How much does the GED cost? The price per subject in every state
Four subjects, each paid on its own. $36 a subject is the most common price; your state may charge more, less or nothing.
GED cost in California
$164
California publishes no discount on this test.
| Price per subject | $41 |
| First attempts (4 subjects) | $164 |
| Rank, cheapest first | 40 of 49 |
Fees from the California page of ged.com, read on October 22, 2026.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · fees and rules read on ged.com and hiset.org on October 22, 2026
The GED is paid subject by subject, and each state sets the price. 23 of the 49 jurisdictions that offer the test charge $36 per subject at a test center, so the whole test costs $144 there. The cheapest paying places are Connecticut, which charges nothing per subject but a $13 registration fee, Washington, D.C., where a public code brings the first attempt down to $3.75 a subject, and Arkansas at $4 a subject. The most expensive is South Dakota at $50 a subject, $200 in all, ahead of Georgia at $184. Missouri adds a yearly $10 fee. 5 jurisdictions pay the first attempt for everyone who meets their rules. Online prices differ from center prices in many states, and retakes are discounted only at a center. All prices were read on each state page of ged.com; the calculator adds them for your state and the subjects you still need.
Price per subject, grouped
The table groups the 49 jurisdictions that offer the GED by their price per subject at a test center, before any discount. Two states, Iowa and Maine, do not offer the GED at all; they use the HiSET instead.
| Price per subject | Whole test (4 subjects) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $0 | Connecticut, New York and West Virginia |
| $4 | $16 | Arkansas |
| $26 | $104 | Montana, North Carolina and Wyoming |
| $30 | $120 | Rhode Island |
| $31 | $124 | Nevada |
| $33 | $132 | Missouri |
| $36 | $144 | Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington |
| $36.25 | $145 | Texas |
| $37.50 | $150 | South Carolina |
| $38 | $152 | Florida |
| $38.50 | $154 | Louisiana |
| $39 | $156 | Kansas |
| $41 | $164 | Arizona, California, Oklahoma and Wisconsin |
| $43.50 | $174 | Colorado, Hawaii and Michigan |
| $44 | $176 | Oregon |
| $45 | $180 | Indiana |
| $46 | $184 | Georgia |
| $50 | $200 | South Dakota |
The list price is not always what you pay. Alaska, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi and Pennsylvania lower the first attempt for everyone or with a public code, and New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas pay for people who qualify through a state program. The free GED page explains each offer and who can use it.
What is left to pay in your state
GED cost in Georgia
$184
| Price per subject | $46 |
| First attempts (4 subjects) | $184 |
| Rank, cheapest first | 48 of 49 |
Test center or online
The GED can be taken online in 42 jurisdictions. The online price is often the same as the center price, but not always: Texas charges $42.25 online against $36.25 at a center, Arkansas $36 against $4, North Carolina $36 against $26. The other way round, Indiana and Louisiana charge less online. Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, West Virginia and Wyoming list no online GED. Online testing also comes with conditions, including a recent green GED Ready score for each subject, covered on the online GED page.
What a retake adds
At a test center, a subject you fail at full price opens a discounted retake, to be used within 365 days. GED Testing Service waives its own share and you pay what is left, which is $10 in 26 states, nothing in some, and up to $20 in Georgia and South Dakota. After a discounted retake the next attempt is full price again, then the cycle repeats. Online, every retake is full price. The retake page works through the cycle with real figures.
A few states with their own rules
New York pays for every subject and charges nothing, but asks testers to be at least 19, residents for 30 days, and to wait 60 days before any retake. West Virginia charges nothing either, but the test is scheduled through a local adult learning program. Mississippi pays all attempts at its own test centers, retakes included, but not online. Wisconsin raised its price to $41 a subject from July 1, 2026. Each state page linked under the calculator gives the rules in force where you test.
Budgeting the whole path
The test fee is rarely the only cost. A person who studies alone may buy the official GED Ready practice test, $7.99 a subject or $25.99 for all four, and some states ask for it before an online test or a retake. Free adult education classes cover the study itself in most counties. Count the trip to the test center and the time off work for each of the four sessions, from 70 minutes for social studies to 150 for language arts. Spreading the subjects over a few months spreads the cost too, since each subject is paid only when it is booked.
How we read these prices
Each figure was copied from the state page of ged.com on the date shown at the bottom of this page. When a page publishes a total that does not match its price per subject, we use the price per subject and say so. Where a state leaves the amount to the test center, the calculator says that the fee is not published instead of guessing. The method page lists the rules applied.