Cheapest Engagement Rings Under $500

Everyone talks about the financial considerations of getting married: filing a joint tax return, joint bank accounts, joint credit cards – you name it! And it’s true! Getting married has a lot of financial implications. However, you don’t hear much about the financial implications of getting engaged. In this post, I shed light into some of these costs and put together a list of the cheapest engagement rings under $500.

Why An Engagement is So Dang Expensive

Before I delve in and reveal my list of the cheapest engagement rings under $500, I want to take a moment to reflect on what makes the engagement process itself so dang expensive.

The Ring

Let’s first start with the obvious…

Yup, I’m talking about that precious little finger circle.

It goes without saying that an engagement ring can be pricey! According to the Knot, the average cost of an engagement ring is around $6,000. And only a mere 8% of ring shoppers spend under $1,000. Yikes! Among the factors that influence the price spent is region, with couples in the Mid-Atlantic spending the most ($8,400) and couples in the Midwest spending the least ($5,200).

And while 2 out of 3 couples stick to their budget when shopping for an engagement ring, nearly 30% spend more than planned, according to WeddingPro.

But that’s not all! Even once you have the perfect ring, you need to plan something to make the engagement experience special, am I right?!

A Touch of Fanfare

What better way to have a memorable engagement than with a trip of a lifetime? And why not have a professional photographer hidden in the bushes to capture the special moment? Sounds pretty sweet, huh?

Are you seeing dollar signs yet?

If I sound critical, please know that I have no room to talk. My fiancé and I got engaged in Iceland with a professional photographer capturing the moment (although, there were no bushes for the guy to hide behind).

And we’re not the only ones. According to WeddingPro, 1 in 3 engagements take place on a planned trip and 1 in 5 engagements enlisted the help of professionals to plan or photograph it.

For those who decide to take a trip or enlist professional services, incremental costs associated with a proposal can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Do you believe me now when I say there’s a whole host of financial considerations that go into getting engaged?

The Case for Purchasing an A Cheaper Engagement Ring

The costs don’t stop after getting engaged. Far from it! Weddings can be, and often are, expensive.

Want to get an idea of how much you might need to spend? Join TCC Club today by signing up for the newsletter and gain access to my handy-dandy wedding budget. The wedding budget is a comprehensive tool for budgeting for a wedding and gives an estimate based on your region and your expected guest count. More expensive than you thought? Been there! But don’t fret. Simply, check out my post, How to Save for Your Wedding in 1 Year and see why your dream wedding is still possible.

In addition to costs associated with your upcoming nuptials, you and your partner may have other financial goals. Are you thinking of purchasing a home? How about starting a family? Or traveling the world together? All of these have one thing in common…yup, they require money!

And although the engagement ring might seem like the most important purchase in the moment, it’s worthwhile to reflect on these other impending financial goals. What’s most important to you and your partner? Would you rather spend more on the ring and have less money left over for other goals? Or does it make sense to spend less on an engagement ring? There’s really no right answer! I simply recommend that you and your partner arrive at a budget for the engagement ring based on your means and what you feel you can comfortably afford.

What to Think About Before Purchasing an Engagement Ring

Before we got engaged, my fiancé and I sat down and looked at rings together. Prior to that, I knew nothing about engagement rings. And to a large degree, I still don’t! It was my fiancé that did the bulk of the research, while I sat there and pointed out which styles I liked best. Upon going through that process, I began to realize that there are many considerations to take into account. And all of them influence the price of the ring.

One point I’d like to stress is the ring band itself is cheap! It’s the stone (usually a diamond) that makes the engagement ring such a costly piece of jewelry.

Ready to buy that pretty rock? Here’s a few things to think about as you shop for the perfect stone:

Natural vs. Lab Grown Diamonds

Do you want a diamond that comes from the bowels of the earth? Well, you might need to pay a premium for it! According to Nathan Alan Jewelers, a natural diamond can cost anywhere from 30-50% more than a lab grown diamond.

This makes lab grown diamonds an excellent option for those who want a large diamond, but still seek an affordable engagement ring.

