How Much Do Event Planners Charge in Nigeria? Fees, Pricing Models and How to Set Yours
· comtev
Event planners in Nigeria charge anywhere from ₦150,000 to ₦2,000,000 or more per event, according to the fee guides published in 2026. A day-of coordinator for a small wedding sits at the bottom of that range; full planning for a 500-guest wedding sits at the top. Most planners charge in one of two ways: a flat fee, or a percentage of the client's total budget, usually quoted between 10 and 25%. This guide collects the published figures with their sources, explains what moves the fee, and shows how a planner can set a price that still pays after the client adds 200 guests.
What event planners in Nigeria charge, by type of event
There is no official rate card. The figures below are what three fee guides published, read on 18 September 2026. They are ranges, not quotes, and they come from published guides, not surveys. Check them before you rely on them.
| Event | Published fee range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding, 500 guests | ₦800,000 to ₦2,000,000 | VisCorner, cost of event planners in Nigeria |
| Wedding, 200 to 400 guests, full planning, Lagos or Abuja | ₦400,000 to ₦900,000 | ElitePlanners.ng, wedding planner fees 2026 |
| Wedding, day-of coordination only | from ₦150,000 | ElitePlanners.ng, wedding planner fees 2026 |
| Birthday party, 500 guests | ₦300,000 to ₦500,000 | VisCorner |
| Funeral or burial, 500 guests | ₦400,000 to ₦1,000,000 | VisCorner |
| Corporate event, 500 guests | ₦300,000 to ₦600,000 | VisCorner |
| Any event in Lagos | ₦200,000 to ₦1,500,000 and above | TrustAm, event planner cost in Lagos 2026 |
These are the planner's fee only. Venue, food, decor, drinks, the band and the printer are paid separately, either by the client directly or through the planner.
The ways planners price a job
A flat fee. One number for the whole job, agreed up front. The client knows what they are paying, and the planner carries the risk if the job grows.
A percentage of the budget. The planner takes a share of what the client spends on the whole event. ElitePlanners puts the usual share for weddings at 10 to 15%; TrustAm quotes 10 to 25% across event types in Lagos. The fee grows with the event, which suits big weddings, but it only works if the client tells you the real budget.
A package with lines. Planning, coordination on the day, guest management and the door are priced as separate lines, so the client can see what each part costs and add or remove parts. This is also how you charge for work that used to be done for free, which is the next section.
TrustAm also lists an hourly rate, which suits a consultation or a single site visit better than a whole wedding weekend.
What moves the fee up or down
- Guest count. Every published range above is tied to a guest number, because more guests means more ushers, more names to check and a longer gate.
- How many events. An introduction, a traditional wedding and a white wedding on one weekend are three jobs, even if the client calls it one wedding.
- Scope. Full planning from the first meeting costs more than partial planning, which costs more than day-of coordination. ElitePlanners' gap between the two ends is more than ten times.
- City. TrustAm's Lagos range is ₦200,000 to ₦1,500,000 and above; its Benin City guide gives ₦150,000 to ₦700,000 or more.
- Lead time. A job booked three weeks out costs the planner more than one booked six months out, and the fee should say so.
How to set your own fee as a planner
Start from your cost, not from the competitor's Instagram. Write down every person you will pay on the day (assistants, ushers, door staff), the hours you will spend before the day, transport, data and airtime, and what you will lose if the client pays late. That total is the floor. Your fee is the floor plus what you are worth, and the published ranges above tell you roughly where the market sits.
Then quote in lines. A client who sees "planning ₦600,000" argues about the ₦600,000. A client who sees planning, coordination on the day, guest list collection, invitations and access passes, and RSVP follow-up as separate lines argues about one line and keeps the rest.
The lines planners forget to charge for
Guest list collection, RSVP chasing and the gate often disappear inside the planning fee. They are the part of the job that eats the most evenings: names arriving on WhatsApp from the couple, both mothers and three aunties, in five formats, with duplicates. We wrote about the guest list that would not stop growing.
These lines are real work and clients already pay for them elsewhere. A printed access card, for example, costs between ₦20,000 and ₦90,000 per 100 from Lagos printers, which we priced in the wedding access card guide.
On Comtev, the guest-side work is a product you resell. An AI assistant collects the guest list on WhatsApp, invitations and QR access passes go out in one tap, and automations send the follow-ups. You buy message sends and guest-collection seats at wholesale and put them on your client's invoice at your own price. On the pricing page there is a worked example of one wedding: the planner invoiced ₦900,000 for e-invitations and QR access cards, ₦450,000 for RSVP tracking and thank-you messages and ₦300,000 for guest list collection, a ₦1,650,000 total, paid Comtev ₦550,000 and kept ₦1,100,000. Those figures are an example, not a quote. The point is that the guest side becomes lines you are paid for, not favours inside your fee.
Put the price in writing before the work starts
A fee that lives in a voice note is a fee that shrinks. Agree the price, the deposit and the date the balance is due before you book a single vendor, and send it as an invoice, not a chat message. The folk standard is a large deposit before work begins and the balance well before the event day, never at the venue. We covered the folk rules in get paid like a professional.
If you only need the document, the free invoice generator makes a naira invoice PDF with optional 7.5% VAT and your bank details, in your browser, with no account. If you want the client to pay from a link by Paystack and the money to land in a balance you withdraw to your bank, that is invoicing on Comtev. See how it works.
FAQs
How much do event planners charge in Nigeria?
Fee guides published in 2026 put event planner fees in Nigeria between ₦150,000 and ₦2,000,000 or more per event. Day-of coordination sits at the bottom, full planning for a large wedding at the top. The figure is the planner's fee only; the venue, food and decor are paid separately.
How much do wedding planners charge in Nigeria?
ElitePlanners.ng puts full planning for a 200 to 400 guest wedding in Lagos or Abuja at ₦400,000 to ₦900,000, and day-of coordination from ₦150,000. VisCorner puts a 500-guest wedding at ₦800,000 to ₦2,000,000. Both figures were read on 18 September 2026.
Do event planners charge a percentage of the budget?
Some do. ElitePlanners gives 10 to 15% of the total budget as the usual share for weddings, and TrustAm quotes 10 to 25% across event types in Lagos. Others charge a flat fee agreed up front, or a package priced line by line.
How much does an event planner earn in Nigeria?
There is no published survey of planner income in Nigeria. Most planners are self-employed, so what they earn is their fees minus what they pay their team, transport and anything they absorb when a client pays late. Pricing in lines, and charging for guest management and the gate, is how planners raise what they keep without raising the headline fee.
What should an event planner's quote include?
The planning fee, coordination on the day, the number of guests the price covers, the guest-side work (guest list collection, invitations, access passes, RSVP follow-up), the deposit, the date the balance is due, and what happens to the price if the guest list grows.
Does Comtev charge planners a fee?
Comtev is free to run: no subscription and no per-seat fee. Planners buy message sends and guest-collection seats at wholesale inside the app and set their own client price. There is no published per-guest or per-message price.