Rimfire Price Index: What .22 LR Really Costs Now

.22 LR is still the cheapest trigger time you can buy, but the price depends on pack size and load type more than on the cartridge. Here is the live market, normalized to cost per round.

AmmoSpotter Research Desk By AmmoSpotter Research Desk
Published 8 min read
Rimfire Price Index: What .22 LR Really Costs Now

.22 LR is still the cheapest way to put rounds through a gun. That part hasn't changed. What has changed is how wide the spread is inside the cartridge. A 50-round box of match ammunition and a 500-round brick of plinking ammo are both ".22 LR", and they are priced in completely different markets. This page tracks those markets live, normalized to cost per round, across every retailer in our catalog.

What does .22 LR cost per round right now?

This is the live .22 LR index. It counts every quality-filtered .22 LR listing we track in packs of ten rounds or more. The market floor is reported as the third-cheapest listing rather than the single cheapest, so one mispriced feed row can't set it. How AmmoSpotter ranks ammunition explains the filtering in full.

.22 LR Price Index

Live · Sep 21, 2026
Market floor / round
$0.058
Market average
$0.163
Lowest box price
$2.99
30-day trend
▲ 27.2%
Compare all .22 LR deals by cost per round →

When we pulled this data we were tracking 308 qualifying .22 LR listings, with the market floor at $0.058 per round and the cheapest single box at $2.99. The average in the block above sits well above the floor. That isn't because plinking ammo is expensive. It's because the average includes match and specialty ammunition that costs several times more, and those loads are almost all sold in small boxes.

For scale: at both the floor and the median, a round of .22 LR costs roughly a quarter of what a round of 9mm costs in our listings. If you are building a practice budget, that ratio is the whole argument for rimfire. How many rounds does it take to get good? covers why volume matters and where rimfire practice transfers to a centerfire gun. Best 9mm ammo has the live 9mm numbers to compare against.

Does buying .22 LR in bulk actually save money?

Yes. This is the one caliber where the bulk discount survives scrutiny.

In our analysis of bulk ammo pricing, most of the apparent case discount in 9mm, .223 and .45 ACP disappears once you compare practice ammo with practice ammo. Small boxes look expensive mostly because that's where premium defensive loads are sold. .22 LR doesn't behave that way. Restrict the comparison to plinking ammunition only, leaving out subsonic, hyper-velocity and match, and the typical 500-plus round pack still costs about half as much per round as the typical 50-round box.

The reason is structural. .22 LR is made in enormous volume, and the makers package their cheapest lines in bricks and value packs specifically for high-volume shooters. The 50-round box is the retail format for someone buying a few boxes at a time, and it's priced that way.

Here are the cheapest bulk packs we track right now, sorted by box price:

Cheapest .22 LR Bricks and Value Packs

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all .22 LR deals →

And here are the cheapest single boxes:

Cheapest .22 LR Boxes Right Now

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all .22 LR deals →

Two things stand out. First, the cheapest 50-round boxes can price within a cent or two per round of the bricks, but there are only a few of them, and the typical box costs much more. Second, the cheapest box costs only a few dollars, which is less than typical shipping. Our prices are item prices without shipping, so a cheap box on its own rarely makes sense online. Put it in a larger order or buy it locally.

How much more do subsonic, hyper-velocity and match .22 LR cost?

Load type moves the price more than brand or pack size does. Sorting the live listings by type, the order is consistent:

  1. Plinking ammo (standard and high-velocity round nose, copper-plated and hollow point) sets the floor and holds the median.
  2. Subsonic carries a modest premium. Most of that premium comes from pack size, since subsonic is sold almost entirely in 50- and 100-round boxes, with very few bricks.
  3. Hyper-velocity (Stinger-type loads, segmented varmint loads) costs more again, and is also sold almost entirely in small boxes.
  4. Match and premium target costs the most, typically between two and three times the plinking median, with the top competition lots well above that.

The brand grids show the spread live. Eley's cheapest listings cover subsonic, target and high-velocity loads at similar prices:

Eley .22 LR, Cheapest Per Round

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all All Eley →

Lapua's lineup climbs from its entry match loads to its long-range and top-tier competition lots, all in 50-round boxes:

Lapua .22 LR, Cheapest Per Round

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all All Lapua →

Whether match ammo is worth it depends on the rifle and the shooting. For plinking, small game and most training, it isn't. For benchrest or smallbore competition, where the gun can tell the difference, the only way to know is to test several lots in your rifle on paper. We don't run our own accuracy testing, so this page won't rank match ammunition by group size. Best .22 LR ammo covers load selection by use.

If you shoot suppressed, subsonic is the load that matters, and the premium is small enough that it rarely decides the question. The suppressor buying guide covers what the can itself costs, and best ammo for suppressed rifles covers load choice.

Which .22 LR brands are cheapest?

At the bottom of the market, brand matters less than the specific product line. When we pulled this data, the cheapest per-round listings by brand were:

BrandListingsCheapest per round
Browning8$0.055
Winchester43$0.058
Remington35$0.058
Aguila23$0.064
Federal32$0.068
CCI59$0.074
Eley13$0.160
Lapua7$0.320

Those are snapshots and will drift. The live grids above are current.

Look past the cheapest row and the picture changes. Winchester and Federal have the lowest typical prices of the major brands, because most of their listings are value packs. CCI has the most listings of any brand, and its typical price sits a little higher, because its catalog mixes bulk Blazer and standard-velocity packs with Stingers, subsonics and specialty loads in small boxes. Eley and Lapua are match-focused, and their floors start where the mass-market brands' ranges end.

