How Much Does a Booth at CES Cost?

Budgeting a booth for CES at Las Vegas Convention Center comes down to three things: booth size, how much custom build and LED you want, and the Las Vegas show costs that catch first-timers off guard (drayage, labor, electrical). Here are realistic 2026 ranges for an exhibit rental at CES.

That band covers the booth, graphics and show services below. It excludes the floor space itself, which you buy from the CES organiser.

What our LED costs at CES

Most companies quoting CES are reselling somebody else's panels and will not put a number in writing. We own and install ours, so here is the actual price list.

Posters join together into walls and the tower's panels build walls too, so an CES LED budget often starts as a poster count rather than a square-footage quote. On these rates buying pays back in roughly two shows — see the LED cost guide for the full rent-versus-buy arithmetic.

What CES exhibitors actually spend it on

CES is a consumer electronics & technology show with roughly 4,000+ exhibitors, and that changes where the money goes. Large fine-pitch LED video walls, LED towers, and 20x20+ island booths that read from across the hall.

Timing: CES runs each January, and a January show means your graphics and freight deadlines land in the middle of the holidays — print shops and carriers both run short weeks, so lock artwork in November.

• Custom vs. modular — a rental modular system costs far less than a fully custom build.
• LED video wall — fine-pitch LED is the biggest single upgrade (and the biggest traffic driver).
• Show services at Las Vegas Convention Center — Material handling (drayage) at the LVCC is billed per hundredweight by the show's official general contractor — published rates run from about $0.70 to $1.85 per lb depending on the show (CES 2027 lists $0.71, NAB 2026 listed $1.84), with weight minimums — so palletizing and advance-warehouse shipping save real money.
• Labor — The LVCC leans union, but it's largely up to each show's rules: a lot of display work — LED posters, SEG lightboxes, backwalls, fabric, ground-supported LED walls, and booth set/dismantle — can be exhibitor- or vendor-installed, while electrical beyond simple plug-in and any overhead rigging or hanging signs go to union trades (Teamsters, electricians & riggers). Confirm the specifics in your show's exhibitor manual.

The Las Vegas Convention Center line items exhibitors miss

These land on the official contractor's invoice rather than your booth vendor's, and they are where CES budgets break.

• Drayage is billed by weight, round trip — per hundredweight, with a minimum per shipment that is usually 200 lbs. Three 150 lb boxes bill as 600 lbs, not 450. The same freight on one pallet bills about 25% less, which is why everything we ship goes in rolling flight cases. Full breakdown in the drayage guide.
• Electrical is priced by your deadline — advance ordering typically runs 30–50% under floor pricing for the identical drop. Get your LED power draw in writing and order early.
• Docks and routing at Las Vegas Convention Center — The campus spans the West, Central, North and South halls with extensive docks; the West Hall offers dedicated ground-level drive-on access for vehicles and heavy equipment.
• Plan ahead — Order drayage, electrical and rigging early through the exhibitor kit — on-site and last-minute rates spike sharply.

Ways to cut your CES bill

• Consolidate freight into one shipment. Minimums are charged per shipment, so this costs nothing and is decided before anything leaves your building.
• Design for hand assembly. If your own staff is setting up, the working limit is no power tools and no ladders — a booth built to that rule is one you can install yourself. Posters, SEG lightboxes, backwalls and AV placement are generally yours to do; electrical beyond plug-in and anything hanging or ceiling-mounted is not. See the union labor guide.
• Rent the structure, own the LED. If CES is one of three or more shows you do a year, the LED pays for itself faster than the booth does.
• Lock graphics early. Artwork is the real clock on every rush job.

What CES charges you before you buy a single booth part

The number that surprises CES first-timers is not the booth — it is the floor underneath it. Space is billed by the square foot and paid to the Consumer Technology Association, not to your exhibit house, and it lands before anything else on this page.

So a 20x20 at CES starts around $19,000–$26,000 before you own a single panel. Put our 20x20 island band of $18,000–$45,000 on top of that and you have the real all-in figure — which is why quotes that look wildly different are usually answering different questions.

What CES actually gives you for the space

Straight from the organiser, and worth counting before you buy extras:

• Five exhibitor badges per 100 sq ft, minimum ten. A 20x20 island carries twenty badges — most teams never need to buy more.
• Up to 1,000 complimentary customer invitations, which is a real marketing line most exhibitors leave unused.
• Exhibitor directory listing and dashboard access.

