Best Cheap Bars in NYC (2026)
$3 beers, long happy hours, beer-and-shot combos, free hot dogs and free pizza, across all five boroughs.
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Drinking cheaply in New York takes a little effort. A basic cocktail runs close to $20 in most of Manhattan, a round for four turns into real money fast, and half the bars that call themselves "affordable" only mean it compared to a hotel.
But the cheap bars are still here. You just have to know which ones. Some are old dives where a beer never got past $4 or $5. Some run happy hours long enough to plan a whole evening around. A few will sell you a beer and a shot for less than one drink costs down the street. And the best of them aren't just cheap. They've got pool tables, jukeboxes, backyards, bartenders who remember you, and enough personality that you'd go even without the deal.
We checked every bar below in October 2026. Prices we could confirm on the bar's own menu or site are stated plainly; everything else is given as a range or a "recently" because NYC prices move. Treat every number as a snapshot, and bring cash more often than you think you need to.
Best cheap bars in NYC at a glance
| Looking for | Start here |
|---|---|
| Best cheap bar overall | Rudy's Bar & Grill |
| Best near Times Square | Jimmy's Corner |
| Best cheap drinks near Grand Central | Strangelove |
| Best all-day beer-and-shot | Clockwork Bar |
| Longest happy hour in Manhattan | Welcome to the Johnsons |
| Best free food with a drink | Alligator Lounge |
| Best Brooklyn backyard | Brooklyn Ice House |
| Best Queens deal | Jar Bar |
| Best Bronx dive | The Punch Bowl |
| Best Bronx happy hour | Man Overboard Bar (City Island) |
| Best Bronx bar without a happy hour | An Beal Bocht Cafe |
| Best Staten Island happy hour | Sally's Southern |
| Best cheap bar near the Staten Island Ferry | Steiny's Pub |
| Best late-night deal on Staten Island | Joyce's Tavern (Thursdays) |
What counts as a cheap bar in NYC?
To make the list, a bar needed at least one of these:
- Everyday value. A dependable beer, well drink or shot for around $6 or less at regular prices, no timing required.
- A real special. A beer-and-shot combo under $10, or a happy hour long enough to matter with several drinks at $6 or less.
A few picks (Nancy Whiskey, Sally's Southern, Aunt Ginny's) run a bit above that line but are cheap for where they are, which counts for something in Tribeca or on a restaurant-heavy stretch of Staten Island. A handful of old-school dives (Blue & Gold, Sophie's, WXOU, Doc Holliday's among them) don't publish a menu at all. They're in because they're cheap, period, and have been for decades. We started with our existing cheap-bars collection, which leaned almost entirely Manhattan, and rebuilt it so Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island are all here.
Cheap bars in Manhattan
From a boxing dive off Times Square to a two-for-one basement on Avenue A. Most of these are dives in the proper sense, and the ones that aren't (Gebhard's, Bob's Your Uncle, 212 East) are here because the prices earn it. The East Village has the deepest bench of cheap bars in the city, so it gets the most entries.
Rudy's Bar & Grill
627 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036, USA
The rare Times Square-adjacent institution that still works for actual New Yorkers. Red vinyl booths, a pig out front, cheap beer and free hot dogs would feel like a gimmick anywhere else; here it's just Tuesday. The order is the $6 Jim Beam and Rudy's Blonde combo, with a few other shot-and-beer pairings around $7 and cans and bottles from $4. Open until 4 a.m. and an easy walk from the theaters. Reportedly cash only.
Jimmy's Corner
140 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036, USA
A boxing dive on one of the most expensive blocks in the country. Fight photos floor to ceiling, a room about 15 feet wide, and beers around $3 to $4, a fraction of what the cocktail bars around the corner charge. One thing to know: Jimmy's has been fighting eviction in court since late 2025, and the building sold to a new owner in May 2026. It was still open and pouring when we checked, but glance at their Instagram before you plan a night around it. Cards accepted with a minimum.
Strangelove Bar NYC
229 E 53rd St, New York, NY 10022, USA
Midtown East has plenty of polished after-work bars and nothing else like Strangelove. Small, loud, graffitied and punk, and the prices hold even when it isn't happy hour: $4 cans of Bud and Genesee, a $6 beer and well shot, $7 wells, frozen margaritas around $8. Not the place for a quiet conversation, but great for a round after work or before a show nearby.
