TarjeoTarjeo

Free tool

Trade show ROI calculator.

Find out whether a trade show paid off, or whether it will before you pay for the booth. Enter what it cost and what came out of it, and get the return, the cost per lead and how many deals you need to break even. Free, no sign-up, and your figures never leave your browser.

This is sample data. Replace it with your show's figures and the result updates as you type.

What the show cost

Total cost€14,000

What came out of the show

Trade show ROI

114%

The show has paid for itself and left €16,000 net. For every €1 invested, €2.14 came back.

Net profit
€16,000
Revenue from the show
€30,000
Cost per lead
€117
Cost per deal
€2,333
Conversion
5%
Deals to break even
3

The calculation runs in your browser. No data is stored or sent anywhere.

The formula

How to calculate trade show ROI

ROI compares what a show gave back with what it cost you. It takes three steps.

  1. 1

    Add up everything it cost

    Space, booth, travel, staff, materials and the rest. Everything you would not have spent if you had not gone.

  2. 2

    Add up what it generated

    The value of the deals that came out of the show. For a sharper figure, just the margin on those sales.

  3. 3

    Apply the formula

    Subtract the cost from what it generated and divide by the cost. Multiply by a hundred and you have the percentage.

The formula

ROI = (revenue generated − cost) ÷ cost × 100

A made-up example

The show cost €14,000 across space, booth, travel, staff and materials. Six deals worth €30,000 came out of it. The ROI is (30,000 − 14,000) ÷ 14,000 × 100, which is 114%. For every euro invested, €2.14 came back.

Costs

Which costs to include in trade show ROI

The most common mistake is leaving costs out, above all the team's time. The ROI looks great and it isn't real.

  • Floor space

    The square metres you rent from the organiser.

  • Booth and build

    Design, construction, furniture and dismantling.

  • Travel and accommodation

    Getting the whole team there, and their hotel.

  • Staff and expenses

    The team's hours at the show and their daily costs.

  • Materials and samples

    Brochures, product samples and giveaways.

  • Registration

    Fees, the official catalogue listing and badges.

  • Shipping

    Sending your products and the booth itself.

  • Promotion

    Invitations, campaigns and advertising around the show.

Beyond ROI

Other metrics that tell you whether a show works

Cost per lead

What the show cost divided by the leads you captured. Useful for comparing it with other ways of winning customers.

Cost per deal

What each customer you closed at the show cost you. It is that show's customer acquisition cost.

Conversion

How many of the leads turned into deals. If it is low, the problem is usually the follow-up, not the show.

Deals to break even

How many average-sized deals it takes to pay for the show. The most useful figure before you decide whether to go.

Return over several months

In B2B sales many deals close later. Work it out again a few months on.

With Tarjeo

The ROI of every show, calculated for you

The calculator works for one show. If you go to several a year, keeping track in a spreadsheet ends up being yet another task.

  • Every contact you scan stays linked to the show where you met them.
  • Deals that come out of the show are marked on the contact, with their value.
  • You enter what each show cost and Tarjeo calculates the return on each one.
  • You compare shows and editions with each other, and download it all in the team's Excel report.

Return per trade fair

  • Alimentaria 2026+150%
  • Fruit Attraction 2025+62%
  • SIAL Paris 2024-18%
Made-up figures, real trade fairs.

Questions about trade show ROI

Subtract what the show cost from what it generated, then divide the result by what it cost. If a show cost €14,000 and brought in €30,000 in deals, the ROI is (30,000 − 14,000) ÷ 14,000, which is 114%.
There is no single figure that applies to everyone, because it depends on your margins and on how long it takes to close a sale in your industry. At the very least it should be positive, meaning the show paid for itself. Beyond that, the useful thing is to compare it with your other shows and with what it costs you to win customers through other channels.
Every cost you would not have if you did not go. The space, the booth and its build, travel, accommodation and meals, the team's time, materials and samples, registration and shipping. If you leave out the team's time, the ROI looks higher than it really is.
That is normal in B2B sales. Record which show each contact came from and recalculate the ROI a few months later, adding the deals that came out of it. In Tarjeo every contact stays linked to the show where you met them, so you always know which show each customer came from.
On margin is more accurate, because a €10,000 sale with a 30% margin leaves you €3,000, not €10,000. The calculator does this if you fill in the gross margin. If you leave it empty, it calculates on sales, which is what most people do.

Let your trade show ROI calculate itself

Scan at the booth, mark the deals that come out of it and get the return on every show without spreadsheets.

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Want more leads from your next trade show? Trade show lead capture guide