Costs by booth size
100 sq ft — costs, design & options
200 sq ft — costs, design & options
400 sq ft — costs, design & options
600 sq ft — costs, design & options
900 sq ft — costs, design & options
1600 sq ft — costs, design & options
Costs by booth type
From the blog
Deep-dive articles that expand on the playbooks above.
Island exhibits at 20x20 have very different economics than inline booths. Here's what to budget across rental and custom builds.
The number nobody quotes you up front — the per-year cost of owning a custom booth.
Same booth, different cities, very different invoices. Here's how the major US show cities compare.
Use per-square-foot benchmarks to sanity-check vendor quotes for any booth size.
A clear, line-item breakdown of what a 10x10 booth costs in 2026 — rental, custom, graphics, shipping, I&D, and drayage.
You don't need a 30×30 island and a coffee bar to win a show. Here's how scrappy exhibitors out-perform booths that cost 10x more.
What drayage actually is, how it's calculated, and the practical strategies for cutting your material-handling bill.
A size-by-size breakdown of real booth costs — rental and custom — plus the line items most quotes quietly leave out.
Drayage, rigging, electrical, internet, lead retrieval, and the other line items that quietly add 30–50% to a booth quote.
The rent-vs-buy break-even is closer to 3–4 shows than the 2 most builders quote — here's the honest math.
A complete budget structure with line items, typical ranges, and the contingency math that prevents surprises.
The 5 line items worth premium spend and the 5 worth cutting — based on what actually moves pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
Why do booth quotes vary so much?
Material grade, modular vs custom build, in-house vs subcontracted I&D, freight model, and graphics scope. Apples-to-apples requires a written scope document, not just dimensions.
What's usually NOT in a booth quote?
Drayage, electrical, rigging, cleaning, lead retrieval, internet, freight, and storage between shows. These can add 30–50% to the headline number.
Should I rent or buy?
Rent if you're exhibiting <3 times per year or testing a market. Buy custom if you're committed to 4+ shows over 2–3 years and your booth design supports modular reuse.