The cheapest night of the Boston year costs $261.76. The dearest costs $482.24. Same basket, same city, same standard of room — eleven months apart. Nothing else a visitor decides about a Boston trip moves the bill by $220 a night.
This is the third reading from the Boston Night Cost Index, and it is the practical one: the twelve months of 2025 ranked from cheapest to dearest, with what each costs and what it costs to be wrong.
The year, ranked
| Rank | Month | Total night cost | Index | Premium over January |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | $261.76 | 100.0 | — |
| 2 | February | $279.92 | 106.9 | +$18.16 |
| 3 | December | $285.48 | 109.1 | +$23.72 |
| 4 | March | $339.39 | 129.7 | +$77.63 |
| 5 | November | $351.60 | 134.3 | +$89.84 |
| 6 | August | $382.51 | 146.1 | +$120.75 |
| 7 | July | $385.80 | 147.4 | +$124.04 |
| 8 | April | $410.10 | 156.7 | +$148.34 |
| 9 | June | $437.41 | 167.1 | +$175.65 |
| 10 | September | $447.31 | 170.9 | +$185.55 |
| 11 | May | $449.18 | 171.6 | +$187.42 |
| 12 | October | $482.24 | 184.2 | +$220.48 |
Three seasons, not four
The ranking does not follow the calendar seasons, it follows demand. There is a cheap trio — January, February and December, all under $290 — a broad middle running from March through August, and an expensive quartet of May, June, September and October where the basket clears $437 every time.
The summer is the surprise in that list. July and August, the months a visitor would expect to pay most, sit seventh and sixth: $385.80 and $382.51, cheaper than April. Boston's expensive months are the shoulders on either side of summer, not summer itself. May and September are conference and campus months; July and August are when the students have gone home and the corporate calendar is thin. Occupancy tells the same story from the other side — August runs 85.8% full at $299.70, while May runs a slightly lower 83.8% at $357.70. The city is no emptier in May, it is simply full of people whose employer is paying.
What being wrong by one month costs
Because the expensive months sit next to cheap ones, the penalty for a small mistake is large. October to November is a drop of $130.64 a night. September to August is a drop of $64.80. Moving a three-night stay from the first week of October to the first week of November saves $391.92 on the same basket, on a trip where the weather difference is a few degrees and the foliage is mostly over in both.
The comparison people usually make — between properties, in the same week — rarely finds $130 a night on a like-for-like room. The comparison they rarely make, between weeks, finds it routinely. Our list of the events that fill the city gives the month each one falls in, which is the fastest way to spot the weeks worth avoiding.
What the prices say
Boston rewards flexibility on dates more than diligence on properties. If your dates are fixed by an event, the index says what the premium is and you can decide whether the trip is worth it. If they are not, the difference between the top and bottom of this table is a second trip.
One caution: this is the market average, not a quotation. Individual properties diverge from it in both directions, and a single expensive week inside a cheap month is entirely possible. The index tells you which way the ground slopes; it does not tell you where you are standing. To turn the slope into a number for your own dates, the trip budget calculator applies the same tax and parking arithmetic, and the neighbourhood tool handles the question of where.
Frequently asked
What is the cheapest month to stay in Boston?
January, at $261.76 for the basket — room rate, 14.95% lodging tax and one night of downtown parking. February and December follow within $25.
What is the most expensive?
October, at $482.24, which is 84% above January. May, September and June follow, all above $437.
Is summer really cheaper than spring in Boston?
On the 2025 series, yes. August and July cost less than April, May, June, September and October. The expensive months are the conference and campus shoulders, not the holiday peak.
Sources
- Monthly Boston hotel performance (average daily rate and occupancy), 2025 — Pinnacle Advisory Group, published by Meet Boston
- Statutory lodging tax, 14.95% total — Massachusetts Department of Revenue TIR 19-3; MGL c. 64G § 3A; City of Boston, FY27 Revenue Estimates and Analysis, April 2026
- Downtown 24-hour parking rate — City of Boston published garage schedule, 2026, held constant across the series
Reuse: these figures are free to reuse, quote and chart, with a link back to this page. The detailed reference list is available on request.
💡 The basket, the base date and the coverage rate are set out in full on the methodology page.
