Buy or rent a trade show booth
Whether to buy or rent a trade show booth comes down to one question: how often do you exhibit, and does the booth stay the same? Below is the trade-off without a sales pitch, with the costs that do and do not return.
When renting is smarter
Renting wins if you exhibit once a year, if the booth size differs per show, or if you do not yet know whether trade shows work for you. You pay per show for exactly the booth you need at that point, and you have no storage, no maintenance and no material that no longer matches your branding after three years.
Renting is also the logical choice for a one-off large booth, for example an anniversary edition or a product launch at a show where you normally take a smaller space. Everything we rent out and how it works is on trade show booth rental.
When buying pays off
Buying pays off if you exhibit two, three or more times a year with a booth that stays largely the same. You pay once for the construction, the frames and the custom elements; per show, only the costs for transport, setup and possibly new banners remain.
What you buy is then not a one-off wooden construction but a modular system of Aluvision frames. They are made to be set up and taken down dozens of times and can later be reconfigured to a different size. We store the booth for you between shows and set it up each time.
Rent or buy: the comparison
| Rent | Buy | |
|---|---|---|
| One show a year | Usually cheaper | Rarely pays off |
| Two or three shows a year | Possible, depending on the booth | Starts to pay off |
| More than three shows a year | More expensive over time | Usually cheaper |
| Booth size changes per show | Ideal | Only with a modular system |
| Storage between shows | Not needed | Needed; we arrange it |
| Maintenance and replacement | On us | On you, or through us |
| Branding changes | New banners at the next rental | New banners on the same frames |
| Ownership and depreciation | None | On your balance sheet |
The math, item by item
An honest comparison does not look at one show but at the whole series. With a purchased booth, these items do not return at a second show: the design, the frames and the construction, and the custom elements such as a counter or a built furniture piece.
These items do return every time, bought or rented: transport there and back, setup and teardown, the applications with the show organizer, and the banners if your message changes. Want the items in a row without the figures? Then trade show booth cost is the page you are looking for.
For most companies the break-even point lies somewhere between two and four shows with the same booth. Where exactly depends on the booth size and the amount of custom work. We will work that out for you if you give us the shows for the coming year.
A middle way: buy what stays, rent what changes
Most of our clients who exhibit more often choose a combination. They buy the base that returns every time (the frames, the walls, the counter) and rent per show what changes: an LED wall at one show, an extra meeting corner at another, a raised floor only where that is allowed and needed.
That gives you the advantage of ownership without a warehouse full of parts you only use once.
Buying booth walls or separate frames
You do not have to buy a complete booth right away. Buying booth walls or separate Aluvision frames is also possible, for example if you want to set up a small booth yourself or extend an existing booth. We supply the frames with or without print and explain how they fit together. Larger booths we prefer to build ourselves; that saves you a long day on the show floor.
A used or cheap trade show booth?
Anyone searching for a used trade show booth or a cheap trade show booth is usually looking for the same thing: a good booth without the price of one-off custom work. The answer is almost always a modular booth with new banners. The frames are by definition reused (that is exactly what they were made for), the banners are new and yours. Nobody on the show floor sees that as used, while you do pay the lower price.
What we advise against: a cheap booth of thin panels that no longer stands straight after one show. You end up buying that one twice.
What we recommend
Give us the shows for the coming year with the booth size per show. We will put renting and buying side by side for your situation, in items and in figures, and tell you honestly which of the two is cheaper for you. If that is renting, we will say so.