What Does It Cost? Guitars, Strings & Lessons
Honest price ranges for acoustic and electric guitars, what strings and restringing cost, and how much guitar lessons run — plus what's actually worth paying for as a beginner.
Let’s answer the money question without the runaround: you can start playing guitar for well under $200, everything included. Guitars span from about $100 to many thousands, but beginners need none of the expensive end. Below are honest price ranges for guitars, strings, restringing, and lessons — plus where the money is actually worth spending and where it isn’t.
How much does an acoustic guitar cost?
| Price range | What you get |
|---|---|
| Under $150 | Entry-level beginner guitars, often sold as a “starter pack” with a bag and tuner. Playable, if sometimes needing a quick setup. |
| $150 – $400 | The beginner sweet spot. Noticeably better build, tone, and playability. Most people should buy here. |
| $400 – $1,000 | Solid intermediate instruments — better woods, often solid (not laminate) tops. |
| $1,000+ | Serious enthusiast to professional. Beautiful, but zero requirement for a learner. |
How much does an electric guitar cost?
Remember an electric also needs a small amp and a cable to make sound — factor in roughly $50–$150 for a beginner amp.
| Price range | What you get |
|---|---|
| $150 – $300 | Starter packs (guitar + amp + accessories). Genuinely good value to find out if you’ll stick with it. |
| $300 – $700 | The sweet spot — guitars like the well-loved “affordable Strat/Les Paul” copies that gig-ready players actually use. |
| $700 – $1,500 | Serious instruments you could play for life. |
| $1,500+ | Professional and boutique. Wonderful, unnecessary for learning. |
What I’d actually buy as a beginner
Aim for the sweet spot — around $150–$300 for an acoustic, or a $200–$300 electric starter pack — and stop there. Here’s the thing worth tattooing on your pick hand: a well-set-up cheap guitar plays better than a neglected expensive one, and at this stage the instrument is not what’s holding you back. Modern budget guitars are genuinely good. Spend a little to get a small setup (truss rod, action) dialed in if needed, and put the rest of your money into time, not gear.
Buying used is the smartest move of all — a gently-used guitar often sells for half its original price. Check that the neck is straight, the frets aren’t badly worn, and it tunes up without issues, and you can get twice the guitar for your money.
How much do strings cost?
A set of guitar strings runs about $5–$15, depending on brand and type. How often you replace them depends on how much you play — anywhere from monthly (gigging/daily) to a few times a year (casual). For most learners that’s maybe $30–$60 a year. Not a budget item worth worrying about.
How much does it cost to restring a guitar?
This one has a money-saving twist. Take it to a shop and you’ll typically pay $20–$60 — the strings themselves (~$10) plus labor. But changing strings is a 10-minute job you can learn once and do forever, and then it only ever costs you the price of a set. The restringing guide walks you through it step by step for both acoustic and electric. Learning it is one of the best time-for-money trades in all of guitar.
How much are guitar lessons?
Private, one-on-one lessons are the priciest path: roughly $30–$70 for a half-hour to an hour, depending heavily on your area and the teacher’s experience. Cheaper alternatives exist at every level — group classes, community/music-school programs, and apps and online courses that run from free to a modest monthly subscription.
Are lessons worth it? (an honest take)
I’ll give you my real experience rather than a sales pitch. I went to a music school, and yet I learned maybe 90% of what I know on my own. School isn’t a magic bullet — but its real value wasn’t the curriculum, it was the community. Being around other people who play is genuinely priceless: it pushes you, exposes you to new music, and keeps you accountable.
Private lessons are a different calculation, and they live or die on the teacher. A great one will fix in ten minutes what you’d struggle with for months; a mediocre one is money down the drain. So treat the first few lessons as a trial — and realize it’s completely okay to walk away if you don’t click with someone. You’re not obligated to keep paying a teacher you don’t vibe with. The right fit is worth a lot; the wrong fit teaches you bad habits and charges you for them.
The honest bottom line
To start playing, realistically:
- Acoustic route: ~$150–$300 for a decent guitar, ~$15 for a clip-on tuner, ~$10 for spare strings. Call it under $300, once.
- Electric route: ~$200–$350 for a starter pack with an amp, plus the same tuner and strings.
After that, the only ongoing cost is strings — and your time, which is the one thing that actually determines whether you get good. The most expensive guitar in the shop won’t make you practice; a cheap one you leave on a stand and play daily will make you a guitarist.
Where to go next
Save money from day one by learning to restring it yourself, and once you’ve got an instrument in hand, dive into the complete beginner’s guide and start learning chords for free. The cheapest, highest-return “gear” upgrade is consistency.