What are the most common Halloween costumes this year?
See which costumes top the 2026 adult, kids, and pet lists, plus what retailers and search data show, and why those measures differ.
When you’re choosing a Halloween costume, “most common” can mean what people plan to wear, what shoppers are searching for, or what retailers expect to sell. For 2026, witches lead the adult list, Spider-Man tops the kids’ list, and pumpkin is the most popular pet costume.
Those rankings come from the National Retail Federation’s survey of planned costumes. The results offer a clear view of what respondents say they intend to wear, alongside a few useful clues about which trends are gaining attention.
The answer: witches, vampires and Spider-Man
Witches are the most common planned adult costume for 2026, while Spider-Man leads for kids and pumpkins lead for pets. The National Retail Federation (NRF) ranks costumes using a survey of 7,889 consumers, so its figures are projections of plans, not costume sales.
For adults, the top five are:
- Witch: 4.8 million
- Vampire: 4.2 million
- Batman: 2 million
- Spider-Man: 1.5 million
- Ghost: 1.4 million
For kids, Spider-Man leads with 4.6 million planned costumes. The remaining top choices are superhero at 2.3 million, princess at 2.2 million, witch at 1.6 million and ghost at 1.6 million.
Pumpkins rank first among pet costumes, with 11.6% of respondents planning that look. Hot dogs follow at 5.9%, then ghosts at 2.8%. The adult and kids’ results count people; the pet figures are percentages.
The lists mix specific characters, such as Batman and Spider-Man, with broad costume types, such as superhero and princess. That distinction helps explain why familiar categories feature alongside named characters.
What changed since 2025
The biggest shift in the 2025-to-2026 lists is Spider-Man’s rise among kids, while witches remain No. 1 for adults and vampires gain ground. In the NRF’s 2025 survey, 2.3 million kids planned to dress as Spider-Man; the 2026 figure is 4.6 million.
Adult witches dipped from 5.6 million in 2025 to 4.8 million in 2026, yet kept the top spot. Vampire plans rose from 2.7 million to 4.2 million. In 2025, pirate, cat and Batman were tied for third place at 1.6 million each. For 2026, Batman ranks third at 2 million, while pirate and cat no longer appear in the top five.
The 2025 kids’ list also included princess, witch, ghost and superhero after Spider-Man. For pets, pumpkin costumes increased from 9.8% in 2025 to 11.6% in 2026; hot dogs rose from 5.4% to 5.9%.
What the costume stores predict
Spirit Halloween’s 2026 trend report points to licensed characters, themed looks and giant inflatables as costume ideas retailers expect to attract shoppers. The company describes itself as North America’s largest Halloween retailer and says it has more than 1,550 stores.
The report, released Oct. 1, names varsity and hockey looks inspired by Off Campus, along with Toy Story characters Woody, Buzz and Jessie. It also includes KPop Demon Hunters, superheroes connected to Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Power Rangers, Greek mythology armor, Fortnite, Halo and giant inflatables.
CNN’s coverage leads with Off Campus and Toy Story. These picks reflect Spirit Halloween’s merchandising outlook, not a count of how many people plan to wear each costume. They offer a view of what the retailer is highlighting for shoppers, while the NRF survey measures respondents’ stated plans.
Search data is a different measure
Google’s Frightgeist ranks costumes by rising search interest, which shows what people are looking up rather than how many people plan to wear a costume. Its 2025 list featured KPop Demon Hunters characters Rumi, Zoey, Mira, Jinu and Baby Saja, followed by Chicken Jockey and Labubu.
Google posted its 2025 roundup on Oct. 9, 2025. As of Oct. 8, 2026, Google has not published a 2026 edition, so the latest named Frightgeist list remains a snapshot of search interest from 2025.
That makes Frightgeist useful for spotting characters and collectibles attracting attention online. It answers a different question from the NRF ranking, which counts survey respondents’ planned costumes.
Costume types, not characters
Deloitte’s household survey shows pop-culture characters leading the broad costume types people plan to use, while traditional or scary costumes are close behind. The figures describe categories, so they can include many individual costume choices.
Deloitte reported that 52% of households planned a pop-culture character costume. Traditional or scary costumes followed at 48%, fantasy or magical at 33%, and humorous or novelty at 29%.
Circana’s sales data adds a retail perspective: kids’ costumes made up 60% of costume dollar sales in 2025, and character costumes tied to TV, movies and games grew. These figures describe sales and broad household plans, giving you context beyond character-by-character rankings.
How to read any "top costume" list
For the question of what people plan to wear most, the NRF survey is the most direct guide; search rankings and retailer reports track different signals. Survey results surface classics and broad categories, search data highlights rising interest, and retailer lists reflect merchandising picks.
Check what each list measures before comparing its rankings. A search surge for a new character does not establish how many people will wear it, while a retailer trend report does not count costumes sold.