What is a fun cheap date?

Make pizza from scratch and each top your own half, do a thrift store outfit challenge, have a blind snack taste test, or play a game of bowling with a bet on who buys dessert next time. The fun ones give you something to do together.

What can you do on a date with no money?

Cook dinner from what's already in your cupboards, take a sunset walk somewhere new, have a question night, go stargazing, or visit a museum on a free day. Plan it a few days ahead and put your phones away, and it feels like a real date.

What can a couple do on a Saturday?

Ride a bus or train to the last stop and explore, visit a museum on a free day or fly a kite in a park, then make a cupboard dinner at home. Most of it costs little or nothing.

How do you plan a cheap romantic date night?

Pick the night a few days ahead, give it a name, and put your phones in another room. Then do something you've never done together, like a picnic with a view at sunset.

What are some lowkey date ideas?

An old photo night, a library date, a thrift store puzzle, a coffee and a slow walk, or a sundae bar on the sofa. Lowkey dates work best with no phones and no plans for after.

What's a cheap anniversary date idea?

Recreate your first date at home with the same music and your best version of that dinner, go back to where you met, or write each other letters to open next year. An old photo night looking back at your time together costs nothing.

How do you have a cheap date when you're long distance?

Watch the same film in sync on a video call, cook the same recipe on video, play a free online game, or start a two-person book club with library books. Set a time so it feels like a date.

50 Cheap Date Night Ideas, From Free to Under $50

The best cheap date night ideas use what you already have: cook dinner from what's in your cupboards, have a question night, take a sunset walk or go stargazing, all for free. For under $20 for two, make pizza from scratch or pack a picnic with a view, and for under $50, play a game of bowling or go to a drive-in movie. Here are 50 fun, cheap date ideas for couples, sorted by what the night costs for two (free, under $20 and under $50), with ideas for staying in, going out and nights apart.

What Makes a Cheap Night Feel Like a Date

Plan it ahead. Pick the night and the idea a few days before. The plan is what turns a free evening into a date.
Give it a name. Calling it "taco cook-off Friday" gives you both something to look forward to.
Put the phones in another room. It costs nothing and changes the whole night.

Trying something new together helps, and new doesn't have to cost anything. In a 2000 study by Arthur Aron and his team, couples who tried a new, slightly silly challenge together reported a bigger boost in how they felt about their relationship than couples who did a boring task.

Free Date Ideas (1 to 16)

No money at all? You can still have a real date. These use what's already in your kitchen and your neighborhood.

Free Date Ideas at Home

Question night. Take turns asking each other questions from a list, and actually answer them. These date night questions are a good start.
Cupboard dinner. Pull out five things you already have and make one dinner from them. No shopping allowed.
Living room dance party. Push the coffee table back, take turns picking songs and dance badly on purpose.
Old photo night. Scroll back to your first photos together and say what you remember about each one.
Recreate your first date at home. Same music, same outfit if it still fits, and the closest version of that dinner you can make from what's already in the kitchen.
Teach each other something. A card trick, a dance step, a few words of another language. Twenty minutes each.
Spa night with what you have. Run a bath, raid the bathroom cabinet for face masks and trade foot rubs.
Plan a dream trip. Pick a place you'd both love to go and plan the whole thing, where you'd stay and what you'd eat.
Letters for later. Write each other a letter to open on your next anniversary and hide them somewhere you'll both remember.

Free Dates Out

Sunset walk somewhere new. Look up when the sun sets, pick a view you've never seen and get there early.
Stargazing. Find somewhere dark, lie on a blanket and use a free stargazing app to name what you see.
Free museum night. Many museums have free days or free evenings. Each of you picks one room to show the other.
Library date. Pick a book for each other, then read the first chapter side by side in a quiet corner.
A free event in your city. Outdoor concerts, gallery openings and talks are often free. Check your library's events calendar and your city's parks and recreation page for this week's list.
City lights after dark. Walk or drive to the best night view of your city (a hill, a bridge, the top of a parking garage) and pick out the places you've been together.
People-watching stories. Sit somewhere busy and make up life stories for the people walking past. Best story wins.

Cheap Date Ideas Under $20 (17 to 31)

These inexpensive date ideas cost you a few ingredients, a snack, a thrift store find or a bus ride. Stick to one of those and the night usually stays under $20 for two.

Under $20 at Home

Pizza from scratch. Flour, yeast, a can of tomatoes and one cheese. Make the dough together, then each of you tops your own half.
Taco cook-off. Same tortillas, two different fillings. Swap and score each other out of ten.
Blind snack taste test. Buy five snacks you've never tried from the international aisle, close your eyes and rank them.
Paint night. Cheap paints and paper. Follow the same YouTube tutorial and compare at the end.
Thrift store puzzle. Pick up a used puzzle and try to finish it in one night. Count the missing pieces at the end.
Dinner from another country. Pick a country neither of you has been to, cook one dish from there and play its music.
Dessert from scratch. Brownies, crepes or cookies, made together and eaten warm on the sofa.
Sundae bar. One tub of ice cream and three toppings. Build each other's bowl without asking.

