Should museum admission be free?

Proponents argue that a collection held for the public should be open to the public, and that any charge at the door selects visitors by income rather than by interest, excluding exactly those for whom the visit would do the most.

On this view a charge is what keeps a museum solvent and independent, funding conservation, staff and acquisitions. Its defenders argue that free entry shifts the cost onto people who may never visit and leaves collections hostage to annual budgets.

This position treats the choice as a false one. Free days, or free entry outside peak hours, preserve the revenue a museum needs while removing the barrier for those who cannot pay, at the cost of some crowding and added complexity.