The 11 Best Form Builder Tools for 2025

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You’ve heard it before — forms are the gold standard for capturing leads, tracking industry trends, or gathering customer feedback. But to create that conversion or feedback, you need a form builder tool.

I’ve reviewed the 11 best online form builders so you can find the best one that fits your needs.

Create surveys, contacts, and happy customers using HubSpot's free form  builder.

I’ve used forms to collect leads on a marketing team, to generate event feedback, and to create surveys, so I understand what’s useful for different scenarios.

I’ll also cover what to look for in a form builder tool and how to get started.

Table of Contents

Form builder tools are an easy, no-code way to create web forms such as a contact form, event or mailing list signup, or survey. You can customize your form with multiple form fields, different formats, and design customization.

Once your responses start coming in, most forms will also import each entry into a spreadsheet or centralized database and send you notifications when people complete them.

Regardless of the form builder you choose, I’ve found there are a few key steps you'll want to follow when creating a form for the purpose of lead generation.

1. Identify the goals of the form.

Are you aiming to generate sales leads, or are you merely planning to add contacts to your email list?

Once you identify what you’re looking for from your prospects, you’ll be able to determine what information you'll need to get from them on the form. If you need some ideas, check out HubSpot’s Ultimate Guide to Web Forms.

2. Pick a form builder tool.

There are free online form builders available, but they might not have all the features you need. I’ve run into this frustrating scenario many times!

For example, some might not embed well onto the site you use because of your CMS. I recommend using a form builder that connects with your CRM, like HubSpot's Free Form Builder.

form software: HubSpot form builder

Start building forms for your website for free.

3. Include name and contact fields.

This step is pretty self-explanatory. Unless you are creating an anonymous survey, you’ll want to get your visitor’s first and last name.

Ask for needed contact information, such as an email or phone number. Keep in mind that your request should be appropriate for the context.

I’m always a little reluctant to hand over my information on a form. To avoid form abandonment, I recommend making non-essential contact fields optional and sharing how the contact details will be used.

form tools: HubSpot contact fields

4. Add additional demographic information as needed.

Along with the standard name and email details, it may be valuable to gather more demographic information about your prospect like job title, company location, and company size.

This will give you insights into your audience and a contact's buying or decision-making power.

5. Figure out which fields are must-have vs. nice-to-have.

Now, here’s where I often struggle to find the right balance. If you want to add people to your email list, you probably don’t need much information beyond name and email.

But if you're sending out a form to generate leads or learn more about your target audience, you might want to ask a few more specific questions, such as age, gender, or location, to get a feel for who your prospects are.

While you may be tempted to add more fields to cover all your bases, asking too much at once may actually deter leads and lower your conversion rate.

I suggest asking only for what you need or using a form builder that auto-fills information using market intelligence.

6. Set up an automated follow-up email that's triggered once the form is submitted.

After someone takes the time to fill out your form, it's standard to send a “thank you” or “welcome” email letting them know the next steps.

For instance, if it's a newsletter, let them know how often to expect the email, which topics are discussed, and include a peek into previous emails.

If it's a “Contact Us” form, the follow-up email should confirm receipt of the form along with an estimated response time. The more clarity you provide, the better the experience for the user.

Form Builder Software Tools: What to Look For

Confused by all the options available? There’s a huge variation in the features, prices, and value you get from each one.

Here are the criteria I look for to find the best tool.

1. Ease of Use

Every tool claims to be easy to use, but not all are intuitive. Look for things like drag-and-drop reordering, question banks, and robust documentation to help you learn the platform.

I’ve discovered that some of the nuances don’t become clear until you use them, so don’t be afraid to demo different tools and see which you prefer.

2. Customization

Look for a solution that gives you a wide range of form field options, from multiple choice to free response to check boxes. Another feature to consider is visual customization.

It’s important to match the color and style of your form to your brand to create a cohesive customer experience.

Some tools hide customization behind paid tiers, so I recommend you decide ahead of time if brand customization is a must-have for you before you begin searching.

3. Conditional Logic

Conditional logic is when a form shows specific questions to a respondent based on their previous responses.

For instance, if I ask, “Which products are you interested in trying?” in a market research survey and the person selects “shirts” instead of “shoes,” my next question may ask for their shirt size, but not their shoe size.

