V&A Membership

Last updated: 30 August 2026

Join V&A Membership from £60

What V&A Membership actually gets you

The V&A's permanent collection is free to walk into, seven days a week, with no ticket. That has not changed and membership does not affect it. What membership changes is everything that normally costs extra or needs planning.

• Paid exhibitions, unlimited and unbooked. Members walk into the ticketed shows without pre-booking, including on days that are sold out to everybody else.
• The Members' Room and Lounge. Somewhere to sit down that is not the main cafe.
• Ten per cent off the shop, in store and online.
• Priority booking for talks, events and V&A Academy courses.
• Previews before exhibitions open to the public.
• V&A Magazine, three times a year.
• Up to four children under 16 come in with you on every tier.

V&A Membership prices

Two payment routes for each tier: annual Direct Debit, which is cheaper, or a single payment. Both are annual.

Standard

• Individual: £86 by Direct Debit, £98 single payment. One card, plus up to four children under 16.
• Plus Guest: £128 by Direct Debit, £140 single payment. One card, one guest, plus up to four children under 16.
• Plus Extra Card: £180 by Direct Debit, £192 single payment. Two cards, two guests, plus up to four children per member. The museum lists this as its most popular tier.

Under 26

• Individual: £60 by Direct Debit, £72 single payment.
• Plus Guest: £100 by Direct Debit, £112 single payment. The guest can be any age, which is the detail that makes this tier work.

The under-26 rate is the one worth knowing about. At £100 for Plus Guest you are paying less than the standard individual rate and bringing somebody with you every time.

Is V&A Membership worth it

It comes down to exhibitions. A single V&A exhibition ticket typically runs to the high teens or low twenties, so Individual membership at £86 pays for itself somewhere around the fourth or fifth show. If you go to one exhibition a year, it does not. If you are in London and you go to three or four, it does, and the members' room and the priority booking are on top.

Do not buy it for access to the permanent galleries. Those are free, and so are the museum's own free events, including its monthly LGBTQIA+ Tour, which needs no ticket and no membership at all.

How to join

You join on the V&A's own membership page. Cards and welcome packs arrive within ten working days, and you can visit before yours turns up by showing proof of purchase at the desk. Gift memberships send a certificate by email straight away.

Join on the V&A site

Frequently asked questions

Do you need V&A Membership to get into the museum?

No. Entry to V&A South Kensington and its permanent collection is free to everybody, with no ticket. Membership covers the paid exhibitions and the members' facilities.

How much is V&A Membership?

Individual is £86 a year by Direct Debit, Plus Guest is £128 and Plus Extra Card is £180. Under-26 rates are £60 and £100. Single payment costs £12 more on every tier.

Does V&A Membership cover children?

Yes. Every tier admits up to four children under 16, and Plus Extra Card allows four children per member.

Can you use V&A Membership at V&A East?

Membership is museum-wide, so it covers the V&A's sites rather than South Kensington alone. Check the current terms on the museum's page before joining if a specific site matters to you.

Is the under-26 V&A Membership better value?

Considerably. Under-26 Plus Guest is £100, which is less than the standard Plus Guest rate of £128, and the guest can be any age.

Can you pay monthly for V&A Membership?

The museum quotes a monthly equivalent, from £5 a month on the under-26 individual tier, but membership is an annual commitment paid either by Direct Debit or in one go.

More from CoolCuration

• The V&A LGBTQIA+ Tour review: the free monthly tour that needs no membership and no ticket.
• National Art Pass: the other card worth comparing before you commit to a single museum.
• V&A East: what the newest V&A site is actually like to visit.
• Schiaparelli at the V&A: the kind of ticketed show membership is meant to pay for.
• TrainPal: getting to London without paying the full walk-up fare.
• Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: another London show to weigh against the membership maths.

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