By Nora Lindqvist · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
Empire State Building Observation Deck
NYC Empire State Building - Observation Deck & Museum Ticket
4.7 (29,182) · from $50.08
Observation deck New York is a crowded search, and the six places I compare here answer it differently: the cheapest standard entry is One World Observatory at $30.49, the most reviewed ticket is the Empire State Building at 4.73 from 29,182 reviews, and the highest deck is One World at 386.6 m. My first-visit pick among New York observation decks is the Empire State Building, and I’d go about an hour before sunset. Below, I rank each deck, say what its ticket adds, and show where the free views are.
| Tour | From | Rating | Length | Free cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC Empire State Building - Observation Deck & Museum Ticket | $50.08 | ★ 4.7 (29,182) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| Top of the Rock Observation Deck Ticket | $45.73 | ★ 4.6 (22,735) | 2 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Tickets | $47.91 | ★ 4.7 (61,289) | 1.5 - 2 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: Edge Immersive Observation Deck Ticket | $43.12 | ★ 4.6 (23,698) | 1 hour | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: One World Observatory Skip-the-Line Ticket | $30.49 | ★ 4.6 (13,487) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC Statue City Cruises: Official Statue of Liberty Tickets | $32.50 | ★ 4.6 (21,151) | 5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
Here are all the observation decks in New York in one table. Heights are the deck heights listed on Wikipedia’s list of public observation decks, prices are the cheapest standard ticket on GetYourGuide, and ratings are from the same listing. Each deck name opens its own ticket page, where I go through every option.
| Deck | Deck height | Open-air? | Price from | Top ticket rating | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire State Building | 369 m | Yes, the 86th floor | $50.08 | 4.73 from 29,182 | Tickets |
| Top of the Rock | Not in my data (70th floor) | Yes, rooftop level | $45.73 | 4.58 from 22,735 | Tickets |
| Summit One Vanderbilt | 310 m | Yes, a terrace | $47.91 | 4.7 from 61,289 | Tickets |
| Edge NYC | 340 m | Yes, an outdoor platform | $43.12 | 4.63 from 23,698 | Tickets |
| One World Observatory | 386.6 m | Indoor | $30.49 | 4.63 from 13,487 | Tickets |
| Statue of Liberty | 91 m | Crown and pedestal | $32.50 | 4.59 from 21,151 | Tickets |
I’d read the table this way: price differences between the five Manhattan observation decks in New York are small, so they should not decide it. A New York observation deck is a short, timed visit, so the choice is about the view. The view you want, and whether you want to be outdoors, should. The one outlier is the Statue of Liberty, which is a ferry trip with a monument at the end, not a skyscraper deck, and I rank it last for that reason.
The Empire State Building is the one I’d book first, and the reason is the open air. According to Wikipedia, it is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built between 1930 and 1931, and its main deck on the 86th floor has no glass between you and the city. The standard Observation Deck and Museum ticket is the most reviewed standard ticket in New York, and the deck height of 369 m gives a horizon of about 68.6 km on a clear day, per the horizon formula in my data.
Empire State Building Observation Deck
My pick: The plain ticket I'd start from: 86th floor, the museum galleries, and the most reviews of any deck ticket in the city.
from
$50.08
If you would rather have a guide, the Empire State and Flatiron walking tour adds the neighbourhood and an optional 102nd floor, at a clear price premium over the plain ticket. I’d take it only if you want context more than time at the top. Anyone comparing this deck with its closest rival can read my Empire State Building vs Top of the Rock head-to-head, and the full ticket list lives on the Empire State Building tickets page.
City Wonders Ltd. USA
My pick: A two-hour walking tour that includes entry, with the 102nd floor as an option, for people who want a guide as well as the view.
from
$99
Top of the Rock is my pick when the photograph matters, because its viewing levels on the 67th, 69th and 70th floors look straight down Midtown to the Empire State Building, which is the one view the Empire State Building cannot give you itself. Rockefeller Center describes the deck on its official page, and Google Maps rates it 4.7 from 93,042 reviews. The cheapest entry here is $45.73, a little below the Empire State Building.
Rockefeller Center
My pick: The operator's own ticket for all the viewing levels, and the cheapest way onto an open-air rooftop level in Midtown.
from
$45.73
There is one upgrade worth knowing about. The Fifth Avenue icons walking tour includes entry and an optional add-on, and it stops at the Empire State Building too, so a single booking can cover two skylines. It is the best-rated product on this deck at 4.84, but from only 10 reviews, so I treat that score as a signal rather than a verdict. If you are weighing the two, my Summit One Vanderbilt vs Top of the Rock guide covers the third Midtown option.
City Wonders Ltd. USA
My pick: A Fifth Avenue walking tour with deck entry that also visits the Empire State Building, so one booking covers two skylines.
from
$69
Summit One Vanderbilt is the most photographed of the new decks, and its general admission ticket is the second most reviewed in the city, at 4.7 from 61,289 reviews. Wikipedia describes One Vanderbilt as a 62-story supertall designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox that opened in 2020, with its roof at 397 m, and the deck itself sits at 310 m. The ticket includes all three floors, the mirrored and glass-skybox experiences, and an open-air terrace.
