The short answer: a custom-built booth on raw space in China typically runs ¥650–1,400 per square metre — roughly US$95–205 at ¥6.8 to the dollar — covering design and build, excluding the floor space rental itself. For a 36 sqm stand, most budgets land between ¥25,000 and ¥40,000 (approx. US$3,700–5,900).
Why is the range so wide? Because cost per square metre is a misleading metric to begin with. A booth's cost does not grow out of floor area. It grows out of walls, structure, lighting and enclosed rooms. Here is how that pricing actually works.
Why smaller booths cost more per square metre
An 18 sqm stand usually costs more per square metre (around ¥830–1,400) than a 54 sqm one (around ¥650–1,100). The reasons are structural, not commercial:
- A reception counter, a meeting table, a storage room and the design fee are fixed requirements. A small floor area spreads them thinner.
- Small booths have a higher ratio of wall length to floor area — and walls are where the money goes, not the floor.
- The build crew's day rate barely moves with booth size.
So if you are choosing between 18 and 27 sqm, the marginal cost of those extra 9 sqm is often lower than you would expect. Per-size budget ranges are in the booth size guides.
The three variables that set the price
For the same 36 sqm, the difference between ¥25,000 and ¥40,000 almost always comes from these three:
1. Enclosed rooms
A closed VIP meeting room or a separate storage room each means extra walls, a door, and interior finishing. 36 sqm is the first size at which an enclosed room stops squeezing the main display space — which is why we do not recommend a closed VIP room at 18 sqm.
2. Illuminated surface area
Fabric lightboxes and backlit membrane walls are the single biggest amplifier of perceived quality, and among the most expensive wall treatments per square metre. On the same brand wall, printed graphics and a backlit membrane can differ several times over in cost. The trick to controlling budget is to spend illuminated area where sightlines converge, not across all four sides.
3. Overhead structures and non-rectilinear forms
Ring fascias, cantilevers and double-height headers pull in rigging point rental, truss, and additional structural calculation. Every layer the design "lifts" off the ground moves the budget up a step.
Raw space price is not the whole cost
These items happen for real, and sit outside most quotes:
- Venue management fees and construction deposits — charged per the venue's own rules; settle this before you sign.
- Power connection — the organiser charges by load. A lighting-heavy booth should not be declared at minimum load.
- Rigging points — anything suspended needs them, at hundreds to over a thousand yuan per point.
- Overtime build charges — venues bill by the hour once you run past the allotted build window.
- Reprinting graphics — colour mismatches or wrong dimensions found on site cost more in time than in money.
Where quotes hide their margin
The industry norm is a quote with a single line: "Booth construction: ¥XX,XXX". The margin hides in that opacity:
- A bundled price shows no per-item cost. For the same design, quotes from different contractors can differ by more than 30%, and you have nothing to compare on.
- "Free design" is not free — the design fee sits inside the build cost, and it ties you to that contractor for construction.
- On-site change premiums — a low quote wins the signature, then variations get billed once you are already in the hall.
The only way to judge whether a quote is reasonable is to make it itemise down to components: how many square metres of wall panel, how many light fittings, how many square metres of carpet, how many labour hours. A quote that cannot be broken apart cannot be compared.
That is exactly how BoothAI quotes. The AI generates a 3D scheme first, then prices every component in that scheme into a bill of materials — wall panels, lighting, furniture, each listed individually, so you can see where every unit of currency goes.
Budget by size, at a glance
- 18 sqm booth: approx. US$2,200–3,700 — the compact single-open-side play
- 27 sqm booth: approx. US$2,900–4,700 — handling the 3m × 9m strip and its corner
- 36 sqm booth: approx. US$3,700–5,900 — the first size where a closed VIP room is viable
- 54 sqm booth: approx. US$5,100–8,800 — two-zone narrative and overhead structures
- 81 sqm booth: approx. US$8,100–13,200 — the four-sided island play
These are illustrative ranges for conventional construction and move with materials and form. Enter your show and your floor area, and get a scheme generated from your industry's design language plus a component-by-component quote in 30 seconds — that will be more accurate than any range.