Sorry it was a typo. It's actually 5000$

Regards,
Sukrit

Even if it were 10K it would be worth doing if you ever want to use the space for living.

$5k is meaningless without context. How large is the basement? The house? What price range is the finished house?

The size of the basement will be around 1000 sq ft. The house size should be around 2400-2500 sq ft

What is the price point of the home? $5000 is a drop in the bucket for a $600,000-$750,000+ home. Even if the house is $250,000, it's a reasonable upgrade to consider seriously if you plan to finish and use the basement for additional living space. Keep in mind that basements typically have soffits to enclose the ductwork which drops the ceiling height even further. A 9 foot ceiling feels more spacious, like above grade living area.

We have 9 foot ceilings I believe in our walk out basement's main room. It is a nice feature and you can definitely notice it.

The main reason to go higher is to allow for dropped beams and ductwork to not impact your headroom too much. If you start with an 8 foot ceiling, and have a large 9 inch drop for ductwork, it feels like the 7 ft 3 inches that it is. Taller ceilings are more gracious. If you do take the option, see if they can install taller windows as well, with the heads higher. If there are window wells, upgrade to the terraced ones that allow much more daylight down in there. Good luck! Attaching an image of an added basement room; the old bsmt in background was about 7 feet high, and by stepping down the added room , we got 8 feet clear, which made all the difference.

Our basement has 8 1/2 ft ceilings. Perhaps this could be a third choice.

If I could raise my basement ceiling for $5k I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I would do that in a heartbeat. The extra material alone will cost that much.

We built our house 25 years ago, went with 9" ceilings in basement, then finished the space 5 years later. What has been said about the duct work, lights etc. is true, and we've never regretted it one bit. It's worth it in the long run.

If you plan to have someone living there or a gym, I would do it.

Do it. You never hear regrets for a 9 foot ceiling but you do hear them for ceilings being too low.

I have 8’ ceilings in my walkout which BTW is our real living space because that is where we have our media room , I have a home gym there too. But 5K is cheap and if it is a walkout I would do it . My house is a MCM with 8” ceilings everywhere and i have no problem living in the space

Go with the 9 ft for sure! You will always regret not doing it before and it will cost way more later.

No brainer. Go with 9 foot ceiling