43 Halloween Costumes You Can Make For Under $20

Don't worry about your bank account haunting you.

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to show us their best cosplays for under $20. Here are some of the best responses.

1. Elliot from E.T.

Terpcat2011

"All I bought was the old milk crate and the fabric to make the E.T. face. His body is a trash can flipped over and wrapped in a dishtowel. The bike handlebars are old golf clubs I found in my parents' basement." —Terpcat2011

2. Cap'n Crunch

lornejangle

"I used a $5 blazer from Goodwill, a few craft supplies, and an old cardboard box for the hat. Behold, my masterpiece!" —lornejangle

3. Arthur Read from Arthur

melissah56

"I created this Arthur the Aardvark costume using things I already had in my closet (red sneakers, jeans, and a yellow sweater). I bought the white polo for $5 at Target, glasses at a thrift store for $2, and bear ears on Amazon for $5. I am a first-grade teacher, and my students absolutely loved this costume!" —melissah56

4. Rosie the Riveter

christas4e54cbd13

"I was Rosie the Riveter for $5. I bought a red bandana and foam board, and used my roommate's art supplies for the rest." —christas4e54cbd13

5. Mocha Frappuccino

f4bed0875d

"$11 clearance brown dress from Target, felt from fabric store for the straw and whipped cream, and a printed Starbucks logo." —f4bed0875d

6. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from SpongeBob SquarePants

lynniebee

"Most of the stuff we already had around the house. The only things we had to make were Mermaid Man’s shells, which was super easy because it was just cutting out felt we bought from Walmart for 10 cents." —lynniebee

7. Kim Kardashian breaking the internet

monican42d798907

"I owned a black tank, black maxi skirt, pearls, and of course, a bottle of champagne. All I needed was a plastic champagne glass and a roll of shimmery wrapping paper. The dollar store is my best friend." —monican42d798907

8. Sidetable Drawer and Steve from Blue's Clues

craigmiddlebrooks

"We owned all of the clothes except his long-sleeve polo, which I bought from a thrift store for $1. The rest was made from duct tape, foam board, and construction paper." —craigmiddlebrooks

9. Helga from Hey Arnold!

audreya7

"I bought the shirt, dress, red scarf (sewn to the bottom), and shoes from Goodwill, and the felt for the bow from Michael’s! Best $20 I ever spent." —audreya7

10. Towelie from South Park

Jaime Willett

"I used a $10 blanket and a $1 roll of cabinet liner. Costume pros: cheap, limited artistic talent required, warm. Cons: you can’t speak in your normal voice all night." —Jaime Willett

11. Salvador Dalí clock

Jaime Willett

"My boyfriend at the time and I bought cheap white sheets and some black fabric paint and went as Salvador Dali clocks. We made both costumes for under $10 and got to lay around on things all night." —Jaime Willett

12. Slinky Dog from Toy Story

stevek424b3d64b

"I spent $15 on felt, embroidery hoops for the slinky, and foam for the mouth." —stevek424b3d64b

13. Human Ariel from The Little Mermaid

erinsavagef

"I used sailcloth, rope, and a baby fork superglued onto a hair clip. I LOVED this costume, and got compliments all night!" —erinsavagef

14. Robot

tokenlindsey

"I worked for a retail store at the time so I got the box there, and the shoes were made with cardboard inserts. The rivets were made with dollops of hot glue with tinfoil wrapped around them. I think the most money I spent was on spray paint. " —tokenlindsey

15. Lion-O from the ThunderCats

kevinr465197e21

"I bought a toy sword and body paint, and used a bunch of random stuff from our closets. $15 later, I had the best costume of my life." —kevinr465197e21

16. Bioluminescent jellyfish

Kte McA

"I grabbed an old see-through umbrella I had and bought crate paper and a string of min-LED lights that used a battery pack. It cost me around $15 bucks. Best costume I ever had!" —Kte McA

17. Bob and Linda Belcher from Bob's Burgers

calliewhatever

"The only thing we had to buy were the aprons and it came out to $10!" —calliewhatever

18. Lumberjacks

laurenrosej2

"We bought red flannels from a thrift store for $10, and the beards from Party City for around $5. It was a hit — we had people asking us for photos all night." —laurenrosej2

19. Cher from If I Could Turn Back Time

jessicad4cc2b5c01

"The boots, fishnets, and jacket were in my closet. The leotard was $8, and the wig was $11! It was a hit!" —jessicad4cc2b5c01

20. Bamm-Bamm Rubble from The Flintstones

ashleya4fa0794f6

"I cut jagged edges into his orange shorts. The furry brown fabric was $4 at Walmart, and sheets of black and white felt were about 50 cents each." —ashleya4fa0794f6

21. Cards Against Humanity

courtneym460e9073c

"We took four poster boards (two each) and stuck letters on them. We cut holes into the posters and strung rope through them so that the boards could rest on our shoulders. The easiest!" —courtneym460e9073c

22. Beanie Babies

hannahjob2

"We spent about $15 each on T-shirts, poster board to make the signs, and face paint." —hannahjob2

