What was the cost to build the Titanic in pounds?

The Titanic cost about £1.5 million to build. That was the original construction cost in early-20th-century British pounds, covering the ship produced for the White Star Line by Harland and Wolff in Belfast.

Construction began when the keel was laid in March 1909, and Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. The unfinished hull was then fitted out with machinery, electrical systems, passenger accommodations, and elaborate public rooms before completion in April 1912. Her price reflected both her exceptional size and her unusually ambitious level of luxury.

Titanic was one of three Olympic-class liners commissioned to strengthen White Star Line’s transatlantic service. The ship included a swimming pool, gymnasium, Turkish baths, multiple dining spaces, and grand first-class interiors modeled partly on luxury hotels. The £1.5 million figure is often converted into a much larger modern sum, but those estimates depend on whether one compares inflation, wages, economic output, or purchasing power. It should not be confused with ticket revenue, insurance value, or the cost of later salvage expeditions.