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
My pick: The general admission ticket I'd book: all three floors and the terrace for under $50, with the most reviews after the Empire State Building.
from
$47.91
Its entrance is inside Grand Central Terminal, which makes the Grand Central combination a natural pairing. The guided tour of the terminal with entry to the deck is $89.10 and takes 2 hours, which is a sensible way to spend a rainy morning before going up. For a straight choice between this deck and its older neighbour, see Summit One Vanderbilt vs Empire State Building.
See Sight Tours Inc
My pick: Grand Central history first, the deck second: a two-hour pairing for people who like the building as much as the view.
from
$89.10
Edge, one of the newest observation decks in New York, sits at 340 m on 30 Hudson Yards, a 395 m tower that Wikipedia lists as the seventh-tallest in New York. The ticket covers the indoor sky deck on Level 100, an outdoor platform with angled glass walls and the glass floor, which is why I choose it for people who want to feel the height instead of just see it. It faces west, so the sunset over the Hudson is the draw.
Hudson Yards
My pick: The standard ticket includes the glass floor and the outdoor platform, so you are not paying extra for the parts people come for.
from
$43.12
If you plan to see several attractions in a few days, the New York Pass is the one product that is worth a calculation. It is $169 and covers 100+ attractions including Edge, so it only wins if you visit enough of them, and I would add up what you really plan to do before buying. My Top of the Rock vs Edge NYC page compares the two decks’ sunsets side by side.
Go City - NYC Pass
My pick: A multi-day pass that includes Edge, worth a calculation only if you will visit several of the 100+ attractions.
from
$169
One World Observatory is the tallest deck in the city at 386.6 m, and at that height the horizon is about 70.2 km on a clear day, the longest sightline of any deck here. It is enclosed, so it is the one I’d choose in wind or cold, and it faces the harbour and the Statue of Liberty from Lower Manhattan. It is also the cheapest standard ticket in my data.
Legends OWO, LLC
My pick: The cheapest standard deck entry in New York at $30.49, with a skip-the-line barcode and the highest viewing level in the city.
from
$30.49
Among New York observation decks it is also the one beside the 9/11 Memorial, and a memorial tour with an optional observatory ticket is how many people combine the two. It takes between 1.5 and 4.5 hours depending on the options you choose, so check the final price after you pick the observatory option. For a head-to-head with the classic, read Empire State Building vs One World Observatory, and for the other tall newcomer, see Summit One Vanderbilt vs One World Observatory.
911 Ground Zero Tour
My pick: A guided 9/11 Memorial visit with the observatory as an option, for people who want the history and the view on the same morning.
from
$29
The Statue of Liberty is not a skyscraper deck, and it would not appear on every list of New York observation decks, but it is the view of Manhattan most visitors actually remember: the skyline from the water. The National Park Service runs the monument, and Wikipedia notes it was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and is 93 m tall. The official Statue City Cruises ticket is $32.50 and includes the ferry, Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture of a robed and crowned woman on Liberty Island, part of New York City, in New York Harbor.
Statue City Cruises
My pick: The official ferry ticket with Liberty Island and Ellis Island, and the one I'd book for the monument itself.
from
$32.50
If you only want the skyline from the harbour and not the island, the express cruise takes 50 minutes and costs $29, with no landing. It is the right product for a short trip and a poor one for anyone who wants to stand beneath the statue. Before you choose, my guide to Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building explains how the two differ in a single day.
Circle Line
My pick: A 50-minute express cruise with no landing, for people who want the harbour view of the skyline on a tight day.
from
$29
You can see Manhattan without a ticket, though never from as high up, and a free option is the closest thing to a free observation deck in New York. Google Maps lists these places in my data, each public and free to approach, and I would use them as an add-on to a deck, not a substitute. The High Line Observation Deck is the best rated at 4.8 from 1,283 reviews, and it is about 1.2 km from Edge. Brooklyn Bridge is rated 4.8 from 94,197 reviews and is roughly 4.1 km, as the crow flies, from the Empire State Building.
Observation deck
4.8 · 1,283 Google reviews
456 High Line, New York, NY 10011, United States
Bridge
4.8 · 94,197 Google reviews
New York, NY 10038, United States
Open in Google MapsObservation deck
4.7 · 365 Google reviews
Little Island, Pier 55 at Hudson River Park, Hudson River Greenway, New York, NY 10014, United States
Scenic spot
4.9 · 26 Google reviews
10 W Main St, New York, NY 10044, United States
Open in Google MapsObservation deck
4.9 · 98 Google reviews
12 Cambridge Way, Weehawken Township, NJ 07086, United States
Observation deck
4.8 · 44 Google reviews
1475 Broadway 19th Floor, New York, NY 10036, United States
I have no rooftop bar prices in my data, so I will not quote any. What I can say is that Edge has its own Skyline Bar and Cafe on Level 100, and Summit One Vanderbilt has an Apres bar, both per their ticket listings, so a drink with a view is included in the visit and not a separate trip.
