Guides Prices checked September 28, 2026
Do the math before you buy: NYC attraction passes, honestly compared
A pass is a bulk discount on sightseeing. Bulk only saves money if you were buying in bulk anyway — here's the actual math.
The short answer
Add up box-office prices for only the attractions you'd genuinely visit. If a pass beats that number, buy it; if not, don't. In practice: CityPASS ($149, five attractions over nine days) suits a first visit at museum pace, Go City's All-Inclusive (from $169 a day) suits sprint days, and three or fewer stops almost always favors plain tickets. Prices checked September 2026.
- CityPASS $149 · 5 attractions · 9 days
- CityPASS C3 $109 · any 3
- Go City Explorer from $89 · 30 days
- Go City All-Inclusive from $169 · by the day
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The two-minute method that settles it
Write down the attractions you would actually pay to enter — not the ones a brochure suggests, the ones you'd buy tickets for this afternoon. Look up their box-office prices and add them. That number against the pass price is the entire decision. Two honest rules while you count: only count what you'd pay for anyway (a pass 'worth $400' you wouldn't have spent is worth $0), and remember the free tier — the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, the High Line, and the best city views cost nothing and compete directly with everything on the list.
| Pass | Price (adult) | What you get | Window | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CityPASS | $149 ($129 ages 6–17), plus $2 a ticket | Empire State Building + American Museum of Natural History + 3 choices | 9 days | First visit, museum pace, the icons |
| CityPASS C3 | $109 ($89 ages 6–12), plus $2 a ticket | Any 3 from the CityPASS menu | 9 days | A short list of big-ticket stops |
| Go City Explorer | From $89 (2 choices) | Your pick of 2–10 experiences from 103 | 30 days from first visit | Spread-out trips, repeat visitors |
| Go City All-Inclusive | From $169 (1 day) | Unlimited entries from 103 attractions | 1–10 calendar days | Sprint sightseeing, morning to night |
| No pass | Sum of your real shortlist | Exactly what you wanted, nothing else | — | 3 or fewer paid stops, or a flexible mood |
Go City or CityPASS: the short answer
CityPASS if your list is the classic five inside nine days: $149 covers the Empire State Building, the Natural History museum and three more from its menu. Go City Explorer if your list is longer, spread over more days, or includes things CityPASS does not carry: from $89 for two choices, with 30 days from the first visit to use them. Go City All-Inclusive only for sprint days of three or more paid stops, from $169 for one day. The New York Pass you will see advertised is Go City as well: newyorkpass.com runs on the Go City app and sells the same by-the-day, Explorer and Essentials tiers.
What each tier actually costs
Every comparison of these passes quotes the cheapest tier and stops, which is how people end up surprised at checkout. Here is the whole ladder for both Go City products, so you can put your own list against the right rung. Both are per adult, with child pricing quoted when you choose your party.
| Choices | Price | Per attraction |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $89 | $44.50 |
| 3 | $119 | $39.67 |
| 4 | $149 | $37.25 |
| 5 | $179 | $35.80 |
| 6 | $204 | $34.00 |
| 7 | $229 | $32.71 |
| 10 | $299 | $29.90 |
| Days | Price | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $169 | $169 |
| 2 | $219 | $109.50 |
| 3 | $269 | $89.67 |
| 4 | $319 | $79.75 |
| 5 | $359 | $71.80 |
| 6 | $389 | $64.83 |
| 7 | $399 | $57.00 |
| 8 | $409 | $51.12 |
| 9 | $419 | $46.56 |
| 10 | $429 | $42.90 |
Two products have appeared since this guide was first written. Go City now sells an Essentials Pass, a curated 13-attraction menu you pick three from for $99, valid 30 days, which sits below Explorer. CityPASS now sells C-All at $259 adult and $189 child, its everything tier, on the same nine consecutive days as the others. C-All only makes sense at genuine sprint pace; at museum pace the $149 CityPASS is still the better-value default for a first visit.
The gotchas the sales pages skip
A pass is not a skip-the-line ticket — the big observatories and museums run timed entry, and pass holders book slots like everyone else, sometimes from a smaller allocation. Marquee items rotate on and off the menus, so confirm your must-see is actually on the version you're buying. Child age bands differ by pass and even within one brand: CityPASS runs 6–17 on the flagship but 6–12 on C3 and C-All, and Go City prices adults with a separate child band of 3–12. That changes family math more than any headline price. CityPASS also adds a $2 processing fee per ticket at checkout, which its price table discloses and no comparison article mentions. And the savings percentages on the covers assume you'd have paid full gate price at maximum pace — nobody sightsees at maximum pace on vacation, and the passes are priced knowing that.
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CityPASS
The first-visit default: the two anchors everyone actually wants (Empire State Building, Natural History) plus three choices, over nine days — enough time to be a person and not an itinerary.
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Go City (Explorer or All-Inclusive)
The flexible machine: Explorer for a handful of picks across 30 days, All-Inclusive for wall-to-wall days when you genuinely plan three-plus paid stops daily.
The questions people actually ask
Is the New York CityPASS worth it?
At $149 for five attractions (checked September 2026), it pays off if your real shortlist includes the Empire State Building, the Natural History museum, and three other big-ticket stops. If your list is shorter, the C3 at $109 or plain tickets win.
Go City or CityPASS: which is better in New York?
CityPASS ($149) if you want the Empire State Building, the Natural History museum and three more inside nine days. Go City Explorer (from $89 for two choices, 30 days to use them) if your list is longer or spread out, and the All-Inclusive (from $169 a day) only for days with three or more paid stops. Either way, add up the box-office prices of what you would really visit first. Checked September 2026.
Is the New York Pass the same as Go City?
It is Go City’s product. newyorkpass.com runs on the Go City app and sells The New York Pass by the day, 1 to 10 days, plus Explorer and Essentials versions, the same tiers Go City sells under its own name. Checked September 2026.
Do passes let you skip the lines?
No. Most major attractions use timed-entry reservations for everyone, pass or not. A pass changes what you pay, not when you enter — book your slots as early as the attraction allows.
Which pass has the best kid pricing?
It depends on your kids' ages, because the bands differ: CityPASS prices children 6–17, Go City draws its band lower. For teenagers, CityPASS's child price covers them; for under-6s, most anchors are free or cheap anyway.
Should I buy the pass before my trip?
Decide before, buy any time — prices are the same online day-of. What actually needs booking ahead is the timed entry to the individual attractions, especially observatories at sunset.
The sources
Where the prices and rules above come from. Check them yourself:
- CityPASS — New York — pricing and current attraction menu
- Go City — New York passes — Explorer and All-Inclusive pricing
- NYC Tourism — attraction passes — the official visitor bureau's overview
The prices on this page change.
When one moves, this guide is corrected and the morning brief says so. Get the brief and you get the update the day it lands, with the rest of New York explained alongside.
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