How many tickets do you need to sell to cover your costs? Free, no sign-up.
Add up everything the event costs. Subtract any money coming in that isn't tickets, like sponsors or vendor tables. Whatever's left is what tickets have to cover. Divide it by what one ticket brings in, round up, and that's your break-even.
Say your weekly social costs $425: $250 for the venue, $150 for the DJ and $25 in boosted posts. Tickets are $15. $425 divided by $15 is 28.3, so you need 29 people through the door. In an 80-person room that's about 36% full. That's a comfortable night.
Work backwards from the room. Put in your costs and how many people fit, then check the Price vs. turnout grid. Find the price where a normal night covers you, not your best night. Or put in the turnout you expect and What to charge gives you the price that breaks even. If that price is more than your scene usually pays, cut a cost before you raise it.
Most of your costs are fixed. The venue, the artists and their flights cost the same whether 20 people come or 200. That's why break-even matters. This calculator treats every cost as fixed. If something grows with each person, like food or wristbands, take it off your ticket price before you enter it.
Selling early-bird and regular tickets? Add each one as a ticket type and guess what share of sales it gets. The calculator averages them. Lots of cheap early birds means you need more people to break even.
It's your break-even tickets divided by how many people the room holds. 29 tickets in an 80-person room is 36%. Under half is comfortable for a weekly. Past 85% the calculator flags it, because one rainy night or a clash with another event and you're paying out of pocket.
Add up your costs, subtract any money that isn't tickets, like sponsors or vendor tables, and divide what's left by your ticket price. Round up. A $425 social with $15 tickets breaks even at 29 tickets.
Start from your break-even, then check the room. If you need more than about 85% of capacity to break even, raise the price, cut a cost, or find more income like a sponsor or vendor tables.
List every cost before you pick a price: venue, artists, their travel and lodging, DJ, marketing and a 10% buffer. Then see how many tickets cover it. If it's more than about 85% of the room, change something before you announce.
Aim to break even around half the room, so a slow week or a clash with another event doesn't sink you. Whatever sells past that is what pays for the next one.
No. Ticket and card fees aren't in the math, so leave a little room for them when you set your price.
Nothing is stored. Your numbers live in the page link, so copy it or bookmark it to come back later or share it with a co-organizer.
WhereCanWeDance's event budget. It tracks your real costs against live ticket sales as they happen. It's in beta with our Founding Organizers.