Ryan's Daughter
350 E 85th St, New York, NY 10028, USA
A big, multi-floor Irish pub that's been the Upper East Side's low-cost night out since 1979. Pool, darts, board games, cheap drafts and rotating specials, with enough room that you can usually bring a group without a plan.
Bob's Your Uncle
929 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10025, USA
For when you want cheap drinks without sticky floors or a room you can't hear in. A regulars' bar with a long counter, darts, TVs and enough space to settle in. The best discount is Mon–Thu 3–6 p.m., $2 off wells and drafts. Weekend happy hour (Sat–Sun 2–6 p.m.) is lighter but still takes a dollar off and puts select cocktails at $8 and $10.
Gebhard's Beer Culture
228 W 72nd St, New York, NY 10023, USA
The beer-first pick on this list. The tap list is the point, and the weekday happy hour until 6 p.m. puts a 10 oz pour of most of it at $3. A full Guinness has recently run about $7. It feels more like a casual beer hall than a dive, which works for a group that wants cheap drinks without giving up seats, food or a comfortable room.
The Canuck
202 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA
A Canadian hockey bar with Canadian beer, poutine and more personality than the average Chelsea sports pub. Weekday afternoon specials keep the tab low, and it's one of the few places in the neighborhood where a round for four doesn't sting.
Peter McManus Cafe
152 7th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA
A family-run tavern on this corner since 1936, with the long wood bar, the booths and the burger to prove it. Prices are old-school rather than rock bottom, which in Chelsea still makes it the best value for miles.
Down the Hatch
179 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014, USA
Loud, casual and sports-bar to its core. Not a first-date spot, but one of the Village's most reliable places to drink for less. Half off all drinks Mon–Fri 2–7 p.m. is the headline, and there's a different special every night: Monday $5 drafts, Wednesday $5 well shots and drinks, Friday $10 beer and shot, $5 cans and bottles all weekend. $5 Jell-O shots and $5 Michelob Ultra and Tecate every day.
WXOU Bar
558 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014, USA
A small, low-key neighborhood bar in a part of the West Village where cheap beer and wells have mostly disappeared. Good jukebox, no attitude, and a Sunday happy hour that's one of the better-kept secrets on Hudson Street. Cash only.
Nancy Whiskey Pub
1 Lispenard St, New York, NY 10013, USA
Tribeca isn't known for bargains, which is why Nancy Whiskey matters. Here since 1967 with its original shuffleboard table, a jukebox, straightforward drinks and none of the gloss of the restaurants around it. Prices aren't rock bottom, but they're well below the neighborhood norm and don't depend on a happy hour. The building changed hands in 2024 and the owners have been negotiating rent, so this is one to check on.
Jeremy's Ale House
228 Front St, New York, NY 10038, USA
About volume, not selection. Beer comes in 32-ounce quart cups from about $8, the walls and ceiling are covered in decades of memorabilia, and the whole place feels like a maritime dive that outlasted the neighborhood developing around it. One of the better beer-per-dollar propositions in Lower Manhattan and a quick escape from the Seaport's tourist traffic.
Milano's Bar
51 E Houston St, New York, NY 10012, USA
A narrow, no-frills bar on a stretch of Houston Street where nearly everything around it has become pricier and more curated. Inside it still feels like an old neighborhood drinking room: jukebox, simple drinks, zero interest in trends. Drinks average around $5, and it's cash only. A useful reset after shopping or dinner in SoHo and Nolita.
Tile Bar
115 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003, USA
No combo to remember, no weekday-only rule: $5 drinks during happy hour every day. The windows are Mon–Thu 5–8, Fri 4–8, and weekends 3–8. The room is small and dim with the kind of mismatched decor that accumulated over decades rather than by design, and it fills up fast when the weather's bad.
169 Bar
169 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002, USA
Around in some form since 1916 and nothing about it feels precious. Leopard-print pool table, colored lights, loud music, and a crowd that looks like three unrelated nights collided. Happy hour runs from opening at 2 until 7 every day, with Genesee, Miller and PBR recently at $4. The cocktails aren't especially cheap, so stick to beer when budget is the priority.
Welcome To The Johnsons
123 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Like someone turned a wood-paneled 1970s basement into a bar and never touched it again. Pool table, jukebox, beat-up furniture, and a house-party energy that builds as the night goes. The happy hour is the longest in Manhattan that we found, Mon–Fri 4:30–9 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 p.m., with $2 PBR, $3 Bud and Bud Light and $4 wells. Even after 9 the basic beers stay reasonable. Cash only.
