Free tool

True Cost of a Guest

Every name on your guest list has a dollar sign attached to it. This calculator shows you exactly what that number is, and what happens when you cut it.

Guest Count

Number of guests 80

Drag to adjust. Includes children who eat and drink.

Per-Guest Costs

2026 benchmarks pre-filled. Adjust for your actual quotes.

Catering per guest ($)

Food + wait staff. Venue packages often bundle this.

Bar per guest ($)

Beverages package or consumption bar estimate.

Flowers & decor per guest ($)

Centrepieces pro-rated per head.

Cake per guest ($)

Most bakers quote per slice.

Stationery per guest ($)

Menus, place cards, order of service.

Favours per guest ($)

Set to 0 if you're skipping favours (totally fine).

Fixed Costs

These don't change no matter how many guests attend.

Photography ($)

Videography ($)

Music / DJ / band ($)

Celebrant ($)

Attire, dress, suit & accessories ($)

Hair & makeup ($)

Other fixed costs ($)

Rings, transport, accommodation, rehearsal dinner, etc.

What if you cut guests?

Slide to see how much you'd save by trimming the list.

Cut this many guests 0

Total wedding cost

for 80 guests

Cost per guest

Variable costs

The uncomfortable truth: most couples underestimate their per-guest cost by 20-30%. The variable line items add up faster than the venue quote suggests.

Full breakdown

Amounts shown in your selected currency. Fixed costs are shown as per-guest equivalents for comparison.

Category	Total	Per guest	% of budget

2026 benchmarks used as defaults: Catering $140-180/head, beverages $60-80/head, photography $4,500-6,500, videography $3,000-5,000, music $1,800-3,000, celebrant $900-1,400. Costs vary significantly by region (major cities typically run 15-25% higher than regional areas) and vendor tier. Adjust the inputs to match your local market.