# Speaker agency for Austria and Switzerland: conferences across the DACH region

Author: Marin Niehues, Stage Starter · Published: 2026-03-31
Topic: Speaker Agency (https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/topic/speaker-agency/)
Source: https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/speaker-agency-austria-switzerland/

A speaker agency for Austria and Switzerland submits to professional conferences across the whole DACH region in your name and accompanies you to the stage. At Stage Starter the collaboration starts from €990 net per month, and whether you are based in Vienna or Zurich makes no difference to the submission, because conferences collect talk proposals through online forms. For 2026 and the following years our conference database lists 80 conference editions in Austria and 63 in Switzerland that fill their programme through a call for papers, a public invitation for talk proposals, plus 317 in Germany. This article sizes up that market, covers language, travel and speaker fees and sets it all against what a paid speaking slot costs.

**For speakers from Austria and Switzerland, the DACH region works as one stage market: 80 plus 63 conference editions at home and 317 in Germany advertise their slots publicly. A speaker agency works all three countries in one go, because a submission can be made from anywhere.**

## What does a speaker agency for Austria and Switzerland do?

A speaker agency for Austria and Switzerland gets specialists from both countries onto professional conferences where their future clients sit in the audience. Two business models share the name, though. A speaker bureau places well-known names with organisers for a fee, whereas a speaker agency for experts works for professionals who want to win B2B clients through their appearances. A professional conference is an event where specialists from one industry listen to talks about their field. The audience therefore consists of people with a concrete professional problem, and people with such a problem later buy consulting and services.

The terms change with the country. In Austria and Switzerland the person on stage is more often called a Referent or Vortragender than a speaker, and anyone who types “Referent Konferenz Wien” or “Speaker Agentur Schweiz” into a search engine is asking for the same service. How the terms differ is covered in [Speaker, Referent, Redner: what is the difference?](/en/blog/speaker-referent-redner-difference/).

Where you live plays no part in the submission. It matters when choosing conferences, because a talk in Salzburg has a different audience from one in Hamburg, and it matters for the journey once a slot is confirmed. The full route onto the stage, from topic to first appearance, is set out in the guide [Becoming a speaker](/en/blog/how-to-become-a-speaker-guide/).

## How many conferences are there in Austria and Switzerland?

For 2026 and later, 80 conference editions in Austria and 63 in Switzerland advertise a call for papers, compared with 317 in Germany. A conference edition is one staging of a conference in a given year. Our conference database only counts editions with a genuine link to a call for papers.

**Conference editions with a call for papers**
- 317 in Germany | conference editions with a call-for-papers link for 2026 and later
- 80 in Austria | conference editions with a call-for-papers link for 2026 and later
- 63 in Switzerland | conference editions with a call-for-papers link for 2026 and later

Austria reaches a little over a quarter of the German figure and Switzerland just under a fifth, and the two countries together make 143 editions, about 45 per cent of the German value. Anyone who submits only at home has 80 or 63 editions to choose from, while treating DACH as one market gives 460. The figure covers every industry, so an agency begins by asking which conferences suit the client's field and future buyers. The size of the meetings market behind this is shown by the Meeting Industry Report Austria: for 2024 it counts around 27,000 events in Austria, including a good 7,500 congresses.

**Stages by invitation**
On top of the advertised slots come stages that organisers fill by invitation. Well-known examples are the European Forum Alpbach in Tyrol and the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken. An agency reaches programmes like these by approaching the people responsible for the programme directly with a ready topic proposal.

## Which language do I speak in Vienna, Zurich or Geneva?

Every conference sets the talk language in its call, and in the German-speaking part of the DACH region that means German or English. This decides the language of the abstract, the short description of the talk that a submission competes with. Besides German, Switzerland has three further national languages, and for conferences French and Italian matter most. According to the structural survey of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, around 61 per cent of the resident population name German as their main language, 23 per cent French and 8 per cent Italian. In Romandy, the French-speaking west of Switzerland with Geneva and Lausanne, regional industry meetings mostly run in French, while professional conferences with an international audience there are often advertised in English. The agency checks the language for every call and writes the abstract accordingly. English-language calls in Europe are discussed in [Speaking at international conferences in English](/en/blog/speaking-at-international-conferences-in-english/).

Travel follows a simple calculation. A one-day appearance in another city costs two travel days, three with a long journey or an evening arrival, and preparation is counted separately. Anyone from Austria or Switzerland who speaks regularly in Germany therefore plans appearances in blocks, for example two conferences in the same week and region.

## What a speaker agency does for speakers from Austria and Switzerland

Behind a conference programme lies ongoing work that hardly fits next to a consulting business: screening conferences, tracking deadlines, adapting abstracts to every form, submitting and following up when a programme committee stays silent. A programme committee is the group that decides on the proposals submitted. [Stage Starter takes this work off your hands: we find the right calls, write the submission and submit it](/en/), for conferences in all three countries. Before that we develop the talk with you, and afterwards we accompany you to the stage. You supply your expertise and approve the talk and abstracts once before the start, so not every submission lands on your desk again. You hold the conversations after the appearance yourself, because that is where interest turns into an assignment.

How a submission by an agency works in detail is described in [Having a call for papers submitted for you](/en/blog/call-for-papers-submission-agency/). In the DACH region an agency handles the 460 conference editions as one market, which a single speaker can hardly keep up next to a day job. If you would like a written roadmap first, you begin with the Speaker Audit from €2,000 net, which we credit when you book the agency.

