What an FRC Team Costs

Registration Is Just the Start

The most visible cost is the FIRST registration fee. As of the current season, the base season registration fee is $6,500, which applies to both rookie and veteran teams. Critically, this fee already includes a lot:

• Your official FRC team number (for new teams).
• The Kit of Parts — the Kickoff Kit, the Virtual Kit, and FIRST Choice credits you redeem for components.
• Award eligibility.
• Event participation: one Regional event (Regional model) or two District events (District model).

Additional Event Costs

Most veteran teams attend more than the included events. Published FIRST figures are:

• Additional Regional event: $3,200 each.
• Additional District event (in- or inter-district): $1,000 each.
• District Championship: $4,000 (paid only if you qualify).
• FIRST Championship: $6,000 (if you advance).

Beyond Registration: The Real Budget

Registration and events are only part of the picture. A realistic team budget also includes:

• Robot parts and materials — motors (e.g., REV NEO / NEO Vortex, CTR Electronics Kraken X60 and Falcon 500), gearboxes, wheels, metal stock, pneumatics, and batteries beyond what the Kit provides.
• Tools and shop equipment — for new teams this can be the single biggest one-time cost.
• Spare parts and a practice robot — competitive teams often build two robots.
• Travel — buses, hotels, and food, which can rival or exceed registration for far events.
• Team apparel, branding, and outreach materials.
• Software and subscriptions (much core FRC software is free, e.g., WPILib).

FIRST publishes a "Median Team Budget" resource (revised Aug. 2025). Real team budgets commonly run from roughly $15,000 to $30,000+ per year once parts, tools, and travel are included; well-resourced veteran teams spend far more (the highest-budget teams exceed $200,000). As one documented example, FRC 6636 (Full Metal Beavers) reported spending about $15,622 in 2018 on its program.

Rookie vs. Veteran Cost Profiles

Rookies face the heaviest first-year burden: registration plus tools plus starter parts, all before they have a fundraising track record. This is exactly why rookie-focused grants exist (covered later in this module). Veterans spend less on tools but more on travel, additional events, and ambitious robot designs.

The Takeaway

Never quote only the $6,500 fee when explaining costs to a sponsor or school. Build a complete budget so you know your true number, can ask sponsors for the right amount, and avoid the mid-season cash crunch that derails unprepared teams.