How much does a bottle of champagne cost in 2026? Answers vary wildly, and the published figures often mix supermarkets, wine merchants and launch prices. So we did the maths on our own catalogue: 268 cuvées in stock as of 21 October 2026, all in 75cl bottles, prices including VAT, excluding gift boxes, large formats and half bottles. Here is what the figures show, and what they mean when it comes to choosing.
The key figures
- Median price: €71.80 — half of the cuvées cost less, the other half more.
- The middle half of the cuvées falls between €51.90 and €148.
- Cheapest champagne: €21.50 (Rosé de Courtois, grower-producer).
- Grower or large house: €55.80 median for growers, €88 for houses.
- Non-vintage brut from the large houses: from €35.80 to €59.
We refer to the median rather than the average: a few prestige cuvées costing several hundred euros pull the average upward without reflecting what most buyers actually pay.
How many cuvées in each price range?
| Price incl. VAT (75cl) | Number of cuvées | Share |
|---|
| Under €30 | 7 | 3% |
| €30 to €50 | 58 | 22% |
| €50 to €80 | 86 | 32% |
| €80 to €150 | 52 | 19% |
| €150 to €300 | 39 | 15% |
| Over €300 | 26 | 10% |
A champagne under €30 remains the exception. The heart of the range sits between €30 and €80: more than half of all cuvées. This is also the range offering the widest choice and where most of the best value-for-money bottles can be found — our selection of good champagnes under €40 gives around twenty examples.
Grower or large house: a €32 gap in the median
Of our 268 cuvées, 101 come from grower-producers, who make their champagne from grapes grown on their own vines, and 167 from houses. The median is €55.80 for growers compared with €88 for houses. The gap is not a matter of quality: houses carry brand, distribution and prestige-cuvée costs that family estates do not. For growers, half of the cuvées cost between €39 and €87; for houses, between €59.95 and €199.92.
Price by style
Blanc de noirs is the most affordable style: it is mainly the domain of growers from the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne. Rosé costs more, as it requires red wine from Champagne or a delicate maceration process. Millésimé, made from a single year and aged for longer, is logically the most expensive: its median exceeds €100.
The large houses' entry-level price
The non-vintage brut is each house's signature cuvée, the one that defines its style. In our cellar, it ranges between €36 and €60:
Less than €25 separates the cheapest brut from the most expensive: at this level, the price difference mainly reflects the house's style and the proportion of reserve wines used, rather than a difference in quality.
Why such price differences?
Five factors explain most of the difference between a €30 champagne and a €300 one: ageing time in the cellar (a minimum of fifteen months for a non-vintage brut, often five to ten years for a prestige cuvée), the proportion of reserve wines, the origin of the grapes (grand cru, premier cru), rarity (vintage, small batches) and brand reputation. We detail these reasons in our article why champagne costs more than wine, and our guide how to buy champagne at the right price gives you the benchmarks to pay a fair price. At the very top, the rarest cuvées reach eye-watering sums: see the 10 most expensive champagnes in the world.
How much to spend, depending on the occasion?
Aperitif or a large gathering: a grower's brut between €25 and €40, or a large house's brut around €40. Dinner: a blanc de blancs or a blanc de noirs between €50 and €80. Gift: a millésimé or a prestige cuvée from €100 upward. Wedding or celebration: a brut in magnum, for extra festivity. For a choice guided by budget and style, see our selection of the best champagne 2026, or browse all our champagne cuvées.
Methodology and reuse of these figures
Figures calculated on 21 October 2026 from the 268 cuvées in stock at Pépites en Champagne, in 75cl bottles, prices including VAT as displayed in store, excluding gift boxes, large formats, half bottles and accessories. The categories (grower-producer, style, bio, millésimé) are those used in our catalogue. These figures may be freely reused, provided Pépites en Champagne is credited with a link to this page. The barometer will be updated every year.
