Best Museums in New York City for Free or Pay What You Wish

Museums in NYC Don't Have to Be Expensive

Tickets to New York museums cost $25–40, but almost every museum has days or hours with free admission or a pay-what-you-wish system. Here’s how to explore NYC for a fraction of the price.

Always Free

• National Museum of the American Indian (1 Bowling Green) – part of the Smithsonian, always free. Beautiful building, fascinating exhibits about Native Americans.
• Museum at FIT (227 West 27th St) – fashion museum. Changing world-class exhibitions. Free admission.
• Federal Hall (26 Wall St) – site of the first inauguration of a U.S. president (George Washington). Free museum and exhibition.
• Hamilton Grange (414 West 141st St) – home of Alexander Hamilton. Free tours.

Pay-What-You-Wish

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – for residents of NY, NJ, and CT, as well as students from NY. Suggested price is $30, but you can pay $1. You need to show proof of address or student ID.
• Brooklyn Museum – pay-what-you-wish system for everyone. Suggested $16. Excellent Egyptian collections and contemporary art.
• Museum of the City of New York – pay what you wish. History of NYC from the Dutch colony to the present.

Free Hours and Days

• MoMA – Friday 4:00 PM–8:00 PM free (sponsored by Uniqlo). Lines can be long.
• Whitney Museum – Friday 7:00 PM–10:00 PM pay what you wish
• Guggenheim – Saturday 5:00 PM–8:00 PM pay what you wish
• New Museum – Thursday 7:00 PM–9:00 PM pay what you wish

Tips for the Budget-Conscious

• IDNYC – a free city ID card provides annual membership to many museums (Met, Brooklyn Museum, and others). Any NYC resident can obtain it.
• Library card – NYPL library card gives access to Culture Pass (free tickets to 40+ museums).
• Bank of America – BofA cardholders have free admission to select museums on the first weekend of the month.