Price is the amount a seller asks for something, while cost is how much something costs you: a service, a repair, a journey or life in a city. Cost is also a verb: The ticket costs ten pounds. Price is not used as a verb in this sense.
price or cost — can you pick the right one?
Pick a word and write a sentence — we'll check right away that it fits the meaning and explain any mistakes.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
the price of + item; high/low + price (not expensive price); item + costs + amount; the cost of + living/travel/repairs; cost – cost – cost
- The price of train tickets went up again, so I've started cycling to work.
- Fixing the brakes on my car cost me almost half of my monthly salary.
- The company covers the cost of travel when we visit clients abroad.
What changed
First versionThe prices in this café are too expensive.
RevisionThe prices in this café are too high.
Prices are expensive is a common mistake, because both words seem to be about money. But expensive describes the goods and places themselves: an expensive café. For prices, English uses high or low: the prices are too high.
In the plural, costs means expenses, usually of a company or a family: The company needs to cut costs. Prices doesn't have this meaning: it only refers to how much goods and services are sold for.
Your turn
Many young people leave the capital because the ___ of living there has become too high.
Show the answer
cost — Cost of living is a fixed phrase: the total amount you spend on housing, food and transport. Price is used for a particular item, and price of living does not sound like English.
Compare your spending now and five years ago. Use price for one item you often buy and cost for your overall expenses.
The price of a cappuccino near my office has almost doubled in five years, and my total cost of living has gone up by about a third.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.