Trade show ROI calculator: will this show pay for itself?

Put in what the booth costs and what a new customer is worth. The calculator tells you how many new customers the show has to produce in its first year to break even.

Tool · Trade Show ROI Calculator

Example inputs. Change any of them.

Customers needed to break even

Total cost: $52,000
Cost per lead: $433
Customers expected: 9.6
Year-one gross profit: $138,240

You expect 9.6 new customers against 4 needed: the show pays back in year one.

How the math works

Total cost: Booth and show fees plus travel and staff.
Cost per lead: Total cost divided by qualified leads.
Customers expected: Qualified leads times your lead-to-customer rate.
Customers needed to break even: Total cost divided by the gross profit on one first-year order (order value times gross margin), rounded up to a whole customer.
Year-one gross profit: Customers expected times the gross profit on one first-year order.

It counts first-year gross profit only. If your customers reorder for years, the show is worth more than this says; if your sales cycle runs longer than a year, the first-year number will look worse than the show really is. Use your own close rate from past shows if you have one.

For the full method with real 2027 prices, read our trade show ROI worksheet.

Picking the show first? See the 2027 manufacturing trade show calendar.