Ski Pass Comparison: Ikon Pass vs. Epic Pass

We often get asked which ski pass is the best, and to put it simply, there’s no clear-cut answer, especially when it comes to multi-resort passes. Between the Ikon Pass, the Epic Pass, The Mountain Collective and the Indy Pass, and all of their associated tiers, comparing the options can begin to feel like advanced calculus. So, since daily lift tickets are out and season passes are in, here’s a comparison of the two largest multi-resort options: Ikon and Epic.

Epic Pass vs Ikon Pass: The Basics

We’ve put together guides for the major passes, and in this article, we’ll be comparing the Ikon Pass (owned by Alterra Mountain Company) and the Epic Pass (owned by Vail Resorts). Among the biggest factors in deciding are your budget, how often you plan to ski or snowboard and where you intend to spend most of your time. The bottom line is that you won’t find a “one-size-fits-all” ski pass solution… but you will find a size that fits you.

Price

First up, let’s tackle price. The Ikon and Epic offer three levels of comparable options: a full option with the most terrain access and highest price tag, a mid-level option offering a lower price with some blackout dates, and a short-term pass offering a few days of access. The full Ikon Pass starts at $1,399 for adults over age 23, and the full Epic Pass starts at $1,089 for adults over age 31, while teens and young adults between 13 and 30 will pay as little as $869. Both options offer unlimited skiing and snowboarding at nearly 100 destinations worldwide, plus seven days of access at other select resorts.

Moving on to the second tier, the Ikon Base Pass offers unlimited access to over 70 destinations (with blackout dates) and five days of skiing at other resorts, with adult prices beginning at $949 for adults over 23. Similarly, the Epic Local Pass offers unlimited access to some resorts (Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood and Stowe), with blackout dates. Unlimited access, without blackout dates, is also available at several other resorts, and five days of access is offered at others. The Epic Local starts at $649 for ages 13-30 and $809 for those over age 31.

Finally, the Ikon Session and Epic Day bass both offer access for a limited number of days. They’re great for those who are looking to save on lift tickets, but know they won’t ski enough to justify one of the more expensive options. The Ikon Session Pass provides between two and four days of access for as low as $299, and the Epic Day Pass offers one to seven days of access for as low as $66.

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Pricing for Younger Skiers

This year, both the Epic and Ikon pass are offering new pricing options for younger skiers and snowboarders. As we mentioned above, the Epic Pass is offering an entirely new pricing tier for teens and young adults between age 13 and 30, which is largely being referred to as Gen Z pricing, and will save people in this age group up to $220 extra on their season pass offerings, bringing the price of a full Epic Pass as low as $869 and the Local Pass to $649. Note that this tier does not apply to Epic Day passes.

For the 2026/27 season, Ikon is offering a new Squad Pack—groups of five between ages 23 and 28 can get their Ikon Base passes for $750 each when one person purchases all of them on the same transaction. Note that this promotion only applies to the Ikon Base Pass and exactly five passes must be purchased. After the purchase has been made, the person who made it will recieve codes to distribute to the rest of their group. Everyone else will need to make their own Ikon Pass account.

Location

Another consideration is location—both where you live and where you plan to ski. We’d recommend making a list of the resorts near you (or those you plan to travel to) and then comparing it with each company’s destinations lists—Ikon is available here and Epic here.

Both passes offer broad networks of destinations around the world, but there’s a key difference: As its owned by Vail Resorts, many Epic Pass destinations feel more corporatized, while Ikon’s offerings blend larger, corporatized resorts with smaller, iconic independent resorts. If you’re looking to visit large, Vail-owned destinations with all the bells and whistles, Epic is a great choice. Travelers looking for more of a destination feel are more likely to find that with the Ikon.

Here are some of the most famous resorts on each pass:

Ikon: Alta, Jackson Hole, Steamboat, Big Sky

Epic: Telluride, Vail, Whistler Blackcomb, Heavenly

Who owns the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass?

Epic Pass is owned and operated by Vail Resorts and is offered at all of its 40-plus ski areas and numerous partners in the United States and abroad. The Ikon Pass is owned and operated by Alterra Mountain Company and is offered at all of its 18 ski resorts, plus a plethora of partner resorts across the globe.

Which ski pass has the best resorts?

That’s too subjective for us to answer. The real question is at which resorts do you plan to ski and ride? Here’s a list of both ski passes, starting with Epic Pass.

Epic Pass Resorts

Unlimited Access Resorts: 40+
Additional Resorts: 40+

Mountains with Unlimited Access

Unlimited ski resort access? Yes, you heard that right. Epic Pass resorts with unlimited access include such iconic resorts as Park City, Vail and Beaver Creek. Here are the unlimited access resorts for the Epic Pass.

