"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get"
About this Quote
The intent is practical and quietly insurgent. In a culture trained to equate expensive with good and cheap with smart, Buffett reframes the decision from transaction to consequence. The subtext is that people routinely buy stories, status, and short-term relief, then call it “value” after the fact. He’s warning against that self-deception. Notice the plain language; there’s no finance jargon, because he’s not talking to quants. He’s talking to the part of you that wants certainty. Price offers certainty. Value demands judgment.
Context matters: Buffett’s investing identity is built on patience, fundamentals, and the refusal to be bullied by market mood. When markets swing, “price” becomes a collective emotional outburst. “Value” becomes the unpopular spreadsheet, the boring moat, the unsexy business model that keeps throwing off cash. The line also doubles as a broader consumer ethic: the cheapest option can be ruinous if it breaks, wastes time, or corrodes trust.
It works because it compresses an entire philosophy of restraint into eight words: don’t confuse what’s counted with what counts.
Quote Details
| Topic | Investment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Buffett, Warren. (2026, January 18). Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/price-is-what-you-pay-value-is-what-you-get-16657/
Chicago Style
Buffett, Warren. "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/price-is-what-you-pay-value-is-what-you-get-16657/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/price-is-what-you-pay-value-is-what-you-get-16657/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




