Conference, gala dinner, product launch: before choosing an event agency in France, everyone wants to know how much it costs. The answer has two parts: what the agency charges for its own work (design, coordination, production) and what it buys on your behalf (venue, catering, artists, transport). Here is how to read a quote, the typical ranges and the questions to ask to compare agencies.
What you pay an event agency for
- Design: the idea, the event scenario, 3D set design, content.
- Coordination: the project manager who runs the schedule, the suppliers, the site visits and the show control on the day.
- Production: sets, furniture, sound, lighting, video, LED screens, filming.
- Services bought for you: venue, catering, drinks, artists, hosts, security, guest transport and accommodation.
The more an agency produces itself, the fewer intermediaries there are between you and the people who build. That is our case: our sets are built in our own workshop and our teams run the technology.
How agencies charge
Three models coexist, sometimes combined:
- A fixed fee for design and coordination.
- A percentage of the overall budget of the event.
- A margin on the services bought (venue, catering, equipment hire).
No model is better than another. What matters is transparency: a quote broken down item by item tells you what you are paying for and lets you compare agencies.
Typical costs
Excluding venue hire, producing a corporate event costs with us on average €120 to €700 excl. VAT per guest, with a minimum of about €15k excl. VAT. The low end is an evening or a plenary session with good sound and simple decor, the high end a staged conference with LED screens, filming and a show.
For a party of 200 guests, that means €24k to €140k excl. VAT before the venue, depending on the level of decor, technology and entertainment. The cost per guest falls as the number of guests rises: design, stage and show control are spread over more people.
What makes the price vary
- Number of guests and duration: an evening for 80 people and a two day conference for 1,500 are not produced the same way.
- City and period: Paris and the French Riviera during major events (Cannes Lions, MIPIM, the Monaco Yacht Show) cost more because venues are in high demand.
- The venue: an equipped venue costs less to produce than an empty one, even if its hire fee is higher. Our guide to event venues in Paris explains how to choose.
- Technology: LED screens, projection mapping, multi-camera filming and live streaming weigh heavily.
- Decor: custom made, rented or reused from one edition to the next.
- Lead time: a project launched late forces default choices and overtime.
Comparing quotes: the questions to ask
- Is the quote broken down item by item?
- Who builds the sets and who operates the technology: the agency or subcontractors?
- Who will be your single point of contact until dismantling?
- What is the plan B in case of bad weather or a technical problem?
- What are the cancellation terms of the venue and suppliers?
- Are insurance and security included?
The right quote is not the cheapest one: it is the one that says clearly what you get, and who builds it.
Our event agencies
We produce conferences, seminars, gala dinners and product launches for 50 to 3,000 guests: in Paris, in Lyon, in Marseille, in Cannes, in Monaco, across France and Europe. To plan an evening, read our guide to planning a corporate party in Paris, then tell us about your project: an English-speaking project manager will call you back within two working days.
