These Are the Most and Least Expensive Handgun Rounds

Special Report

Published: March 18, 2024 11:50 am

Handguns — a category that includes both pistols and revolvers — have ranked as the best selling firearm in the United States for well over a decade. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, handguns have accounted for over 40% of all domestic firearm production every year since 2007 — and U.S. based gunmakers manufactured more handguns in each of the last seven years than rifles and shotguns combined.

ATF data also shows that consumer demand for handguns has surged in recent years. Nearly 21.4 million handguns were manufactured in the U.S. between 2020 and 2022, 17% more than were made during the 1990s.

For most American gun owners, the choice to have a firearm comes down to self defense. A 2023 survey from the Pew Research Center found that personal protection is a major reason that 72% of gun owners have a firearm. In many states, adults can carry a concealed firearm in public places without a license or permit, and handguns are ideal concealed carry weapons. According to an earlier Pew survey, well over half of all handgun owners carry their firearm outside the home at least some of the time.

But whether keeping a firearm for personal protection, hunting, or recreational shooting, handgun owners need to be familiar with their weapon — and regular practice at the range is far more expensive with some handgun calibers than others.

Using data from Ammo Prices Now, an ammunition price tracking website, 24/7 Wall St. identified the price of 19 different handgun calibers and ranked them by price per round, from lowest to highest. It is important to note that ammo prices can vary by brand, cartridge ballistics, retailer, and geographic area. The prices on this list represent the lowest available as of mid-March 2024. Date ranges for average prices over a given time period vary by caliber, based on available data.

Among the handgun calibers on this list, prices range from as low as $0.02 per round to well over $1.00. The cheapest handgun round, by a wide margin, is the .22 Long Rifle, or .22 LR. Unlike most other cartridges, the .22 LR is rimfire round, which are much cheaper to manufacture than centerfire ammunition, partially because they are relatively low pressure and can use thin-walled cartridge casings.

While affordable, .22 LR ammunition is far less capable than other common handgun rounds, and largely limited to target shooting and small game and varmint hunting. Meanwhile, the most expensive ammunition on this list are generally powerful, high-caliber rounds with heavy recoil that many shooters would find uncomfortable. (Here is a look at the most powerful handguns.)

Rounds more shooters would find practical for a wide range of applications fall closer to the lower and middle range of the price spectrum. These include the 9mm, which has been the most popular handgun caliber in the U.S. for years. (These are the companies making America’s most popular 9mm pistols.)

19. 22 LR

Lowest price currently available: $0.02 per round
Avg. low-price between June 2020 and March 2024: $0.08 per round
Handgun models chambered for ammunition include: Ruger Mark IV

18. 9mm

Lowest price currently available: $0.16 per round
Avg. low-price between June 2020 and March 2024: $0.30 per round
Handgun models chambered for ammunition include: Beretta 92FS

17. 22 WMR

Heritage Rough Rider .22 (8213304512) by James Case

Heritage Rough Rider .22 (8213304512) (CC BY 2.0) by James Case

Lowest price currently available: $0.19 per round
Avg. low-price between June 2020 and March 2024: $0.28 per round
Handgun models chambered for ammunition include: Heritage Rough Rider

16. 380 ACP

Lowest price currently available: $0.21 per round
Avg. low-price between June 2020 and March 2024: $0.43 per round
Handgun models chambered for ammunition include: Ruger LCP Max Micro Compact