The weather is the same for every observation deck in New York, so I use the Empire State Building’s year of data as the city’s reference. Per Open-Meteo, August and October were the clearest months in 2025, each at 41 percent cloud cover, while May was the cloudiest at 74 percent. Sunset runs from 16:29 in December to 20:29 in June, which is a four-hour swing worth planning around.
| Month | Sunset (New York time) | Cloud cover | Sunshine a day | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16:53 | 53% | 7.4 h | 7 |
| Feb | 17:31 | 69% | 6.9 h | 9 |
| Mar | 19:03 | 54% | 8.8 h | 7 |
| Apr | 19:35 | 70% | 8.2 h | 10 |
| May | 20:06 | 74% | 8.4 h | 16 |
| Jun | 20:29 | 65% | 9.9 h | 12 |
| Jul | 20:25 | 55% | 12 h | 15 |
| Augclearest | 19:53 | 41% | 11.1 h | 6 |
| Sepclearest | 19:04 | 52% | 9.6 h | 8 |
| Octclearest | 18:15 | 41% | 8.4 h | 9 |
| Nov | 16:37 | 57% | 6.7 h | 10 |
| Dec | 16:29 | 64% | 5.9 h | 8 |
Sunset planner
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book this entry time (50 min before sunset)
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sunset, New York time
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typical cloud cover that week
Sunset and cloud cover for the same dates in 2025 at the deck (Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5), 2025); sunset moves by about a minute between years.
My rule for any deck here is to arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset, so you see the city in daylight, at dusk and lit up on one ticket. In winter that means a late-afternoon slot, and in June it means an evening one. The cloud cover varies more than the time of day does, so if you can pick only one thing, pick a clear month.
The three Midtown observation decks in New York are close enough to compare in one afternoon, if you have the stamina. Because the decks cluster, you can see two of them in a day without wasting time on the subway. From coordinates in my data, the Empire State Building is about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from Top of the Rock and only 0.8 km (0.5 miles) from Summit One Vanderbilt. Top of the Rock and Summit One Vanderbilt are 0.7 km (0.5 miles) apart. Edge is 1.4 km (0.9 miles) from the Empire State Building, and One World Observatory is 4.6 km (2.8 miles) to the south.
The Statue of Liberty is the farthest, about 8.2 km (5.1 miles) from the Empire State Building in a straight line, and it needs a ferry from Battery Park. That is why I treat it as a half-day of its own, and why I would not pair it with a deck on the same afternoon. A downtown morning that combines One World Observatory and a harbour cruise works better, since the two are only 3.7 km (2.3 miles) apart. For a top-of-the-rock-first plan, read Top of the Rock vs One World Observatory.
I’ve kept this list to one line per visitor, so you can find yourself quickly.
If you can only afford one of the New York observation decks, I’d book the Empire State Building. If you can afford two, I would pair it with Top of the Rock or One World Observatory so the views differ, and not with a third Midtown deck.
For a first visit I'd book the Empire State Building: it has the most reviewed standard ticket (4.73 from 29,182 reviews at $50.08) and an open-air deck on the 86th floor. If you want the skyline with the Empire State Building in it, Top of the Rock is the better frame. The tallest deck is One World Observatory at 386.6 m.
I think one is worth it, and two is all most visitors need. The decks list from $30.49 to about $50 for the standard ticket, and each one shows a different Manhattan: Midtown, the Hudson Yards edge, or the harbour downtown. Pick by the view you want rather than by height alone, since the clearest days matter more than a few metres.
The five paid Manhattan decks I compare are the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Summit One Vanderbilt, Edge NYC and One World Observatory. I add the Statue of Liberty as a sixth, because its crown and pedestal are the nearest thing to a deck on the harbour. Each has its own ticket page on this site, linked above.
None of the six decks I compare has a free ticket in my data. For a free view of the skyline, Google Maps lists the High Line Observation Deck (4.8 from 1,283 reviews), Little Island Vista Point and Brooklyn Bridge, all open to the public. They are far lower than the paid decks, so treat them as a bonus, not a replacement.
On GetYourGuide the cheapest standard entry I found is One World Observatory at $30.49 for the skip-the-line ticket, rated 4.63 from 13,487 reviews. Edge NYC follows at $43.12, then Top of the Rock at $45.73 and Summit One Vanderbilt at $47.91. The Empire State Building is the dearest of the standard tickets at $50.08.
The Empire State deck is higher, at 369 m against 340 m, while Edge is newer, with angled glass walls and a glass floor. I'd choose the Empire State Building for the icon and the open-air 86th floor, and Edge for a modern outdoor platform with a western view over the Hudson.
I think so for a first visit if you like open-air views: the $43.12 ticket covers the indoor sky deck, the outdoor platform and the glass floor, and it is rated 4.63 from 23,698 reviews. The glass floor comes with the same ticket, not as an upgrade, so I'd book it on a clear day.
From Google Maps, the free viewpoints with the best ratings in my data are the High Line Observation Deck at 4.8, the Brooklyn Bridge at 4.8 and the Roosevelt Island viewpoint at 4.9, though that one has few reviews. The High Line is about 1.2 km from Edge. For the full skyline from above you still need a deck ticket.