How Much Does a Mail Order Bride Cost in 2024?

Wondering how much does a mail order bride cost? Then, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll explain everything about mail order brides pricing.

From the factors that influence the mail order bride cost to the detailed explanations of how the cost of a bride depends on the dating site. From the peculiarities of the brides pricing in various regions to the useful tips for those who want to reduce the mail order wife cost.

🌎 Most popular countries with brides	Ukraine, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, Russia, Brazil
💰 Average cost of a mail order bride	$3,000-$15,000
🏷️ Pricing include	Online dating expenses, visa, travel costs, dates and gifts
🏆 Most popular dating sites now	SofiaDate, La-Date, UkraineBrides4you, SakuraDate

P.S. Before you start reading, check out some trusted websites by our experts!

3 best dating sites with good prices

Rating prepared by David Wygant

5.0

💵 Try mail order bride cost calculator

How much is a mail order bride?

Online dating.
$100 to $150 per month, but it depends on the website and the features you’re going to use (some features are quite expensive).
Travel costs.
$200-$1,000 for a round-trip ticket. The price depends on the location, for example, a ticket to Mexico will cost you $180, while a round-trip flight to Manila is at least $799.
Dates.
$20-$100 for a date. The cost depends on such factors as place (fancy restaurant/coffee shop), and location (countries like Japan, Italy, or South Korea are more expensive than Mexico, the Philippines, or Ukraine).
K-1 visa.
$2,200 (around $1,050 for K-1 visa, $1,140 for permanent residence)

Special offers

Site	Price	Offer
SofiaDate	from $2.99	💥 Get 10 credits if confirmed by mail
EasternHoneys	from $3.99	💥 Get 20 credits after registration
La-Date	from $2.99	💥 Get 30 credits after registration & email confirmation

Top-6 aspects included in the mail-order brides price

There are dozens of factors that influence the mail order bride pricing—from flight tickets to the gifts you’re going to buy for your mail order bride.

Here, you’ll find the top 6 aspects included in every mail order bride price:

Location of mail order wives. We’ll cover this factor in more detail later, but it’s obvious that the mail order wife’s cost always depends on the country of her residence. Some countries are cheaper to visit (Latin America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe), while others are more expensive (Northern Asia, Western Europe, North America).
Let’s assume a trip to country A costs $1,000 for 2 weeks, a trip to country B costs $2,500, and you need at least 4 trips to these countries to get to know your mail order bride better. The mail order wife cost will be $4,000 in the first case and $10,000 in the second case.
How much you are ready to spend? The most popular mail order brides are ladies from Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, and Latin countries. Women from these regions love gifts and presents.
Whether you’re going to meet Asian women or ladies from Eastern Europe, you’ll need to buy them gifts. Flowers, her favorite perfume, a brand-new device, or a car for her parents? It only depends on your desire and financial situation.
The cost of a mail order bride website. There are two types of international dating sites—the ones with a credit system and the ones with a premium membership system.
The main difference between them is that when you use dating sites with a credit system, you pay only for the services you need, and when you use mail order brides sites with a premium membership system, you pay for a monthly subscription. In most cases, a dating site will cost you around $100-$150 per month, but we’ll cover this topic a bit later.
The lifestyle and habits of a mail order bride. People are different, you know, and, obviously, foreign women are different, too. Some of them want expensive gifts and 5-star hotels, others would be happy with flowers or with the fact that you buy them coffee.
The marriage factors. If you’re going to marry a foreign bride in her country, you’ll need to pay at least several thousands of dollars. The cost of the wedding is a huge part of the total mail order brides cost. In fact, you’ll have to pay at least $3,000 for the wedding somewhere in Southeastern Asia, while a wedding ceremony and reception in Japan will cost you around $23,000.

So, how much do mail order brides cost? We’ll talk about the exact price of mail order wives from different countries a bit later.

Right now, we’ll talk about such factors as dating site prices, visa fees, and travel expenses in more detail.