And despite the price difference between natural and lab grown diamonds, no visual differences can be discerned by the naked eye. So if you want to save some money and purchase a lab grown diamond, no would would be the wiser! Moreover, natural and lab grown diamonds have the same physical and chemical properties. This means they are both equally durable.

Other factors to consider, as outlined in the article by Nathan Alan Jewelers, is rarity factor. The supply of natural diamonds is finite, while the supply of lab grown diamonds that can be produced is not. For this reason, natural diamonds tend to hold their value better over time and thus, have higher resale value. And although lab grown diamonds do not require mining, they do require large amounts of energy to produce. Under one such method, the amount of energy required to produce a lab grown diamond is equivalent to the amount needed to power a home for a month.

Nevertheless, sales of lab grown diamonds are growing in popularity. Lab grown diamond sales have skyrocketed from under $1 billion in 2016 to just under $12 billion in 2022, and represent about 17% of the overall diamond market according to an article published by CNN.

Conflict Diamonds

A second consideration involves conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, are diamonds that have been mined in a war zone, usually by underpaid or enslaved workers, and are sold to fund civil wars or illegitimate governments. Many conflict diamonds originate from African countries, including Angola, Zimbabwe, and The Democratic Republic of Congo (International Gem Society). Hence, there are serious ethical and humanitarian considerations when you purchase a diamond engagement ring.

In 2003, the United Nations developed the Kimberly Process to curb sales of conflict diamonds, and reassure consumers that the diamonds they’re purchasing are indeed “conflict-free”. Although largely successful, there still exists loopholes in the certification process and conflict diamonds are still sold across international markets (Time Magazine).

Key takeaway: it’s important to talk with your jeweler about the origins of the diamond!

Your jeweler should be able to provide you with documentation, such as a quality report, disclosing information about the stone’s origins and attributes.

Also, consider purchasing a diamond from Canada! Although Canadian diamonds can be more expensive than a similar sized diamond from Africa, you can take solace knowing that the diamond was produced under fair working conditions and following strict environmental policies (International Gem Society).

The Cut

Another consideration when it comes the choosing an engagement ring is the cut of the stone i.e. its shape! According to The Diamond Pro, oval, cushion, and princess cuts are among the most affordable diamond shapes, often costing between 20-30% less than a round cut. And sometimes more!

To give you a baseline, here’s what you might expect to pay per 1 carat of diamond based on the cut:

As you can see, there’s a large difference in price from the asscher cut to the round brilliant cut. So if you’re looking for the cheapest engagement ring, it might make sense to consider a diamond with a cut other than the round brilliant.

The Fire and The Brilliance

Have you ever seen the colors of the rainbow when glancing at a diamond in the sunlight?

This phenomenon is known as the diamond’s fire. It occurs when light passes through the diamond and is refracted. For the purposes of this article, I won’t bore you with the physics behind it, but check out this informative piece by Beyond 4Cs if you’re interested in learning more.

A diamond’s brilliance, on the other hand, is shown by flashes of white sparkles.

A diamond’s fire and brilliance is largely impacted by its cut. And according to Ritani, round-cut diamonds generally have the most fire and tend to be the most brilliant and sparkly.

As I mention above, a diamond’s cut does affect the price. Hence, if shine factor is important, you may need to fork over some serious cash to get a diamond with the round brilliant cut!

The Stone

A final consideration would be the stone itself. Have you ever thought about foregoing the diamond for another variety of stone? My cousin wanted a colored stone for her engagement ring and ended up choosing alexandrite, her birthstone.

Let me tell you – it’s gorgeous! And I for one would never have thought of anything other than a diamond. Albeit a little unconventional, a colored stone rather than a diamond can also save you a good bit of change.

I recommend that once you have your budget, go through and determine which considerations above are most important for you. If you and your partner deem all these considerations important, simply be prepared to drop some serious dough! In all likelihood, you and your partner will have to make compromises somewhere along the engagement and/or wedding process for the sake of your wallets.