The booths that look professional share the same modest kit: something tall behind you, something readable at the table, something to hand over. None of it requires a custom booth build. A working setup starts at around $120 and a strong one lands near $270.
Here is what each piece costs, how each one earns its place, and the order to buy them in.
What a booth kit actually costs
Real prices for a single unit, standard turnaround. Trade show suppliers are notoriously vague about pricing, so here it is plainly.
| Piece | Size | Price | Stand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabletop pull-up banner | small | $79.63 | included |
| X-frame banner graphic | 23.6 x 63" | $101.82 | not included |
| Pull-up banner, silver base | 33 x 81" | $214.58 | included |
| Pull-up banner, black base | 33 x 81" | $223.00 | included |
| Premium pull-up banner | 33 x 81" | $260.68 | included |
| Double-sided pull-up | 33 x 81" | $356.95 | included |
| Wide pull-up banner | wide format | $402.05 | included |
| Display board, 24pt | 6 x 24" | $18.00 | prop or easel |
| Foam board sign | 18 x 24" | $25.70 | prop or easel |
| Sintra rigid board | varies | from $47.88 | prop or easel |
| Table cover, 6 ft | 3-sided, polyester | $338.98 | 7 day turnaround |
| Table cover, 8 ft | 3-sided, polyester | $350.17 | 7 day turnaround |
Prices as of September 2026, single unit. Check the product page for current pricing.
Three kits, costed
The first show, about $120. Tabletop pull-up banner ($79.63) plus a 24pt display board ($18.00) plus business cards. Fits in a car boot, sets up in five minutes, and stops the table looking bare. Good enough for a local market or a small industry event.
The proper kit, about $270. Full-height pull-up banner ($214.58), an 18 x 24 foam board sign for the table ($25.70), and a box of handouts. This is the setup that reads as an established business rather than a side project, and it is the one to buy if you are doing more than one show a year.
The full booth, about $600 and up. Wide pull-up ($402.05) or double-sided ($356.95) plus a printed table cover ($338.98). Worth it when you have a corner booth, foot traffic from two directions, or you are the one exhibitor people are expected to recognise.
Buy the backdrop first
A pull-up banner gives your booth height, which is the single biggest difference between a booth that reads as established and one that reads as temporary. Sets up in under a minute, packs into one tube, survives a dozen events.
Design it in thirds:
- Top third: logo and headline, where it clears a standing crowd. This is the only part reliably visible from across an aisle.
- Middle third: three short lines at most. Not a paragraph.
- Bottom foot: nothing essential. Tables, chairs and people block it constantly. Treat it as decorative.
That last rule is the one most often broken. Contact details along the bottom of a pull-up banner are invisible for the entire show.
Retractable or X-frame?
The price table shows the X-frame graphic at $101.82 against $214.58 for a retractable, which looks like an easy decision until you read the stand column. The X-frame price is the graphic only. The retractable price includes the stand and a carry bag.
Mechanically they are different products. A retractable winds the graphic onto a spring-loaded roller inside a weighted base, so the banner lives in a sealed cassette between shows and does not crease or scuff. The base gives real stability in a busy aisle.
An X-frame is a light tensioned cross that a grommeted graphic hooks onto. It is happiest indoors, on flat floor, away from traffic, and the graphic stores rolled.
The honest rule: if the stand goes out more than a few times a year, or sits anywhere people brush past it, buy the retractable. An X-frame makes sense when messaging changes often enough that the graphic is genuinely disposable.
The table layer, and why we do not push table covers
The table is the one thing every venue gives you, and a bare folding table is the fastest way to look temporary.
A printed table cover fixes it, and at $338.98 it costs more than the banner behind you. Look at the price table again: a foam board sign propped at the back of the table does most of the same work for $25.70. It carries your name at seated eye level and doubles as the sign you prop anywhere else.
So the order we would actually recommend: banner, then rigid sign, then handouts, and a table cover only once the rest is in place and you are doing enough shows that it earns out. Sintra board is the upgrade over foam if the sign gets packed and unpacked repeatedly, since foam board corners crush.
Keep the table surface itself for things people pick up: a short price list, a three-step explanation of what you do, and a QR code that goes somewhere genuinely useful rather than your homepage.
The handover
Flyers and postcards are what leaves with the visitor, so the booth keeps working after the handshake.
Bring business cards in real quantity. A two-day show burns through more than a normal month, and running out on day two is a genuinely bad outcome. And drop stickers into every bag: a sticker on a laptop keeps your name in front of someone for years, which nothing else at that price does.
Common questions
How much does a trade show booth setup cost?
A workable kit starts around $120 with a tabletop banner and a rigid sign. A proper setup with a full-height retractable banner is about $270. Add a printed table cover and you are at $600 or more.
What size is a standard pull-up banner?
33 x 81 inches is the standard retractable size, and it includes the stand and a carry bag. Tabletop and wide formats are also available.
Is an X-frame banner cheaper than a retractable?
The graphic is, at $101.82 against $214.58, but the X-frame price does not include a stand while the retractable does. Once you add hardware the gap narrows considerably, and the retractable is far more durable.
Do I need a printed table cover?
Not to start. At around $339 it is the most expensive single item in a typical booth. A $25.70 foam board sign does most of the visual work. Buy the cover once the rest of the kit is in place.
What should go on a pull-up banner?
Logo and headline in the top third, three short lines in the middle, nothing important in the bottom foot because it is blocked all day. Resist the urge to fill it.
How many business cards should I bring to a show?
More than you think. A two-day show typically consumes more than a normal month of handing them out. Running out is worse than over-ordering, and cards are cheap at volume.
How long do table covers take to produce?
Seven business days, which is longer than most of the print in this guide. If a show is close, order the cover first or leave it out of that show.
Foam board or Sintra for a table sign?
Foam board is cheaper and fine if the sign lives in one place. Sintra is rigid and survives repeated packing, so it is the better choice for a sign that travels to every show. See the material comparison.
The kit that travels
A pull-up banner, a rigid sign for the table, and a box of handouts pack into one car and set up in ten minutes. Buy in that order and each show looks a little more established than the last.
Every graphic gets our free artwork check before printing, including a look at whether anything important has landed in that invisible bottom foot of the banner.