🌐 Dating sites’ subscriptions and fees

It all starts with online communication—you choose the best international dating sites and start chatting with Slavic, Latin, or Asian mail order brides. As we’ve already said, there are two types of mail order bride services—the ones with a premium membership and the ones with a credit system.

To cut a long story short, the main difference between these dating agencies are explained in the following table:

	Premium membership	Credit system
Average price per month	$50-$80	$50-$150
Ability to save or spend more	No	Yes
Ability to pay only for what you need	No	Yes

A dating agency with a monthly paid membership will cost you from $50 to $80. Such services are perfect for those who want to understand the final cost and to spend a certain amount of money every month.

The dating platforms with a credit system cost around $100 per month, but as we’ve already said, you can spend more if you want. Such mail order sites usually offer various premium services, for example, you can send gifts, talk to women via video chat, and use other online communication tools to chat with mail order brides.

🛂 Visa for your partner

If you are searching for a serious relationship and want to find a foreign wife, not just a girlfriend, you’ll have to take your future wife to the United States. The visa cost is also a huge part of the total bride cost—the cost of a K-1 visa might take up to 50% of the total mail order bride price.

There are two types of visa for foreign brides and wives who want to enter the United States—CR-1 and K-1. Take a look at this table—it’s a perfect explanation of the differences between a CR-1 visa and a K-1 visa.

	K-1 visa	CR-1 visa
Time (before Covid)	6-8 months	10-12 months
Price	$1,050 (and $1,140 for a Green card)	$980
Marriage	After arrival (in the US)	Before arrival (in a bride’s country)

The K-1 visa is more expensive for several reasons, but the main one is the application fee. In fact, the application fee for this visa is $265, while it’s only $160 for other non-immigrant visas.

However, we still recommend focusing on K-1 visas simply because they are much more popular when it comes to international marriages.

🎫 Travel costs

Another factor that influences the cost of mail order brides is travel expenses. It’s not only about online dating—not only your desire but the US law will demand you to meet a foreign woman in person to bring her to the United States: one of the main requirements for getting a K-1 visa is that you meet a mail bride during the last 2 years.

Typically, a regular man spends around 2 weeks in a mail bride’s country—he has to pay for a hotel room, for food, transportation (taxi, buses, trains), as well as entertainment and dates.

So let’s talk about all the factors that contribute to the travel costs.

Flight tickets.
It depends on a lot of things such as season and flight distance—obviously, tickets to such countries as the Philippines or Ukraine are more expensive than tickets to Mexico or Latin America. Typically, flight tickets to Latin America cost around $200-$400, while the tickets to Southeastern Asia or Eastern Europe cost $500-$800.
Season.
Lots of “mail bride” countries are also well-known tourist destinations—think the Philippines, Thailand, Poland, or Brazil. It’s obvious that it’s usually cheaper to visit such countries during the so-called “low” season (the least busy season) than during the “high” or “peak” season. The same hotel room somewhere in Brazil may cost $50 per night from Christmas until Carnaval (Feb-Mar) and $30 per night from May to September.
Hotel type.
5-star hotels are expensive, 3-star hotels are less expensive, and hostels are the cheapest—everything is simple here. For example, a night in a 5-star hotel in Manila might cost you $200, a night in a decent 3-star hotel will be about $30-$50, and a night in a hostel will cost $10-$15.
Country.
Developed countries are typically more expensive. You’ll pay $30 for meals for 1 day in Japan—the same amount of food will cost you $10 or $15 in Colombia, for example.
Your travel style.
It’s like all these factors above combined—some people prefer expensive hotels, premium restaurants, and fancy entertainment, while for others, it’s ok to live in a hostel and to visit other countries during the low season. Obviously, a “budget-style” trip costs 2 or 3 times less than a “luxury-style” trip.
Trip duration.
The average cost of a mail order bride depends on how much time you’ll spend in another country—obviously, the more trips you’re going to take, the more you’ll pay.