23. Red Solo cup

justinet47ed748c7

"We spray-painted a trash can and cut out the bottom, painted the Solo part with cheap paint, and made the Solo cup straps out of ribbon. To make the Ping-Pong ball, we cut a styrofoam ball in half." —justinet47ed748c7

24. Gerald from Hey Arnold!

gclark721

"Red long-sleeve shirt: $5. Poster board, cotton balls, and black hair spray: $7. Hearing 'Hey, look, it's Gerald from Hey Arnold!': priceless." —gclark721

25. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls

michaelaz4eeaa0cbc

"It cost us $4 each and we got everything from the dollar store. We made our tops with duct tape and Saran wrap, duct taped color around our white socks, then whited out the glasses and used markers to draw the cartoon eyes." —michaelaz4eeaa0cbc

26. Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars

briannaesther

"A friend gave me one of her old white bedsheets for the dress and I just made a head hole, draped it around myself, and finished it off with a borrowed belt. For my sister’s costume, the clothes were all owned or borrowed except for the thrifted jacket (less than $10). The 'blaster' was a toy gun from the dollar store with a coat or two of spray paint." —briannaesther

27. Boo from Monsters, Inc.

alyssaz4e58b8264

"I glue-gunned the better part of a mop, cheap springs from the hardware store, two foam balls, and felt teeth onto a used a purple hoodie I already had in my closet." —alyssaz4e58b8264

28. Tinder dates

durantdhm

"T-shirts: $5. Construction paper: $3. Amount of theoretical right swipes: Priceless." —durantdhm

29. Gene from Wet Hot American Summer

dyurko87

"The shirt was $10 and everything else was already owned. The vegetable label was printed out, the tattoo was sketched on, and the beard — that's homegrown." —dyurko87

30. Eleven and Joyce from Stranger Things

katelynj4

"I bought the fabric from Jo-Ann Fabric for $15. Then we bought Eggos, borrowed the jacket from a friend, and threw some lipstick under his nose for the nose bleed. Also, the LED lights for the Joyce costume were $3 from Target and the clothes I already owned!" —katelynj4

31. The Doctor from Dr. Who

Padawan Ryan

"Everything besides what I already owned (shoes and sonic screwdriver) came from thrift shops, so it cost around $12 to $15 to make." —Padawan Ryan

32. Adam Levine from The Voice

skyskerry

"I cut cardboard into the shape of each piece, glued Bristol board on top, and painted on the 'I WANT YOU' sign. I punctured holes on each side of the table to attach string so I could walk around holding up the chair. I purchased the tattoo sleeves, and cut a hole in my chair to hold my drinks. It cost $12." —skyskerry

33. Deviled egg

k42f60b47e

"I bought a white T-shirt, $1.75 worth of yellow fabric, and borrowed the devil horns. And the red sweater is mine! It was less than $10 :)" —k42f60b47e

34. A Sim from The Sims

Ayymio

"My sister and I bought headbands and paperclips to make our plumbobs. We wore our regular clothes and acted like Sims. It cost about $4." —Ayymio

35. No Face from Spirited Away

hetaliaamericalover1804

"I got three yards of cloth for $18 at Hobby Lobby and I made the mask with cardboard!" —hetaliaamericalover1804

36. Pac-Man

patrickb39

"All you need is cardboard (I got the boxes from behind a Walmart because I’m classy like that), two Hula-Hoops (dollar store), yellow spray paint, and some beer to help you with the design process." —patrickb39

37. Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls

psyducktective

"I got the pink turtleneck from a thrift store for $5, sewed on the shooting star that I made with felt for $3, and made the skirt for about $10. I also painted a headband I had lying around, and the shoes I already had. Plus, I had braces when I wore this costume, so it looked even more accurate!" —psyducktective

38. Weed Brownie

sarahs4fb8c8c14

"I probably spent $5 on sewing brown bandanas together to make a sash with felt patches. The rest of the items were things I had in my closet. So far, it’s been the most popular costume I’ve had yet." —sarahs4fb8c8c14

39. Mounted deer head

Parkssandrec

"I picked up a poster board, sheets of craft paper, and paint from Hobby Lobby, and created this costume a few hours before going out." —Parkssandrec

40. Alan Parrish from Jumanji

trevorhohen

"After holding off on a haircut for a few months, I bought some fake leaves and twine for $6 at a craft store, cut up a few of my baggy old shirts, borrowed my cousin’s board game, and became the long-lost Alan Parrish from Jumanji! Did someone roll a 5 or an 8?!" —trevorhohen

41. Ron Swanson and his favorite things from Parks and Recreation

saragrace5509

"During a weekly Target run, I noticed the bacon and eggs costume and knew exactly what our Halloween costume should be. A cheap wig, a mustache, and a lot of hairspray turned us into Ron Swanson and two of his favorite things: a brunette and breakfast food." —saragrace5509

42. Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes

ericad4d565c734

"Last year I made my 2-year-old Calvin and Hobbes with a $2 Old Navy T-shirt, a sharpie, and a look-alike Hobbes from Target for $7." —ericad4d565c734

43. And Damian from Mean Girls

mariacolleenf

"Saw the perfect hoodie at a thrift store — couldn’t resist!!" —mariacolleenf

Note: submissions have been edited for length/clarity.

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