Conditional logic creates more relevant, concise forms for better engagement.

4. Integrations

One major factor in the form builder tool you choose should be integrations. If the tool will be embedded on your website, for instance, does your form builder integrate with the CMS?

If you manage leads through a CRM, can you connect the form data to feed in automatically and avoid a lag? Consider which systems are most important and look for a compatible form builder.

5. Analytics and Reporting

There is a wide range of reporting capabilities offered by the different form builder tools. Some give you visual dashboards with many different metrics.

Others, like Google Forms, will simply give you a spreadsheet that you’re on your own to analyze.

Decide what kind of analytics and reporting tools you need for your purposes, and review what each form builder offers before committing to one.

6. Mobile-Responsiveness

Have you ever had to complete a tiny form on your phone?

Trying to select a field and type in information isn’t worth the effort to many when the form isn’t mobile-friendly. Mobile-responsive simply means that a form is designed for a mobile device and follows best practices.

7. Accessibility

Many forms aren’t accessible for individuals with low vision who use a screen reader. This doesn’t just exclude people — you could be running afoul of ADA regulations.

Make sure your forms use high contrast in their design and follow the four design principles for accessibility: keep all information perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

8. Data Security

There’s one more very important consideration to look for when researching form builders. If you collect any sensitive personal information like medical information or financial details, you must be able to trust that your customers’ data is secure.

If you are a healthcare provider, you need a form builder that can ensure HIPAA compliance with patient data.

If anyone from Europe accesses your form, you need to comply with GDPR regulations. California, the U.K., and Canada have similar regulations.

I recommend looking for form builders that have a reCAPTCHA option and certifications like SOC 2 and ISO that represent excellence in cybersecurity. The costs of a data breach would far outweigh the cost of a high-quality, secure tool.

11 Online Form Builder Tools

Researching tools may seem intimidating, but I’ve made it easy for you. I tested 11 form builder tools in depth to help you pick the best-fit one. Ultimately, there’s a form-building software for your business’s needs and goals — let’s find it together!

1. HubSpot’s Free Online Form Builder

HubSpot’s online form builder is one of the most powerful form builder tools available.

The tool combines the foundations of form creation with cutting-edge technology to give you much more capability than a normal online form builder can — and it’s also free.

Pricing: Free CRM and Marketing Hub with paid plans starting at $15 a month.

Pros

  • Easy drag-and-drop interface, no coding required
  • Integration with HubSpot's CRM and marketing tools for lead management
  • Customizable forms to match your branding
  • Analytics to track form performance
  • Ability to target form pop-ups based on customer segments or behavior
  • Automatic email notifications for submissions

Cons

  • Premium features (e.g., advanced reporting) may require paid plans

form software: HubSpot form builder form types

What I find amazing is that, even though it’s one of the more advanced form builder tools, you don't need any technical expertise when you use HubSpot’s form builder.

You can quickly create forms with the drag-and-drop form builder and convert anonymous website visitors into leads with unlimited forms, fields, submissions, and custom forms that all connect to your contact database.

I was able to create a simple form in about five minutes. I could choose from an embedded form, a standalone page, or a pop-up with a few different options for where that appeared on my homepage.

My favorite feature is that I can enable a form pop-up to appear in a very targeted way. I can choose a customer segment, which page I want the form to appear on (and after how long). I can also target by location, days since last visit, and various engagement metrics as conditions for a form pop-up.

That way, I can send a customized message, demo request, or relevant content at exactly the right time.

form software: Form Builder Tool HubSpot

Once someone fills out your form, they’re automatically added to HubSpot CRM. In the system, you can set reminder tasks, call them, and send them personalized emails, letting you better manage and nurture relationships with your contacts.

What I like: HubSpot’s form builder also has data enrichment for contact profiles, Breeze Intelligence form shortening, and deep integration with HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, making it a good option for teams who want a single system for contact management.

Form shortening works by pulling in public data from the web and LLMs to auto-populate details like company size, industry, and website — only asking your contact to complete a few short fields. This decreases the chance your lead will abandon the form halfway through.

2. HubSpot's WordPress Plugin

 HubSpot Wordpress plugin for form builder tool

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Have a WordPress site but still want to leverage HubSpot tools to generate leads?

