By Nora Lindqvist · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
Statue City Cruises
NYC Statue City Cruises: Official Statue of Liberty Tickets
4.6 (21,151) · from $32.50
Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building is not a like for like choice: I’d book the Statue of Liberty for the monument, the ferry and the chance of a pedestal or crown reservation, and the Empire State Building for the skyline and the open-air deck. The official statue ticket costs $32.50 and the Empire State Building standard ticket $50.08. If you have one half day, I’d pick the Empire State Building; if you have a full day, do both.
| Tour | From | Rating | Length | Free cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC Statue City Cruises: Official Statue of Liberty Tickets | $32.50 | ★ 4.6 (21,151) | 5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC Empire State Building - Observation Deck & Museum Ticket | $50.08 | ★ 4.7 (29,182) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: Statue of Liberty Sunset Cruise Ticket | $27 | ★ 4.6 (2,888) | 1.5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: Empire State & Flatiron Tour with Optional 102nd Floor | $99 | ★ 4.6 (24) | 2 hours | Yes | Check availability |
The Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building question is really about how you want to spend your time. One is a ferry trip to an island monument in New York Harbor, the other a skyscraper in Midtown with an elevator to the top. Every price, rating and inclusion here comes from the GetYourGuide listings I checked in October 2026, in US dollars. Links open GetYourGuide in a new tab, and I earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. The full ticket lists are on my Statue of Liberty tickets and Empire State Building tickets pages.
| Statue of Liberty | Empire State Building | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure height | 93 m, per Wikipedia | 443.2 m with antenna, per Wikipedia |
| Highest viewpoint | About 91 m (crown), per Wikipedia | 369 m, per Wikipedia |
| Open-air space | Liberty Island grounds | Yes, on the 86th floor |
| Standard ticket from | $32.50 (ferry) | $50.08 |
| Top ticket rating | 4.59 from 21,151 reviews | 4.73 from 29,182 reviews |
| Google Maps rating | 4.7 from 112,747 reviews | 4.7 from 130,587 reviews |
| Hours (Google Maps) | 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM | 9 AM to 11 PM |
| Time to allow | About 5 hours with Ellis Island | Self-paced on the standard ticket |
| In the view | Lower Manhattan, the harbour, the figure itself | Midtown, Central Park, the Hudson |
Height is not close. The Empire State Building deck is at 369 m and the statue’s viewpoint at about 91 m, which gives horizon distances of 68.6 km and 34.1 km using the standard horizon formula. In the Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building view contest, the skyscraper wins on reach, because you see the whole island and Central Park from above the roof line.
The statue gives you something else. You see the harbour and the Lower Manhattan skyline from the water, and the figure itself up close, which no skyscraper deck can offer. The access levels matter here. The grounds need only the ferry ticket, while the pedestal and the crown need their own option or reservation. The National Park Service says crown tickets are usually available 3 to 4 months in advance and that visitors must be able to walk approximately 10 floors of stairs. The same page says the torch is reached by a narrow 40 foot ladder and has never been open to the public. For a view at skyscraper height, the Empire State Building is the only choice of these two.
The Statue of Liberty is only accessible via ferry.
The statue ticket is cheaper by $17.58: $32.50 against $50.08. In the Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building price contest that gap buys you a lot more time, because the official ferry ticket includes Liberty Island, Ellis Island, the audio tours and the museums. It is the only listing that names the pedestal and crown as options, so book early if you want either. The Empire State Building ticket includes skip-the-line entry, the 86th floor open-air deck, the museum galleries and the lobby.
Statue City Cruises
My pick: The statue default: $32.50, 4.59 stars from 21,151 reviews, the official ferry with pedestal and crown options.
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$32.50
Empire State Building Observation Deck
My pick: The Empire State Building default: $50.08, 4.73 stars from 29,182 reviews, with the museum and the open-air 86th floor.
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$50.08
If you only want the picture of the statue, a cruise is cheaper and shorter. The Circle Line Sunset Cruise costs $27 for 90 minutes and does not land, rated 4.6 from 2,888 reviews. For a guide at the skyscraper, the Empire State and Flatiron walk costs $99 for 2 hours, but it has only 24 reviews, so I’d treat it as a guide purchase and not as proof.
Night tourCircle Line
My pick: A 90-minute sunset sail past the statue for $27; a water view, not a landing.
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$27
City Wonders Ltd. USA
My pick: A 2-hour Flatiron walk ending at the Empire State Building for $99; 4.6 stars from only 24 reviews.
