How to Price Your Performance
What to Charge as a UK Performer — and How to Hold Your Rate With Confidence
Pricing is one of the hardest parts of being a freelance performer. This guide covers how to work out your rate, what different event types pay, how to structure deposits and how to stop undercharging.
Wedding Rates · Corporate Fees · Festival Rates · Private Bookings · Residency Pricing · Deposit Structure
✓ Contracts on every booking · ✓ No performer commission · ✓ payment route recorded
Most Performers Are Undercharging — Here's How to Fix It
Underpricing signals inexperience to professional hirers
If your rate is too low for a corporate or wedding booking, it raises questions rather than winning the gig. Know your market rate and price accordingly.
Different event types have completely different budgets — are you pitching to the right ones?
A corporate brand activation has a fundamentally different budget to a pub gig. This guide helps you understand what different events pay and how to position yourself to access them.
You're including travel, setup and costume in your base rate — and losing money
These are additional costs that should be itemised separately on your invoice. AnyGig's free invoicing tool makes this simple.
You don't know how to justify your rate when a client pushes back
This guide gives you the language and the logic to hold your rate confidently when hirers negotiate.
How to Set Your Rate
Understand your costs
Time, travel, preparation, equipment and insurance
Research market rates
For your act type and event category
Set your rate with confidence
Itemise additional costs separately
Invoice professionally
Deposit upfront, balance on completion
Pricing Guide for UK Performers
Know Your Floor
Calculate your minimum viable rate — the point below which you lose money. Never go below this regardless of the client or the occasion.
Corporate Rates
Corporate events consistently pay the most. Experienced performers can command £500–£5,000+ for corporate bookings depending on act type and duration.
Wedding Rates
Wedding bookings typically fall between £300–£2,000 depending on act type, duration and location. Couples budget for entertainment seriously — price accordingly.
Festival Rates
Festival fees vary wildly. Emerging acts may perform for exposure early on, but establish a minimum fee quickly and stick to it.
professionally organised event Rates
professionally organised event budgets vary. Get a budget indication before quoting. High-net-worth private events can pay as well as corporate bookings.
Travel & Expenses
Always charge travel separately. Calculate door-to-door time and cost — not just mileage. Include parking, tolls and accommodation where applicable.
Deposit Structure
25–50% deposit is standard. Invoice for it immediately on booking confirmation. AnyGig's invoicing tool handles this automatically.
Raise Your Rates
Review your rates every 6 months. As your profile, reviews and experience grow, your rates should grow with them.
Get Paid What You're Worth — Every Time
You keep your full fee
AnyGig charges the hirer, not you. Nothing is ever deducted from your payment.
Automatic contracts
Fee, timings and cancellation terms locked in on every booking. No renegotiation after the fact.
Clear payment record
Your payment route and schedule are recorded before the booking is confirmed.
Free invoicing tool
Create professional invoices with deposit splits and itemised costs in under 2 minutes.
Free to get started
Creating your profile and applying for gigs costs nothing.
How to Price Your Performance in the UK
Pricing your performance is one of the most important decisions you make as a freelance performer — and most performers get it wrong, usually by charging too little.
This guide covers how to work out your rate, what different event types realistically pay, how to structure deposits and invoices and how to hold your rate confidently when clients push back.
Start with your costs — not the market
Before you look at what other performers charge, work out your own floor rate — the minimum you need to earn from a booking to cover your time, travel, preparation and costs. Include: travel time and cost door to door, preparation and rehearsal time, costume and equipment costs, PLI and any other professional costs, and your time on the day including setup and breakdown. This is your floor. Never go below it.
What different event types pay
Corporate events pay the most consistently. Experienced performers with strong profiles and corporate credits can command £500–£5,000+ for a corporate booking. Wedding bookings typically range from £300–£2,000 depending on act type and duration. Festival fees vary — establish a minimum early and don't perform for free beyond the very early stages of your career. professionally organised events vary most widely — always get a budget indication before quoting.
Itemise your costs — don't bundle them
Travel, parking, accommodation, costume and equipment costs should always be itemised separately on your invoice — not included in your base rate. This makes your base rate look lower and competitive, while ensuring you're fully covered for all costs. Create a free performer invoice with itemised costs in under 2 minutes.
How to hold your rate when clients push back
When a client says your rate is too high, the instinct is to drop it. Don't. Instead, explain what's included — professional PLI, an auto-generated contract, a recorded payment schedule, full preparation and a polished performance. If they still push back, offer to reduce scope rather than rate — a shorter set, fewer costume changes, a simpler setup. Never drop your rate without reducing what you deliver.
Related guides: invoicing for dancers, how to get more bookings as a performer, and how AnyGig works for performers.