Clockwork Bar
21 Essex St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Tiny, covered in graffiti and usually playing music too loud to talk over. That's the point. You don't have to watch the clock here: the cheap prices are the regular menu. Budweiser and Genesee run $4, well shots $5, a beer-and-shot combo $6, and frozen margaritas about $8. One of the most dependable late-night stops downtown.
Sly Fox
140 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003, USA
Sits inside the Ukrainian National Home and feels more like a basement social club than a bar. The room is narrow, the decor is minimal, and you can order pierogies and other Ukrainian comfort food from the kitchen next door until late. Shots (including horseradish vodka) are $4 and wells are $7; a PBR-and-shot combo has been reported around $7. Hours have been inconsistent, so check before you go.
The Library
7 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009, USA
Dark even by East Village standards: red light, old horror movies on the TV, punk on the speakers, and a mix of longtime regulars and people who wandered in after midnight. The two-for-one happy hour (you get a plastic toy as your chit) runs roughly 5–8 p.m. on weekdays and reportedly all night on Thursdays. Don't come looking for anything library-quiet.
Double Down Saloon
14 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009, USA
The opposite of polished. The Las Vegas-born punk bar is loud, confrontational and proud of it, with a house shot called Ass Juice that arrives with no ceremony. Genesee is $2 before 8 p.m., as low as any price in this guide. Historically cash only, so bring some. For people who want a real punk dive rather than one styled to look like it, there's nothing else quite like it.
212 East
212 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003, USA
Formerly 212 Hisae's, and really a Japanese restaurant with a bar problem. The pick for people who want a cocktail rather than a can: shots start at $3 and cocktails at $6, served in plastic cups, with snacks priced about the same. The tradeoff is popularity. It draws students and younger groups, there's a one-hour table limit, and lines form early on busy nights.
The International Bar
102 1st Ave, New York, NY 10009, USA
The East Village's most versatile dive because it's open from 10 a.m. until 4 a.m. It works for a quiet afternoon beer, a stop before dinner, or one last drink after the more fashionable bars have become impossible. Not the absolute cheapest bar in the neighborhood, but reasonable prices, long hours and a no-pretense room earn its place.
Blue & Gold Tavern
79 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003, USA
A family-owned East Village dive and one of the cheapest rooms downtown. Pool table, jukebox, strong well drinks, and prices that never followed the neighborhood up. The family owns the building, which is why it's still here. Cash only.
Doc Holliday's
141 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009, USA
A country-leaning dive on Avenue A that's been going since 1994, with a jukebox heavy on outlaw country and real late-night energy. Cheap drafts and strong pours. Cash only earlier in the day, so bring some either way.
Sophie's
507 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009, USA
One of the East Village's enduring dives: a pool table, cheap beer, uncomplicated drinks and a bartender who isn't going to pitch you a cocktail program. The kind of place you end up at for three hours without meaning to.
Cheap bars in Brooklyn
Brooklyn has the best backyards and the best free food on this list. Red Hook alone is worth an afternoon: Ice House for the yard and pulled pork, Sunny's for the music.
Alibi
242 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205, USA
Bare-bones in the best way. Pool table, backyard, long bar, and no effort spent making the room look more expensive than it is. Happy hour on drafts and wells runs Mon–Thu 5–8, Fri 5–9, and weekends 5–7. Cash only, with an ATM inside, so hit it before you order rather than after.
Brooklyn Ice House
318 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA
One of the easiest bars in the city to lose an afternoon in. Beers about $5 to $7, a beer and shot around $6, a big backyard, and real food: the $5 pulled pork sandwich (two for $8) is the kind of thing you plan a second drink around. $1 off everything Mon–Fri noon–8 p.m. Cash only. Best in warm weather, though the indoor room is appropriately divey year-round.
101 Wilson Bar
101 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237, USA
An unfussy neighborhood bar with a backyard, a jukebox and enough food to keep a cheap night from becoming a bad decision. Every price here is on the bar's own menu as of this fall: Bud and a shot for $7, High Life, Narragansett or Estrella and a shot for $8, $2 Jell-O shots, and a $3 hot dog that makes this one of the best low-cost bar meals in the city.
