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Trade show ROI calculator.
Organisers quote the space rate. The real number is 3–4× that. Put honest figures in the seven lines below and see your true cost per lead, the deals you need to break even, and whether the show is worth it — before you sign anything.
Calculator
What it costs
The full checklist — including the lines first-timers forget.
What it returns
Be conservative here — the floor always feels better than the close rate.
Your show, in numbers
True total cost
$17,500
3.5× your space rental
Cost per lead
$117
Deals to break even
6
Projected deals
6.0
Projected revenue
$48,000
Projected ROI (on gross profit)
+10%
Gross profit ($19,200) vs total cost. Excludes the lifetime value of accounts you open — most shows pay off on the reorders.
What a trade show actually costs
Space rental is the number on the organiser's rate card — and it is only a quarter to a third of what you will really spend. The rest hides in six other lines: building or renting the booth itself, shipping it to the venue, drayage (the show contractor's fee to move your crates from the dock to your square of carpet, billed by weight), electricity and internet that cost multiples of retail, show-week hotel rates, and the collateral you hand out.
That is why experienced exhibitors budget 3–4× the space rate before deciding a show is worth it. If the calculator above shows your total at less than 2.5× your space line, something is probably missing — usually freight, drayage, or the real cost of having people out of the office for a week.
The return side has one honest lever: how many of the conversations you have on the floor actually make it into follow-up. Industry surveys put the loss rate at a third or more — badge scans that never sync, card stacks that never get typed up, notes that stop making sense by Thursday. Raising captured leads from 100 to 150 at the same booth cost cuts your cost per lead by a third without spending another dollar.
Common questions
How much does a 10×10 trade show booth really cost?▼
Plan on $12,000–18,000 all-in at a mid-size US show. Space rental ($3,000–6,000) is only the start — booth build, freight, drayage, show services, travel at show-week hotel rates, and collateral routinely triple or quadruple it. Budgeting only the space rate is the most common first-timer mistake.
What is drayage, and why is it so expensive?▼
Drayage (material handling) is the fee the show contractor charges to move your freight from the loading dock to your booth and back — billed by weight, often $1–3 per pound with minimums. A modest booth's crates can cost $1,500+ each way. It surprises almost every new exhibitor, which is why it gets its own line in this calculator.
What is a good cost per lead at a trade show?▼
US B2B averages run roughly $100–200 per trade-show lead once you count the full booth cost. Under $100 is strong; over $300 usually means either too few captures or too much booth. The bigger lever is capture rate — most booths lose a third of their conversations because badge scans and card stacks never make it into a follow-up system.
How do I calculate trade show ROI?▼
Total cost ÷ (deals × average deal value × gross margin). This calculator does it live: it sums the seven real cost lines, applies your close rate to expected leads, and shows projected gross profit against cost — plus how many deals you need just to break even.
Why should I budget 3–4× the space rental?▼
Because space is typically only a quarter to a third of the true cost of exhibiting. The rest is build, freight, drayage, services, staffing, and travel. If the space quote is $5,000, a realistic total is $15,000–20,000 — decide whether the show is worth it against that number, not the quote.
The cheapest line in the whole budget
Show scanners rent for $300–800. BoothBot is free for your first 24 hours.
Photograph a business card in WhatsApp, Telegram, or WeChat — it lands structured in a Google Sheet you own, whether or not you ever pay us. Every card that makes it into the sheet lowers the cost per lead you just calculated.
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