With HubSpot's WordPress plugin, you can create forms, assign them within a workflow, and use them to generate landing page leads. Contacts generated with your forms can also be stored in your HubSpot CRM.

Pricing: Free plugin, though you may need a paid HubSpot plan or WordPress plan for certain features.

Pros

  • Seamless integration with WordPress and HubSpot for easy lead capture
  • Tracks visitor behavior, including page views and form submissions
  • Automatically syncs data with HubSpot CRM for better lead management
  • Free to use with basic lead-tracking features

Cons

  • Limited functionality in the free version
  • Customization options might be more basic compared to other form plugins

What I like: The tool makes the form creation process easy. Although it‘s powered by HubSpot, you don’t need to leave your WordPress dashboard to get the same form-building experience that you can find in Marketing Hub.

3. ClickUp Forms

ClickUp Form Builder Tool

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ClickUp is an all-in-one project management and collaboration tool built to help teams of all sizes manage all their work and centralize communication.

ClickUp Forms comes with tons of configuration options to let you easily create your ideal form for any use case, add important questions, and collect insightful responses together.

Pricing: Free plan includes one form, with paid plans starting at $7/month.

Pros

  • Customizable forms that integrate with ClickUp tasks and workflows
  • Automates task creation and team assignment from form submissions
  • Offers unlimited form views in paid plans and rich reporting tools
  • Collaboration features allow teams to work on form responses directly in ClickUp

Cons

  • Free plan limits you to just one form.
  • May require learning ClickUp's interface, which can be complex for beginners
  • Some advanced features are locked behind higher-tier paid plans
  • Less integration with external CRM and CMS systems
  • May require third-party integrations

The first thing I noticed about ClickUp is that it has a lot of options.

I think this is a strength, but it can also be a drawback since too many options make it harder to choose one. You’ll also encounter a learning curve when setting everything up if you aren’t already a competent user.

What I like: The form builder tool has drag-and-drop features to move task fields into the form and create new ones via custom fields to build your ideal form.

Customize it further by selecting a primary theme color to match your brand, adding an image or logo as an icon, and listing a description at the top of the form to give your recipients more context and instructions on how to proceed.

Easily share your form with anyone by copying the direct link or embedding it on a web page with HTML. You may also export your form responses as a CSV file or find them in your task list.

Because it’s integrated with task management, you can turn form submissions into a to-do item and even use the form tool as a simple ticket management system. For that reason, I believe this tool is best for internal data collection or user feedback instead of large-scale lead collection.

4. Forms.app

Forms.app Form Builder Tool

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If you’re searching for a form builder tool, I think forms.app is a great option to consider. It’s a user-friendly platform that allows you to create forms, surveys, and quizzes without any coding.

I was able to browse their extensive form library and create my first form without creating an account.

If getting started is a sticking point, you can choose a template such as order forms, customer satisfaction surveys, job applications, consent forms, and signups.

Pricing: Free plan, with paid options starting at $15/month.

Pros

  • Intuitive drag-and-drop form builder — no coding required
  • Offers a wide range of templates and customization options
  • Integrates with third-party apps like Google Sheets, Slack, and Mailchimp
  • Provides conditional logic and payment collection features

Cons

  • Free version has limitations, including fewer form responses
  • Some advanced customization and analytics require a paid plan.
  • Less robust reporting compared to some competitors

I think one of the great things about forms.app is that many of its advanced features are available for free. This includes conditional logic, calculators, product baskets, file uploads, multiple question types, payment collection, signature collection, and advanced analytics.

Forms.app offers an AI form generator feature that can help you create forms and surveys even faster. You describe what you want to create, and the AI will take care of the rest. It also suggests rewrites to your questions to help you write the best survey questions possible.

What I like: Once your form is done, you can share it in various ways, such as embedding it on your websites, sharing it as a QR code, or publishing it on social media. Integrations for popular tools like Google Drive, HubSpot, AirTable, and Meta Pixel help you send the data where you need it.

While the tool offers payment forms and medical treatment forms, proceed with caution. Do your research first to make sure it meets your company’s data security and regulatory standards.

5. WPForms

 WPForms Form Builder Tool

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WPForms is a beginner-friendly WordPress form builder that makes it easy to add beautiful forms to your website with just a few clicks. It’s used by over six million users who love it for its easy WordPress integration and wide variety of templates.

