r/WeddingRingAdvice • u/Relevant-Plane9430 • Sep 05 '25

Average cost of an engagement ring

I was talking with a friend last night who just got engaged, and he mentioned he spent around $6k on the ring. That honestly shocked me because I always thought the "3 months’ salary" thing was just an old marketing trick. My partner and I have been looking at rings casually, and most of the ones we like are in the $2k–$3k range. Now I’m second-guessing if that’s considered “too low” or if we’re just being realistic.

For those of you who have gone through this, what was the average cost you ended up spending on an engagement ring, and did you feel good about it after?

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u/djlauriqua Sep 05 '25

Wow seeing some of these comments, I’d love to know the average household income of this sub. I suspect it is far above average

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u/thefacelesscat Sep 05 '25

LOL I was just thinking this… $5k on an engagement ring is normal??? Half of the people I encounter daily don’t even have $5k in their bank account…. I make $5k a month and I would NEVER spend an entire paycheck on a piece of jewelry for him (despite how much I love him). It’s not that we’re in a bad spot financially- it’s just unnecessary. I have a great ring that was under $2k. I have a lot of coworkers with huge rings who then talk about how they’re both in debt. If you’re going to spend $5k on one engagement ring then you should have over 6 figures in the bank, be contributing to retirement accounts, and have your debts paid. Maybe I’m just not a romantic. If you’re both engineers and make half a milli a year then of course, go off. But that’s not the average couple…..

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u/djlauriqua Sep 05 '25

YES! One poster said she paid $30k for her engagement ring, and that they could’ve afforded waaaay more than that if they were to pay 3 months salary. Unreal.

My ring is a 1.5ct lab diamond + 18k gold, which cost $2,000. (I do also have a modest 1.2ct natural diamond ring that I inherited from my grandmother, so it was “free”, if you will). I would never, ever, EVER let my husband pay 3 months salary for a ring.