Fulham's Riverside Stand tops the list, but eight clubs clear the £1,000 mark

With the World Cup over and a new Premier League season under way, supporters returning to grounds across England are once again confronted by the cost of following their club. Despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures, every top-flight club operates a waiting list for season tickets — a clear sign that demand remains high even as prices climb.

That demand is reflected in pricing decisions. Fourteen of the 20 Premier League clubs have raised season-ticket costs, some by more than the rate of inflation, while five clubs have frozen their prices, building on last season's trend when seven did so.

Eight clubs now charge more than £1,000 ($1,364) for their most expensive season tickets. Fulham, whose prices have risen 3.5 per cent, once again have the priciest adult season ticket in the league — a seat in their Riverside Stand now costs £3,192, up from £3,084 last season. Spurs' most expensive offering comes in at £2,223, with Arsenal at £1,835, Manchester City at £1,600 and Aston Villa at £1,297.50. Chelsea (£1,095), Manchester United (£1,178) and Brighton & Hove Albion (£1,100) complete the clubs north of four figures.

Some clubs blur the line between general admission and hospitality. Chelsea's Westview seating can only be purchased via their hospitality site, with prices for the new season not publicly available after reaching up to £4,300 last year. Manchester City's 93:20 areas — covering five blocks — cost £1,600 and offer a more polished experience without tipping into corporate hospitality, similar to Brentford's Dugout seating, their priciest option at £855.

The cheapest tickets and junior rates

Unsurprisingly, the lowest prices come at the three promoted clubs. Ipswich Town's top ticket is £747, while Coventry City's most expensive is £625 and Hull City's is £600. Clubs finishing outside the European places generally cluster at similar pricing, with Tottenham an obvious outlier at the top.

On junior pricing, Fulham are the only club with an under-18 ticket at £1,000 or more (again in the Riverside Stand), while Arsenal (£917.50) and Aston Villa (£990.50) are not far behind. Newcastle United's cheapest junior ticket, at just £85, is the lowest in the division, ahead of Hull (£96), Manchester City (£120), Ipswich (£136), Brentford (£135) and Bournemouth (£145). Ipswich offer an under-12 option for just £45.

Price freezes and the biggest increases

Five clubs — Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham — have frozen their prices, continuing a trend that began last season when seven did so. The biggest increase comes at Coventry City, where prices rose 16 per cent, though those figures were set while the club was still in the Championship and thousands of supporters received free season tickets after signing up to the club's Premier League package.

Ipswich Town raised prices by 12 to 14 per cent and Everton by 7.2 per cent, with the remaining rises between three and five per cent. At Liverpool, a three per cent rise was confirmed only after a huge fan backlash against more severe proposals. The club originally intended a three-year increase based on the Consumer Price Index capped at five per cent, prompting protests at home games, banners, flags removed from The Kop and a ‘not a pound in the ground’ initiative. Liverpool ultimately backed down, introducing a price freeze for the 2027-28 campaign alongside the three per cent rise.

How much do season tickets matter to club finances?

Season tickets remain a relatively small slice of overall turnover, even though they cannot be isolated from match-day income, which includes single-match purchases. Among clubs in the league during 2024-25, Manchester United relied on match-day income for the highest share of revenue at 24 per cent, followed by Tottenham (22.4 per cent), Arsenal (22.3 per cent), Chelsea (17.7 per cent) and Liverpool (16.4 per cent).

The traditional ‘big six’ typically see the largest contribution from match-day income, thanks to larger, more modern grounds and premium options. There is therefore some truth to clubs' claims that they need higher prices to remain competitive under the new Squad Cost Ratio rules — but for smaller clubs it will not make a decisive difference.

Other details supporters should know

Every club offers a way to spread costs over a longer period, as required by the Premier League, though some charge extra for the convenience. The league stipulates that clubs must deliver 70 per cent of ticketing digitally, with newly promoted clubs granted a grace period, and only newly promoted Hull City offer a physical season ticket. All clubs must comply with the Equality Act and may allow physical cards in limited circumstances.

All clubs run ticket exchange facilities, alongside a league-wide minimum usage rule requiring season tickets to be used by the named person or listed on the exchange for a set number of games. At Manchester City this has evolved into a requirement to attend at least 10 games — a policy their supporters' trust has criticised as “discriminatory”. Protests last year led to that club's price freeze.

Arsenal and Aston Villa both offer 23-game season tickets bundled with their guaranteed Champions League fixtures, with Villa supporters saving 10 per cent versus buying those European ties individually. Coventry handed free season cards to more than 5,000 fans who joined a frozen-rate scheme from 2023-24 after the club secured promotion. Manchester City also offers a Metrolink travel add-on at £74 for adults, while Brighton provide free match-day travel within a specified area. Clubs continue to innovate — but supporters have shown they are not afraid to push back against perceived unfairness in pricing or restrictions.