$5,000 Diamond Ring Buying Guide

Spending $5,000 diamonds on an engagement ring puts you in a great place. That is the most common budget for an engagement ring nationwide. If you follow our guidelines on quality, retailers, and what to avoid, you will find a stunning engagement ring that you will be proud to show off.

Contrary to what you may have heard, there’s absolutely no need to spend two to three months’ worth of your salary on an engagement ring. With a budget of $5,000, you’ll have no problems buying a beautiful diamond engagement ring that’s close to the average engagement ring size of 1 carat.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

What size diamond engagement ring can I get for $5,000?
Is $5,000 enough for an engagement ring?
What setting is best for a $5,000 engagement ring?
What qualities are best for a $5,000 diamond ring?
Where to buy a $5,000 diamond engagement ring?
FAQs about engagement rings under $5,000

What size diamond engagement ring can I get for $5,000?

For $5,000, you can get a high-quality 1+ carat diamond and a beautiful solitaire, pavé, halo, or side-stone engagement ring. You first need to figure out what style setting you will go with so you know how much you will have left for the center diamond.

Let’s say you select this beautiful pave setting from James Allen that costs $1,210. That leaves you with $3,790 for the center diamond. You can add this stunning 1.01ct diamond from James Allen and come in at around $4,340 for the whole ring.

Going with a more elaborate setting may force you to go with a smaller diamond. Conversely, if you go with a simple solitaire setting for $650, you’ll have room to get a slightly larger diamond. To better understand the pricing, check out our guide to diamond prices.

$5,000 Engagement Ring Chart by Shape – Updated September 2024

Is $5,000 Enough for an Engagement Ring?

Yes. A budget of $5,000 is absolutely enough to buy a beautiful engagement ring that your fiancé-to-be will love. 

For example, this stunning 1.40 carat, K color, VVS2 round diamond set in a beautiful 14K yellow gold contemporary solitaire ring with a twisted shank from James Allen is $4,570. With a $5,000 engagement ring budget, you’ll have no problems buying a beautiful ring. In fact, you’ll be able to choose from a wide range of gorgeous diamonds in the 0.80 to 1.25 carat range (depending on shape), as well as a diverse range of different settings. 

Now, with this said, this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get a beautiful ring if you walk into any old jewelry shop and ask for an engagement ring for $3,000 to $5,000. 

For example, walking into your local jewelry store and buying an “off-the-shelf” diamond ring will almost always result in your overpaying. While you’ll end up with a reasonably nice ring, you will almost certainly get something lower in quality than what you’d get by shopping strategically. 

Luckily, avoiding the most common diamond-buying mistakes isn’t too complicated. We’ve gone over this in the section below.

What Setting is Best for a $5,000 Engagement Ring?

For a $5,000 budget, it’s best to allocate about $1,000 for the setting itself and leave the rest for the diamond. That gives you a nice amount of flexibility in the styles you choose. You can never go wrong with the timeless solitaire setting. The halo setting has been very popular for the last 15 years. Settings like this pavé rope engagement ring from James Allen have been trending strongly in 2023. For help estimating the cost of the engagement ring, try our diamond price calculator.

What Qualities are Best for a $5,000 Diamond Ring?

Let’s start with the setting – When considering which metal, 14K gold (white, yellow, or rose) is perfectly fine. You can get a lovely pavé/side-stone setting and even a halo setting if you want something other than the classic solitaire.

Diamond color – You should focus on a GHI color diamond in the GIA diamond color scale. If you are going with a solitaire setting you can drop the color down to J or even K to get a larger diamond.

Diamond clarity – Focus less on which grade on the diamond clarity chart and focus more on whether the diamond is eye-clean. Usually, you’ll find an eye-clean diamond in the VS2-SI1 range but you may find an SI2.

Diamond cut – Try to get the best-cut diamond possible. Diamond cut is the most important of the 4C’s. The better a diamond is cut, the more fire and brilliance it will have. And what is a diamond without that signature sparkle?

Diamond certification – Make sure the diamond you purchase has a GIA certificate. As we explain in our diamond certification guide, avoid any other certificates or appraisals.

Which gold is more expensive?

• Select
• Select

Both of these Petite Pavé Engagement Rings are set in 100% gold, one 18K white and the other 14K yellow.
Which of the two do you think will save you 12%?

Where to Buy a $5,000 Diamond Engagement Ring

We always recommend buying your engagement ring online over buying it from a local jewelry store. The reason is simple: the economics of the diamond industry make it much more costly for a company to sell diamonds in-person versus online, resulting in higher prices.

For example, in our diamond engagement ring store reviews, we’ve found that the price you’ll pay for a diamond in most brick-and-mortar stores is anywhere from 30 to 40% to double what you will pay for an equivalent engagement ring online.

A great service, they really made the purchasing process easy. I would recommend to anyone. Veronika was super helpful and responsive. She gives you confidence that you are making the right decision. My partner was VERY happy with the final product – what more can you ask? The diamond guides are very interesting and useful too.

…see more

Will Marsden

Dec 25, 2022

Excellent info and education about Diamonds. Unbiased opinions and advice. Highly recommend the content on their site before making a Diamond purchase. They even offer one on one service via email for advice and recommendation.

…see more

EV User

Feb 1, 2023

This isn’t because brick-and-mortar vendors are necessarily out to rip you off — it’s just that the costs of running a retail store necessitate a big profit margin. This margin is unfortunately paid for by you, the customer. 

This is true even if you find a ring in a local jewelry store that’s on sale. Even if it’s reduced by 20 or 30%, you’ll almost always still pay less for a ring of the same quality bought online. 

In general, we recommend buying engagement rings under $5,000 from either James Allen or Blue Nile. We like these vendors for their excellent pricing, large selections, and great images, as well as a few other reasons we’ve shared further down the page. We cover the best places to buy an engagement ring here.

FAQs About Engagement Rings Under $5,000

Email Our Experts For Assistance With Engagement Rings

When you email our experts, you get one-on-one service. They will help you find the best ring for your budget based on your personal preferences and style. Each of our experts is highly trained and experienced in critically looking at diamonds and ring settings. They will provide the best recommendations and ensure you feel confident in your decision. They’re always happy to answer questions, too.

Need help putting the tips above into practice? Contact us and our experts will help you find the perfect engagement ring for your tastes and budget.

Here are more specific budget topics to browse:

• What are the most affordable engagement rings?
• How much should you spend on an engagement ring?
• What are diamonds worth?
• The best engagement rings for $1,000
• The best engagement rings for under $2,500
• The best engagement rings for $3,000
• The best engagement rings for $10,000
• The best engagement rings for $15,000
• The best engagement rings for $20,000
• The best engagement rings for $25,000

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab-created diamonds online. They currently run a 30% discount on selected lab-grown diamonds!

Click to Visit

What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free International Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisals
• One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
• Free ring inscriptions
• Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
• 24/7 Customer Service
• Best-in-class packaging

Blue Nile Blue Nile is the largest and most well-known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high-quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Right now, Blue Nile offers up to 40% savings on jewelry during a limited-time sale.

Click to Visit

What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisal
• One free resizing within the first year of purchase
• High quality images of about half of their diamonds
• 24/7 Customer Service
• 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
• Best in class fulfillment

About the author

Mike Fried Mike Fried has over 25 years experience in the diamond industry working with Leo Schachter Diamonds, Moshe Namdar Diamonds, and joining The Diamond Pro in 2007. He is recognized as an industry expert and has been quoted in publications such as Us, People, Page Six, The Next Web and more.