###Nominal uses There are some interesting difference in usage that help illuminate the differences in meaning. I'm using GloWbE because it contains samples from different varieties of English. [Here's a corpus search for _price_](http://corpus.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=40610791)<sup>1</sup>. [Here's one for _cost_](http://corpus.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=40610802).<sup>2</sup> > * ... all these tips might help me get a better *price*. * Nope today's low gas price is Big Oil's long term plan to shut down its competition * This is their full *price*, every other rate is a discount off of this rate. * ... *price* rises and falls will not translate into electricity *price* cuts or increases for consumers ... This is a context in which you would very clearly _not_ use _cost_. Compare the nominal uses of cost: > * I think that libraries will close because of the *cost* savings in eliminating the employees. * It does not require isotope separation, a big *cost* saving. * Regardless of the personal *cost* to him or his vested interests You could probably substitute *price* in these examples. But it would change the meaning. My observation is that there is some agency that is lost when you use *cost* in place of *price* - you *pay* a price for something, but you *incur* a cost because of something. Although it is common, for instance, in order orders, that a party is ordered to _pay_ another's costs, this is entirely consistent with my observation - the _costs_ themselves were incurred because of the legal proceedings, but someone else is paying (the price). It is at least, unusual, if not ungrammatical to say either: * I am paying the cost for your mistake. * I incurred the price(s?) for the professional services. ###Verbal uses I thought there would be a huge difference in verbal uses, because the definitions are so different<sup>3</sup>: > **price** 12. to fix or establish the price of 13. to ascertain or discover the price of > **cost** 7. (transitive) to be obtained or obtainable in exchange for (money or something equivalent); be priced at ⇒ "the ride cost one pound" 8. to cause or require the expenditure, loss, or sacrifice (of) ⇒ "the accident cost him dearly" 9. to estimate the cost of (a product, process, etc) for the purposes of pricing, budgeting, control, etc The corpus supports my hypothesis. In _purely_ verbal uses, the overlap exists entirely in that the verbal sense of _price_ are subsumed by part of the verbal sense (the last one; sense 9) of cost. However, where the past participle (priced; costed) is part of an adjective, priced dominates: > * a higher-priced mobile phone * low priced beer * high priced tickets ### In practical usage What does this mean? Essentially, people tend to use price when they feel they have agency - the price of a house, the price of a car, the price of lunch. People tend to use cost when they feel like they don't have agency, and the expenses and costs are being placed upon them - the cost of moving, the cost of a free lunch. This is why, as others have alluded to and intuited, the _costs_ often seem to include non-monetary losses. For instance, to use the moving house example: * The costs include: * The price of a moving truck * The price of a conveyancer * The price of new furniture * The price of setting up utilities However, you could also say: * The price comprised of: * The price of a moving truck * The price of a conveyancer * The price of new furniture * The price of setting up utilities ### In answer to your question Generally, only the price of something - that is, what you will _pay_ will be listed on a price tag (hence the naming). So, when you ask what how much you will pay, the amount indicated on the tag will be the price, not the cost. This is a marketing strategy, as well as matter of practicality. If you purchase a car, you would need to spend a certain amount for it, the price. However, in using it, you will spend money on consumables (fuel, tires) and maintenance (servicing). This really can't be listed for any item with great accuracy - it'll depend on usage. ---- <sup> 1. Note that I've only searched for nouns, because the verbs have reasonably different meanings which I discuss. 2. Again, only nominal uses. 3. Collins dictionary: [price](http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/price), [cost](http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cost). 4. GloWbE: [price as a verb](http://corpus.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=40611044), [cost as a verb](http://corpus.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=40611129). </sup>