The Groom's Spending Guide
We analyzed over 50,000 real groomsmen gift orders to find out what grooms actually spend. Here are the numbers, plus personalized picks at every budget.
The short answer
Most grooms spend about $40 to $50 per groomsman, with the average landing right around $43. Smaller parties tend to spend more per guy, and it is normal to spend more on the best man. Across a full party of six or seven, the typical total is about $275. What matters most is that the gift is personal, not that it hits a certain dollar amount.
In this guide
Figuring out how much to spend on groomsmen gifts is one of those wedding questions with no clean answer. By the time you get to shopping for your guys, you have already spent a small fortune on the venue, the catering, and everything else. We get this question constantly, so we let the data do the talking.
We looked at over 50,000 groomsmen gift orders placed by grooms buying for their full wedding party. Below is exactly what real grooms spend, what changes the number, and personalized picks at every budget so you can find the right gift without guessing.
Based on our analysis of more than 50,000 orders from grooms buying for their whole party, here is what the numbers show.
Most grooms land between $40 and $50 per groomsman, with the overall sweet spot right around $43. Not a rule, just what real grooms do at checkout.
Most wedding parties run six or seven guys, which puts the typical total order around $275 across the full group.
A handy guideline is to budget about two percent of your total wedding cost for groomsmen gifts. On a $20,000 wedding that is roughly $400 for the whole party.
One clear pattern in the data: grooms with smaller parties spend more per person. Four or five guys tends to mean $60 to $70 each, six or seven runs $50 to $60, and parties of ten or more settle closer to $30 to $40 per groomsman. That is normal and nobody expects otherwise.
Four things decide how much you should spend. Run through them and the right budget for your party gets obvious.
This is the biggest factor. Four or five guys and you can spend more on each. Ten-plus and per-person cost naturally comes down, and nobody expects otherwise.
A simple rule of thumb: about two percent of your total wedding budget goes to groomsmen gifts. On a $20,000 wedding that is roughly $400 for the whole party.
It is normal to spend more on your brother or your best man than on a college friend you see twice a year. Match the gift to the role he actually played.
The number matters less than the name on it. A $25 engraved gift built around him beats a $75 generic one every time. Personalization is what he remembers.
A quick cheat sheet for matching your per-groomsman budget to the right kind of gift. Full picks are below.
| Per groomsman | What it gets him | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25 | A personalized flask, whiskey glass, or koozie | Big parties and tighter budgets |
| $35 to $50 | A full personalized gift box or a cooler he keeps | Most grooms, the true sweet spot |
| $65 to $100 | A duffle bag, decanter set, or golf or cigar set | Smaller parties and close friends |
| $100 and up | A leather or premium step-up gift | The best man |
Every gift below is live, in stock, personalized, and engraved in-house. Grouped by what you want to spend per groomsman. You can also browse all groomsmen gifts.
The right tier for a big wedding party or a tight budget. Every one is engraved, so it still feels chosen, not cheap. Browse all groomsmen gifts under $20 →
A personalized flask and shot glasses boxed and engraved with his name, all for under fifteen dollars. The easiest way to hand every guy something that feels thought-through without stretching the budget.
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A custom engraved tie clip he wears on the wedding day and long after. Small, sharp, and personal, it is proof that a great groomsman gift does not have to cost much.
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An engraved whiskey glass for the crew, personalized with his name or nickname. Pour a toast the night before the wedding and he keeps the glass for years.
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Personalized shades in a keepsake bamboo case. A fun, low-cost pick that lands especially well for a beach or destination wedding where every guy will actually wear them.
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Custom can coolers with each guy's name. The go-to when you have a big party to cover, because they feel personal and keep the whole group under budget.
View this giftWhere most grooms land, and for good reason. A full gift box or a piece he keeps, personalized throughout, without going overboard. Browse the boxed gift sets →
Our number-one seller by a wide margin. You pick the items, we engrave every piece with his name and pack it in a keepsake box, so each groomsman can get something a little different.
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A pint glass engraved with his photo and nickname. It gets a laugh when he opens it and a spot in the cabinet after, which is exactly what a personalized gift should do.
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A complete gift box of personalized essentials in one keepsake case. The sweet-spot pick when you want one gift that looks fully curated without building it piece by piece.
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A rugged personalized cooler bag monogrammed with his initials. It shows up at every tailgate, campsite, and beach day, carrying your gift long past the wedding.
