The invitation says "open house 2 to 5." The question is what goes in the card. Graduation gifting runs on a clean, widely-published set of bands set by two things: your relationship to the graduate and which degree they're collecting. Here are the numbers, the adjustments etiquette actually supports, and the card note that matters more than the amount.
| Your relationship | High school | College | Advanced degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coworker, neighbor, acquaintance | $20 – $40 | $30 – $60 | $35 – $70 |
| Friend or classmate | $25 – $50 | $40 – $75 | $45 – $90 |
| Relative (niece, nephew, cousin) | $50 – $100 | $75 – $150 | $85 – $175 |
| Grandparent or close family | $100 – $300 | $150 – $450 | $175 – $525 |
College runs roughly 50% above high school at every tier because it's the rarer milestone and usually marks a longer relationship with the family. For a master's or doctorate, another 15% to 25% is common. The bands follow widely-published gifting conventions; family culture overrides everything, and in expensive metros the whole table drifts up a bit.
Relationship, degree level, couple or individual, party attendance, and your own budget cap.
Graduation Gift Calculator →Cash or a check is the most common graduation gift in the US and no longer carries any stigma; it's what most graduates actually want. Venmo or Zelle works beautifully for high school and college grads who never carry wallets. Gift cards are fine but slightly less flexible; if you go that route, pick something they already use. Physical gifts (dorm gear, professional clothes for the job search) are thoughtful when you know the graduate's next chapter, but for someone heading into loans or a first apartment, money is the message.
One upgrade worth considering for a college grad: money explicitly earmarked for student loans. It's the rare gift that compounds, and graduates consistently rank it among the most meaningful.
The card does the heavy lifting at the low end of any band, so write something specific: the class they aced, the instrument they stuck with, the way they handled a hard year. "Proud of you and excited for what's next" plus one concrete memory turns $25 into a keepsake and makes $200 feel less like a transaction. Sign it even if the money is digital.
Coworkers and teams often pool: everyone contributes $10 to $25, the graduate gets one meaningful sum, and nobody individually stretches. The math favors the graduate at scale, and a card with every name listed beats a stack of identical envelopes. For relatives, a group gift toward one big item (a laptop, a flight home) follows the same logic.
The standard bands: $20 to $40 for a coworker's or neighbor's kid, $25 to $50 for a friend or classmate, $50 to $100 for a niece, nephew, or cousin, and $100 to $300 if you're a grandparent or close family. The $50 bill is the workhorse of high school graduation season.
About 50% more than high school at every tier: $30 to $60 for an acquaintance, $40 to $75 for a friend, $75 to $150 for a relative, and $150 to $450 from grandparents or close family. College graduation is a rarer milestone and the relationship with the family is usually longer.
Yes, cash or a check is the most common and most welcome graduation gift, and etiquette writers fully endorse it. Younger graduates often prefer Venmo or similar apps. For a college grad carrying student loans, money toward the loans is one of the most appreciated gifts possible.
Give less without guilt. The bands are conventions, not invoices, and nobody audits envelopes. A heartfelt card with $20 from someone the graduate actually knows beats a strained $100 from someone stretching to keep up appearances. Write something specific in the card and the amount stops being the point.