Free or paid networking events: how to cover your costs without scaring people off

Every networking organiser has the same argument with themselves. A free event fills the registration list, but half the people do not turn up and the catering bill is the same. A paid event covers the costs, but you worry it will put off the very people you want in the room: the newcomer, the sole trader, the person who has never been before.

There is no single right answer, but there is a good way to decide. Start with what the night costs, then pick the pricing that covers it with the least friction.

Start with what one night costs

Write down every cost before you think about the price. For a typical breakfast or after-work event that is:

• Room hire, or a minimum spend at the venue
• Catering per head, which is usually the biggest number
• Name badges, lanyards and printing
• A speaker’s gift or their parking
• Anything you pay for software, including your ticketing

Then split the costs into the fixed ones (the room, the speaker) and the ones that grow with every person (food, drinks, badges). That split decides most of what follows.

Here is an example, not a benchmark: a room at $300 and breakfast at $22 a head, for 40 people. The fixed cost is $300 and the per-head cost is $880, so the night costs $1,180, or $29.50 a person. A $30 ticket covers it if 40 people come. If only 30 come, you are short. The break-even calculator does this sum for your own numbers, and how many tickets do I need to sell to break even? walks through it.

When free works

Free works when someone else is paying and numbers do not cost you much.

• A sponsor covers the night. A bank, an accountant or a co-working space pays for the room and the food in return for a few minutes at the front and their name on the page. Invoice them directly, and give attendees a free ticket. See running a sponsored networking event with free entry.
• The venue wants the crowd. A bar that does well from a busy Tuesday may waive room hire if people buy their own drinks.
• You are building the group. A free first event can bring people in who will pay for the next one.

The risk with free is no-shows. A free ticket, rather than a form, already helps: it lands in the inbox with a date on it, and a reminder goes out before the event. A cap with a waitlist turns each cancellation into someone else’s seat. The detail is in stopping no-shows at a free networking event.

A free ticket should cost nobody anything. On One Ticket a free ticket carries no fee for anyone, and you do not need Stripe connected to run a free event. Some platforms treat a $0 ticket differently from a free event, so check whether free events are really free on the one you use.

When paid works better

Paid works when food is per head and you need to know the number. Even a small price changes behaviour: people who pay tend to come, or tell you they cannot. A ticket at roughly what the food costs is easy to explain, because it is visibly not a profit.

People are rarely put off by a fair price. They are put off by a surprise. So:

• Say what the ticket includes. “Breakfast, coffee and a speaker” makes $35 feel like a deal.
• Show the total early. On One Ticket the booking fee is added on top of your price. The event page says so next to the price, and the buyer sees the total, booking fee included, before they pay. A $35 ticket costs the buyer $36.88, and you receive the full $35.
• Keep the price round. A $30 or $35 ticket is easier to say out loud than $31.50.

Five ways to price a networking event

1. One price for everyone. The simplest. Good for a one-off event or a group without formal members. See how much to charge for event tickets.

2. Members and guests. Members pay less, guests pay more, and the guest price covers the difference. On One Ticket the members' price can be a secret ticket that only shows to people with an access code. See member and non-member pricing.

3. An early bird. A lower price that ends on a date, or once a number have sold. It brings bookings forward, which tells you sooner whether to book the bigger room. See setting up early-bird tickets.

4. A first-timer discount. A discount code for people who have never been. It keeps the price fair for regulars and lowers the step for newcomers. See adding a discount code to event tickets.

5. A subscription for regulars. If the same people come every month, let them pay monthly for the whole series and stop thinking about it. See paying weekly or monthly for a series of events.

Two more pricing choices are on our Pro and Team plans: absorbing the booking fee, so the buyer pays exactly your price and the fee comes out of what you receive, and pay what you want tickets, where the attendee chooses an amount above a minimum you set. Pro and Team are open now: upgrade any time in Settings › Plan. Limited-time offer: A$1 for your first year (first 100 organisers), then A$29/month for Pro or A$79/month for Team. Cancel anytime. On the Free plan the buyer pays the booking fee on top of a fixed price.

A middle path that works for many groups

Many groups end up with a mix:

• A free event once a quarter, paid for by a sponsor, to bring new people in.
• A paid monthly event at roughly the cost of the food, with a member price and a guest price.
• A discount code for first-timers, and a subscription for the regulars who never miss one.

That keeps the door open to newcomers without asking the regulars to fund everyone else’s breakfast.

What not to do

• Do not charge a profit you cannot explain. If the group needs money for its own running costs, say so on the page.
• Do not hide the price until checkout. Put it on the page and in every post.
• Do not change the price for people who already booked. Raise it for new bookings only.
• Do not decide from one bad month. Weather, school holidays and the end of the financial year all move numbers.

The short version

Cost out one night first. Make it free when a sponsor or venue is paying, and paid when catering is per head. Keep the price close to the cost, say what it includes, and use a member price, an early bird or a first-timer code rather than one price that suits nobody. The pricing page shows what the booking fee is at every price, and the cheapest way to sell tickets to a networking event compares it with other platforms.