How much does fruit picking cost?
Pick-your-own farms in Australia charge in one of a few different ways, and which one you'll meet depends more on the crop and the farm than the state you're in. Below is what farms actually charge, drawn from the prices published across this site's own farm listings, plus what tends to catch first-timers out.
The two main pricing models
Most farms use one of two approaches. The first is free or low-cost entry, pay for what you pick by weight — you walk in, pick into a container, and pay per kilo (or per punnet) on the way out. This is the norm for apples, and common for strawberries and cherries too: Pine Crest Orchard and Shields Orchard in Bilpin, NSW both charge no entrance fee at all and simply weigh what you've picked. The second is a ticketed entry fee, which sometimes includes a punnet or a set number of stems and sometimes just buys you access to the patch with fruit charged separately. Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm near Brisbane charges around $15 for adults (including a 500g punnet) with extra fruit at about $24/kg, while Beerenberg Farm in the Adelaide Hills charges a flat $5 entry (kids 12 and under free) plus $13.50/kg for strawberries picked. A smaller number of farms run a genuine all-you-can-eat model, where one ticket price covers eating as much as you like in the patch, with a separate per-kilo rate only if you want to take fruit home.
Strawberries
Strawberry pricing spans the widest range of any crop on this site, because both pricing models are common. Beerenberg Farm (Hahndorf, SA) charges $5 entry plus $13.50/kg. Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm (QLD) charges about $15 for adults including a 500g punnet, with extra fruit around $24/kg. Several Bilpin, NSW farms — Bilpin Fruit Bowl among them — charge no entry fee and simply weigh your basket on the way out. At the all-you-can-eat end, Berrylicious Strawberries at Thirlmere, NSW charges $22 for adults and $11 for children to eat as much as you like in its greenhouse, plus $25/kg if you want to take fruit home.
Cherries
Cherries tend to run a small flat entry fee on top of a per-kilo rate, reflecting the crop's higher cost to grow. Harben Vale Cherries in the Adelaide Hills charges $8 for adults, $4 for children under 12, with cherries priced per kilo on top and under-5s free. Wallaroo Cherry Farm (NSW) charges $5 per adult with children under 8 free. A few orchards, including Pine Crest Orchard in Bilpin, charge no entrance fee and simply price the fruit by weight. At the other end, Blue Hills Berries and Cherries in Silvan, VIC, runs a ticketed pick session from $18 for adults and $9 for children, with weekday and weekend rates that differ.
Apples
Apples are the crop most likely to have no entry fee at all — Shields Orchard and Pine Crest Orchard, both in Bilpin, NSW, charge nothing to enter and price only the fruit picked, by the kilo. A handful of orchards set a small minimum spend instead: Bilpin Springs Orchard asks for a minimum of $5 per adult, which is credited against what you pick. Expect somewhere in the vicinity of $4.50–$6/kg for apples across most orchards, though exact per-kilo pricing is often set at the farm gate rather than published online, so treat any figure as a starting point rather than a quote.
Blueberries and other berries
Berries other than strawberries mostly follow the pay-by-weight or pay-by-punnet model. Bucca Valley Blueberries near Coffs Harbour, NSW runs an honesty-system shed at $10/kg. The Giving Farm at Jilliby, NSW sells blueberries by the punnet at around $12. Some, like Blueberry Hills on Comleroy (also NSW), run ticketed picking sessions booked online rather than a simple weight-based charge, so it's worth checking a farm's own page for which model applies before you drive out.
Sunflowers and flower picking
Flower picking is priced differently again — almost always per stem rather than by weight, since you're buying the flower itself. Majura Valley Farm in the ACT charges $3 per stem with a 5-stem limit per adult, and entry is free. Glenbernie Family Farms (NSW) charges a reported $10 per adult. At the more elaborate end, Shimmering Pines Farm in the Barossa runs combined pizza-and-picking tickets from around $25 (entry plus a pizza) up to about $55 for a package including 12 stems, a jar and equipment hire. A few flower farms, like The Barns of Freeling in SA, run free entry with a gold-coin donation per stem, often tied to a charity fundraiser rather than a standard commercial rate.
What else can add to the cost
A few things aren't always obvious from a farm's advertised price. Card surcharges are sometimes added at the till — Harben Vale Cherries notes a 1.9% card surcharge, for instance. Containers and equipment (a picking bucket, snips for flowers) are sometimes included and sometimes an extra hire fee. And bookings matter more than you'd expect: of the farms on this site that publish a clear booking policy, close to 4 in 10 require you to book online before you arrive, particularly popular strawberry and cherry farms near capital cities in school holidays — arriving unannounced can mean being turned away even if the farm is technically open. Always check the individual farm's own page on this site for its specific, currently-listed price before you go; the figures here are a guide to what to expect, not a live price list.
Typical price ranges by crop
| Crop | Typical model | What you might pay |
|---|---|---|
| Strawberries | Free entry + per kg, OR ticketed entry with inclusions | $0–15 entry; $12–25/kg or all-you-can-eat from about $11–22 |
| Cherries | Small flat entry + per kg, OR free entry + per kg | $0–18 entry per adult; cherries priced per kg on top where entry applies |
| Apples | Mostly free entry, pay per kg | $0–5 entry; roughly $4.50–6/kg |
| Blueberries & berries | Pay by weight or punnet; some ticketed sessions | About $10–12/kg or per punnet |
| Sunflowers & flowers | Per stem, sometimes with a picking-session ticket | $2–3 per stem; combined tickets from about $22–55 |
Budgeting tips
- Check the specific farm's page first. Prices here are typical ranges pulled from real listings — every farm on this site has its own page with the most specific pricing detail available.
- Ask about card surcharges and cash-only policies when you call ahead, especially at smaller, family-run farms.
- Factor in a container or entry fee even at "free" farms — several "no entrance fee" orchards still expect a minimum spend once you've filled a basket.
- Book ahead for popular strawberry and cherry farms near capital cities, particularly in school holidays, since some require an online booking regardless of price.
- Kids' pricing varies a lot. Some farms have generous free-entry ages for young children (under 5, under 8, under 12 all appear across different farms), while others charge a flat family rate — worth checking before you go if you're bringing a group.