🎁 Dates and gifts

Latin, Slavic, or Asian women—your preferences don’t really matter, you’ll still have to pay for lots of things during the offline dating stage.

Here are the two main things related to offline dating that influence the mail order bride pricing.

First, you are expected to pay for the date.
Asian or Russian mail order brides, Brazilian women or Ukrainian ladies—all these women love when a man pays for them. Of course, everything depends on the type of the date: a casual coffee date will cost you $10 or $20, while a romantic date in a restaurant might cost you $50 or even $100. If you’re planning to visit fancy places, you’ll need to pay more—a date in such restaurants as 11 Mirrors (Kyiv), Le Bar (Manila), or Capitalina (Bogotá) will cost you $200-$400.
Gifts.
It’s up to you. Some people start buying gifts for their girlfriends during the online dating stage (the best international dating sites have such features and services), while others only buy a small bouquet on the first date. Obviously, there are lots of possible mail order bride pricing options here—you can buy a car for her parents to impress them, or you can buy her favorite flowers. So, the price range here is about $10-$20,000.

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Average mail order wife price in different countries

Average mail bride Cost - infographic — Source: the prices are based on BudgetYourTrip and SkyScanner data

Interested in an Asian girl? Fascinated with Russian beauty? Want to meet hot Latinas? The mail order brides prices for these ladies are available in this table.

NB: Ukrainian and Russian prices listed on this table are pre-war prices—they may change during and after the war.

	Tickets (round-trip)	Hotel room (2 weeks)	Food, restaurants	Entertainment	Transportation	Total cost
Asia	$600-$1,000	$300-$1,500	$300-$600	$300-$1,500	$200-$600	$1,700-$5,200
Ukraine	$500	$500	$300	$400	$300	$2,000
South America	$200-$400	$300-$900	$250-$300	$300-$600	$200-$300	$1,250-$2,200
Russia	$500-$700	$400-$700	$250-$400	$300-$600	$150-$500	$1,600-$2,900

The average cost of an Asian mail order bride

Tickets—$600-$1,000. Tickets to such countries as the Philippines are a bit cheaper than tickets to Japan and South Korea.
Hotel room—$300-$1,500 for 2 weeks. You can find a cheap room in a 3-star hotel in Southeastern Asia for $15-$20 per night, but hotels in Korea and Japan are much more expensive.
Food—$300-$600 for 2 weeks. Food is quite cheap in Asia, especially when it comes to street food, but again, it depends on a lot of factors. If you’re going to visit fancy restaurants daily, you’ll probably have to spend even more than $40-$50 per day.
Transportation—$200-$600 for 2 weeks. Taxis and buses are quite cheap in Asia, but trains are much more expensive, especially if we’re talking about Chinese bullet trains.
Entertainment—$300-$1,500. You have probably already understood which countries are the most expensive here.
K-1 visa—$2,200
Total—$3,900-$7,400

🌍 Popular Asian countries with brides	China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, India
💰 Average cost of Asian bride	$3,900 – $7,400
⌛ Average age of Asian bride	21 y.o.
💔 Divorce rate	~11%

Asian Mail Order Brides: Statistics, Cost & Legality in 2024

The average cost of a Ukrainian mail order bride

Tickets—$500. (Pre-war price; right now, it’s impossible to travel to Ukraine due to the Russian military invasion).
Hotel room—$500 for 2 weeks. There are some really expensive hotels in the center of Kyiv, but $500 will be enough for you to spend 14 days in the majority of hotels around the country.
Food—$300-$500. A dinner in a moderately-priced Ukrainian café will cost you around $20, while a dinner in a fancy restaurant might cost more than $200-$400.
Transportation—$300-$400 ($200 if you’re not going to travel outside the city). Taxis and buses are not that expensive, and a train ticket from 1 big city to another will cost you $27-$51 depending on your route and on the class of your ticket.
Entertainment—$400. It’s an average cost, but if you’re going to visit fancy places in Kyiv, Odessa, or Lviv, you’ll probably have to pay more.
K-1 visa—$2,200
Total—$4,100

