"Price" is the value assigned to something for sale; "cost" is what you actually pay or sacrifice to get it.
Noun. The number on the tag or the amount the seller asks. Set by the seller.
The price of this phone is $800.
El precio de este telefono es $800.
Prices at this restaurant are very reasonable.
Los precios en este restaurante son muy razonables.
They reduced the price by 20% for the sale.
Redujeron el precio un 20% por la oferta.
Noun. What you actually spend, sacrifice, or lose to get something. Can be money, time, effort, or any sacrifice.
The total cost of the project was higher than expected.
El costo total del proyecto fue mayor al esperado.
The cost of living in this city is very high.
El costo de vida en esta ciudad es muy alto.
Success sometimes comes at a high personal cost.
El exito a veces tiene un costo personal alto.
Common mistake
Typical error: "What is the cost of this shirt?" in a store. Not wrong, but slightly formal. "What is the price?" or "How much does it cost?" is more natural. Another error: using "price" for what you actually paid: "The cost of the surgery was hard to afford" is more precise than "the price".
Trick to remember it
"Price" is on the tag. "Cost" is what leaves your wallet. Something may have a "price" of $100 but the total "cost" (with taxes, shipping, etc.) may be $115.
Quick rule
Price = what the seller asks. Cost = what you actually pay or sacrifice.
Did you know?
"At any cost" and "at all costs" are fixed expressions using "cost", not "price". They mean "regardless of the sacrifice". "Cost" as a verb means "to be priced at": "It costs $50." "Price" as a verb means "to set the price of something": "The manager priced the item at $30."
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I checked the tag. The _____ of this jacket is $120.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The _____ of raising a child in the United States is over $300,000.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Price = what the seller asks. Cost = what you actually pay or sacrifice.
Typical error: "What is the cost of this shirt?" in a store. Not wrong, but slightly formal. "What is the price?" or "How much does it cost?" is more natural. Another error: using "price" for what you actually paid: "The cost of the surgery was hard to afford" is more precise than "the price".
"Price" is on the tag. "Cost" is what leaves your wallet. Something may have a "price" of $100 but the total "cost" (with taxes, shipping, etc.) may be $115.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy