What to Charge as a Trivia Host

Pricing is the question every new host agonises over and every experienced host has a clear answer to. Charge too little and you'll burn out resenting the gig; charge too much with nothing to back it up and venues won't bite. Here's how to think about it.

Know what you're actually selling

A venue isn't paying for two hours of your time. They're paying for a fuller room on an otherwise quiet night. Your fee is small next to the bar tab of thirty extra people on a Tuesday. Frame the conversation around what you bring — a reliable crowd, a repeatable event, a night they don't have to think about — not around the hours you work.

Count the real hours

Before you name a number, be honest about what the job takes beyond the night itself:

• Writing a fresh quiz: 1–3 hours
• Prep and travel: 1 hour
• The night itself: 2–3 hours
• Kit (mic, speaker, sheets, printing) and its wear
• The years it took to get good enough that people show up

A fee that only pays for the two hours on stage is really paying you a fraction of minimum wage. Price the whole job.

Pick a model that fits

There are three common ways hosts get paid. Each suits a different situation:

1. Flat fee per night. The cleanest and most common. The venue knows their cost, you know your income. Best for most regular gigs.
2. Flat fee plus a per-head or bar-tab bonus. Aligns you with the venue's goal — a fuller room pays you more. Good once you've proven you can pull a crowd.
3. Ticketed / player-funded. You charge each team a small entry, sometimes split with the venue as a prize pot. Works for destination quizzes and one-off specials.

Whatever the model, put it in writing before the first night — the fee, what's included, who supplies the kit, and how cancellations work. A one-paragraph agreement prevents most disputes.

Set your first number

If you're just starting, price at the low-to-middle of your local market — enough that it's clearly worth your evening, low enough that a venue will take a chance on an unproven host. Then raise it as you build proof:

• After a few months of steady, growing crowds, you've earned a rate increase.
• A host with a waiting list of venues is worth more than one hoping for a callback. Demand is your best negotiating tool.
• Specials, themed nights, and private events (birthdays, work dos) should always cost more than your standard weekly rate.

Don't compete on being the cheapest

The cheapest host in town attracts venues that don't value the night and will drop it the moment something cheaper appears. Compete on being reliable and good — you turn up, the quiz is sharp, the room fills. Those venues keep you for years and recommend you to others.

Review your rate every season

Set a reminder to look at your pricing a couple of times a year. Are your rooms fuller? Are you turning down work? Has your kit or travel cost gone up? Your rate should climb with your reputation. The hosts who never revisit their fee are usually the ones quietly earning less each year as everything else gets more expensive.