How Much Does AV Cost for Events? A Complete Pricing Guide for 2026

Audio-visual production is one of the largest and least predictable line items in any event budget. A corporate conference organiser who has never hired AV services before might receive quotes ranging from $3,000 to $30,000 for what sounds like the same event — and without industry context, there is no way to know which number is reasonable. This guide breaks down real-world AV pricing by event size and equipment category so you can set a realistic budget before you start requesting quotes.

The single biggest factor driving AV cost is event size, but not in the way most planners expect. Doubling the audience does not double the AV bill — the relationship is more like a staircase with plateaus and jumps. A 50-person boardroom meeting requires a basic PA system, a projector or display screen, a couple of wireless microphones, and minimal lighting — a setup that typically costs between $1,500 and $4,000 depending on location and duration. Moving to a 150-person conference in a hotel ballroom introduces a significant step up: you now need a larger PA system with distributed speakers to cover the room evenly, a confidence monitor for presenters, possibly a stage set with branded backdrop, and a dedicated audio engineer. This configuration typically runs $6,000 to $15,000.

The 300-to-500-person range is where AV costs take their biggest jump. At this scale, you are no longer dealing with portable equipment that a single technician sets up in the morning — you are dealing with production infrastructure that requires advance rigging, dedicated crew, and often a full day of load-in before the event. A main stage LED video wall replaces the projector screen, a line array speaker system replaces the portable PA, intelligent lighting replaces basic wash fixtures, and the crew grows from one or two people to four or six. For a two-day corporate conference at this scale, expect AV costs between $18,000 and $45,000, with the range driven primarily by the quality of the LED wall, the complexity of the lighting design, and whether live streaming or recording is included.

PA systems and audio equipment form the foundation of every event AV setup, and their pricing follows relatively predictable patterns. A basic portable PA suitable for a meeting room or small conference — two speakers on stands, a small mixer, and two wireless microphones — costs $800 to $2,000 per day including setup. A mid-range system for a 200-to-300-person ballroom — four to six speakers with a dedicated mixing console, stage monitors, and a wireless microphone kit with four to eight channels — runs $2,500 to $6,000 per day. A large-format line array system for a 500-plus audience or outdoor event, with subwoofers, distributed delay speakers, and a digital mixing console, will cost $6,000 to $15,000 per day before crew. Audio crew — typically an audio engineer or A1 — adds $500 to $1,200 per day depending on the market and the complexity of the mix.

LED video walls have become the standard visual centrepiece for conferences and corporate events, replacing projection in most mid-to-large productions. LED wall pricing is calculated by the square metre, with costs depending on pixel pitch — the distance between individual LEDs, which determines image clarity at close viewing distances. A standard indoor LED wall with a 2.9mm pixel pitch, sized at roughly 4 metres wide by 2.5 metres tall, costs $2,500 to $5,000 per day. A larger wall at 6 by 3.5 metres runs $5,000 to $10,000 per day. Fine-pitch LED at 1.5mm or below — used when the audience is close to the screen and image quality is critical — costs significantly more, often $8,000 to $18,000 per day for a main stage configuration. These prices include the panels, processor, and rigging but not the content creation, which is a separate line item if you need custom graphics, motion backgrounds, or live camera feeds displayed on the wall.

Lighting is the area where planners most frequently underestimate costs and where the visual impact of proper investment is most dramatic. Basic stage lighting — front wash to ensure speakers are visible on camera and to the audience — costs $1,000 to $3,000 per day and is non-negotiable for any event with a stage. Moving head intelligent fixtures that create dynamic looks, colour changes, and dramatic effects for keynotes or award ceremonies add $3,000 to $8,000 per day depending on the quantity and fixture quality. Architectural and room lighting — washing the walls in brand colours, illuminating centrepieces, creating atmosphere in pre-function areas — adds another $2,000 to $6,000. A lighting designer to programme and operate the system costs $600 to $1,500 per day. The total lighting package for a well-produced 300-person conference typically falls between $5,000 and $15,000.

Crew costs are frequently underestimated because planners think of crew as an add-on rather than a core production requirement. Every piece of technical equipment needs someone to set it up, operate it during the event, and strike it afterwards. A small event might need one or two technicians; a large conference needs a team of four to eight. Day rates vary significantly by market: in major US cities, expect $450 to $800 per technician per day; in the UK, GBP 350 to GBP 650; in the Middle East, rates are comparable to US pricing. Specialist roles — audio engineers, lighting designers, video engineers, camera operators — command higher rates than general technicians, typically $600 to $1,200 per day. Overtime rates usually apply after 10 or 12 hours, and late-night load-outs or early-morning calls may incur premium charges. For accurate budgeting, assume a full crew day is 10 hours from call time to wrap, and build in a contingency of 15 to 20 percent for scope changes on the day.

Transport and logistics add a layer of cost that varies enormously based on venue location and equipment volume. Moving a small PA system in a van costs a few hundred dollars. Moving a full production rig in a 40-foot truck with a crew of loaders, rigging equipment, and a dedicated transport team can cost $2,000 to $5,000 each way. Venue-specific costs also apply: some hotels and convention centres charge rigging fees, power drops, loading dock access fees, or require union labour for load-in and load-out. These venue costs can add 10 to 25 percent to the AV budget and are often discovered late in the planning process. Ask your venue for a complete list of technical services charges before you finalise your AV budget.

The most effective way to get an accurate AV budget quickly is to describe your event in detail and receive an itemised estimate before you start requesting formal quotes. CueQuote does exactly this — you describe your event in plain language, including the venue type, audience size, what happens on stage, and any streaming or recording requirements, and the AI generates a detailed equipment list with estimated costs in under two minutes. This gives you a baseline to compare vendor quotes against, so you can identify whether a quote is competitive, inflated, or missing critical items. Having a reference budget before vendor conversations changes the dynamic from hoping the price is fair to knowing what fair looks like.

A practical rule of thumb for initial budgeting: allocate 15 to 25 percent of your total event budget to AV production for a standard corporate conference, with the percentage increasing for events where the stage production is a primary audience experience — award ceremonies, product launches, and gala dinners. For a simple meeting with basic presentation needs, 8 to 12 percent is typical. These percentages assume a professionally produced event with appropriate equipment and qualified crew — cutting below these ranges usually means compromising on either equipment quality or crew competence, both of which create risk on event day.

To put a number against your own event, our AV cost calculator turns a headcount and a production spec into an itemised range in a few seconds. If you are producing in London specifically, where crew, venue commissions and rigging behave differently from the national picture, see our London AV cost guide.