---
title: "Guest List Cost Calculator | Ticket Fairy Free Tools"
description: "Enter your guest list size, ticket price and bar share. See the sales you may give up, what comes back through the bar and whether guests pay their way."
canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/guest-list-cost-calculator"
---

# Guest List Cost Calculator | Ticket Fairy Free Tools

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    Event Organizers · No signup required

# Guest List Cost Calculator

Find out whether your guest list pays its way or costs you money. Enter your names, plus-ones, ticket price and who receives the bar money, and see the ticket sales you may give up next to the bar money that reaches you.

## Your guest list

Enter the names you plan to agree to, your ticket price and who receives the bar money.

   Currency    Guest list names you agree to  Each name you approve, before any plus-ones.   Average people per name  “Actually there’s four of us.” If half your names bring one extra person, enter 1.5.   Ticket price $ The price a buyer would pay for the same entry.   How well will the event sell without guests?  This sets the next field. You can change it.   Guests who take a place you could have sold % Sold out: every place could have been sold. Not selling out: only guests who would have bought a ticket anyway.   Average bar spend per guest $ What one guest spends on drinks during the night.   Share of bar takings you receive % Many promoters hiring a venue receive none of the bar.   Bar margin % What is left of each drink sale after stock costs. If the venue buys the stock and pays you a cut of takings, enter 100.   Cost you pay per guest $ Wristband, venue per-head charge or anything else you pay for each person inside.

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### Run this with live data

Connect this calculation to your event sales, add-ons and check-ins in Ticket Fairy, then follow the results in a live dashboard instead of a one-off snapshot.

 [See the platform](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/)

### Other free tools

- [Event Break-Even Calculator How many tickets do I need to sell to cover my costs?](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/event-break-even-calculator)
- [Ticket Fee Calculator Pass fees on, absorb them, or price to a target.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/ticket-fee-calculator)
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- [Bar & F&B Revenue Calculator Project bar and food revenue per head.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/bar-revenue-calculator)
- [Venue Hire Rate Estimator Price your venue like the pros.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/venue-hire-rate-calculator)
- [No-Show & Walk-Up Rate Estimator Know how many seats will actually be filled.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/no-show-rate-estimator)
- [Event Marketing Budget Calculator How much to spend, where to spend it.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/marketing-budget-calculator)
- [Promoter & Affiliate Commission Calculator Model promoter payouts without a spreadsheet.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/promoter-commission-calculator)
- [Event Cash Flow Planner Will the money be there when each bill is due?](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/event-cash-flow-planner)
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### Embed this tool +

Free to use on any site. Links back with an attribution line.

           TL;DR

A guest list pays for itself only when the bar money that reaches you is bigger than the ticket sales the guests displace plus what you pay per head. If you hire a venue and receive none of the bar, 20 names that grow to 30 people at a £20 event that nearly sells out can cost you about £300 in sales, however much they drink. A venue owner who keeps a 70% margin on £87 of drinks per guest comes out well ahead on the same list.

## When does a guest list pay for itself?

A free ticket has two sides. On one side are the tickets you might have sold to the people who took those places. On the other side is the money guests spend inside that reaches you. The guest list pays for itself when the second number is bigger than the first, after you add any cost you pay for each person, such as a wristband or a venue per-head charge.

Two facts decide the answer. First, would the place have been sold? At a sold-out show, every place you give away is a ticket you cannot sell, so each guest costs you the full ticket price. At a show that will not sell out, most guests take a place that would have stayed empty, and a free guest costs you close to nothing in tickets. Second, who receives the bar money? If it is not you, the guest’s drinks do nothing for your costs.

The calculator starts from your answer about sell-through: 100% of guests take a sellable place if you will sell out, 50% if you will come close and 15% if you won’t sell out. Change the figure if you know your guests better. A regular who buys for every night would likely buy again; a friend of the DJ would not.