Pricing: WPForms Lite is free, with paid plans starting at $49 a year.

Pros

  • Easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder, suitable for beginners
  • Wide range of pre-built templates for quick form creation
  • Integrates with popular platforms like PayPal, Stripe, Mailchimp, and more
  • Offers advanced features like conditional logic, multi-page forms, and file uploads

Cons

  • Free version has limited functionality and form fields
  • Lacks advanced reporting and analytics compared to dedicated form tools
  • Reports of occasional plugin conflicts with other WordPress features

WPForms Lite has the same interface as the premium version but limits users to only a few pre-selected form fields and formats.

What I like: All plans include a GDPR agreement option, reCAPTCHA security, mobile-responsiveness, and secure payment options like Stripe and PayPal.

6. Visme

 Visme Form Builder Tool

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Like others I reviewed, Visme offers a drag-and-drop form builder that integrates with Zapier, Mailchimp, HubSpot, and others.

But Visme has one big differentiator: animations. While you may not think your form needs custom animations, their research found it can lead to 40% more conversions and 34% more form starts.

Pricing: Free basic plan, with paid plans starting at $12.25/month.

Pros

  • Design-focused, allowing for beautiful, interactive forms with customizable design options
  • Integrates with Visme's other design tools, making it easy to create branded forms
  • Provides real-time analytics and data collection
  • Ideal for presentations and reports, with easy embedding options

Cons

  • Being design-focused, it may not suit those looking for advanced form features
  • Limited access to templates and features on the free version
  • Lacks deep integrations with CRM systems

With Visme, you can create appealing, animated, and interactive forms with its easy-to-use built-in templates and drag-and-drop functionality. The animations stand out from static lead generation forms that can quickly lose a viewer’s attention.

Visme Animated Form Builder

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What I like: Visme’s AI feature allows you to design interactive and professional forms with less hassle and best practices. Once created, Visme generates a link, QR code, and HTML code so you can embed the form on your website.

Once you collect data through signups, leads, and registrations, it populates the platform. From there, you can view, filter, or easily export data. Visme’s integrations let you set up a data flow between platforms.

7. JotForm

Jotform reviews, Form builder tool

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Jotform is an online form builder with an intuitive visual editor, known for making form-building faster than ever.

Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $34/month.

Pros

  • Intuitive drag-and-drop form builder with a wide variety of templates
  • Supports payment processing, conditional logic, and form automation
  • Integrates with apps like Salesforce, Google Drive, PayPal, and Dropbox
  • Extensive customization options and form analytics
  • Option for HIPAA compliance on some plans
  • Ability to create no-code mobile apps to collect and share information

Cons

  • Plans have limitations on the number of form submissions and file storage
  • Advanced features, like HIPAA compliance, custom branding, and larger submission limits require paid plans

The tool has all the standard form-building capabilities, as well as unique fields and tons of integrations. I like that I can play around with their form builder before creating an account. The free plan caps out at five forms, with up to 100 entries per month and 100 MB of file storage.

I find Jotforms’ capacity caps frustrating, but they make up for it with other features good for larger companies. Jotforms has a workflow integration to turn data into action. It integrates with Salesforce, which many competitors don’t.

What I like: Jotform also offers HIPAA compliance, a valuable feature for any healthcare provider. Other useful security features include user access control, SSO integration, and local data residency to keep user data safe.

8. Google Forms

Google Forms Reviews

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Google Forms’ unique selling point is that it’s fast, free, and easy to use, with unlimited forms and entries. It’s also built into Google Workspace, so it automatically pulls your data into a Google Sheet for you to analyze.

Pricing: Free with a Google account.

Pros

  • Completely free, with no limits on form creation or responses
  • Seamlessly integrates with other Google services like Google Sheets
  • Simple, intuitive interface with real-time response tracking
  • Supports collaborative form building and sharing

Cons

  • Limited customization options for branding and design
  • Poor data security for sensitive information
  • Lacks advanced features like conditional logic and payment processing
  • Fewer integrations with external platforms compared to premium form builders

What I like: I like how simple to use this tool is without limits on responses or number of forms.

Google Forms has limited design customizations, so forms created on it look less professional. This form builder tool is best for quick surveys or quizzes, rather than a lead capture form on your website.

