If you’ve ever tried to budget for event AV without a clear brief in place, you’ll know the problem.
With different suppliers, the same event can have quotes that look very different from each other. It’s hard to know which one is right.
Our honest answer is that event AV doesn’t have a fixed price or a fixed solution – it depends on things like your audience size, venue, format and crew requirements (we’ve broken those down in detail here if you want the full picture). What we’re covering in this guide is the bit that trips people up just as often: how to actually build the budget, brief your suppliers, and compare what comes back.
Start with the brief, not the number
It’s tempting to start budgeting with a figure in mind and work backwards. In practice, that’s how budgets end up wrong in both directions – too tight for what you actually need, or padded out because nobody was sure what to ask for..!
A brief doesn’t need to be a technical document. It just needs to cover your audience size, your venue, your format (keynote, panels, breakouts, hybrid), and anything non-negotiable – branding, live streaming, a particular technical moment you want to land. Everything else, a good AV partner can help you shape.
Bring your AV partner in early
AV is often one of the last things to be properly costed, which is exactly why it’s one of the most common sources of budget surprises. A rough figure gets held in reserve, the brief evolves, and by the time quotes are sought, the gap between what was expected and what’s actually needed can be significant.
The most effective approach is to bring your AV and production partner into the conversation early – ideally while the format is still taking shape, not after the venue is confirmed and the agenda is locked. That way, the AV requirement gets scoped properly alongside everything else, and the budget is built on a realistic picture rather than an estimate.
Build in contingency
Even with a solid brief, events move. A speaker adds a video at the last minute, the room layout changes, or the client wants an extra screen for sponsor branding. Building a contingency of around 10-15% into your AV budget from the outset means these changes don’t derail the whole plan – and you’re not making decisions under pressure two days before the event.
What to ask for when you’re getting quotes
A clear brief gets you a meaningful quote. The more specific you can be about your event format, expected audience size, venue, content requirements, and any streaming or hybrid elements, the more accurately a supplier can cost the work.
It also means you can compare quotes on a like-for-like basis – which is where having an accurate brief (or at least an independent perspective on it) really pays for itself.
How to compare quotes fairly
Two quotes for “the same” event can look wildly different, and price alone rarely tells you why. Before you compare on cost, check what’s actually included:
- Crew hours – is setup, the live day, and strike – change to derig all covered, or just the show itself? (Often broke down further to crew, technical crew, and show technicians
- Contingency kit – is backup equipment included? Site visits – has the supplier seen your venue?
The cheapest quote on paper isn’t always the cheapest once you know what’s missing from it.
Getting the right AV for your event
AV doesn’t need to be the most stressful line in your budget. With the right conversation at the right stage of planning, it becomes a clearly scoped element of a well-run event – not a last-minute unknown.
If you’re starting to build your budget and you’d like a conversation about what your event might need, we’re happy to talk it through.