Vail's back bowls — The back bowls of Vail Resort. ©Vail

Up to 7 days at select global destinations. No blackout dates.

This provides a taste of where you can ski for a few days on the Epic Pass at resorts across the globe. Epic continues to add new partners every year. You can explore more on our Epic Pass ski report page here.

Ikon Pass Resorts

Total Resorts: 70+
Unlimited Access Resorts: 18 on Ikon Pass and 14 on Ikon Base Pass
Additional Resorts: 40+

Unlimited Access Resorts

Ikon Pass, too, has a number of unlimited access resorts, although it’s a smaller list. Some of the headliner resorts include Mammoth Mountain, Palisades Tahoe, and Steamboat. Here are the resorts with unlimited access to the Ikon Pass.

Up to 7 days or 7 days combined at select global destinations. No blackout dates.

Pass Perks

Pass holders have a number of benefits for both the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass. Perks of the Epic Pass include Ski With Friends and Buddy Pass tickets and cost breaks for members of the military, plus a local pass for college students. The Ikon Pass offers price breaks for nurses, military, and college students for both full and base passes, plus free skiing in late spring of the next year for new pass holders. Pass holder benefits for Ikon Pass also include first tracks at select destinations once a month, summer adventure opportunities, and lodging and destination deals. Ikon Pass also offers Friends & Family discounted lift tickets. You can see a more complete list of benefits in our Epic and Ikon Pass buying guides.

Ikon Pass vs. Epic Pass: Local Ski Passes

The Epic Pass has an option where you can buy an Epic Local Pass in the Rockies, West, Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic regions. The Epic Local Pass is only good for Vail properties, however. There are plenty of choices.

The Ikon Pass has regional localized options in Crystal Mountain in Washington, Steamboat, and Winter Park in Colorado, June Mountain in the Sierras of California, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit in Southern California, Stratton Mountain and Sugarbush in Vermont, Snowshoe in West Virginia, Solitude, Alta, Snowbird and Deer Valley in Utah, and more in Canada and Europe.

Ikon Pass vs Epic Pass: A regional guide

Best Ski Pass for Colorado

Colorado is a toss-up for which ski pass is best. The Epic Local Pass includes Vail-owned ski areas – Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Crested Butte – all great choices. The Ikon Pass gives you Winter Park, Copper, Arapahoe Basin, and Eldora, which are all an easy hop from Denver, and a few longer hops, such as Aspen Snowmass and Steamboat.

Best Ski Pass for Lake Tahoe and California

Vail Resorts Lake Tahoe ski resorts include Heavenly, the giant South Lake Tahoe resort that actually resides in both California and Nevada and Northstar California on the north side of Lake Tahoe. Kirkwood is a big mountain standout not far away from South Lake Tahoe. Palisades-Tahoe on the north side of Lake Tahoe is on the Ikon Pass. South of Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain is on the Ikon Pass, as well as nearby June Mountain. If you plan to exclusively ski at Lake Tahoe, then we recommend the Epic Pass, while Ikon Pass is the best option if you plan to split time between Mammoth and Lake Tahoe.

Best Ski Pass for Utah

Utah residents and lovers should probably go for the Ikon Pass as it includes the (literally iconic) resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon, such as Snowbird and Alta (remember, though, snowboards are not allowed at Alta). The Epic Pass, on the other hand, only offers Park City Mountain Resort, which is a big-time, fun place to ski and ride.

Best Ski Pass for the Midwest

Midwest skiers and snowboarders who mostly stay local should bag both the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass, and go for the Indy Pass which offers up 27 resorts. The Epic Pass and Ikon Pass just don’t have the same options in the Midwest as in other regions. Still, the Epic Pass has limited options, such as Afton Alps, if you live near the Twin Cities, or Wilmot if you live near Chicago or Cleveland.

Best Ski Pass for the Northeast

The Ikon Pass has access to renowned New England ski resorts, including Killington, Stratton, and Sugarbush. However, the Epic Pass has more Northeast ski resorts on its pass, including Stowe. If you’re sticking to New England ski resorts, then the Epic Pass is a great choice.

Best bets for early skiing, Killington Vermont. — @Killington Resort

Best Ski Pass for the Pacific Northwest

Neither the Ikon Pass nor the Epic Pass have a lot of Pacific Northwest options. Epic has the largest ski resort, with Whistler Blackcomb, and also has Stevens Pass. But the Ikon Pass has more resort options, including Mt. Bachelor in Oregon.