Avoid gathering medical or financial information via Google Forms, since it isn’t created to securely store personal information.

9. Typeform

Typeform reviews, form builder tool

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Even if you didn’t know it came from Typeform, you will likely recognize the tool’s innovative approach of serving up just one question at a time. This approach is mobile-friendly and reduces cognitive load, increasing the chance of completion.

Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $25 per month.

Pros

  • User-friendly forms with a conversational, one-question-at-a-time format
  • Customizable design options
  • Integrates with many apps like Google Sheets, Slack, and Zapier
  • Supports conditional logic and payment collection

Cons

  • Free version is limited in terms of responses and features
  • May require a learning curve for users unfamiliar with the conversational format
  • Customized branding and advanced analytics are hidden behind higher-tier paid plans

I’ve used Typeform to create simple surveys for my book club and found it easy and fast. It’s easy to outgrow the free version, though, which caps you at just 10 responses a month.

What I like: Typeform has excellent logic and branching features that make it great for customer surveys and user research. If you want to create a form with an engaging and straightforward user experience, this tool is a solid option.

10. Formstack

Formstack reviews, Form builder tools

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Formstack has built a SaaS platform focused on doing one thing well: forms. The tool’s best features include intelligent forms, built-in workflows, and seamless integrations with Amazon S3, Stripe, PayPal, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

Pricing: Plans start at $83 per month.

Pros:

  • Versatile form builder with advanced features like conditional logic and calculations
  • Strong integrations with CRM, payment, and marketing platforms
  • Robust data collection and analytics tools
  • HIPAA-compliant forms for healthcare use
  • Security features, including compliance with SOC 2, GDPR, and credit card fields
  • Designed for accessibility, with Section 508 and WCAG compliance

Cons

  • Pricing can be high for smaller businesses or users needing basic features
  • Steeper learning curve compared to simpler form builders
  • Some users may find the interface less intuitive than competitors

While pricier than other alternatives, Formstack brings robust data security with a SOC 2 certification and HIPAA compliance. Powerful features include signature collection, saving form drafts, and data routing.

What I like: Formstack’s A/B testing tool compares different versions of your form to see which performs better. The tool also offers electronic signatures and payments, and users can save their form drafts and return to finish them.

11. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey reviews, Form builder reviews

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SurveyMonkey is an online survey platform that lets users create and distribute surveys, collect responses, and analyze data.

It’s popular among businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits for gathering insights and improving decision-making.

Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $25 a month.

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface with a wide variety of customizable templates
  • Robust survey logic features, including skip logic and branching
  • Strong analytics and reporting tools for data analysis
  • Integrates with many apps, including CRMs and email marketing platforms

Cons

  • Free version has limited features and responses per survey
  • Advanced features require a paid subscription
  • Design options are less flexible compared to competitors

What I like: SurveyMonkey provides a variety of templates and question types, including multiple-choice, open-ended, and rating-scale questions.

The platform integrates with many other tools, including CRMs, email marketing services, and productivity apps. A question bank and AI features help you to create a survey quickly and confidently.

SurveyMonkey form builder tool

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I was also impressed with SurveyMonkey’s analytics and reporting. Dashboards visualize your data in real time, and the platform tells you the average completion rate and time to completion.

Your Form Builder Tool Options Are Endless

Most form builders offer all the essentials needed to make a basic form, but not all offer customization, data security, and deeper data analysis. Ultimately, for you, the best form tool depends on your team’s purpose and particular business needs.

I’d like to call out Formstack for enterprise businesses. A little pricier but with lots of design options and security features, I think it’ll meet your needs and provide lots of value.

And I’d highlight HubSpot’s form builder because it offers lots of features and can scale with your business. Startups and small businesses can start with the free plan and move up as your business needs grow.

With the right form, you can collect leads, prompt feedback, and grow your business.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Designing an Event Marketing Budget? Here’s What Experts Recommend

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The year I turned 30, I started a new job. The role was a management position and carried strategic responsibility for marketing, communications and PR — all things I was excited about.

Also tucked in the job description? Event planning for a festival and various smaller events. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to take a crash course in event marketing.

Event marketing is planning and executing an event with the goal of promoting a brand and its products and services. Events are opportunities for building brand awareness, engaging target audiences including new and existing customers, and generating leads.