Bootleg Bar
1438 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237, USA
A Bushwick music venue as much as a bar, with a cheap tallboy-and-shot combo that's been the house deal for years, a backyard and pinball. There's a drink minimum when a show is on, which is still cheaper than a cover.
The Levee
212 Berry St, Brooklyn, NY 11249, USA
A classic Williamsburg dive that predates most of the neighborhood's polish. Pool, darts, jukebox, frozen drinks, and bowls of free cheeseballs that have been on the bar for over twenty years. Ask for the Sportsman Special or the Texas Two-Step, the house beer-and-shot combos. Prices move, so we're not printing one, but they stay well under what a single cocktail costs on Bedford Avenue. Open daily noon to 4 a.m.
Skinny Dennis
152 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
Looks like a Texas honky-tonk dropped under the Williamsburg Bridge. Live country and roots music seven nights a week, peanuts on the bar, frozen coffee drinks, and a mix of regulars and people making the trip. Tuesday's $6 Tito's lemonade special is the recurring deal, and the beer is cheap by Williamsburg standards any night. It gets packed late, so go in the afternoon if you want a seat along with the price.
Alligator Lounge
600 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
The appeal isn't just that drinks are reasonable. It's that every drink comes with a personal pizza from the brick oven, which turns an ordinary bar order into Brooklyn's best-known free dinner. There's karaoke most nights (10 p.m. Wed–Fri and Sun, 11 p.m. Saturday), pool, and a lively late crowd. Drink prices shift, but the pizza policy is why this bar keeps coming up when people talk about cheap nights out.
High Dive
243 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA
One of Fifth Avenue's most dependable casual bars: board games, pinball, a jukebox, outdoor space and buttery popcorn. The weekday happy hour is five hours long, Mon–Fri 3–8 p.m., with $3 PBR, $4 wells and $1 off everything else, and the prices are on the bar's own site, which is rarer than it should be. For an after-work drink in Park Slope, this is the one.
Sunny's
253 Conover St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA
Worth visiting regardless of what it costs. The bar has been on this stretch of Red Hook waterfront for generations, and its small rooms fill with musicians, neighbors and people who made the trip specifically to be there. The Saturday night bluegrass jam is the thing to see. Drinks average about $6, and it's cash only. Getting there is less convenient than almost anything else on this list, which is part of why it still feels like Sunny's.
Cheap bars in Queens
Queens bars don't advertise, which is why the deals hold. Jar Bar's $6 shot-and-jar is the best any-time price in the borough, and the Rabbit Hole's happy hour is one of the few here printed on the bar's own site.
The Jar Bar
45-06 48th Ave, Woodside, NY 11377, USA
A neighborhood place that doesn't need to call itself a destination. It claims to be Sunnyside's oldest bar, and it has pool, darts, pinball, Big Buck Hunter and a backyard with picnic tables. The signature order pairs a shot with a jar-sized draft (about half a pint) for $6, with no happy-hour window to hit. Likely cash only.
The Shannon Pot
10-50 44th Dr, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA
A straightforward Irish bar where the value is in group drinking rather than individual cocktails. Ten Miller High Lifes run about $25 and seven Coronitas about $20, which split among four or five people works out to some of the cheapest beer in the city. The popcorn is free and refilled often.
Aunt Ginny's
6-52 Woodward Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385, USA
Has the friendliness and pricing of a neighborhood dive but puts real effort into the kitchen, which makes it a dinner stop as much as a place for a round. Daily happy hour 4–7 p.m. with drink and shot deals, plus a pool table, a photo booth and a small patio. Not the single cheapest bar in Queens, but one of the best combinations of price, food and room in the borough.
The Rabbit Hole Astoria
38-04 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11103, USA
A comfortable neighborhood bar rather than a hard-edged dive, good for after-work drinks, casual dates and groups that want a table. The weekday happy hour (Mon–Fri 5–8 p.m.) is on the bar's own site: $4 shots, $5 house beers, $6 house wine, $8 frozens, half-off appetizers, and a free hot dog with any beer or wine. There's a different special every night too, including $1 wings on Mondays.
Cheap bars in the Bronx
The Bronx gets overlooked in cheap-bar lists, which is a mistake. Kingsbridge and Riverdale have a cluster of neighborhood pubs along the 1 train, and City Island has an every-day happy hour worth timing an afternoon around.