🇺🇦 Popular Ukrainian cities with brides	Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Lviv
💰 Average cost of Ukrainian bride	$2,000 – $7,000
⌛ Average age of Ukrainian bride	25 y.o.
💔 Divorce rate	25%

Ukrainian Mail Order Brides: Statistics, Cost & Legality in 2024

The average cost of a Latin mail order bride

Tickets—$200-$400. South America is close to the US, so the tickets are quite cheap.
Hotel room—$300-$900. Don’t worry, it will only cost $900 if you’re going to visit Brazil during Carnival.
Food—$250-$300. It’s a cheap region for tourists, so you won’t have to pay a lot for food there.
Transportation—$200-$300. Both taxis and buses are very cheap in Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin countries.
Entertainment—$300-$600. From Carnival and wildlife watching to riding a buggy and visiting famous places, you will never feel bored in Latin America—but not all these activities are free.
K-1 visa—$2,200
Total—$3,450-$4,400

🌎 Popular Latin countries with brides	Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba
💰 Average cost of Latin bride	$1,200 – $8,500
⌛ Average age of Latin bride	25 y.o.
💔 Divorce rate	~30%

Latin Mail Order Brides: Statistics, Cost & Legality in 2024

The average cost of a Russian mail order bride

Tickets—$500-$700 (pre-war prices; a lot of airlines stopped flying to Russia and Russian Aeroflot has halted all its international flights). There are no pronounced high/low season peaks in this country, so the tickets used to cost around $600.
Hotel room—$400-$700. Obviously, the hotels are a bit more expensive in Moscow—especially in its center.
Food—$250-$400. Food is not that expensive in Russia, but you need to be ready to spend about $1,000-$2,000 for 2 weeks if you’re going to visit fancy restaurants in Moscow every day.
Transportation—$150-$500. It’s a large country, and a ticket from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok will cost you around $300. However, if you’re only going to visit Moscow or St. Petersburg, $150-$200 will be enough for a 2-week trip. As for transportation within Russian cities, it’ll cost you around $20 per day (Uber and Yandex Taxi).
Entertainment—$300-$600 for 2 weeks, but it depends on your travel style.
K-1 visa—$2,200
Total—$3,800-$4,900

🇷🇺 Popular Russian cities with brides	Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Kazan
💰 Average cost of Russian bride	$3,800 – $4,900
⌛ Average age of Russian bride	23 y.o.
💔 Divorce rate	20%

Russian Brides: Statistics, Cost & Legality in 2024

Mail order bride cost: how to save money?

The mail-order bride prices are not that low, to be fair. Travel costs, K-1 visa fee, and wedding expenses, so no wonder why you want to find ways to save some money.

Here are the things you can save on:

Communication tools on a dating site. Almost every top-rated mail order bride site offers a video chat or other advanced messaging tools. But the video call feature is quite expensive, and if you spend an hour in a video chat, you’ll have to pay around $150 for that.
Hotel room and flight tickets. Low season together with services like Skyscanner and Booking are your best friends here.
Wedding. You can save money by cutting the number of guests and reducing additional expenses.
Gifts. You don’t need to buy your girlfriend an expensive gift on your first real-life date, really. For most girls, flowers will be enough.

At the same time, you should not compromise quality when cutting the mail order brides costs.

Here are the things you should never save on:

K-1 immigration lawyer. You can do everything yourself, of course, but the cost of a possible mistake is extremely high.
Dating site. It’s certainly not recommended to use free dating websites because they simply don’t provide enough services and protection.

How to avoid scammers on mail order bride platforms?

David Wygant

Dating Expert

Online dating is not 100% safe: there are no dating platforms without fake profiles, bots, or scammers.

However, scammers are usually not that creative—most of them use fake photos, create profiles on free sites, and ask people for money too soon.

