Event staff cost calculator: your price in 60 seconds

All prices net per person, minimum 5 hours a day. Night hours after 10 pm cost 4 € more, public holidays 5 €. Businesses based outside Germany usually pay the net price, see the next section. Your exact price is in the calculator, with your date and your venue.

Exhibiting at Messe Berlin, running a brand event or holding a company offsite in Berlin, with your company based abroad? The calculator handles that. Choose “Business” in the last step and enter your billing address abroad. It then asks for your VAT ID and who receives the service, and puts the right VAT into the quote.

• EU business with a VAT IDno German VATReverse charge: you account for the VAT in your own country. When you submit, the calculator checks your VAT ID with the German Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), name included.
• Business outside the EUno German VATUK, Switzerland, US and the rest: the service is not taxable in Germany. Between businesses, the place of supply is where your business is established (§ 3a (2) German VAT Act), not where the event is.
• German branch of a foreign company19 % VATTreated like any German client. In the calculator, answer “Who receives the service?” with the branch in Germany.
• Private client19 % VATWherever you live. Every price shows the amount including VAT next to the net price.
• Billing address abroad100 % upfrontFull payment before we confirm staffing for your event (§ 14 of our terms). It is our standard for international clients and secures your team for the date.

• Quote and e-mails in English: this page opens the calculator in English, and the PDF quote follows. Briefings and invoices in English on request.
• All of our staff speak German, most of them also English, at no extra charge. Put the language your guests use into “What else should we know?”.
• We are licensed for temporary agency work (AÜG): your team may direct the staff on site, while employment contracts, payroll and insurance stay with us. A service contract is also possible.

The full picture, including the two ways a foreign company can get people onto a stand in Germany: hiring temporary staff in Germany as a foreign company. Exhibiting at IFA, ITB or InnoTrans? See staff for IFA, ITB and InnoTrans.

Mostly it comes down to the food: a plated dinner needs several times the service of a buffet. Our guide values for 100 guests:

• 9 to 10waiting staff for a plated dinner
• 4waiting staff for a buffet
• 3 to 4waiting staff for finger food
• 2waiting staff, drinks only
• 1 to 2bar staff pouring drinks
• 2 to 3bartenders for cocktails
• 1 to 2cloakroom staff in winter
• 1 to 2reception with a guest list

The values come from the same rules the calculator uses. You don't have to look anything up: in the “Event” step you pick the format and the number of guests, and it tells you whether your team fits.

Four short steps, none of them needs a number you have to dig out first. At the end you see the price, broken down to the last night hour.

1. LocationType the address or the venue. That decides whether a travel fee applies.
2. ShiftsRole, date, times and number of people. Several days or roles? Just add more shifts.
3. EventFormat and rough number of guests, by click. If your team doesn't fit, the calculator says so and suggests what to add.
4. Extras and quotePick free extras, enter your contact and billing details, get the quote as a PDF. From abroad, this is where the VAT ID goes.

Not finished yet? “Save & continue” e-mails you a link with everything you entered. In the same browser tab the calculator also remembers where you were.

Friday evening from 6 pm to 11 pm, booked three weeks ahead, venue in Berlin-Mitte. This is how the calculator works it out:

No short-notice surcharge, because three weeks ahead. No travel fee, because the venue is close to the train and trains still run at 11 pm. As a new client your first working day is cheaper; the calculator shows by how much with your details.

• Bookable from five hours per person — no day rates, no packages. Billing is for at least the time booked, in half-hour increments
• Cover is included in the hourly rate — if someone drops out at short notice, a replacement steps in with no surcharge
• Licensed for temporary agency work (AÜG): you may direct our staff on site yourself, legally sound as agency work. A service contract is equally possible
• Overtime at the same hourly rate, with no mark-up
• You see who is coming before the shift: photo, name and a short profile of every person assigned, in our client portal
• Staffing status stays visible throughout — from the moment the order arrives to the last position filled
• Digital timesheet: hours confirmed on site by phone, the PDF follows automatically, one collected invoice at month end

Only what actually applies. The calculator lists every surcharge as its own line; nothing hides inside the hourly rate. The full breakdown of what the rate pays for is in how much event staff costs in Berlin.

• Night hours, 10 pm to 6 am+4 €/hPer person, only for the hours after 10 pm. Working until 11 pm means one night hour, not a night rate for the whole evening.
• Public holidays+5 €/hPer person and hour on public holidays in Berlin. The calculator spots them from the date.
• Sundays+2 €/h, waivedNormally for the whole shift if it starts on a Sunday. We are waiving it at the moment, and the calculator shows it as waived.
• Bartender and barista+6 €/hPer person, for the hospitality qualification. Bar staff who pour beer, wine and soft drinks cost the base rate.
• Team lead+6 €/hOnce for the team, not per person: five staff with a team lead cost +6 €/h, not +30 €/h.
• Choosing your staff yourself+6 €/hYou pick your team from profiles in advance. Optional, the calculator asks you.
• Short noticegradedFrom +2 €/h with six or seven working days to go, up to +15 €/h with one day or less. The calculator shows the exact step for your date.
• Travel, only when needed25 € per personAlways outside Berlin. Inside Berlin only if no S-Bahn, U-Bahn or tram stop is within walking distance, or none runs after the shift. The calculator checks your address. Outside Berlin, a longer journey also counts as working time.