## Who receives the bar money, and why it changes the answer

The same guest list can cost a promoter money and make a venue owner money. The difference is the deal. Find your situation in the table and enter the matching figures in the calculator. The ranges are directional starting points, not published benchmarks: use the figures in your own contract.

| Your situation | Share of bar takings you receive | Bar margin to enter | What guests’ drinks do for you |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Promoter hiring a venue that runs the bar | 0% | Any (no effect) | Nothing. The venue keeps it all. |
| Promoter with a bar split or bar bonus in the hire deal | 10–30% | 100% (the venue buys the stock) | A small amount per guest |
| Promoter on a dry hire who runs the bar | 100% | 60–75% | Most of each drink after stock costs |
| Venue owner running your own night | 100% | 65–80% | Most of each drink after stock costs |
| Festival with bars run by concession traders | Commission on takings, often 15–30% | 100% | Your commission only |
| Festival with a flat pitch fee per bar | 0% (the fee is fixed) | Any (no effect) | Nothing extra per guest |

If your deal has a minimum bar spend and your night is short of it, guests who drink help you reach it, so the calculator will understate their value. To estimate total bar takings for a night, use the [bar revenue calculator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/bar-revenue-calculator).

## The plus-one creep problem

It starts with “Any chance of guest list?” Then “Can I get a +1?” Then “Actually there’s four of us.” Then “And my friend’s a DJ.” You agreed to one name and four people are at the door. That is why the calculator asks for the average number of people per name. If 20 names become 30 people, every figure grows by half: the places used, the sales you may give up and your per-head costs.

People who don’t turn up do not reduce the cost at a sold-out show. The place was held for them, so it could not be sold. Comp and guest list no-shows commonly run at 25–40%; the [no-show rate estimator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/no-show-rate-estimator) shows the range for your event type.

## Artists, press, sponsors and contract tickets are different from favors

Do not count every free ticket as a lost sale. Tickets that an artist, a sponsor, the press or a partner receive because a contract says so are part of the cost of the booking or the deal, not a favor you chose to grant. Put them in your budget once, alongside the fee, and leave them out of this calculator. Enter only the discretionary names: friends, friends of friends and people who ask.

The exception is when a contract ticket also takes a place you could have sold at a sold-out show. It still costs you that sale, so count it when you plan capacity and your [break-even point](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/event-break-even-calculator).

## How to set allocations per partner and let door staff check them

In Ticket Fairy, you set this up with a delegation. A delegation gives a team member, sponsor, partner, artist manager or other contact a pool of tickets with a maximum quantity for each ticket type. The partner either issues free tickets straight away or sends invitations that guests redeem themselves, through their own portal with no dashboard login. You can give and remove access at any time, set an expiry date and see who issued each ticket.

Guest tickets are real tickets, so door staff scan them with the Entry Fairy app like any other entry. Staff sign in with their own team login and see whether each ticket is valid, instead of comparing screenshots of messages. After the night, the event summary splits comp tickets from paid sales, so you can see how many places your guest list really used. See the [ticket scanning app](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/ticket-scanning-app) and [night club ticketing](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/night-club-ticketing-software) pages for more.

## A guest list policy you can share

A short written policy makes “no” easier to say and gives door staff a rule to point to. Adapt this template and send it to artists, partners and your door team before the night:

- **Cut-off time:** names close at 6pm on the day of the event. Late requests buy a ticket.
- **Named guests only:** each guest is listed under their own name. No “Sam + friends”.
- **Plus-one rules:** a plus-one is only allowed if it is on the list. Door staff do not add people at the door.
- **Arrival time:** guest list is valid until a set time, for example 11pm. After that, guests pay the door price.
- **Allowance per partner:** each artist, sponsor or partner has a fixed number of guests and manages their own names.
- **Exceptions:** only one named person can approve an extra guest at the door. Everyone else says no.

  Worked example

#### Club night, £20 ticket, £87 of drinks per guest

A promoter hires a club for a night that will likely come close to selling out. They agree to 20 guest list names, and the names bring an average of 1.5 people each. Tickets are £20. Guests are expected to spend £87 each at the bar. The venue keeps all of the bar. The venue charges £1 per head for every person inside.

