The differences: Cost, Price, Rate, Charge, Fee and Fare

Today’s English
March 18th, 2017

Cost refers to the amount of money spent for producing a product or service by the manufacturer whereas price stands for the amount of money spent by a customer to buy a product or service. Cost is the past expense of the manufacturer but price is the future income of a seller. Cost comes before price. Of course, cost + seller’s profit = price.
1. The company is trying to reduce/cut the labour cost.
2. They have to raise the price because of rising costs in manufacturing, marketing and advertising.
3. The cost of building a house is too high nowadays.
4. Real estate suffers a lot because of the falling prices of the house.
5. Have you got the price list of all things needed for the function?

Rate :  The amount paid to a service or product for a period of time is measured  as rate.
We are ready to pay for your work at the rate of Rs.200 per hour.
It also refers to the number of time something happens or changes.
1. The success/failure rate of this kind of operation is always high.
2. The crime/divorce rate in the last year is a quite shocking one.

Charge = the amount of money asked for the services provided to you. It cannot be used for products you buy. It is mostly thought of from the perspective of the person who works for you.
1. Your service charges seem a little bit higher than others.
2. How much would you charge to finish this work?

Fee : It is mostly used to refer to the amount of money collected for educational and professional services.
1. Have you remitted your exam /semester fees?
2. The bank charges no fee for processing your loan.
(You can also say – entrance fee, registration fee, membership fee, and legal fees)

Fare is used only to mention the amount you pay for your travel.
1. The train fare is cheaper than the bus fare in India.
2. How much fare did you pay for the taxi?

(A man entered a lawyer’s office and enquired, “How much do you generally charge? The lawyer replied, “Well, I charge only $500 dollars for three questions.”  The man asked, “Don’t you think it is too much for three questions?” The lawyer answered, “Yes, it is" and asked, “What is your third question?”)