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A monogrammed leather dopp kit, the upgrade every guy wants and never buys himself. A step up from the sweet spot that still stays group-friendly.
View this giftFor a smaller party, your closest friends, or the best man. The kind of personalized gift that gets displayed and remembered. Browse all groomsmen bags →
A loaded, personalized golf set for the groomsman who lives for the course. Engraved gear packed into one gift, so his next round comes with your name on it.
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A weighty decanter and matching glasses, engraved with his name and your wedding date, presented in a wooden box. This is the gift a whiskey guy puts on display, not in a drawer.
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A personalized cigar set with an ashtray and the accessories a cigar guy appreciates. A premium, memorable gift for the friend who savors a slow evening.
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Our single most-shipped bag. A structured, personalized duffle sized for a bachelor trip or a weekend away, and one of the most-kept gifts a groomsman ever gets.
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A hand-finished wooden crate of engraved barware. It reads expensive because it looks expensive, and it stays on his shelf long after the last toast. A fitting best-man gift.
View this giftWe would rather be genuinely helpful than only point you at our own shelves. Here are a handful of gift ideas we do not make that are worth the money if they fit your groomsman. No affiliate links, no kickbacks, just honest picks.
For a close friend, a bottle of aged bourbon or a nice single malt, paired with one of our engraved glasses, is a gift that feels generous without a huge spend.
Browse premium whiskey →A Seiko or a Timex Marlin gives real watchmaking at a groomsman-friendly price and reads far more expensive than it costs.
Explore Seiko watches →Etsy is full of small makers doing beautiful custom work, from hand-tooled leather valet trays to engraved star maps of your wedding night sky. Worth a browse for something truly his.
Browse custom pieces on Etsy →For the guys who have everything, a round of golf, a whiskey tasting, or tickets to a game can mean more than another object. Pair it with a small engraved keepsake so he has something to open.
See experience gift ideas →A few ways grooms overspend or underspend. Avoiding these matters more than the exact dollar amount.
It is normal and expected to spend more on the best man than the rest of the party. See best man gift vs groomsmen gift for how much more.
Your brother and your best man can get a nicer gift than a friend you rarely see. Spending differently across the party is completely acceptable. More in best man gift etiquette.
Engraving does the heavy lifting, but a short handwritten note is what he remembers. Say why you picked him. Two sentences is plenty.
Personalized pieces take time to make, and rushing means paying for expedited shipping. Order three to four weeks out. See when to give groomsmen gifts.
Most grooms spend about $40 to $50 per groomsman, with the average landing near $43. Smaller parties tend to spend more per guy, around $60 to $70, while larger parties spend closer to $30 to $40 each. There is no rule. The gift being personal matters more than the exact number.
It is normal and expected to spend more on the best man than on the rest of the party, often $75 to $150 or more. He usually took on the biggest role, so a step-up gift makes sense. See best man gift vs groomsmen gift for the full breakdown.
Not at all. A personalized $20 gift like an engraved flask, whiskey glass, or koozie feels thoughtful because it is made for him. On a big wedding party, spending $20 to $25 per guy is completely reasonable. We have a full collection of groomsmen gifts under $20 that still feel personal.
A common rule of thumb is about two percent of your total wedding budget. On a $20,000 wedding that works out to roughly $400 for the whole party, or about $55 to $65 per groomsman in a party of six or seven.
No. Most groomsmen do not expect anything expensive. A thoughtful, personalized gift is a standard and appreciated way to thank them for the time and money they spent standing up with you.
Most couples hand them out at the rehearsal dinner or the morning of the wedding. Some give them earlier, at the bachelor party, so they do not get lost in the day-of rush. More in when to give groomsmen gifts.
Every piece is engraved in our own shop and made to order. Pick your names, add your wedding date, and we handle the rest.
Co-FounderAbout the Author
Co-Founder, Groovy Groomsmen Gifts · Monroe, Connecticut
Chris Bajda is a co-founder of the family-run Groovy gift studios in Monroe, Connecticut, behind more than 200,000 personalized gifts and over 17,000 customer reviews. For more than 15 years he has helped grooms and groomsmen find gifts worth keeping, and he still tracks what real customers order and love so his picks come from data, not guesswork. He is a regular at the NY NOW gift show in New York City.
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