The following tips will help you feel safer on international dating services.

Google the photos of the women you chat with and use video chat to see whether you are talking to a real woman. When you chat with a mail order bride online, you need to make sure she is a real person, not a fake profile/scammer.
Avoid free dating sites. International online dating can only be safe if we’re talking about paid websites. You need to spend money to feel protected from scammers and fake profiles.
Never send money to women you meet online. Some of them ask thousands of dollars, others want only a few bucks—but it’s most likely a scammer in both cases.

Conclusion: average cost of mail order brides

Susan Winter

Relationship Expert

As you see, there is no simple answer to the question “what is the average cost of a mail order bride?”

It depends on dozens of factors, from the country and the amount of money you’re ready to spend for the gifts to the season and the amount of time you’re going to spend in a video chat.

We can say that most dating sites will cost around $100 per month and that a K-1 visa will cost you $2,200, where $1,050 is the cost of the visa itself and $1,140 for a Green Card. But everything else is not set in stone.

In fact, a 2-week trip to your mail bride will cost you $1,200 (if it’s Ukraine and you want to save) or $5,200 (if it’s Japan/Korea). A wedding might cost you $3,000 or $15,000. Even the flight tickets to your girlfriend’s country can cost you $200 (Mexico) or $800 (Japan)—so it’s all a very approximate estimation.

But does it really matter if, in the end, you’ll get a fantastic wife?

FAQ

What is the average cost of a mail order bride?

The average cost of a mail order bride might vary from $3,000 to $15,000 depending on a lot of factors. However, most American men searching for a wife spend around $6,000-$12,000 before they are finally able to bring their brides to the US.

Can you reduce the cost of a mail order wife?

Yes, you can. Most Americans who are into international dating do it by using text chat instead of video chat, flying to other countries during the “low” season, using flight and hotel aggregators, and reducing their wedding expenses. In fact, you can save up to 50% if you do everything right.

Is there any “fixed price” for mail order brides?

No. There is no such thing as “buying” a mail order bride in the first place; that’s just what people call it but it has nothing to do with the process of purchasing. You don’t “buy” a bride, you chat with her, meet her, and propose to her. Every case is unique so there’s no fixed price for a bride.

Is spending thousands of dollars on mail order brides worth it?

Yes. Foreign brides are so popular for a good reason. They aren’t just exotic or sexy, they often have certain character traits and characteristics that make them perfect long-term partners and mothers. Typically, women from “mail bride” countries are traditional, loyal, caring, and supportive.

David Wygant

Expert-Writer

One of the leading dating experts and a professional coach with more than 20 years of experience. David tells his clients how to become successful and how to find love, and is just great at it. David already helped millions of men and women achieve success in relationships — and with this blog, you'll completely change the way you date.

Comments

Elena says:

January 18, 2023 at 12:20 pm

I was a mail order bride myself, so I’d like to add some info about the pricing. I met a fiance on a dating site in 2019 and we met 2 times in person (he visited my country, not vice versa). It cost around $1,500, tickets and hotels included. 3 months after that, my BFF traveled the same path, and for her guy, it cost $3,000 or more just because he didn’t use any flight aggregator and didn’t want to “waste time” comparing the hotel offers.
I mean, I understand the sample size is not big enough, but I’m sure there’s no such thing as the average cost of a mail order bride. For some (like me&Paul) it may cost around $1,500 to chat and to meet. For others, $3,000 is not the limit. I’m not talking about the visa fees, that’s a different story, just about chatting, dating, and meeting.
Matthew says:

January 16, 2023 at 4:00 pm

I’d like to read more about the visa cost if possible. Some sources claim there’s also a k3 visa that is cheaper IIRC. I’d like to know more about the k1 vs k3 vs whatever, a guide would be nice.
And I just can’t get why they call it the cost to “buy” a wife. I don’t pay for getting a wife delivered by USPS… right?

Comments are closed.