Powerball vs. Mega Millions: Odds, Prices and Prizes Compared

Powerball and Mega Millions are the two big multi-state U.S. lottery games, and they're closer than most people think: the jackpot odds are almost the same (about 1 in 292 million vs. 1 in 290 million). The big differences are price and prizes. Powerball costs $2 per play, with an optional $1 Power Play. Mega Millions costs $5 per play with a multiplier built into every ticket, and its lower-tier prizes are larger as a result.

Mega Millions overhauled its game in April 2025, so a lot of older comparisons online are out of date. Everything below reflects the current rules as published by Powerball and Mega Millions.

The two games at a glance

Both games have nine prize tiers, both pay the jackpot on a shared (pari-mutuel) basis when there are multiple winners, and in California both games pay all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, so California amounts can differ.

How the jackpot odds are calculated

Both games use the same structure: pick five white balls (order doesn't matter), then one bonus ball from a separate drum.

Powerball: C(69, 5) × 26 = 11,238,513 × 26 = 292,201,338

Mega Millions: C(70, 5) × 24 = 12,103,014 × 24 = 290,472,336

Mega Millions has one more white ball but two fewer bonus balls, and the two changes nearly cancel out. Mega Millions' jackpot odds are slightly better, by less than 1%. You can see the full tier-by-tier method in our Powerball odds guide.

Jackpot odds per dollar

The odds per play are nearly equal, but the price isn't. A useful way to compare is to look at what a fixed amount buys. With $10:

• Powerball buys 5 plays: a jackpot chance of 5 in 292,201,338, about 1 in 58.4 million.
• Mega Millions buys 2 plays: a jackpot chance of 2 in 290,472,336, about 1 in 145.2 million.

Dollar for dollar, Powerball gives you about 2.5 times as many jackpot chances. Mega Millions puts more of each dollar into its lower tiers instead.

Prize tiers side by side

The Powerball column shows base prizes (Power Play can multiply the non-jackpot ones; see our Power Play explainer). Mega Millions has no "base" prize anymore. Every play carries a 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X multiplier, so the column shows the 2X (minimum) to 10X (maximum) range.

Odds are rounded; the exact figures are on each game's official prize chart. Our Powerball prize chart walks through every Powerball tier.

Put the two odds columns on one chart and the similarity is easy to see. Because the odds run from about 1 in 35 to about 1 in 292 million, the chart uses a log scale.

Powerball (1 in …)Mega Millions (1 in …)

Loading chart…

Source: official prize charts on powerball.com and megamillions.com, checked October 2026. Lower values mean better odds; the line tracks the bars closely in every tier.

View data table (9 rows)

	Powerball (1 in …)	Mega Millions (1 in …)
5 + bonus	292,201,338	290,472,336
5	11,688,053.52	12,629,232
4 + bonus	913,129.18	893,761.03
4	36,525.17	38,859.18
3 + bonus	14,494.11	13,965.02
3	579.76	607.17
2 + bonus	701.33	665
1 + bonus	91.98	85.81
Bonus only	38.32	35.17

Chart: TradingView Lightweight Charts™ · Data & analysis: TodayPowerball

The line (Mega Millions) sits almost on top of the bars (Powerball) in every tier. Mega Millions is slightly easier in six tiers and Powerball in three, and no tier differs by more than about 10%. Adding the tiers up, Powerball's overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.87, and Mega Millions' work out to about 1 in 23.07 (12,588,912 winning combinations out of 290,472,336). What the chart does not show is the prize attached to each tier. The odds are nearly the same; the payouts are not, because a Mega Millions play costs $5 and carries a multiplier.

A worked example: the same budget in each game

Say you set aside $20 a week for lottery play and stick to it for a year ($1,040 total). Here's what that buys, using only the official odds:

With Powerball you'd expect more small wins, mostly $4 each, and about 2.5 times as many jackpot chances. With Mega Millions you'd expect fewer wins, but each one is bigger: the minimum prize is $10, and the 4-ball and 3-ball-plus-Mega-Ball prizes start at $1,000 and $400. In both games you'd expect to get back far less than the $1,040 you spent. The jackpot chance in either column is still extremely small; a year of plays doesn't come close to making a win likely. Our Powerball odds guide shows how to work out these numbers.

How the multipliers differ

Powerball's Power Play

Power Play is optional and costs $1 extra per play. A single multiplier is drawn at each drawing and applies to every Power Play ticket in it. It multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X, except that the match-5 prize with Power Play is always $2 million. The 10X multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less. According to Powerball, the chances are 24 in 43 for 2X, 13 in 43 for 3X, 3 in 43 for 4X, 2 in 43 for 5X and 1 in 43 for 10X when 10X is available.

Mega Millions' built-in multiplier

Mega Millions dropped its optional add-on in April 2025. Now a multiplier is randomly assigned to each play when you buy the ticket, so you know it before the drawing and different plays can carry different multipliers. Mega Millions lists the odds as 1 in 2.13 for 2X, 1 in 3.2 for 3X, 1 in 8 for 4X, 1 in 16 for 5X and 1 in 32 for 10X. That works out to an average multiplier of exactly 3X.

A worked example: what the non-jackpot prizes return

Here's one way to compare the lower tiers. Multiply each non-jackpot prize by its probability and add them up. This "expected return" isn't money you'll actually get back on any single ticket. It's the long-run average across all possible outcomes.

• Powerball, $2 play, no Power Play: about $0.32 in non-jackpot prizes, or 16% of the ticket price.
• Powerball, $3 play with Power Play (when 10X is available): about $0.82, or 27%.
• Mega Millions, $5 play (average 3X multiplier): about $1.12, or 22%.

