.
5 Factors That Change Your Wedding Gift Amount
Five factors change the wedding gift amount inside those ranges.
- Your relationship to the couple — sets the base range, and it is the strongest factor.
- Bringing a plus-one — a couple attending together gives 1.5 to 2 times the single amount. At a friend's wedding that is roughly $200 to $250. If you cannot attend at all, you still give the full tier amount, because the gift is a gesture rather than payment for a seat.
- Travel and lodging you already paid for — if you paid for flights and a hotel, you can give at the low end.
- Gifts you already gave — split one total across the events: about 20% at the engagement party, 20% at the shower, and 60% on the wedding day.
- Where the wedding is held — guests in high-cost metros like New York City can give above the national average.
Relationship, plus-one, travel, earlier gifts, and location all pull on the same number. You should let the calculator above weigh them together.
Is $100 Enough for a Wedding Gift?
Yes. $100 sits at the bottom of the $100 to $150 range most sources agree on. It is the lowest amount etiquette guides suggest for a cash gift. It is generous from a coworker or acquaintance, and fine from a friend attending alone. It only looks low when a couple gives it together.
Is $200 a Generous Wedding Gift?
Yes. $200 sits above the $130 average and above the friend tier. It is the usual amount from a close friend or a wedding party member. It is also what a couple gives when they attend a friend's wedding together.
Is $300 Too Much for a Wedding Gift?
$300 is a normal wedding gift from a sibling, a parent, or a couple attending together. It sits inside the $200 to $500 immediate-family tier. From a coworker or acquaintance, $300 runs above the usual range. It can leave the couple feeling they owe you something.
Is Cash or a Keepsake the Better Wedding Gift?
Once you have the amount, the only question left is what form the wedding gift takes. Cash is what most couples ask for, and it is never wrong. Cash funds, honeymoon contributions, and registry items all sit side by side on wedding websites now. How much money do you put in a wedding card? The same amount the calculator returned — the card just carries it.
A keepsake is the part of the gift they still have years later. Professional wedding bouquet preservation costs $150 to $700 or more, and most often $250 to $600. That overlaps the close-friend and immediate-family tiers above. The exact price depends on the method the couple picks, and what wedding bouquet preservation costs breaks that down. A gift card for wedding bouquet preservation can be set to the exact amount the calculator gave you, which leaves the method to them. The bouquet has to still be fresh, so arrange it before the wedding or just after. The couple gets as much say as you do in whether preserving a wedding bouquet is worth it.
How the Wedding Gift Calculator Works
A wedding gift calculator is a tool that turns your relationship to the couple and your circumstances into a suggested dollar range. You answer five questions: your relationship to the couple, how you are attending, what you spent on travel and lodging, any gift you already gave, and where the wedding is held. Read the result as a range rather than one number, because etiquette gives you a band to work within. The calculator does not know the couple's registry or what you can afford, so the final call stays yours. Nearly every guest lands in the $100 to $150 band. The calculator tells you where.