At Spirit Halloween, you’ll pay $60 to be Barbie. But cheaper options exist.

Elisa DiBruno loves to go all out for Halloween. She plans elaborate costumes and gets her makeup done by friends.

What she doesn’t love: How much money she ends up paying for the outfit alone.

“I’ve always thought Halloween is a racket,” said DiBruno, 32, of the Graduate Hospital area. “I enjoy it because I enjoy dressing up. But wow, they make so much money for not even one full day of festivities.”

DiBruno, who works in cosmetology education, said that in recent years she’s spent $200 or more each Halloween to transform herself into fictional characters such as the comic-book villain Poison Ivy and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. And that’s before any costs associated with festivities — her friends sometimes go to Halloween parties at bars and restaurants, which can charge $30 or more just for admission.

“It always ends up being so pricey,” said DiBruno, who expects to spend $150 to $175 on a pirate costume this year. But for her, it’s worth it “for the memories, the pictures all together.”

Halloween lovers like DiBruno are expected to spend more than ever on Halloween costumes this year. U.S. consumers are projected to spend 18% more on adult costumes and 20% more on children’s costumes than they did last spooky season, outpacing inflation, according to the National Retail Federation.

Costume spending is expected to increase more than spending on candy, decor, and other holiday items, bumping the total expected spending per-person to $108 on average.

At Spirit Halloween, the country’s largest Halloween retailer, customers will find the most popular costumes come at a high price.

Want to dress up as the pink-clad Western Barbie from the blockbuster film? That’ll be $59.99 for adults and $44.99 for kids, plus tax and shipping (the costume wasn’t available for pickup at any Philadelphia-area stores as of Wednesday).

If your child wants to be a Fortnite character, those costumes are $59.99, while kids’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes go for $49.99. Even among baby and toddler costumes, there are few choices below $30.

Spirit Halloween did not return requests for comment, including about whether prices have increased in recent years.

You may be able to find cheaper prices online, including through Amazon, where Barbie costumes are about $20 cheaper. Quality can vary.

As for renting, there are few options in the Philadelphia area. Pierre’s Mascots & Costumes in Old City, for example, sells only to professional entertainers and others in the industry.

D&J Costumes in Holmesburg has some costume rentals for children and adults, said CEO Jocelyn Porter, but the rentals typically run more expensive due to higher-quality material.

Costume rentals for children and adults range from about $50 to $120, she said, while costumes for purchase at the store usually cost between $20 and $100. And rentals aren’t a great idea for children, or clumsy adults, given that customers will be on the hook for the full price of the costume if it is returned ripped or with other permanent damage.

“A lot of our adult costumes are really not repairable — Renaissance costumes, Victorian costumes,” Porter said.

Doing it yourself can be the most inexpensive option, especially if you already have some of the necessary clothing items, are crafty, or aren’t particular about looking exactly like the character.

If you have an all-pink outfit, or green T-shirt and some artistic skills, you could easily become a knock-off Barbie or Ninja Turtle. Or shop around at thrift stores like Good Will or the Salvation Army, where items are usually less than $10.

If it’s in your budget, you can level it up with $20 to $30 in accessories, like a blond doll wig, or swords and a turtle shell.

Until Monday, you could have returned unworn costumes, according to Spirit’s policy, granted that you had the receipt and the original accessories and packaging. For returns or exchanges, the costume must be in “new and resalable condition,” according to the company.

From this Monday through Thursday, Spirit only facilitates exchanges, with the same parameters.

Starting Friday Oct. 27, all sales are final.

Sick of spending tons of money on costumes worn for just a few hours, some people have committed to a stricter Halloween budget and found other creative ways to save.

“Everything is so expensive now,” said Maya Jog, a 25-year-old medical student who lives in Center City. “I really just don’t have the extra spending money.”

Last year, she got a dress for her Bride of Chucky costume at a thrift store but still spent about $50 on her outfit.

This year, she promised herself she’d spend no more than $40. She recently posted in a local Facebook group, asking if anyone was interested in swapping costumes they’ve worn in prior years and received dozens of responses. After exchanging items with a couple women, she expects to spend about $10 to $20 on three costumes for various parties this month.

In Phoenixville, Devon Scanlan shopped around and got her 14-month-old daughter a $20 princess costume from Walmart. It was the cheapest option she could find.

The 33-year-old, who works in consulting, said she knows the princess outfit will quickly be outgrown, but she hopes that her daughter will at least be able to use it for playing dress-up after Halloween.

“We were seeing toddler costumes $30 to $35,” Scanlan said. “For only a few hours, I just struggle to justify that.”