ESTA cost: the official fee for every traveller in your group
Independent site, not a government service: you apply only on the official CBP site, esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
Choose your passport and the number of travellers: the calculator multiplies the official ESTA fee and converts it into euros at the ECB rate.
United States, 4 people
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No authorisation needed
Price history: USD 40.27 until October 15, 2026, USD 40.62 since October 16, 2026.
An approved ESTA costs USD 40.62 per person since October 16, 2026, the amount set by the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register notice of October 1, 2026 for fiscal year 2027. It is the sum of three parts fixed by federal law: USD 17 for travel promotion, USD 10.62 to cover the cost of running the system, and USD 13 added by the 2025 budget act known as HR-1. If CBP refuses the application, only the USD 10.62 system fee is charged. There is no child rate, so a family of four pays USD 162.48, about €145.16 at the ECB rate of October 23, 2026. The previous fee was USD 40.27, and before the HR-1 fees started on September 30, 2025 the ESTA cost USD 21. An ESTA bought at an older price stays valid for its two years. The only official place to pay is esta.cbp.dhs.gov; any higher amount includes a third-party service charge.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The ESTA fee by group size
Each traveller pays the same fee, from newborns to grandparents. This table multiplies USD 40.62 and converts it at the ECB reference rate of October 23, 2026.
| Travellers | Official fee | In euros |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USD 40.62 | ≈ €36.29 |
| 2 | USD 81.24 | ≈ €72.58 |
| 3 | USD 121.86 | ≈ €108.87 |
| 4 | USD 162.48 | ≈ €145.16 |
| 5 | USD 203.10 | ≈ €181.45 |
| 6 | USD 243.72 | ≈ €217.74 |
What the fee is made of
The Federal Register notice explains the arithmetic: USD 17 under 8 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)(i)(I), which funds the promotion of travel to the United States; USD 10.62 under (i)(II), which recovers the cost of the system and is charged on every application, approved or not; and USD 13 under (i)(III), added by HR-1. Only the middle part follows inflation.
How the price has moved
| From | Fee per approved ESTA |
|---|---|
| before September 30, 2025 | USD 21 |
| January 1, 2026 | USD 40.27 |
| October 16, 2026 | USD 40.62 |
The regulation at 8 CFR 217.5 still prints the old USD 21, because the fees now come directly from the statute as amended by HR-1. The amount charged on the official site is the one in the latest notice.
What a refusal costs
A refused application is not free: USD 10.62 is kept to cover the system. If several members of a family applied and one was refused, enter the numbers below to see what was paid in all.
What a refusal costs
Paid to CBP in all
USD 91.86
≈ €82.07
| Approved | 2 × USD 40.62 |
| Refused | 1 × USD 10.62 |
After a refusal the route is a visa application at a US embassy or consulate; that fee is not shown here.
After a refusal, applying again through the ESTA usually leads to the same answer unless your circumstances have changed; the route is a visa application at a US embassy or consulate, with its own fee.
When the price looks higher
A price above USD 40.62 per person on any website means a private intermediary is adding its own charge to the same CBP form. It does not speed up the decision. Apply on esta.cbp.dhs.gov and keep the CBP receipt; the ESTA page explains how to recognise the official site.