Click here to download 8 free marketing budget templates.

Because the goals fall under marketing, the responsibility typically falls to the marketing team. Planning an event that attracts prospects and makes an impact starts with your event marketing budget.

I’ll walk you through how to create an event marketing budget with what to include and share tips from event planning experts along the way.

Deal? Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

How much of your marketing budget should be for events?

First, how much of your marketing budget should you dedicate to events? Experts say that companies spend around 10-20% of their marketing budgets on events on average.

Gartner found companies spend an average of 17.1% of marketing budgets on event marketing, while Amex found the number to be closer to 14%. This is on the rise, especially in the past two years. A Zuddl survey found that over 50% of marketers expect budget increases.

Of course, this number depends on many factors. What’s your industry? What is the goal and ROI of each event? Is the budget offset by ticket or sponsor revenue? Is your event in-person, virtual, or hybrid? Take all of these questions into consideration as you plan.

Event Marketing Budget Formula

Let’s take a ballpark percentage of 16% and calculate your event marketing budget from it.

Annual marketing budget X 0.16 = Event marketing budget

So if your marketing budget is $1 million, calculate 1M X 0.16 = $160,000 to estimate a good event budget.

What does an event marketing budget go toward?

Calculating a budget based on an industry average only gets you so far. To propose a realistic budget, you also need to research the estimated expenses to pull off your vision.

According to Knowland’s 2023 State of the Meetings Industry, increasing event expenses is one of the biggest concerns for event organizers. Almost half (46.3%) of event professionals said rising costs are their biggest obstacle when planning events.

Here’s how Zuddl found B2B companies broke down their event budgets.

event marketing budget breakdown

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Here’s what to consider as you plan your event.

1. Venue and Food/Beverage Cost

Venue and food/beverage is typically the largest budget item for events, eating up 15-35% of your overall budget. This goes far beyond room rental fees. Don’t forget to look for any hidden costs that might pop up.

Here are some factors to keep in mind:

  • Event location. Venues in major markets have a price tag to match. While some event organizers save on costs by moving their events to secondary markets, this can impact attendance. Conference attendees rate venue location and travel/accommodation costs as two of their top three priorities when deciding whether to attend an in-person event.
  • Food/beverage. Will you provide coffee, snacks, and meals, or expect attendees to purchase them on their own? Your choice impacts the event experience, especially if attendees need to leave the event to buy food. A Bizzabo survey found that catering alone accounted for 20% of event budgets.
  • A/V (Audiovisual) needs. For each room you rent, you likely need a lighting or IT technician to make sure everything’s running smoothly. 55.4% of event planners expect A/V costs to rise by over 20% in the near future. Bizzabo reports that event planners spend nearly 8% of event budgets on AV alone.
  • Set design. If you have a keynote stage, consider the set design and what it will cost to get the look you want.

2. Entertainment/Speaker Fees

Marketers spend 15% of an event budget on average on speakers and entertainment. Be sure to budget an honorarium and possibly accommodations for your keynote speakers and consider whether you’ll book a band or other entertainment to set the mood.

3. Technology

Technology has grown to become a huge part of the event experience. If you run a hybrid or virtual event, technology will make or break the experience and should make up a larger percentage of the budget.

event marketing budget technology

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Consider these event statistics:

Technology budget items to consider include registration and event management software, live or after-event streaming, and a mobile app.

4. Marketing

Your event can’t drive brand awareness or deals if your target audience isn’t there. So, marketing is key to making sure the right audience is there to hear your message. Consider these costs and channels to attract attendees.

  • Digital ad campaigns. Digital ads are one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to market an event. For B2C events, consider location or interests when targeting your demographics for digital ads. For B2B, use social media retargeting or keyword search to connect with relevant audiences.
  • Direct mail campaign. Direct mail is more expensive but can be highly effective if you’re inviting members or current customers to your event. Printed invitations stand out from the digital noise and add gravitas to your event.
  • Print and out-of-home advertising. If you’re running a consumer event like a food festival, consider local ad placement on billboards, buses, or in local magazines to reach interested parties.
  • Sponsorships and cross-marketing. Work with industry groups or local partners to cross-market your event to similar audiences. This can be free (the best!) or can incur a sponsorship cost, like placing an event ad in a relevant email newsletter.
  • Agencies and consultants. Almost half of event planners work with a marketing agency for their events, according to the Amex 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast. An event marketing agency can market your event through creative design, advertising strategy in markets you don’t know well, or PR for media coverage.
  • Owned and organic channels. Remember that some of the best tactics like email marketing, organic social media marketing, and word-of-mouth carry little-to-no cost.