- Places used: 20 × 1.5 = 30 people.
- Ticket sales you may give up: 30 × 50% × £20 = £300.
- Bar money that reaches you: 30 × £87 × 0% × 70% = £0.
- Per-guest costs: 30 × £1 = £30.
- Net result for the promoter: £0 − £300 − £30 = −£330.
- Bar share needed to break even: £330 ÷ (30 × £87 × 70%) = £330 ÷ £1,827 = 18.1%.

Now the venue owner runs the same night and keeps 100% of the bar at a 70% margin. Bar money that reaches them: 30 × £87 × 100% × 70% = £1,827. Net result: £1,827 − £300 − £30 = +£1,497. Same guests, same drinks, opposite answer. Choose GBP in the calculator and enter these figures to check them.

## Common guest list mistakes

1. **Counting the guest’s bar spend as your money.** “They’ll spend £87 inside” only helps you if your deal pays you part of the bar. Check your hire agreement before you say yes.
2. **Treating every free ticket as a lost sale.** At a show that won’t sell out, most guests take places that would have stayed empty. Counting them at full price makes a guest list look far more expensive than it is.
3. **Forgetting that places run out.** At a sold-out show, the opposite is true: every guest, including one who never arrives, takes a place a buyer wanted.
4. **Agreeing to names without a number.** “Put a few people down” becomes eleven guests at the door. Give every partner a fixed allowance.
5. **Mixing contract tickets with favors.** Artist, sponsor and press tickets belong in the deal’s budget. Keep them separate so you can see what your discretionary list really costs.
6. **Leaving exceptions to whoever is on the door.** Name one person who can approve an extra guest, and tell the door team who it is.

### Further reading

- [Companion tool: bar revenue calculator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/bar-revenue-calculator)
- [Companion tool: no-show rate estimator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/no-show-rate-estimator)
- [Companion tool: event break-even calculator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/event-break-even-calculator)
- [Ticket scanning app for door teams](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/ticket-scanning-app)
- [Night club ticketing](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/night-club-ticketing-software)

## Frequently asked questions

  How much does a guest list cost a promoter?

Multiply the people on your guest list by the share of them who take a place you could have sold, then by your ticket price, and add anything you pay per head such as wristbands. Subtract the part of their bar spend that reaches you. For example, 30 people at a £20 event that nearly sells out, with none of the bar and a £1 per-head charge, cost about £330.

   Is a guest list worth it if guests spend money at the bar?

Only if you receive part of the bar money. Many promoters who hire a venue receive none of it, so guests' drinks do not reduce what the guest list costs them. A venue owner or a promoter who runs the bar keeps most of each drink after stock costs, so the same guests can bring them more than the tickets they displace.

   Should I count every free ticket as a lost sale?

No. At a show that won't sell out, most guests take a place that would have stayed empty. At a sold-out show, every place you give away is a ticket you cannot sell. Tickets that artists, press, sponsors or partners receive under a contract are part of that deal's cost, so leave them out of your favors list.

   How do I stop plus-ones growing my guest list?

Agree names only, with a fixed number of guests per artist or partner, and close names at a set time on the day. Tell door staff that a plus-one is only allowed if it is on the list and name one person who can approve exceptions. The calculator's people per name field shows what plus-one creep costs you.

   What share of the bar do I need for a guest list to break even?

Divide the ticket sales you may give up plus your per-guest costs by the guests' total bar spend multiplied by the bar margin. With 30 guests, £300 of displaced sales, £30 of per-head costs, £87 of drinks each and a 70% margin, you need about 18.1% of the bar.

   How do I give artists and sponsors their own guest list allocation?

In Ticket Fairy you create a delegation: a pool of tickets with a maximum quantity per ticket type for a partner. They issue free tickets or send invitations from their own portal without a dashboard login, you can remove access or set an expiry date at any time, and every ticket they issue is recorded. Door staff scan the guest tickets like any other ticket.

Reviewed and updated September 2026 by the [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/about) events data team. Benchmarks in this tool are directional — for real-time analytics against your own event history, use [Ticket Fairy Intelligence](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/).

---

This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)