How Much Does a Hybrid Event Cost?

An introduction to hybrid events

A hybrid event blends the best of in-person and virtual events. They provide the human connection many crave with the comfort, convenience, and data-rich insights of virtual. But this dual experience does mean a more complex event build, as ultimately you are creating two separate events for your in-person and online audiences.

One of the common questions we get asked is ‘how much does a hybrid event cost?’ and that’s what we’re going to walk you through in this article.

As hybrid events are relatively new, there is still a bit of confusion around what they are. So, before we dive into the costs of hybrid events, let’s get on the same page as to what one is.

What is a hybrid event?

A hybrid event involves an in-person event with speakers and an audience in an event space, as well as a concurrent virtual event where the content from the in-person event is live streamed into the event platform for the online audience to view and engage with.

Virtual speakers may also make up part of the agenda and their content would be watched in real-time by the in-person audience as well as the online audience.

So now we’re on the same page about what a hybrid event is, let’s move on to the cost of producing one.

Where to start?

As with any event, the first strategic questions to consider are your event objectives, audience, budget, and resource allocation. Together, these will influence all the other factors that impact the overall cost.

These are also key questions that help us to quote for your event and design your event with you during our kick-off meeting. Find out more about what a hybrid event build entails, take a look at our blog about hybrid event production and key tech features.

As for the price, we use our live streaming packages as a base and then bolt on the additional crew and equipment needed to facilitate the virtual contributors. This brings our starting price for hybrid event production to £5,000 (ex VAT) and any additional bolt-ons start at £1,500 (ex VAT). Our packages always include a comprehensive team with all the required equipment, a site visit, speaker briefings, and tech rehearsals.

If you want to find out exactly what your hybrid event will cost, book a call with us for a same-day quote.

Hybrid event costs – the key price influencers

1. Duration

Our hybrid event solutions are based on a half-day or full-day event duration and this is, unsurprisingly, one of the biggest price influencers.

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2. Project timelines

The ideal time for hybrid event planning, building, and testing is 6 weeks unless it is a complex event build, in which case, the more time the better. We have worked to tighter timelines – 1 week is our record! – however, this requires additional resources, and therefore cost, in order to deliver to such short lead times.

3. Digital & physical asset design

Custom-branded event assets really make an event shine and make the virtual and in-person experience a seamless extension of your brand. The amount and type of event assets you need to create can be a big influencer of price.

We offer an optional add-on to our event packages for digital asset creation, which relate to the duration of your event, as this usually determines how many assets are needed.

Our static bespoke digital graphics are all designed by our team of graphic designers and include graphical overlays for panels, speaker presentations, and holding cards, which we use in between sessions while we transition between speakers. These start at £350 (ex. VAT).

If you’re looking to invest more in production, motion graphics and animation are a great way to elevate your brand further and make your event more dynamic. And if you need a hand with branding your event space, our design team can help with set and stage design, including custom elements and AV integration.

Please get in touch with us so we can provide you with a bespoke quote if this is something you are interested in.

digital-assets-hybrid-events

4. Event venue sourcing

Choosing the right venue is key to a successful event. Take a look at our blog ‘How to choose a venue for a hybrid event’ for more information on this topic. We partner with a range of venues across London and the UK, so we can quickly help you find the perfect space for your event.

Some of our favourites are Unlocked, Lumiere London, Convene, and Menier which are well-suited for hybrid events.

5. Hybrid event platform

This is where your online audience will enjoy the event experience, and if you’d like, it is where your in-person audience can interact with your online audience. Depending on your objectives and engagement strategy, you’ll want to choose a platform with all of the features you need to reach your objectives. Many platforms now include as standard;

Event registration
Polls, live chat, Q&A, AI-powered networking
Virtual sponsorship booths
Audience analytics
Multiple areas including stages and breakout zones

Event apps can be a nice way to connect the in-person and online experience with a shared agenda, content, and networking opportunities. If you’re on a tight budget, look for event platforms that work on a tiered pricing structure depending on attendee numbers, and/or features.

Quality platforms that include features such as these start around £3,000 – £5,000 per event.

If you’re planning an experiential event, you might want to consider a 3D event platform where your attendees can immerse themselves in the event experience. For platforms that cater to custom 3D views, expect to pay upwards of £10,000.

We work with many of the industry’s best event platforms and can offer unbiased advice as to which platform is best suited for your unique requirements and objectives. This saves you the time and hassle of researching and booking demos with platforms only to find they are unsuitable.

We’ll use the information you provide in the brief to advise on platforms if you haven’t already got one in mind.

6. Live production

Live streaming the content that is filmed at your in-person event allows your online audience to view it in real-time. For ease, we include the full live stream solution in our hybrid event services.

This includes live streaming and all the equipment, tech, conferencing platform, and live stream platform, as well as a live stream engineer, camera operator, and production manager.

This ensures a flawless live stream experience with a team on the ground covering both the in-person and virtual elements, ready to troubleshoot any tech issues on the day. If you need extra stage coverage, crew, or cameras, we will simply add this to your itemised project costs.

7. Audio Visual (AV)

As a top event production company, our packages include industry-leading AV equipment, and we work with the venue and its technical team to ensure everything is covered. If your chosen venue does not have any AV equipment or team on site, we can provide everything you may need.

We can supply video walls, projectors, TVs, microphones, laptops, clickers, etc. which can all be added as optional itemised extras.

In conculsion...

Hybrid events tick many boxes. They are brilliant platforms for creative, experiential events, they can be a more sustainable option for your global audience and international speaker list, and they also have many inclusive benefits.

As more event organisers put hybrid events firmly into their event strategies, we think they’re going to become one of the most popular event formats moving forward.

While there are a number of variables that can influence price, we like to keep pricing simple and transparent, so we work off our package pricing, with itemised extras that can be added on.

When we discuss your event brief, we’ll walk you through each of these elements and prepare a same-day, itemised quote specific to your event requirements, so there’s no ambiguity over what you are paying for.

If you need a hand producing your hybrid event, please get in touch with our team.