Every meeting planner knows that keynote speaker fees are all over the place. They can range from literally free to six-figure sums. This article is intended to help meeting planners understand the keynote fee structure in order to find the right speaker for your next event.
There are five fee tiers every meeting planner should be aware of:
Free or ‘expenses only’
These speakers are usually brand-new to the industry’, or they are industry experts who are invited to speak as a breakout session leader. They have few online resources and may not even have a dedicated speaking website. You should expect to get what you’re paying for at this level, although there is certainly a chance that you’ll find a very talented speaker who’s just getting their start. But talented speakers who want to take their speaking career to the next level don’t say in the ‘free or expenses-only’ category for very long.
$1,000-$10,000
These speakers are sufficiently developed to have turned speaking into a career, or at least a promising side hustle. You should expect to see marketing materials (speaker websites, videos, etc.) that are good but not necessarily high-end in their production value. Most of these speakers are solopreneurs and will be handling every element of their speaking business on their own. You should be confident that these speakers will deliver a solid presentation, but they probably don’t have bestselling books or a viral TED talk.
$10,000-$20,000
This is the fee range that most professional keynote speakers inhabit. You should expect robust testimonials, a polished website, professionally-edited speaking videos, and perhaps some published books or a regular podcast. Many of these speakers will have managers, assistants, and other staff to ensure that your booking experience is smooth and professional. Occasionally you will find individuals who have found success in other areas of business (e.g. successful entrepreneur, popular blog) entering the speaking world at this fee range. But for this price, you should expect someone with years of experience who will deliver a thoughtful, impactful, and polished presentation.
$20,000-$50,000
Speakers at these fees almost always have some asset to justify charging such high prices – decades of speaking or business experience, bestselling books, popular podcasts, viral online content, or truly unique and compelling stories. Many of them have other successful businesses and are not dependent on speaking fees as their primary source of income, which allows them to set high fees to limit the amount of jobs they accept. Most of the speakers in this fee range are not household names, but you can and should expect a top-notch experience delivered by a consummate professional.
Celebrity Status ($50,000+)
These people are household names in one way or another – high-profile athletes or political figures, former CEOs of major companies, actors and influences with millions of followers, etc. Ironically, speakers in this fee range are not necessarily better on stage than those at lower fees, especially those whose success has resulted from efforts that don’t involve delivering presentations to audiences. But in many cases, they’re able to ask for such high prices because of the prestige they can bring to an event.
