With baristas already slinging pumpkin spice lattes as of Tuesday, Starbucks has ushered in the unofficial start of autumn a month early.
A hot, 16-ounce — that’s “grande” in Starbucks lingo — pumpkin spice latte typically costs $6.66 in 2026, according to average menu prices across several U.S. cities. That’s a 16-cent increase from $6.50 last year.
Since the drink’s inception more than two decades ago the cost has nearly doubled, up 99% since 2005 (the first year for which Money found prices).
Starbucks’ pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove-infused latte has rocketed in popularity, spurring copycats, candles and offshoots like pumpkin cream cold brew and pumpkin-flavored chai. The drink has also sparked a lot of backlash, becoming a lightning rod of public disdain over seasonal creep, overconsumption and capitalism in general.
“I will be subject to its tyranny no longer,” Last Week Tonight host John Oliver proclaimed in a 2014 tirade against the flavor. “It stops here.”
Except it didn’t. Twelve years later, the pumpkin spice latte lives on. Actually, it’s thriving.
The PSL, as fans refer to the drink, remains Starbucks’ most popular seasonal beverage, according to the coffee chain. And Starbucks relies on it to get people in the door: Visits to the store spiked 27% the day PSL launched last year, according to the business-intelligence firm Placer.ai. And foot traffic tends to stay elevated throughout the week.
More broadly, Starbucks has begun to rely on major seasonal menu launches, saying that about 10% of annual sales come from seasonal items.
But will price-conscious Americans be willing to shell out over $6 for the (in)famous latte again this year?
Pumpkin spice latte prices over the years
Money charted the cost of the PSL over the past two decades, finding that as the drink’s popularity exploded, so did its price.
While the pumpkin spice latte was created in 2003, it wasn’t released nationally until the following year.
Money’s earliest price estimate begins in 2005, when a hot, grande PSL cost $3.35.
Since 2005, Money estimates, the cost of that same autumn latte has risen approximately 99%, far outpacing inflation. By contrast, overall prices have increased 68% from September 2005 to today. Over that same period, roasted coffee prices grew 84%.
Here’s a closer look at prices for hot, grande-sized PSLs.
Price estimates are based on two dozen sources, from archived news stories to customer receipts, reviews and Starbucks menu prices across various cities.
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