Keep in mind that new events will need a larger marketing effort than established ones since they don’t yet have brand recognition and returning attendees.

Consider allocating 10-15% of your event budget to marketing a recurring event and 15-20% of your budget to marketing a new one.

5. Signage and Swag

Don’t forget about the little things! Printed signage helps attendees navigate your event smoothly and can bring in more street traffic for unticketed events.

Name badges, branded pop-up banners, and other little touches serve both a functional and aesthetic purpose.

Swag and giveaways help to drive excitement about your event and give attendees a reason to remember the event after the fact.

6. Accessibility and Sustainability

Nearly 60% of event marketers have a plan for addressing accessibility and inclusivity, Zuddl found. Extra may include closed captioning and interpretation for sign language and multiple languages. Other costs may be wrapped into technology or venue choice to reach your inclusivity goals.

While sustainability is still a lower priority (prioritized by 34% of event organizers), it is growing. B2B event attendees rank sustainable practices as the fifth most important factor in attending an event, beating out registration cost, exhibitors, and speakers/content.

Strategies may include selecting green venues, local sourcing, or hosting virtual events. Another strategy could be investing in a refillable water station and branded water bottles instead of plastic ones. Like accessibility, sustainability can touch multiple budget categories like venue, food and drink, and swag.

7. Contingency and Insurance Fund

It happens. Snowstorms, venue damage, speaker cancellations, or higher costs than expected mean you could go over budget or even need to cancel without recouping costs. Allocate at least 5% of your budget to a contingency fund and insure your event in case you need to cancel and issue refunds.

How to Create an Event Marketing Budget

Now that you understand the main categories, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. If you’re creating an event marketing budget for the first time, follow these steps.

1. Define your event goals and objectives.

First, discuss your goals and objectives for the event (or events). Saying your goals out loud will help you cast a vision and get approval from higher-ups for the budget you need.

2. Research and estimate costs.

Next, put on your research hat and research how much it will cost to pull off this vision. It might be that you’ve already been given a budget from above, so you want to see if that budget is enough to reach your goals.

Go through the budget items listed above and reach out to vendors to estimate your costs. Some of this research can be informal, while others may need a formal RFP process.

While you can do some of this research online, Googling only gets you so far. I’ve found that a phone call with a vendor or a venue visit can be much more effective than online research. Call other marketing professionals in your network and ask them about venues and tips for creating a good experience.

How to Create an Event Marketing Budget

3. Determine fixed and variable costs.

In event planning, some costs are fixed while others are variable.

A venue rental is fixed, for example, while per-person catering fluctuates depending on registration numbers. Identifying these variations helps you understand how much money you need

This is also a good time to distinguish between must-have and wish-list budget items. For instance, you may determine that a mobile app is non-negotiable, but a floral budget may be a wish-list item to add only if you reach a certain revenue threshold.

4. Identify potential revenue sources.

When creating your budget, estimate how much you plan to bring in to offset your costs. The most common sources are ticket revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise. Estimate your target revenue and a minimum number you’ll need to bring in to break even.

5. Write a budget proposal and finalize your budget.

After all of the above steps, write a formal budget proposal outlining your event goals, budget breakdown, expected revenue, and fixed and variable costs.

If you have already received a budget number from leadership, you will need to make a compelling argument to increase that amount. Meet with leadership, answer any questions about the proposed budget, and consider creative adjustments until all parties are satisfied.

6. Track your budget.

Once you have the stamp of approval on your budget, get cracking on execution! Event planning takes months or even years, so tracking your spend is critical for success. There are a few different ways to track your budget.

Use a spreadsheet for budget tracking.

The simplest method is sometimes the best. Create a detailed budget spreadsheet with all of your projected expenses and revenues, and add in your revenue and spend as it comes in.

Get started by downloading HubSpot’s eight free budget tracking templates here.

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Use budgeting software.

A dedicated budget and financial management software can help you track your budget plan, expenses, and receipts all in one place.

