How Much Does It Cost to Find a Russian Wife in 2024?
Want to date Russian ladies? In this case, there are lots of ways you can go. You can simply book a hotel in Moscow and go there without a careful planning, you can try Tinder (but it’s not the best option to find a bride), or you can try one of those mail order bride services which are extremely popular nowadays (yet they might cost you quite a bit). All these methods are quite good, but according to our experience (and to the success stories written by thousands of real American men), the last one works much better than the two previous ones. That’s why, we’ll talk about mail brides and mail bride services here — not about Tinder. So, how much are Russian mail order brides? What will you have to pay for? The answers are here!
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How much does it cost to find a Russian bride?
The first thing you have to know: it’s not free. There’s literally no way to find a Russian woman online and arrange a date for free.
Well, except for Tinder… But don’t forget that Tinder is perfect for one-night stands, so if you’re going to have something more serious than that, the free app is definitely not what you need. So, as we’ve said, it’s all about mail-bride websites here.
For better understanding, let’s divide the whole process of finding a wife in three parts: online, first dates, and marriage. We’ll start with the first one.
Cost of online dating to Russian brides
What’s the very first thing you’ll have to do? At first, you will need to find a good website with thousands of real ladies. It might sound quite simple — like, you just google it and sign up for the first service you see. But in reality, it’s not that simple — you will have to spend at least a few hours to learn how to distinguish good services from the bad ones. So far, everything is free and you don’t have to pay.
Then, it’s time for registration. Most bride services have a free registration (actually, almost 100% of them). You will have to confirm your ID/email address after that. Most mail bride websites allow the basic members to use the search tools and to view the profiles. So, you still don’t have to pay on this step.
Now, it’s time to pay. Mail bride services usually have a credit system or a premium membership system. Some like the first one, the others prefer the latter, but both of them are quite convenient. If the site you choose has a credit system, you will have to buy credits to send letters, to use video/live chat, etc. If the website has a premium membership system, you’ll only have to pay to upgrade your membership. In the first case, you’ll probably spend a little more — like, $100-$400 (it depends on how often will you use the premium communication tools, such as video chat), but you’ll be able to choose what to pay for. If you’re going to use the service with a premium subscription system, you’ll only have to pay something like $30-$100 per month, which is quite good. According to the reviews, 1-2 months are enough to find at least a few perfect Russian ladies and to arrange dates with ’em.
Once you exchange contact information and arrange dates, the online dating part is over. However, you should still bear in mind that some websites only allow requesting contact info if you’ve already spent at least $300-$400 on communication with this particular woman. Well, it’s up to you whether to use such services or not.
Spendings on first date with Russian woman
Let’s assume you’ve already arranged the date with your Russian girlfriend. Unfortunately, these dates will cost you at least several thousand dollars. But on the other hand, it’s still not that expensive. Quality-price ratio, you know?
First, you’ll have to book a flight to Russia, but before this, it’s mandatory to get a visa (it will cost you $209, including the health insurance). As for the flight — we don’t know which city you’ll have to travel to, but according to the statistics, most men find Russian brides in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. There’s no surprise here, because these cities are the biggest Russian cities, and they are the country’s two capitals, past and present. The New York-Moscow flight will cost you about $395 (average price at SkyScanner), but it depends on the airlines and on the month of the year. Thus, the cheapest months are March and February ($395-$412), and the most expensive months are June and July ($580-$600). There is only one direct airline (Russian Aeroflot) — unfortunately, all the other flights are indirect.
Then, book a hotel or hostel. The prices are quite high in Moscow, but you can always save some bucks — there are thousands of options to choose from. Thus, you can rent a Club Room in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for $600/night, or you can pay $10 for a hostel somewhere in Tagansky district (not that far from the center of the city). There are also thousands of medium-priced options, so you’ll easily find a good room for, say, $30-$50/night. Make sure that you are not going to Russia during some big events, like the Champions League final (29 May 2021, Saint-Petersburg), because some hotels may charge 5-10 times standard rates during these days.
When it’s done, you’ll have to choose a restaurant or cafe. Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are quite expensive cities, but it doesn’t mean that you’ll have to spend several thousand dollars there. The average cost of food in restaurants with elaborate cuisine is $20-$40, but there are also lots of buffet-style restaurants in Russia ($5-$20 per meal). So, $50-$100 will be enough for one date.
