🎉 Party Budget Calculator
Add your event spending categories to see your total budget and cost per guest.
Total and cost per guest
Two lines, recalculated as you type:
total = sum of every category amount
cost per guest = total / number of guestsThe starting rows - Venue $500, Food & Drinks $600, Decorations $150 and Entertainment $300 - total $1,550, which over 40 guests is $38.75 a head. A blank or non-numeric amount counts as zero, an unnamed row shows as Untitled, and clearing the guest field makes the tool divide by 1 rather than fail.
Most of that per-head figure is fixed
$38.75 is an average, not the price of a guest. Only food and drink actually scales:
| Category | Amount | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | $500 | Fixed - the room costs the same for 30 or 50 |
| Food & Drinks | $600 | Variable - $15 a guest at 40 |
| Decorations | $150 | Fixed, give or take centrepieces |
| Entertainment | $300 | Fixed - a band charges by the set |
So the tenth extra guest costs $15, not $38.75. Fifty guests is $950 fixed plus $750 of food, or $1,700 and $34 a head; trimming to 30 saves only $150 while the per-head figure climbs to $46.67. Cutting the list is a weak lever - the fixed $950 is where a real saving lives.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a party cost per person?
The sample budget works out at $38.75 a head for 40 guests, but that mixes fixed and variable spending. What each additional guest really costs is the food and drink alone - $15 in that example.
What is a reasonable budget for a party of 50?
Keeping the same venue, decor and entertainment and scaling only the catering gives $1,700, or $34 a head. The per-head figure always falls as the guest count rises, because the fixed costs spread further.
Should I include tips and service charges in the budget?
Yes, as their own category. An 18-24% service charge on a $600 catering bill is $108 to $144, and bartender or delivery tips sit on top of that.