These figures leave the jackpot out completely, which is where most of the remaining value sits, and they ignore taxes and the California exception. Our upcoming expected-value guide adds the jackpot back in. The point here is narrower: Mega Millions' higher price buys noticeably bigger small prizes, while Powerball's cheaper ticket buys more jackpot chances per dollar.

Double Play: a Powerball-only extra

Powerball has a second optional add-on that Mega Millions doesn't. Double Play costs $1 more per play and enters your numbers in a separate drawing held after each Powerball drawing. According to Powerball, 30 lotteries offer it, its top cash prize is $10 million, and Power Play does not apply to Double Play prizes. If your state offers it, it's another way your Powerball ticket can differ from a Mega Millions ticket in price and prizes.

Jackpots, starting amounts and growth

Mega Millions starts each jackpot run at $50 million, according to the game's official site, compared with Powerball's $20 million. Both jackpots grow with every drawing that has no winner. How fast they grow depends mostly on ticket sales, which in turn rise as the jackpot gets bigger.

Powerball also has something new on its side: Powerball says that beginning July 21, 2026, players in the United Kingdom can buy tickets that feed the same Powerball jackpot pool. According to Powerball, that doesn't change U.S. prices, odds or lower-tier prizes, but more players contributing should help the jackpot grow faster.

Both games advertise the jackpot as an estimated annuity: one immediate payment plus 29 annual payments, each 5% larger than the last. Both also offer a smaller lump-sum cash option.

Record jackpots in each game

Both games have produced billion-dollar jackpots several times. Here are the five largest in each, by advertised annuity value.

PowerballMega Millions

Loading chart…

Source: Powerball media center (powerball.com) and Mega Millions trivia (megamillions.com), checked October 2026. Advertised annuity amounts before taxes; cash values were much lower.

View data table (5 rows)

	Powerball	Mega Millions
#1	$2.04B	$1.60B
#2	$1.82B	$1.54B
#3	$1.79B	$1.35B
#4	$1.76B	$1.34B
#5	$1.59B	$1.27B

Chart: TradingView Lightweight Charts™ · Data & analysis: TodayPowerball

Powerball holds the record at $2.04 billion (California, November 7, 2022), and all five of its largest jackpots are bigger than Mega Millions' record of $1.602 billion (Florida, August 8, 2023). That reflects how big Powerball runs have become in recent years, not better odds: the jackpot odds in the two games are almost identical. Remember too that these are annuity figures. The cash value, which is what most winners choose, is far smaller, and part of some of these jackpots was split between several tickets.

Taxes work the same way

Prizes from both games are taxed the same way for U.S. winners: the lottery withholds 24% federal tax on U.S. citizen prizes over $5,000, a jackpot falls into the top federal bracket of 37%, and state rules vary. For example, California doesn't tax California Lottery winnings, and states with no personal income tax, such as Florida and Texas, don't tax the prize either. Check your state, and see the IRS page on gambling income. This is general information, not tax advice.

Which game is "better"?

Neither one, mathematically. Both are long shots with a negative expected return on the ticket price, and the right choice is mostly about what you enjoy:

• If you like more drawings and more jackpot chances per dollar, Powerball's $2 price and three weekly drawings fit that.
• If you like bigger small prizes and knowing your multiplier the moment you buy, Mega Millions' $5 format fits that.

Availability differs slightly too. Powerball is sold in 45 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and since July 2026 in the United Kingdom. Mega Millions says it's sold in 45 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Check our list of which states sell Powerball and your own state lottery's website. Whichever you play, set a budget you're comfortable losing. You must be 18 or older to play (older in some states), and free, confidential help is available at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).

Common mistakes when comparing the two games

• Using old rules. Articles written before April 2025 describe a $2 Mega Millions ticket with an optional Megaplier. That game no longer exists.
• Comparing advertised jackpots as if they were cash. Both headline numbers are 30-payment annuity estimates. Compare cash values if you want a like-for-like figure.
• Thinking the multiplier touches the jackpot. Neither Power Play nor Mega Millions' built-in multiplier applies to the jackpot.
• Comparing odds per ticket only. Odds per play are nearly equal, but a $5 ticket and a $2 ticket buy very different numbers of plays from the same budget.
• Chasing whichever jackpot is bigger. A bigger jackpot doesn't improve your odds, and it means more players who could share the prize.

Frequently asked questions

Which has better odds, Powerball or Mega Millions?

Per play, Mega Millions' jackpot odds are very slightly better: 1 in 290,472,336 vs. Powerball's 1 in 292,201,338. Per dollar spent, Powerball gives about 2.5 times as many jackpot chances because a play costs $2 instead of $5.

How much does a Mega Millions ticket cost now?

$5 per play, with a multiplier included. The price went up from $2 when the redesigned game launched in April 2025.

Can I add Power Play to Mega Millions?

No. Power Play is a Powerball add-on. Mega Millions now includes a 2X–10X multiplier on every play automatically.

Can I buy one ticket for both games?

No. They're separate games with separate tickets, drawings and prize pools.

Which game has had the biggest jackpot?

Powerball. Its record is $2.04 billion, won in California on November 7, 2022. Mega Millions' record is $1.602 billion, won in Florida on August 8, 2023.

Do both games pay the jackpot the same way?

Yes. Both offer a 30-payment annuity (one payment now, then 29 yearly payments that each grow by 5%) or a one-time cash option, and both split the jackpot equally among multiple winning tickets.

The bottom line

Powerball and Mega Millions have nearly identical jackpot odds. Powerball is the cheaper ticket with more drawings and more jackpot chances per dollar. Mega Millions costs $5 but gives every play a built-in multiplier and bigger lower-tier prizes. Neither game is a smart investment, so pick the one you find more fun and keep your spending in check.