A night at a strip club costs whatever the club’s price list says, so this guide works only from prices clubs publish themselves. The tables below add up real rate cards from named clubs in Atlanta, Miami, South Florida, Las Vegas, Seattle and Dallas. They are examples, not national averages. We found no sourced US average, and the “average spend” figures we found online cite no source.
How much money should you bring to a strip club?
Bring enough for entry and a few dances, plus drinks, tips and a cash buffer. At clubs with published prices, that means about $40 at the cheap end, $85 to $170 at mid-range and pricier clubs, and $150 to $600 more if you want VIP time. Each row below uses one club’s own prices, before drinks and tips.
| Budget (example) | What it buys | Club and published prices |
|---|---|---|
| About $40 | Entry and three table dances | Magic City, Atlanta: $10 day-shift admission + 3 × $10 table dances |
| About $85 to $90 | Entry and three private dances | Cheetah, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach: $10 (Sun to Thu) or $15 (Fri, Sat) after 7pm + 3 × $25 private dances |
| About $170 | Entry and three dances at a pricier club | Showgirls Seattle: $20 entry + 3 × $50 single dances |
| $30 to $66 before any dance | Entry and the required first two drinks | Palomino, North Las Vegas: $0 with club transport or $36 by taxi or rideshare, + $30 for two drinks |
| $150 to $600 | 15 minutes to an hour of VIP time | Deja Vu Las Vegas: $150 for 15 minutes, $330 for 30, $600 for an hour · Oz, Clearwater: $300 for 30 minutes |
| $350 to $650 | A VIP suite with a matching champagne credit | Baby Dolls, Dallas: Mini Suite $350, Large VIP Suite $650 |
| $450 plus tax, service and 15% gratuity | A bottle package for up to five people | Sapphire, Las Vegas: “Good Times” package, entry and transport included |
The cheap end is cheap. At Magic City, $100 covers day-shift entry and several table dances. The high end has no ceiling, because VIP time is sold by the minute and bottles by the bottle.
What does a strip club cost, item by item?
A strip club bill has five parts: the cover, drinks, dances, tips and fees. Most clubs publish only some of these. The table shows what named clubs publish for the first three, with the payment rules that affect your cash.
| Club (city) | Cover | Dances from | Drinks and payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic City (Atlanta) | $10, 3pm to 9pm; “starts at $10” | $10 table dance | ATM on site; 10% surcharge on card cash advances |
| Blue Flame Lounge (Atlanta) | Not published; call | $5 table dance | Shots $5 to $14; admission cash only, ATMs inside |
| The Cheetah (Atlanta) | $12 before 9pm Mon to Fri; $23 from 9pm | Not published | Not published |
| Strokers (Clarkston, GA) | Free 12pm to 7pm; $5 to $20 after | Not published | Not published |
| Cheetah (Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach) | Free before 7pm; $10 or $15 after | $10 table, $25 private | Major cards and Visa/Mastercard debit cards |
| Bella’s Cabaret (Miami) | Varies by hour | $10 table, $25 lap | Two-drink minimum |
| Sexxy Lady Cabaret (Miami) | Not published | $10 floor, $20 VIP room | Not published |
| Cheetah Hallandale Beach | Free before 7pm; $10 to 9pm; $20 after | Not published | $100 bottle special |
| Palomino (North Las Vegas) | $0 with club transport; $36 by taxi or rideshare | Not published | $30 for the first two drinks, required; major cards, ATMs |
| Little Darlings (Las Vegas) | $45 online entry ticket | Not published | No alcohol (fully nude, 18+) |
| Showgirls Seattle | $20 | $50 single dance | Major cards and cash; ATMs |
For dance prices across more clubs, and how buying a dance works, see how much a lap dance costs.
How much is the cover charge?
Cover charges at clubs that publish them run from nothing to about $50. Time of day matters most. Cheetah in South Florida is free before 7pm and $10 or $15 after. Cheetah Hallandale Beach goes from free to $10 to $20 as the night goes on. Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami was $8 on weekdays and $20 on weekend nights after 7pm, according to Time Out in May 2025.
Las Vegas adds a second variable: how you arrive. Several clubs send free limos and waive the cover for guests who use them. Scores and Spearmint Rhino do this. At some clubs a taxi or rideshare costs you more at the door: the Palomino’s cover is $36 in that case and nothing with its own transport. Hustler Club’s free entry offer does not apply to rideshare, taxi or limo arrivals. Sapphire gives its typical cover as $50 per guest.
Online tickets are another route in Las Vegas. Little Darlings sells a $45 entry ticket online. Deja Vu Showgirls advertises $25 online admission that includes $100 in club credit. Hustler Club lists a $20 online entry special.
In Texas, the state charges clubs that combine live nude entertainment with alcohol a fee of $10 per customer entry. That rate has applied since September 1, 2023.
How much are drinks at a strip club?
Few clubs publish full drink menus, so drinks are the hardest part of the budget to pin down. The published examples vary a lot. Blue Flame Lounge in Atlanta lists shots at $5 to $14. Goldrush Showbar in Atlanta lists $5 cocktail and beer specials on its menu. Gold Rush Cabaret in Miami sells bottles from $75 before 10pm.