While common accounting software like QuickBooks can meet your needs, a dedicated events tool like Planning Pod, EventPro, or Cvent can manage budgeting in addition to registrations, project management, and other event functions.

Integrate with your marketing tracking.

Since event marketing is part of your overall marketing strategy, there’s a good argument for wrapping the spend tracking and ROI into your larger marketing tracking.

For instance, if you use HubSpot to manage your marketing campaigns, you can manage a campaign budget in Marketing Hub to promote your event. The tool will track your budget total, spend total, and remaining budget in real-time — and how many conversions resulted from the campaign.

7. Track and measure ROI.

Event ROI can be really tricky to measure. Registration numbers, attendee satisfaction surveys, session/booth engagement, and social media mentions are all good metrics to gauge success.

But here’s what’s even more valuable than reporting event registration numbers or budget totals — tracking the effectiveness of events on your KPIs, like leads and sales.

If your goal is marketing your brand and driving growth, you have to look deeper. When you track ROI, the results can be powerful. Zuddl survey participants reported that 44% see a 1-2X ROI, while 56% experience greater than 3X ROI.

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When it’s time for next year’s event budget cycle, you’ll need to prove that the event had some impact to justify the expense. Here’s one way that marketer Ryan Gunn used HubSpot to track the impact of in-person events on his pipeline.

“Measurement is always tough because events don't typically see results right away,” shared Drew Bush, senior events marketing manager at Propel.

“The influenced pipeline and positive feedback from customers and attendees will help drive future events and budgets, but it’s tough to define. I typically measure ROI by attendance and pipeline, deals, and upselling that are influenced by individuals who attended our event.”

Tips for Creating the Right Event Marketing Budget

I know I needed inspiration and mentorship to become a successful event planner. I asked experts for their best tips for event planning and budgeting. Here are the nuggets they shared.

1. Align stakeholders.

Creating an event marketing budget is often a collaborative, cross-departmental effort. It requires working with stakeholders in the initial budgeting process and continuing throughout the event lifecycle.

“Some of the toughest challenges are aligning with key stakeholders on the priorities for an event,” shared Bush.

“A great way to align on top priorities is to have kickoff meetings with stakeholders. In some cases, our teams have followed the RACI model and in others we've had weekly syncs with the executives to keep track of progress.”

2. Narrow down your ICP.

Understanding your audience is key to creating a successful event.

For instance, knowing that your audience values networking hours may lead you to prioritize food and beverage budgets for networking.

Conduct surveys year after year so you have the data to build the event your audience wants — and drive engagement and results.

Knowing your ideal customer profile (ICP) can also help you market your event more effectively and affordably.

“Our product team has worked really hard in determining our ICP so we know who to target,” shared Bush. “I’m a huge fan of social media, especially LinkedIn. This works well for our current team as we’ve determined our ICP.”

3. Consolidate vendors.

“If you're looking for a venue, you might want to go for a venue that will have all other vendors in-house,” recommended Lady Jane Acquah, Special Events Manager for Integral Care.

“From my experience, if you have a venue and you have to bring in people to bring in furniture, to do the floral arrangement, to provide AV or even catering — all of that is costly. But if you have one venue that can provide all of these services, it definitely cuts down on the price.”

The same goes for technology. The more you can consolidate tech platforms for registrations, event management, budgeting, advertising, and analytics, the more time and money you can save.

4. Leverage relationships.

While some costs are fixed, never underestimate the power of relationships in creating an effective event marketing budget. Work with good vendors again and again and don’t be afraid to negotiate to add services or cut costs.

Relationships and partnerships are also a free or low-cost way to market your event. Consider cross-marketing and strategic endorsements or event promotion from partners and longtime contacts to drive event interest.

Drive impact with a well-planned, well-executed event.

In my years planning events, the number-one thing I learned was to stay flexible.

No matter how well you plan, there will always be roadblocks and unexpected expenses that pop up.

Being detail-oriented is important, but the event planner who’s scrappy, creative, and negotiates well will succeed in event budget management.

From understanding how much to allocate to tracking expenses and measuring ROI, building a comprehensive event marketing budget sets you up for a seamless and impactful experience.

Remember to be flexible, consult experts when needed, and always keep your event goals and audience top of mind.