Airsoft can be an excellent workout and fun time that encourages cooperation and competition. But some people avoid getting into tactical games because of price considerations. It is possible to make airsoft really expensive, but you can start out and stay on a small budget.
Airsoft isn’t expensive if you buy a reasonably priced weapon and don’t spend too much on gear. Typically, you would spend $85 at a minimum, and $250 on average getting started with airsoft. You can spend over $750 on gear and weapons if you want, though.
You will discover the specific costs of clothing, protective gear, guns, and airsoft ammunition in this article. Each category’s minimum and maximum costs are covered so you can decide where to spend less and where to splurge. Let’s get started.
Cost Of Clothing – $44 – $140
You can get decent quality airsoft clothes for $100, with the expensive ones hovering around the $140 mark. One can choose to buy camouflage clothing with prices north of $1000, but that’s entirely optional and falls under vanity purchases.
You can get a camouflage shirt for $12 on Amazon. And that, too, isn’t necessary. Any pair of jeans and a thick shirt can work for airsoft. Camouflage clothing can be an advantage but isn’t mandatory. In fact, it might expose you too much in certain fields.
Cost Of Head Gear – $12 – $46
Airsoft headgear can vary so much in price because there is a range of masks, optional helmets, and mandatory goggles that all fall under the same category. Strictly speaking, only goggles are required, and face masks (a.k.a. Soft material masks) are used for warmth in cold fields. Hard shell masks look cooler and minimize damage in case of a face shot.
A helmet does the same in the instance of a headshot. Since headshots aren’t taken deliberately in airsoft games, headgear isn’t as important as in Paintball. It is still advisable to invest in high-quality eye protection and at least a balaclava mask.
Cost Of airsoft Guns – $20 – $500
Airsoft guns can cost between $20 and $500 because there are three types of guns with vastly different fire powers. The most basic airsoft gun is also the quietest. A spring pistol gun has the lowest firepower and is hence the cheapest gun type.
You can get it for as little as $20. Good spring pistol guns cost twice as much. One shouldn’t expect to spend more than $40 on a spring pistol.
The second type is a gas pistol. The word air in airsoft seems to come from gas guns since “air” is used to propel pellets in these guns’ mechanisms. These used to be the field standard before the electric-powered guns.
Gas-powered guns cost $50 to $200, with cheaper models being pistols and more expensive ones being rifles. Almost all gas-powered guns are semi-automatic, though it is possible to have a gas-powered manual gun.
The final type of airsoft gun is the one with the highest firepower. An electric airsoft gun has multiple firing modes and can switch between at least semi-automatic and single-fire modes. Most airsoft guns also have fully automatic firing modes as well. These cost up to $500, with the cheapest electric guns being north of $150.
To recap, here’s how much you’ll spend on airsoft guns based on gun type.
- SpringPistol – $20 to $40
- GasPistol – $50 to $200
- Gasrifle – $100 to $300
- Electrichandgun – $100 to $200
- Electricgun – $200 to $500
Cost Of airsoft Ammo – $15 For Every 3 Game Days
This isn’t as high a cost but is a recurring one, which can add up eventually. On average, a pack of 4000 airsoft pellets costs $15. The biodegradable variety costs $20. Depending on how much ammo you use, you might need to buy a new pack after one to three days of airsoft games. In a single game, you will use 600 to 850 pellets.
As you can see, this will leave behind a significant supply of ammo. Airsoft ammo is pretty universal in size, with the older big pellets being phased out. Don’t get too specific about the ammunition brand.
Field Time Cost – $10 To $65
Usually, airsoft fields charge per head, with prices being lower for larger bookings. The cost per head is $10 to $35 in the US, but for smaller groups, it can go up to $65. Usually, ten players can easily manage to get a $25/head booking for a day of airsoft games. This includes field time only, and you need to have your own equipment and ammunition.
Airsoft Total Cost Range – $86 To $751 (+$5 Of Ammo Per Game)
Now that you know how much you might end up paying for airsoft ammunition, weapons, and clothing, let’s add up the minimums and the maximums to get a total cost range for the game.
You can start playing airsoft with a minimum of $86 but may spend $751 going for more expensive options. As with any hobby is no maximum limit on how much you can spend on airsoft, so having a budget and staying within it is your responsibility.
How To Start Airsoft On A Budget
To start playing airsoft on a budget, you should buy equipment online after price shopping, use what you can from what you already have, and book airsoft field time with more people during low-demand periods.
Here are a few tips to minimize airsoft costs:
- Use clothes you already own – This is the best way to opt-out of clothing costs. Light clothing with sufficient protection is all you need.
- Pairairsoft goggles with a soft mask – Hard masks offer extra protection that most players don’t need.
- Get a pre-owned electric gun – One way to save money is to buy premium items from people who are bored of them.
- Use ammo wisely – Don’t be trigger-happy. This doesn’t save as much money but is a good habit in general.
- Bookairsoft field time on off-peak days – Mid-week and off-holiday periods are cheaper. And have more people with you to get a lower per-head quote.
- Leave expensive belongings at home – You will not spend money renting a locker.
- Do not buy or rent equipment on the field – There is an 80% markup on purchases. And you might spend 1% of the total price of an item renting it.
Final Thoughts
While you can technically spend $85 and start playing airsoft, you’ll be outmatched by everyone else’s weapons. So, $250 is a reasonable budget to set for airsoft. Whether that is expensive or not depends on your definition of the word.