Our own submissions for clients show what to expect from such a collaboration. We have submitted 2,189 abstracts, of which 1,374 are decided: 94 were accepted and 1,280 rejected, which is about 7 per cent acceptance per abstract. We reach up to 19 per cent per conference, while 5 per cent at most is typical in the market at this volume of submissions. The conference-level figure is higher than the one per abstract, because we often submit several abstracts per conference and one acceptance is enough; of 433 decided conferences, 83 accepted. No agency can guarantee an acceptance, because the programme committee decides.

## What does a speaker agency cost in DACH, and what does a paid slot cost?

A speaker agency costs from €990 net per month at Stage Starter, whereas a purchased slot quickly costs €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot. Pay to speak means that an organiser sells speaking slots, usually as a sponsorship package or against a participation fee for speakers, and such sessions are often not labelled as paid in the programme. When that makes sense is explained in [Sponsored talk and pay to speak](/en/blog/do-speakers-have-to-pay-for-the-stage/). A single purchased slot therefore costs about as much as ten monthly fees at Stage Starter.

**Three routes onto DACH conferences compared by cost**
Criterion | Submit yourself | Pay to speak | Stage Starter
Who does the work | you, next to your day job | you, with a purchased slot | we do, you approve once
What it costs | days of your working time each month | quickly €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot | from €990 net per month for the whole operation
Reach across DACH | as many conferences as your calendar allows | one slot at one organiser | researched conferences in all three countries
Pays off most when | you free up days for forms and follow-ups | you want to buy a single appearance | your time is short and a client you win is worth a lot

Over twelve months, €990 net per month adds up to €11,880 net, and instead of a single slot the entire operation runs for a year, from research to accompanying you to the stage. The value of a client you win settles the calculation: if one assignment brings in more than that sum, the year's fees are covered by a single assignment. A consulting mandate of twenty days clearly exceeds it at usual day rates.

**For speakers from Austria and Switzerland, the DACH region forms one market of 460 conference editions that publicly advertise a call for papers. A speaker agency works it from any home location, at Stage Starter from €990 net per month, whereas a single purchased speaking slot quickly costs €10,000 or more.**

**Sources**
- Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO): Strukturerhebung, main languages of the permanent resident population 2023, statistics, 2025
- Austrian Convention Bureau, Austrian National Tourist Office: Meeting Industry Report Austria (mira) 2024, industry survey, 2025
- Swiss Confederation: Federal Constitution, Art. 4 National languages, constitution, 1999

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a speaker agency for Austria and Switzerland?

Yes, Stage Starter submits to professional conferences across the whole DACH region for speakers from Austria and Switzerland. Conferences collect proposals online, so where you live does not affect the submission. Speaker bureaus, by contrast, work for organisers and place well-known names for a fee.

### How many conferences with a call for papers are there in Austria and Switzerland?

Our conference database lists 80 conference editions in Austria and 63 in Switzerland for 2026 and later with a linked call for papers, plus 317 in Germany. Together that makes 460 editions across DACH. On top of these come stages that organisers fill by invitation.

### Can I speak in Germany as a speaker from Vienna or Zurich?

Yes, conferences advertise their slots regardless of where you live. For a one-day appearance in another city, allow two travel days, or three with a long journey or an evening arrival. The conference language appears in the call.

### Do I have to speak French in Romandy?

You speak French in Romandy when the call names French as the talk language, which is the norm for regional industry meetings in Geneva, Lausanne or Neuchâtel. Professional conferences with an international audience there often advertise in English, whereas a talk in German only fits events that are explicitly bilingual. The agency reads the language requirement of every call and only submits where you can present confidently in the language required.

### How do I become a speaker at a conference in Switzerland or Austria?

You become a speaker there by the same route as in Germany, with a talk topic, an abstract and a submission to the call for papers. The programme committee chooses from all proposals, and a well-known name is not a precondition. The guide Becoming a speaker describes the whole route from topic to appearance.

### Are speakers paid in Switzerland and Austria?

Speakers at professional conferences with a call for papers usually receive no fee, though the organiser often covers the ticket and sometimes travel and hotel. Fees are paid mainly by corporate events and congresses that book speakers: newcomers receive €1,000 to €3,000, established experts €3,000 to €6,000, well-known keynote speakers €6,000 to €15,000 and celebrities €15,000 to €50,000 and more. For specialists a different calculation counts, because a single assignment from one talk is worth more than any fee, and that is why Stage Starter gets experts onto professional stages where their clients sit.

### When is conference season in Austria and Switzerland?

Most professional conferences in DACH take place in spring and autumn, while July, August and December are quieter. Submission deadlines fall before the conference date, often a few weeks before at smaller conferences and six months or more before at large congresses. An agency tracks the deadlines for all three countries continuously, so that no suitable call slips past.

### What does a speaker agency for conferences in DACH cost?

At Stage Starter the collaboration starts from €990 net per month, and the Speaker Audit as an entry point from €2,000 net is credited when you book the agency. A purchased speaking slot at an organiser, by contrast, quickly costs €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot.

An agency for the DACH region works with the same means as for any other market, with a talk that fits the audience and abstracts that persuade a programme committee. Because it follows deadlines and travel routes for three countries at once, you as a speaker have more conferences to choose from than your home country alone offers. Which of them suit your topic is something we clarify in a [first conversation](/en/erstgespraech/).