Under $20 Out

Thrift store outfit challenge. Split up for 20 minutes and pick one item the other has to wear for the rest of the evening.
Grocery store dinner challenge. Same small budget, 15 minutes in the store each. Go home and cook both dinners.
Coffee and a new neighborhood. Two coffees and a slow walk around a part of town you've never explored.
Pub quiz night. Lots of bars run free trivia once a week. Play as a team of two and split a basket of fries.
Kite afternoon. Buy a cheap kite, find an open field on a windy day and take turns keeping it up.
Picnic with a view. Pack sandwiches and something fizzy and eat dinner somewhere with a view you both like.
Ride to the end of the line. Take a bus or train to the last stop and explore wherever you land.

Budget Date Ideas Under $50 (32 to 43)

What you pay for here: a ticket each, a class, a rental or a simple meal out. Pick one per night and it usually stays under $50 for two.

Under $50 at Home

Blind wine and cheese tasting. Two cheap bottles and two cheeses. Hide the labels and rate everything before you look.
Copy your favorite restaurant dish. Pick the meal you always order out, find a recipe and see how close you get.
Cocktail night. One bottle, a few mixers and a list of recipes. Take turns making each other a drink.
Plant something together. Pots, soil and a few herbs for the windowsill. Name them, then cook with them.
New release movie night. Rent the new film you both want to see, make popcorn on the stove and turn the lights off.

Under $50 Out

A game of bowling or a round of mini golf. Make a bet on who buys dessert next time.
A drop-in dance class. Many studios run beginner salsa or swing nights. Go together and laugh through it.
Comedy or open mic night. Small clubs and bars often have cheap shows. Sit near the front if you're brave.
Food truck dinner. Pick two trucks, order one dish from each and share both.
A boat for an hour. Rent one kayak or rowboat for two and paddle out somewhere quiet.
A local sports game. Minor league and college games often have cheap seats. Pick a side and cheer for them all night.
Drive-in movie. Bring blankets, pillows and snacks from home.

How to Keep the Cost Down

Food and drink. Eat at home first, or pack it. A picnic costs a lot less than a restaurant.
Tickets. Look for free days, weeknight shows and matinees.
Getting there. Pick somewhere you can walk, bike or take the bus to.
What you already own. Your kitchen, a blanket, your old photos and a library card cover a lot of the free ideas above.

Dates When You're Apart (44 to 48)

Living in different cities, or away for work? Most of these cost nothing beyond what you already pay for.

Movie night in sync. Pick the same film, count down, press play together and stay on video. If you'd rather not count down every time someone pauses, date night by Amora keeps Netflix or YouTube in sync on two laptops in Chrome, with your partner on video beside the show. It's part of Amora Max, a paid plan.
Cook the same recipe. Pick one dish you both have the ingredients for, cook side by side on video and compare plates.
Play an online game. Plenty of two-player games are free. Here are 30 online games for couples to start with.
Walk and talk. Go for a walk at the same time and show each other your street and your view.
Two-person book club. Borrow the same book from your libraries, read a few chapters a week and talk about them on a call.

For more nights apart, here are 50 long distance date ideas.

Make It a Habit (49 and 50)

Cheap dates work best when they're regular.

A monthly cheap date night. Same night every month. Take turns planning, and whoever plans keeps it under $20.
A date night jar. Write 20 ideas from this list on slips of paper and pull one out whenever you can't decide.

Questions for a Cheap Night In

What's the best date we've been on that cost almost nothing?
What's something free you loved doing as a kid that we could try together?
If we had $20 and one free evening, what would you pick?
What's one place near us you've always wanted to check out?
What's one small thing I do that makes a normal night feel special?

For more cheap ideas at home, here are 25 date night ideas at home, and for the cold months, 40 winter date ideas. For ideas at any budget, splurges included, see these creative date night ideas.

Keep It Going Between Dates

A cheap date once a month is great. What keeps you close the rest of the time is even smaller: one good question a day, answered by both of you. That's what Amora does. You each answer before you see the other's reply, so there's always something to talk about on your next night in.

50 Cheap Date Night Ideas: Free, Under $20 and Under $50

What Makes a Cheap Night Feel Like a Date

Free Date Ideas (1 to 16)

Free Date Ideas at Home

Free Dates Out

Cheap Date Ideas Under $20 (17 to 31)

Under $20 at Home

Under $20 Out

Budget Date Ideas Under $50 (32 to 43)

Under $50 at Home

Under $50 Out

How to Keep the Cost Down

Dates When You're Apart (44 to 48)

Make It a Habit (49 and 50)

Questions for a Cheap Night In

Keep It Going Between Dates

Your questions, answered.

Explore by topic

Two of you. Thousands of us.

Something to talk about on every night in

50 Cheap Date Night Ideas: Free, Under $20 and Under $50

What Makes a Cheap Night Feel Like a Date

Free Date Ideas (1 to 16)

Free Date Ideas at Home

Free Dates Out

Cheap Date Ideas Under $20 (17 to 31)

Under $20 at Home

Under $20 Out

Budget Date Ideas Under $50 (32 to 43)

Under $50 at Home

Under $50 Out

How to Keep the Cost Down

Dates When You're Apart (44 to 48)

Make It a Habit (49 and 50)

Questions for a Cheap Night In

Keep It Going Between Dates

Your questions, answered.

Explore by topic

Keep reading

Two of you. Thousands of us.

Something to talk about on every night in