The January problem, and Eureka Park

CES 2027 runs January 6–9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with overflow across the Venetian Expo and Strip properties. A January show means your graphics deadline and your freight deadline both fall inside the holidays — print shops and carriers run short weeks through late December, so artwork realistically has to be locked in November. That single date is the most common reason CES booths ship late and pay rush fees.

If you are early-stage, Eureka Park at the Venetian is the startup pavilion and carries substantially lower entry pricing than main-hall space. It is the one route into CES that does not start with a five-figure floor bill.

With 4,000+ exhibitors and 130,000+ attendees, CES is a visibility fight before it is a lead-generation one — which is why fine-pitch LED and height do more work here than floor area does.

Want an exact number for your booth size at CES? We'll send a free, itemized quote — usually same day. For the full line-by-line breakdown see our Las Vegas booth cost guide.

What it really costs to exhibit at CES: the landed total

Your booth vendor’s quote is one line of the bill. The rest lands on the organiser’s and the official contractor’s invoices, and it is where CES budgets break. Below is the whole bill by booth size, built only from figures the organiser or contractor has published; anything they have not published says so and is left out of the total rather than guessed.

10x10: 100 sq ft, 500 lb of freight, 6 labour hours, 1 outlet

10x20: 200 sq ft, 1,000 lb of freight, 12 labour hours, 2 outlets

20x20: 400 sq ft, 2,500 lb of freight, 32 labour hours, 3 outlets

20x30: 600 sq ft, 4,000 lb of freight, 48 labour hours, 4 outlets

The lever most exhibitors never touch: every extra 100 lb across the dock costs $71 at CES, round trip. A 20x20 that ships 1,000 lb lighter saves $710.

What the sources say about those figures:

• Floor space: Non-member rate; CTA member $48 per sq ft (membership within 60 days of contract; member rate not available after July 1, 2026; not all space eligible). Space of 399 sq ft and under includes drape, ID sign and two hours of electrical labour at the LVCC; 400 sq ft and up includes one hour of hanging-sign labour. Topline rates: final figures publish in the September exhibitor manuals.
• Material handling: LVCC topline rate, published per pound: $0.71 per lb for advance and direct shipments, 100 lb minimum, small packages free up to 30 lb; ARIA and Venetian suites $1.16 per lb. CES states material-handling rates stay flat from 2026 and Freeman rates rise 3%; final figures in the September manuals.
• Electrical: LVCC topline: 500-watt outlet $115.35 advance / $173.05 regular; 2000-watt/20-amp $243.10 / $364.60; electrical labour $128.35 straight time / $245.60 overtime. Preliminary until the September manuals.
• Labour: LVCC topline: installation and dismantle labour straight time $98.50 per hour, overtime $157.85; forklift with operator $202.75 / $288.80; stagehand $128.35 / $245.60. Straight-time hours not defined on the page; preliminary until the September manuals.

Assumptions are ours, not the show’s: Freight weight is the crated weight of a rental modular SEG or LED kit of that size, including counters and cases; your crate manifest governs and the drayage minimum applies per shipment. Labour hours are total install plus dismantle at straight time for a vendor-installed booth of that size; overtime and double-time premiums apply outside the contractor's straight-time window. Electrical is one 5-amp/120-volt outlet per lit element at the advance-order rate; an LED wall or tower needs its own circuit, which the kit prices separately. Change any of them in the landed-cost estimator. Rates marked as a range are the published range across recent shows at Las Vegas Convention Center; your exhibitor service kit governs.

Frequently asked

What is the total cost to exhibit at CES including drayage and labor?

For a 10x20 at CES, the published figures add up to roughly $19,723–$32,723: floor space from the organiser $10,600, exhibit rental $7,000–$20,000, material handling $710, electrical $231, install and dismantle labour $1,182. The full line-by-line table and the assumptions behind it are in the landed-cost section above.

How much is a booth at CES?

A 10x10 rental at CES typically runs $3,000–$9,000, a 10x20 $7,000–$20,000, and a 20x20 island $18,000–$45,000 — before show services like drayage and labor at Las Vegas Convention Center. We'll send an exact quote for your size.

Does the price include design?

Yes — design and renderings are included in your quote before you commit.

Is renting cheaper than buying?

For one or two shows, renting is almost always cheaper and simpler. If you exhibit often, owning a modular system can pay off — we'll show you both numbers.