Nobel prize sum raised to $1.21 million for 2026

This year's Nobel prize winners, to be announced October 5 to 12, will receive 12 million kronor ($1.21 million) per discipline, up from 11 million in 2025, the Nobel Foundation said Friday.

How much money will 2026 Nobel Prize winners receive?

Each of this year's six Nobel Prize categories carries a sum of 12 million kronor, roughly $1.21 million, an increase of about $101,500 on last year's prize.

If more than one laureate shares a category, that sum is divided between them rather than paid out in full to each winner.

Why did the Nobel Foundation increase the prize money?

"This year, we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, and in connection with this, we are pleased to be able to increase the prize amount by one million (kronor)," the director of the Nobel Foundation, Hanna Stjärne, said in a statement.

"By increasing the prize amount, we uphold the long-term significance of the Nobel Prize and ensure that the financial part of the prize retains its value over time," she said.

How has the Nobel Prize sum changed since it began?

The first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901, when the prize sum stood at 150,782 kronor per discipline.

The 2026 increase brings the total to 12 million kronor per category, marking one of the larger single-year rises in the prize's history.

When will the 2026 Nobel Prize winners be announced?

The medicine prize will open this year's Nobel week on October 5, followed each day by the prizes for physics, chemistry, literature and peace.

The economics prize will close out the announcements on October 12.