The Punch Bowl
5820 Broadway, Bronx, NY 10463, USA
The kind of institution that's getting harder to find. It opens in the morning, stays open until 4 a.m., and has pool, darts, Sunday karaoke and a crowd that isn't there to be photographed. Drinks are reasonably priced and the pours are strong. Bring cash to be safe. For anyone exploring the northwest Bronx or heading to Van Cortlandt Park, it's an easy stop.
The Last Stop
5977 Broadway, Bronx, NY 10471, USA
Near the end of the 1 train, The Last Stop combines Indian street food and familiar bar snacks with a reasonably priced drink. On the regular menu it's $5 Bud Light drafts and $5 Coors Light bottles, an easy choice for a straightforward beer. Thursday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. the happy hour puts margaritas, mojitos and well drinks at $7 (flavored margaritas or mojitos a dollar more), which makes it the pick if you're meeting friends earlier in the evening.
Man Overboard Bar
247 City Island Ave, Bronx, NY 10464, USA
If you're spending the afternoon on City Island, Man Overboard is the stop for an inexpensive drink. The happy hour runs every day, 3 to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday included, so it fits a weekend outing as easily as a weekday visit: $5 regular beers, $6 well drinks, $8 frozen drinks and $1 off IPAs.
An Beal Bocht Cafe
445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463, USA
A cozy Irish neighborhood pub in Riverdale with live music, theater and a strong community feel. The place to settle in with a reasonably priced beer without watching the clock for a happy-hour deadline: $6 bottles (Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona, Heineken, Red Stripe) are the budget order, most drafts are $8 and Guinness is $9. Check the events calendar if you'd like to make an evening of the music.
Cheap bars on Staten Island
Staten Island's cheap drinking mostly lives in restaurant bars and neighborhood pubs rather than dives. St. George, a short walk from the ferry, has three of the four picks here; Joyce's in Eltingville is the one worth the drive for its Thursday night deal.
Sally's Southern & BBQ
427 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10301, USA
More restaurant than dive, but the weekday bar specials are strong enough to earn a spot: $3 domestic bottles, $4 drafts, $6 wine, $7 sangria and $8 cocktails Mon–Fri 11:30 a.m.–6 p.m., bar area only. The room is comfortable, the Southern menu goes well beyond snacks, and the happy hour starts early enough for lunch. The best-rounded cheap-drink option we found on Staten Island.
Steiny's Pub
3 Hyatt St, Staten Island, NY 10301, USA
A straightforward St. George pub a short walk up from the ferry, with inexpensive beers on the regular menu and a weekday happy hour that makes a round even more affordable. Budweiser and Bud Light drafts are $5 normally and $4 during happy hour, Monday to Friday 4:30 to 7 p.m., when everything is $1 off. There's also a $5 beer of the month. Cash only, with an ATM inside, so bring some before you settle in.
Joyce's Tavern
3823 Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY 10312, USA
A longstanding neighborhood tavern in Eltingville, and Thursday is the night to know about if you're after an inexpensive pint: half-price draft beers from 9 p.m. to midnight, which makes it useful when you're heading out after the usual early-evening happy hours have finished. Friday happy hour runs 3 to 7 p.m. in the bar area.
The Basement
11 Schuyler St, Staten Island, NY 10301, USA
The weekday happy hour is the time to visit The Basement for an affordable margarita, mojito, glass of wine or draft beer: Monday to Friday, 3 to 7 p.m., it's $6 for any beer on tap and $8 for Basement margaritas, mojitos, red or white wine, and red or white sangria. A good early-drink option in St. George. The regular dinner menu is more expensive, so focus on the drink specials if you're keeping costs down.
How to drink cheaply in NYC
- Look past the cocktail list. A bar with $15 specialty drinks may still have a $4 can, a $5 well, or a beer-and-shot combo on the board.
- Ask what the house beer is. Rudy's, the Rabbit Hole and plenty of neighborhood bars save their lowest price for one specific draft.
- Know if the deal is all day. Clockwork, Jar Bar, Jimmy's Corner, 101 Wilson, Strangelove, An Beal Bocht and The Last Stop are cheap on the regular menu. Tile Bar, High Dive and the Johnsons need timing.
- Carry cash. Rudy's, the Johnsons, Milano's, Alibi, Ice House, Sunny's, Jar Bar and Steiny's are cash only or close to it.
- Tip on the full value. Happy hour prices don't include tax or tip, and a $3 beer still took someone's time.
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