Birthday gifts for boyfriend: what people actually spend
The 4 ideas here run from $10 to $120, and 1 of them come in under the $55.65 people say they spend on an adult's birthday gift — per Empower, 2025.
This is the national figure for an adult's birthday gift, not a breakdown for a boyfriend — no published survey we could find breaks spending down by relationship, and the per-relationship numbers you will see elsewhere carry no source.
How the figure was collected — survey, sample and the date it was run.
- How much money should you give for a birthday gift for your boyfriend?
- No published survey we could find gives a figure for a boyfriend specifically. The one number that exists covers any adult: $55.65 (Empower, 2025). 1 of the 4 ideas here come in under it.
- How much do people spend on a birthday gift?
- $55.65 on average for an adult, per Empower (2025). The 4 ideas on this page run from $10 to $120, so 1 of them sit under that figure.
The thing he mentioned once, months ago, and you wrote down
An early-relationship gift that is not accidentally a test
Aimed at the part of his life you have not met yet
Paying for the hobby itself, rather than more equipment for it
The dashed line is the going rate — $55.65. Bars show each idea's price range; the exact figures are under every idea below.
Under $25
The thing he mentioned once, months ago, and you wrote down
Cheap, specific, and almost impossible to beat on the one axis that matters early on — it proves you were listening when there was no reason to be.
$10–$25
checked
$25–50
An early-relationship gift that is not accidentally a test
The hard part of a first or second birthday together is not choosing well. It is choosing something that does not accidentally state how serious you think this is.
$25–$60
checked
$25–50
Aimed at the part of his life you have not met yet
Early on you know one slice of him: the version that shows up to see you. A gift pointed at the rest — his work, his city, the friends you have not been introduced to — registers that the rest exists.
$25–$60
checked
$50–100
Paying for the hobby itself, rather than more equipment for it
If he has a hobby, he almost certainly has enough equipment and not enough occasions. The gift is the session, the entry fee, or the day — not another object for the pile.
$50–$120
checked
Also worth a look
Prices are bands with the date we last checked them, not exact figures — why we publish them that way.