Expensive scratch-offs usually have better payouts than cheap tickets
The price of a scratch-off determines more than how much you put at risk. As ticket prices rise, games generally return a larger share of each dollar in prizes and offer much bigger top prizes. Here is how the numbers change at each price point, based on averages across every active U.S. scratch-off as of our calculations on August 12, 2026.
| Price | Avg payout % | Median odds | Median top prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | 61.9% | 1 in 4.72 | $2,000 |
| $2 | 65.6% | 1 in 4.38 | $20,000 |
| $3 | 65.3% | 1 in 3.81 | $30,000 |
| $5 | 69.4% | 1 in 3.97 | $100,000 |
| $10 | 73.2% | 1 in 3.56 | $200,000 |
| $20 | 75.2% | 1 in 3.40 | $805,889 |
| $30 | 77.3% | 1 in 3.17 | $1,500,000 |
| $50 | 79.7% | 1 in 3.54 | $2,000,000 |
Read down the payout column and the message is plain: a $1 ticket hands back about 62 cents of every dollar over its run, a $50 ticket almost 80 cents of every dollar. That 18-cent difference is the single most reliable fact in scratch-offs, and it is why the $1 ticket is almost never worth it on value, however tempting the low price feels.
The top-prize column climbs even faster, from a couple of thousand dollars to a couple of million, because states use the extra room in a pricier ticket mostly to fund a bigger jackpot. That is the appeal and the trap: the $50 game gives back more on average, but it is also a $50 loss when it loses, so a bigger ticket is a bigger bet in both directions.
None of this says to spend more. It says gain knowledge and to know what you are buying, because the price is a spec, not just a cost. Within any single price the best and worst games are far apart, so once you have picked a tier, the ValueScore™ rankings tell you which specific ticket is worth it, and where every dollar of a scratch-off goes explains what happens to the rest.
Found this article useful?
Add ScratchCheck as a preferred source on Google to see our articles first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What scratch-off ticket prices are there?
In the US, scratch-offs are most commonly sold at $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, $30 and $50, and a handful of states now sell a $100 ticket. Not every state offers every price, but the ladder is broadly the same nationwide.
Do higher-priced scratch-offs pay out more?
Yes, consistently. Average payout climbs from about 62% on $1 games to nearly 80% on $50 games, and the top prize grows with it. The cheaper ticket is a smaller bet, not a better one.
What is the most expensive scratch-off ticket?
A growing number of states sell a $100 scratch-off, the most expensive tier in the country. They carry the highest payout percentages and the largest top prizes, but also the largest loss when they lose.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
