TTPRADARNEXUS and Global Entry are both Trusted Traveler Programs run by CBP, and since October 2024 they cost exactly the same: $120 for a five-year membership. Past the price tag, the similarities stop. One covers land, sea, and air crossings between the US and Canada. The other covers air arrivals into the US from anywhere in the world, and nothing else. Picking the wrong one wastes an interview appointment slot you could have spent on the program you actually needed.
Scope: where each one actually works
Global Entry is air-only, but it works globally. It expedites US reentry at a Global Entry kiosk when you land back in the US from abroad, whether you flew in from London, Bogotá, or Tokyo.
NEXUS is narrower geographically but broader in mode. It's a joint program run by CBP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and it only covers travel between the US and Canada, but it covers all three ways of making that trip: air, through self-serve kiosks at nine major airports; land, through dedicated vehicle lanes at 18 designated border crossings; and sea, through expedited reporting for boaters crossing the border.
If your travel is Miami to Paris, NEXUS does nothing for you. If it's Detroit to Windsor by car every week, Global Entry does nothing for you.
Cost: now identical
Both programs cost $120 for a five-year membership, non-refundable. Before October 1, 2024, Global Entry cost $100 and NEXUS cost $50. CBP raised both fees as part of what it described as harmonizing pricing across its Trusted Traveler Programs, and it was Global Entry's first fee increase in more than 15 years.
Children enrolled under a parent's membership don't pay a separate application fee under either program.
The interview: one appointment vs two
Global Entry requires a single interview appointment with a CBP officer, usually at a US enrollment center.
NEXUS requires two, because two governments have to sign off: one interview with CBP, one with CBSA. CBP and CBSA have offered applicants two ways to clear both. At land border enrollment centers, the two interviews can sometimes be combined into one joint session. Otherwise, applicants use a two-step process: book the CBSA interview online at a Canadian airport enrollment center, then complete the CBP interview separately at a Canadian preclearance location. That second leg doesn't require its own appointment, but it's worth budgeting extra time for it before a flight.
The extra step shows up in processing time too. Global Entry applications have typically moved through review in about four to six months, versus roughly 12 to 14 months for NEXUS, reflecting the second agency in the loop. Actual timelines shift with demand and staffing, so treat those as a rough sense of scale rather than a guarantee.
If the bottleneck you're trying to plan around is specifically Global Entry, live Global Entry wait times by enrollment center show how far out interview slots are running at each location.
Does one membership cover the other?
Partially, and only in one direction. NEXUS members automatically get Global Entry's kiosk benefits at no extra cost and no extra application, as long as their passport and fingerprints were collected at the NEXUS interview. In effect, NEXUS acts as a superset: land, sea, and air coverage for Canada, plus the Global Entry air benefit everywhere else.
Global Entry doesn't return the favor. It doesn't unlock NEXUS lanes at land crossings and doesn't grant NEXUS's marine benefits. Holding Global Entry also doesn't shorten the road to NEXUS. You still have to file the full, separate NEXUS application and sit through both required interviews. There's no fast track for existing Global Entry members.
Which one to apply for
If you never cross into Canada by land or water and just want faster US reentry after flying internationally, Global Entry covers that and nothing more is needed.
If you regularly cross the US-Canada border by car, boat, or plane, NEXUS is the better target: it includes Global Entry's air benefits and adds the land and sea coverage Global Entry doesn't touch. The tradeoff is a longer, two-agency process to get there.
Both programs sit under CBP's umbrella of Trusted Traveler Programs, alongside SENTRI and FAST, so the paperwork and interview mechanics share a lot in common even where scope diverges. For more on navigating enrollment centers and appointment timing, the Global Entry guide library covers the specifics.