It’s also very important to bear in mind that there won’t be only one date. According to our experience, most men have 2-3 dates with one woman, and it’s usually not about one woman. So, we believe that you’ll have to spend something like $600-$1000 (excluding the flight).
How much does it cost to get married to a Russian girl?
What’s next? Marriage, you’re right — but before you read this part, we’d like to remind you that this estimate is quite approximate since there are tons of options that can make your wedding much cheaper or more expensive. Let’s go.
According to the surveys, the couples in Russia spend an average of $15,000 to rent a celebration place, buy a wedding dress, decorate a car, etc. Wait, what?
Yes, $15,000 looks a little weird, taking into account the average salary in this country ($650!). We thought that it was kind of exaggeration, started to google the statistical data collected by Russians themselves, and here’s what we’ve found: Russians don’t usually tend to save on wedding costs, but the real numbers are not that high. On average, Russian couples spend $4,000-$8,000, which is still quite high, but not even close to $15,000.
So, if you want to save money, celebrate your wedding in this country (but don’t forget to add the flights and hotel costs because you’ll probably want some guests from the groom’s side).
If you want to celebrate your wedding in the United States, be ready to spend more. The average wedding cost in the US is $33,000, which is 4-8 times the money you’ll spend in Russia. However, it’s not something that can’t be changed — you can still save and spend something like $18,000-$20,000 in the USA. And don’t forget that the bride’s and groom’s parents usually contribute from 45% to 60% of the wedding cost. So, it’s not that bad.
What factors determine the Russian mail order brides cost?
That’s not all you need to know. There are some more details you should know about if you want to save money… Because everyone wants to save money, right? Here’s what you have to pay attention to:
- Does the mail bride service offer additional services? Sometimes, you’ll only have to pay for the premium subscription. Sometimes, they’ll want you to pay for the translation services, contact information, special gifts, etc. It’s up to you which type of services to use, but the first one is much cheaper.
- What airline and hotel are you going to choose? Some people prefer Qatar Airlines and other 5-star airlines, the others want to save money on flights and spend $400 (NYC-Moscow, Norwegian Air Shuttle+Pobeda) instead of $1,600 (NYC-Moscow, Qatar Airlines), same is with the hotels. But again, it’s up to you.
- What clubs and restaurants are you going to go to? There are lots of cool places in Moscow and other Russian big cities, and many of them offer same-level food for different prices. Check the reviews on Yelp and Tripadvisor to choose the best quality to price ratio.
Average cost of Russian mail order bride: factors influencing the price
So how much does it cost to marry a Russian woman? There is no universal answer to this question, simply because everyone’s situation can be different. Without taking into account factors like luck and prior dating experience, here are the three factors that have an impact on the Russian mail order wife price.
- Time spent on a dating site. The more time you spend on a dating service, the more paid features you are going to use, and the higher your expenses for using those features are going to be. Typically, it can take you from several months to over a year to find the one, so it’s important to keep your expectations realistic.
- Number of acquaintances. When you first sign up for a dating service with Slavic girls, you can instantly see thousands of gorgeous women you want to get to know better. However, the more conversations you have at the same time, the more you will need to spend on credits or tokens.
- Personal dating style. Whether you enjoy hour-long video chat sessions with the women you like, love to surprise girls with gifts and flowers, or want to express yourself with a long, carefully composed letter, you probably know that all of these features cost money, so the more frequently you use them, the more you are going to spend.
Does the Russian mail order wife cost include sending money to the girls?
In the early days of overseas online dating, girls asking men for money and men transferring the money to the women was very common. However, in most cases, the money went to various scammers. Since then, reputable dating sites have stopped supporting these practices. If you read the safety guides on popular dating services, you will find that they often discourage men from sending any money directly to the women. That is why the Russian mail order wife cost never includes money sent to the girls and this is not something you should look expect to spend money on.
Is there a way to get a lower Russian brides cost?
The average cost of Russian mail order bride is called average because it’s based on the cumulative experience of thousands of Western men who met their Russian wives online. Some guys spare no expense and will do anything to reach their goal, but most men don’t have an unlimited budget and would like their spending to be at least sensible. While you probably won’t dramatically lower the Russian mail order wife price since it’s based on many factors, you can definitely limit your spending by focusing on fewer girls from the start, keeping it cool with the gifts, and knowing when to move the relationship offline.
