Analog.Cafe › News › 7 min read by Dmitri. Published on February 4, 2025. Film is an essential product in the analogue photography community. When its cost rises or availability decreases, everyone feels the effects. Fortunately, the past year has seen more favorable pricing after years of continual price hikes. In 2025, whether shooting film is costly will vary based on your location and photography budget. In this article, I will outline the latest results from the annual retailer survey, discuss regional cost variations, and highlight some of the best film stocks to purchase today. In this article: Film Price Trends. Color film prices are currently at their lowest level since 2022. Which films have become cheaper? Which ones have increased in price? Film pricing by region. Film availability. Will film shooting become expensive in 2025? Support this blog & access premium features with GOLD memberships!
Film Price Trends.
All insights in this article, including the graph above, are derived from Film Price Trends — a free web application that compiles seven years of film price data from retailers. Film Price Trends tracks the prices of over 30 popular film stocks in six currencies gathered from retailers across three continents since 2018. The app allows you to budget your expenses by observing annual pricing trends for your preferred film or the industry as a whole. It also assists in finding reliable stocks and making smart investment choices that can save money over time or evaluate the health of a market that circulates over 80,000,000 rolls of film (~$1.2 billion in annual spending). You may also want to subscribe to the free Film Price Reports newsletter to receive articles like this in your inbox as soon as I finish my next retailer film pricing survey.
Color film prices are currently at their lowest level since 2022.
Film photography has seen a rapid rise in popularity over the last decade. While it hasn't reached the levels of when film was the only way to capture images, the limited film production facilities we still have are in high demand. This demand, along with factors like inflation and supply chain issues, has pushed the average price of a 35mm film roll from $10 in 2019 to $15.69 in 2024, marking a 57% increase! However, the growing interest in film has also encouraged many small businesses to find and resell rare film stocks, respool Kodak Motion Picture film (despite some challenges), and even create their own. Recently, Kodak has upgraded its facilities to accommodate higher production volumes, and two new Chinese manufacturers (Light Lens Lab and Lucky) have committed to introducing new film to the market. These new suppliers and advancements in film production have contributed to a decrease in prices at retailers over the past year.
Since Q1 2024, the average price of a 35mm film roll has dropped from $15.69 to $14.91—a 5% reduction. Prices are even more favorable for color films: they averaged $19.49 in 2024 but now stand at $17.40—an 11% decrease! Of course, the price of your favorite film stock may not reflect this trend, as costs can vary, and not every brand has the same pricing. Your local store may determine prices based on supply and different costs associated with import, taxes, stocking, and so on. The country from which you're purchasing your film can also significantly impact the price you pay—I'll elaborate on that below.
I reside in Canada, so I could only feature Canadian dollars for this photo. Nevertheless, I default to US dollars on Analog.Cafe since most of the blog's readers are based there.
Which films have decreased in price?
Kodak Tri-X continues to sell for considerably less than it did in 2024. It appears Kodak has modified something in their Tri-X production or pricing strategy, resulting in nearly a five-dollar drop over the past year. This price reduction will not be influenced by the recent increases announced by the company late last year. Kodak T-Max P3200 has also fallen by about two dollars since its peak of $17 in 2024.
All Kodak Portra films have seen minor price reductions in the last six months, as have all currently produced slide films: Velvia, Provia, and Ektachrome. Fujichrome Velvia experienced the most significant price drop in this group—it is now three dollars less compared to its peak of $30 in 2024.
✪ Note: The average film price graph has been slightly adjusted by the introduction of new budget film stocks that I began tracking today: Kodak Gold and Fujifilm 400. However, this change is minimal (1-2%) as it is counterbalanced by the prices of 28 other emulsions.
Which films have increased in price?
Ilford black-and-white films (with the exception of Delta 3200) have
Film is an essential product for the analogue photography community. When its price rises or availability declines, the effects are felt throughout the community. Fortunately, the last year has seen more favorable pricing after a period of consistent increases. In this article, I will analyze the most recent results from the annual retailer survey, talk about how prices may vary based on your location, and highlight some of the top film stocks to purchase at present.