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$99
If you want a guide on the island, the Walks tour costs $59 for 2 to 4 hours and is rated 4.6 from 2,968 reviews. Its exclusions say pedestal and crown access are not included, so it is a grounds ticket.
Walks - US
My pick: A guided walk from Battery Park for $59 with Liberty and Ellis Island tickets; grounds only, no crown.
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$59
Calculator
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from per person, before any child or group discount
Prices are the lowest per-person prices on GetYourGuide when I last checked; the final price depends on the date, time slot and age.
I have no live queue data, so I can’t say which is busier on your day. Wikidata gives the statue 3,722,029 visitors in 2024, and Google Maps shows 112,747 reviews for the monument against 130,587 for the building. Both are major attractions, so book a slot.
Hours are the real difference in Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building timing. Google Maps lists the statue as open 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM and the Empire State Building until 11 PM. Because the ferry runs in the day, I’d start the statue early and keep the skyscraper for the evening. Sunset is the same at both, per the 2025 data from Open-Meteo: about 16:29 in December and 20:29 in June, and I’d arrive 45 to 60 minutes before. August and October were the clearest months, at 41 percent cloud cover.
| 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.
If the Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building decision is still open, my guide to the best observation decks in New York covers the whole field. My Statue of Liberty tickets guide explains each access level, and the Empire State Building tickets page covers the 86th and 102nd floors.
Yes, if you start early. By Google Maps coordinates the two are 8.24 km (5.12 miles) apart in a straight line, but the statue is on an island, so the trip means a ferry plus a ride back uptown. The official ticket lists about 5 hours with Ellis Island, so I’d take the first ferry, finish by mid-afternoon and reach the Empire State Building about an hour before sunset. Doing both costs $82.58 for the two standard tickets.
If time is tight, skip Ellis Island or use a 50-minute cruise past the statue, then spend the freed hours on the deck. Check the National Park Service for ferry times and the official Empire State Building site for holiday hours. Free cancellation is listed up to 24 hours before on both standard tickets, so you can move a slot if the forecast turns.
The Statue of Liberty visit is a trip with a story. Wikipedia calls it a gift from the people of France, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with a metal framework by Gustave Eiffel, and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The official ticket adds Ellis Island and two museums, so it works as a half-day outing as much as a view. The Empire State Building is a shorter, more compact outing. It was built from 1930 to 1931 to a design by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, and its ticket adds the museum galleries and the lobby to the deck. In the Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building comparison, the first sells history on the water and the second sells the skyline.
In the Statue of Liberty vs Empire State Building contest, I’d call it for the Empire State Building if you have a few hours, because of the height, the open-air deck and the most reviewed ticket. I’d call it for the Statue of Liberty if you have a day and want the harbour, the ferry and a crown reservation. They are rated 4.7 on Google Maps, so book what you want to see and add the other if the day allows.
No. Wikipedia lists the Statue of Liberty at 93 m from the ground to the torch, while the Empire State Building stands 443.2 m including its antenna, with its roof at 380 m. The highest deck you can ride to at the Empire State Building is at 369 m, against 91 m for the statue's viewpoint.
By Google Maps coordinates they are 8.24 km (5.12 miles) apart in a straight line. The statue is on Liberty Island, so the real trip means getting to the ferry terminal in Lower Manhattan, taking the boat, then travelling back uptown to Midtown.
The official ferry ticket lists about 5 hours, because it includes Liberty Island and Ellis Island. A grounds-only visit takes less, and the cruises that stay on the water run from 50 minutes to 2.5 hours in my listings. The Empire State Building standard ticket is self-paced, so I'd plan about 90 minutes there.
For a first visit I'd book the Statue of Liberty if the monument and the ferry matter to you, at $32.50 and 4.59 stars from 21,151 reviews. I'd book the Empire State Building if you want the skyline and the open-air deck, at $50.08 and 4.73 stars from 29,182 reviews. Both are rated 4.7 on Google Maps.
Yes, with a separate reservation. The National Park Service says crown visitors must be able to walk approximately 10 floors of stairs, and tickets are usually available 3 to 4 months in advance. The torch has never been open to the public.
I cover that in my comparisons of the big Midtown decks. In short, the Empire State Building has the open-air 86th floor and the most reviewed ticket, at 4.73 stars from 29,182 reviews, while Top of the Rock gives you the Empire State Building in the view. See my guide to the best observation decks in New York to choose.
Yes, if you start early. The official ferry ticket lists about 5 hours with Ellis Island, or you can take a shorter cruise or a grounds-only visit. I'd do the statue in the morning and reach the Empire State Building before sunset. The two standard tickets together cost $82.58.