Best Ski Pass for the Canadian Rockies

If you plan on skiing a lot in Canada, then the Ikon Pass is a no-brainer. Above, we mentioned that the Epic Pass has Whistler Blackcomb, which is in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains. Epic partner resorts also includes a few smaller ski resorts spread throughout Canada, such as Nakiska Ski Area, which is the closest ski area to Calgary. However, the Ikon Pass features several days at a number of prominent Canadian ski resorts, including Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, and Mt. Norquay.

Best Ski Pass for the Northern Rockies

Similar to above, the Ikon Pass wins out for the Northern Rockies, considering that the Epic Pass doesn’t currently have any resorts there. The Ikon Pass features Sun Valley and Schweitzer in Idaho, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, and Big Ski in Montana. Sun Valley came over to the Ikon Pass, from the Epic Pass, in 2022.

The Rendezvous Bowl at Jackson Hole ©Julie Weinberger

Best ski pass for the rest of the world (Europe, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and Japan)

If you plan to head to Europe or even Japan, it just depends on where you want to go. The Epic Pass has historically had the most options in Europe (including Les 3 Vallées, Arlberg, and Crans-Montana), with their European collection of partners continuing to grow. They added six new Austria ski resorts and Verbier 4 Vallées in Switzerland for the 2025-26 ski season. Nevertheless, the Ikon Pass has continued to add Europe ski resorts to its portfolio. Their Europe collection includes Kitzbühel and Ischgl in Austria, Camonix Mont-Blanc Valley in France, Valle D’Aosta and Dolomiti Superski (12 total resorts) in Italy, and Zermatt Matterhorn and St. Moritz in Switzerland. As you can see, they both offer access to some of Europe’s best ski resorts.

They’ve both offered access to some Japanese ski resorts and a few Southern Hemisphere ski resorts in South America and Australia. However, just before the 2025-26 season, Ikon Pass announced that they were adding 9 Asia ski resorts, consisting of Shiga Kogen Mountain Resort, Mt. T, Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort, Furano Ski Resort, APPI Resort, NEKOMA Mountain, and Zao Onsen Ski Resort in Japan, Yunding Snow Park in China, and Mona Yongpyong in South Korea.

Questions to ask yourself before buying a ski pass

Before purchasing a ski pass, there are a few questions you should ask yourself. First and foremost, how often are you going to ski? If you don’t take many ski vacations, or you’re only skiing a couple of times in a season, then a ski pass doesn’t make sense. Additionally, you’ll need to ask yourself questions like what your budget is and where you’re most likely to ski during the ski season. For some skiers, they won’t need to go all out on an Epic Pass or Ikon Pass; they can go with a local ski pass or a pass for just a few days.

Refund Policies

Spending so much money before ski season begins can feel risky, especially in the days of unpredictable snowpacks and unstable job markets. Here’s a quick breakdown of each pass’ refund policy:

Ikon: Beginning in 2026, Ikon is offering a new refundable pass option. For a little extra upfront, Ikon Passes that have never been scanned by Jan. 15, 2027 will be eligible for a full refund. Those with only one scan by that date will be eligible for a 50% refund. If you experience an injury or job loss and have purchased the non-refundable option, you’re unlikely to get your money back, but you may be able to defer the unused portion of your pass toward a future season.

Epic: The Epic Pass does not offer a refund policy due to unused scans, but if you experience an injury or job loss, you may be eligible for a partial refund. Full policy can be found here.

Bottom Line

So which ski pass should you go with? They both have a number of popular ski resorts and offer plenty of benefits. In short, both the Epic and Ikon Pass will save you considerable money if you plan to ski or ride for at least a few days. Just do the math. Ski passes have literally changed the way we ski. Gone are the days when you simply walked up to the window to buy your lift tickets.

The Epic Pass has more unlimited access ski resorts than the Ikon Pass’ selection of unlimited access resorts, while the Ikon Pass boasts an impressive selection of bucket list ski resorts across North America and throughout the globe. If most of your ski trips are in one specific region, then you should consider this, too. For example, the Epic Pass doesn’t have any ski resorts in Montana, Idaho, or Wyoming and only a couple in the Pacific Northwest (Stevens Pass in Washington and Whistler Blackcomb in BC).

One last thing we’ll reiterate is the fact that the Epic Pass has a lot more regional and specialty passes. A sampling of Epic’s regional passes, a number of which we mentioned above, include the Tahoe Local and Tahoe Value Pass, the Summit Value Pass (Breckenridge and Keystone), the Northeast Value and Midweek Pass, and the Epic Australia Pass. Then there are military passes, college passes, adaptive passes, and the Epic SchoolKids passes that are available for a few different regions. Simply put, Epic Pass has far away more variety.

Are there other ski pass options you should consider? While the Epic Pass, Ikon Pass, and The Mountain Collective are all good choices, be sure to check out the fast-growing, less expensive, and popular Indy Pass. Check out our complete list of pass buying guides here.