For most shooters, the takeaway is to pick a load your gun runs reliably and then buy whichever major brand's value pack is cheapest that week. Semi-autos can be picky about .22 LR, and a brick that jams costs more than one that doesn't. Best .22 LR rifles for training and plinking covers the guns that tend to digest the widest range of ammo.

How has the .22 LR price moved lately?

The index at the top of this page shows a 30-day trend figure. Read it with care in .22 LR. It averages the price change across only the listings that have price history in both windows, and in rimfire that's a small group, so one listing that swings sharply can move the whole figure. When we published, a single bulk pack sold by two retailers at very different prices accounted for most of the movement.

Here's what our retailer-level price history shows, listing by listing.

We compared each .22 LR listing's current price with its price 30 and 90 days earlier, product by product, so a change in what's on sale can't masquerade as a change in price. Over the last 30 days, most listings didn't move at all. Of the ones that did, increases outnumbered decreases, but not by much in absolute terms.

Over the last 90 days, more than half of the listings we could compare rose in price, and very few fell. Most of the increases landed in July and August. One large retailer repriced most of its .22 LR catalog upward, which accounts for much of it, but a large minority of listings at other retailers rose over the same window too. 9mm listings in the same period were close to flat at the median. In our data, rimfire has recently been drifting up faster than the most common centerfire cartridge.

That's a data point, not a forecast. Why ammo prices move breaks down the forces behind these shifts. The practical response is the same as always: when the floor is where you want it, buy enough to last, and set an alert so you hear about the next dip.

How do .22 WMR and .17 HMR compare?

The magnum rimfires are a different market. In our listings the typical .22 WMR and .17 HMR round costs roughly three times what a typical .22 LR round costs. Both are sold mostly in 50-round boxes, with few value packs.

.22 WMR Price Index

Live · Sep 21, 2026
Market floor / round
$0.243
Market average
$0.349
Lowest box price
$10.34
30-day trend
▲ 1.4%
Compare all .22 WMR deals by cost per round →

Cheapest .22 WMR Per Round

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all .22 WMR deals →

.17 HMR Price Index

Live · Sep 21, 2026
Market floor / round
$0.264
Market average
$0.338
Lowest box price
$12.98
30-day trend
▲ 2.9%

Cheapest .17 HMR Per Round

Prices updated Sep 21, 2026
See all .17 HMR deals →

That doesn't make them bad cartridges. They carry farther and hit harder on small game and varmints. But if your goal is cheap trigger time, a magnum rimfire isn't a budget choice. It costs less than centerfire rifle ammo, and far more than .22 LR.

What else should you check before ordering .22 LR online?

Two things beyond price per round.

Shipping. Our prices exclude shipping. A brick is heavy for its price, so a cheap brick with expensive shipping can lose to a slightly dearer one that ships free past a threshold. Compare the total at checkout.

Delivery rules. Some states and localities restrict ammunition delivery or require it to go through a licensed dealer, and retailers set their own policies on top of that. Check before you order. Ammo shipping restrictions: how to check before you order walks through the process. Confirm current rules locally, because they change.

Cost Per Round Calculator

The only number that matters when comparing ammo. Shipping included.

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$0.500

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does .22 LR ammo cost per round?+
It depends on the load and the pack size. Bulk plinking ammunition sets the floor, which stood at $0.058 per round when we pulled this data, while match ammunition in 50-round boxes can cost several times that. The live price index on this page shows the current floor, average and 30-day trend.
Is it cheaper to buy .22 LR in bulk?+
Yes, and .22 LR is unusual in that respect. In most centerfire calibers the bulk discount mostly disappears once you compare like-for-like practice ammo, but in .22 LR the typical 500-plus round pack costs about half as much per round as the typical 50-round box, even when you compare plinking ammo only.
Why is subsonic .22 LR more expensive?+
Subsonic loads are made in smaller volumes and are usually sold in 50- and 100-round boxes rather than bricks, so they miss the bulk pricing that drives plinking ammo down. In our data they carry a modest premium over plinking ammo per round, well below what match ammunition costs.
Is .22 WMR or .17 HMR much more expensive than .22 LR?+
Yes. The typical .22 WMR or .17 HMR round costs roughly three times as much as a typical .22 LR round in our listings. Both are centerfire-priced by rimfire standards, which is worth knowing before you buy a magnum rimfire as a cheap trainer.
Have .22 LR prices gone up recently?+
Over the last 30 days most .22 LR listings we track did not change price. Over the last 90 days more than half of the listings we could compare rose, very few fell, and most of the increases landed in July and August. The index on this page also shows a 30-day trend figure, but in .22 LR it averages only a small number of comparable listings, so a single outlier can move it.
What is the cheapest .22 LR ammo right now?+
The cheapest listings are bulk value packs from the big domestic makers and the cheapest single boxes from budget lines. Both grids on this page update live. Ignore any listing that looks far below the market floor until you have checked the pack size on the retailer's page.
Topics .22 LR Bulk Ammo Cost Per Round Match Grade Price Index Subsonic Ammo Training & Practice

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AmmoSpotter Research Desk

About the author

AmmoSpotter Research Desk

Price & Ballistics Research

The AmmoSpotter Research Desk analyzes live retail pricing across every ammunition, firearm and accessory listing we track. Recommendations here are ranked against real cost-per-round data pulled daily from the retailers we monitor - not against manufacturer marketing copy.

  • ✓Tracks 180,000+ live product listings across 6 retailer feeds
  • ✓Records price history on every listing, every day
  • ✓Cost-per-round methodology applied to all ammunition rankings
  • ✓No product is ranked without a verifiable in-stock retail price
  • ✓Affiliate relationships never influence rankings

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