Event budgets 2026: what EventTrack means for speakers

Event budgets for 2026 are set to grow by 8 to 11 per cent among the brands surveyed in EventTrack 2026, a study by Event Marketer and the agency Sparks, and most of those brands intend to produce the same number of events as in 2025. Event Marketer presented the results on 16 December 2025 in a video, and according to the executive summary 48 to 65 per cent of brands name content for live experiences as an area where they will invest more in 2026. More than 1,000 marketers and attendees in the USA were surveyed in the summer of 2025, so for the German-speaking market the study shows a direction. For speakers this means, in our assessment, that more money per event is available for content, while the number of events mostly stays the same.

What EventTrack 2026 says about event budgets for 2026

EventTrack is the annual study from Event Marketer, a trade publication that has tracked experiential marketing for more than 23 years, and the 2026 edition was produced with the experiential agency Sparks as partner. According to the introduction to the executive summary, it comprises six surveys of marketers for consumer events, B2B events and trade shows as well as of attendees, with more than 1,000 people in total in the USA, surveyed in the summer of 2025.

On budgets the study makes three statements. The majority of event marketers expect spending on events and trade shows to rise in 2026, brands across all sectors will spend 8 to 11 per cent more by their own account, and the majority will produce the same number of events as before. Fewer than 10 per cent of brands plan fewer events. Derse summarised the study for B2B marketers on 17 December 2025: 86 per cent want to increase their event spending, 55 per cent will keep the number of their events, 47 per cent plan more trade shows, and leads remain the most important success measure, while direct sales as a yardstick have fallen from 61 to 25 per cent. These B2B figures come from Derse’s report.

The attendee side is growing as well. According to the executive summary, 56 per cent of all attendees surveyed expect to attend more events in 2026 than in 2025, with 59 per cent among B2B attendees and 57 per cent among trade show attendees.

Event budgets for 2026: where the money goes according to the study

Event Marketer describes content as the largest field of investment. All kinds of event marketers name content created for or shown to attendees as their biggest expense, and 48 to 65 per cent want to spend more on it in 2026. According to the study, the most important goal of B2B event teams is building a relationship with the target audience, with media coverage in second place. In addition, 59 per cent of the attendees surveyed capture content at live experiences, and 82 per cent tell friends or family about their encounter with a brand.

The executive summary does not mention talks specifically. In our assessment a talk is part of the content shown to attendees at an event, and organisers and exhibitors whose budgets are rising probably put part of that into the programme. Whether the money reaches conference organisers or speakers cannot be read from the figures.

What event budgets for 2026 mean for speakers

A sober consideration for your submissions follows from the table: if the budget grows and the number of events stays roughly the same, the quality of the proposal decides who gets one of the slots. How industry conferences work as a route to clients is described in the article Why the industry conference works so well as a sales channel.

Calculation: your own event budget for 2026 as a speaker

As a speaker you have an event budget too, namely the sum of all the costs an appearance causes. Suppose you give six talks in 2026, an appearance costs 700 euros for travel and accommodation, and you put the two days of working time at 1,200 euros. The cost per appearance is then 1,900 euros and the annual budget 11,400 euros. If your budget grew by 8 to 11 per cent like those of the brands in the study, you would add 912 to 1,254 euros and reach 12,312 to 12,654 euros. All the amounts are assumptions that you replace with your own costs.

With this figure you can decide whether to plan a seventh conference or put the additional money into a better talk. The study argues for the second option, because it describes the quality of content as the focus of spending.

How to plan your event budget for 2026 in five steps

1. Collect the deadlines: enter the submission deadlines of the conferences that fit your topic in a calendar. Which dates are usual for deadlines is covered in the article Call-for-papers deadlines.
2. Work out the cost per appearance: put in travel costs and hotel as well as your working time and multiply by the number of appearances you aim for.
3. Choose in-person and online formats by benefit: an in-person appearance involves travel and accommodation, an online appearance does not. How the formats are distributed is shown in the article In person, hybrid or online.
4. Set a measure: after every appearance note the number of conversations and enquiries, because according to Derse leads remain the most important success measure for B2B marketers.
5. Rebuild the budget once figures exist: after three appearances you can see which conferences bring conversations and align the remaining dates accordingly.