Watch for drink minimums. Bella’s Cabaret in Miami has a two-drink minimum. The Palomino charges every guest $30 for the first two drinks, taxes included, even guests who got in free.
Two club blogs give wider ranges, and both say these are industry figures, not their own prices. Scores Las Vegas put beer at $10 to $20 and cocktails at $15 to $30 (March 2025). Cheetah’s South Florida blog put beer at $15 to $20 and mixed drinks at $20 to $30 (October 2024).
Some clubs serve no alcohol at all. In Las Vegas, fully nude clubs may not serve alcohol; the Palomino is the one exception. Little Darlings is fully nude, alcohol free and admits guests from 18. That removes the bar tab, but not the cover or the dances.
How much should you budget for dances and VIP?
Dances are usually the biggest line in the budget. At clubs that publish prices, a table dance costs $5 to $10 a song and a private dance $20 to $50. Three private dances at Cheetah in South Florida cost $75. Three at Showgirls Seattle cost $150.
VIP rooms are sold by time or as packages. Bella’s Cabaret lists champagne rooms from $100. Sexxy Lady Cabaret in Miami lists VIP rooms at $250. Deja Vu Las Vegas charges $150 for 15 minutes and $600 for an hour. Sapphire Las Vegas adds sales tax, a service charge and a 15% gratuity to its package prices at checkout. For how VIP time, minimums and room bookings work, see our champagne room guide.
How much should you budget for tips?
Plan on at least $1 per song for each dancer on stage while you sit at the rail. The Condor Club in San Francisco gives that as the baseline. The Scores Las Vegas blog suggests at least $5 to $10 on top of each lap dance. Bottle packages often include gratuity already: Sapphire Las Vegas adds 15% to packages at checkout, so check the bill before tipping again. Our strip club etiquette guide covers who to tip and how.
How much are strip club ATM fees?
Club ATM fees are high, and they are the easiest cost to avoid. Magic City in Atlanta publishes a 10% surcharge on credit card cash advances, so $200 costs $220. The Scores Las Vegas blog says ATMs inside clubs often charge $10 to $20 per withdrawal. Cheetah’s blog gives $5 to $20 per transaction. Those two are industry ranges, not the clubs’ own fees.
A Las Vegas booking promoter, StripClubReservations.com, claims that club ATMs and card payments for dances cost 20%. No club we checked publishes that figure, so treat it as a warning, not a price.
ATMs are almost always there. Sapphire Las Vegas, Crazy Horse III, Showgirls Seattle, Blue Flame Lounge and the Palomino all list ATMs on site. Your own bank may add its out-of-network fee on top. Take out cash before you arrive.
What is strip club “funny money,” and what does it cost?
Funny money, also called dance dollars, is club-issued scrip you buy with a card and hand to dancers instead of cash. It costs more than its face value. Slate reported in 2012 that at FlashDancers in New York, one Dance Dollar cost $23 and bought a dance priced at $20 in cash. That is a 15% markup, with a minimum purchase of three ($69). That figure is from 2012, but it shows how the fee works.
Not every club uses it. Magic City says it has no club currency: “Ones are the typical bills used for tipping.” Sapphire New York’s blog mentions club-issued dance currency, “often via card”, without listing a fee. Cheetah’s blog puts card processing at 5% to 10% as an industry range. Before you buy scrip, ask three things: the fee, the minimum purchase, and whether unused scrip can be refunded.
Should you pay with cash or card at a strip club?
Cash is cheaper and easier. “Ones are the typical bills used for tipping,” says Magic City’s FAQ, and Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas tells guests “Cash is king!” Some clubs require cash: admission at Blue Flame Lounge in Atlanta is cash only.
Cards are fine for the bar and for packages at most large clubs. Cheetah in South Florida takes Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Visa or Mastercard debit cards. Onyx in Atlanta takes credit and debit cards with valid ID. Sapphire Las Vegas, the Palomino and Showgirls Seattle take all major cards. The costs start when a card is used to get cash or scrip, through a cash advance surcharge, an ATM fee or a funny money markup.
A simple split works well. Pay the bar and any package by card. Use cash for the cover, dances and tips.
How to carry cash and keep to your budget
Set your limit before you go, withdraw it at your own bank, and leave the cards you don’t need at home or in the hotel safe. Then:
- Get a stack of ones for stage tips. Magic City says ones are the usual bill.
- Split your cash. Keep the night’s budget in one pocket and a taxi-home reserve in another.
- Go early. Covers are lowest before 7pm or 8pm: Cheetah in South Florida and Cheetah Hallandale Beach are free before 7pm, Strokers is free from noon to 7pm, and Scarlett’s Cabaret in Hallandale Beach has no cover until 8pm on weekdays.
- Look for free entry. Gold Rush Cabaret in Miami waives the cover with a guest-list sign-up, and Scarlett’s lets you in free with a same-day ticket stub from a sporting or local event.
- Ask the price before every dance, and count the songs.
- Get the full VIP total, with tax, service charge and gratuity, before you go into the room.
- Budget for getting there. Onyx in Atlanta charges $20 and up for parking later in the week. In Las Vegas, a club’s free limo can save you both the cover and the fare.
If this is your first visit, how strip clubs work walks through the night from the door to the exit. For club picks and prices by city, see the best strip clubs in Las Vegas, Miami and Atlanta.
