A city food tour
With €22 of costs per guest, €130 per departure including overheads and 8 guests out of 12, charge €57 per guest. A departure covers its costs from 4 guests and makes €136 with 8.
Tour booking softwarePrice calculator
Tour price calculator: what to charge per guest
To price a tour or activity, add what each guest costs you to your departure costs shared over the guests you expect. Then add your margin and the fees you pay. Move the sliders to your numbers to see the price to charge, how many guests cover a departure and what to ask on Viator or GetYourGuide.
Card fees checked on 12 October 2026
Price calculator
Price to chargePer guest, booked with you
€59
Exactly €58.99. It covers €40 of costs per guest with 6 guests and keeps your 30% margin after fees.
Price per guest that leaves you the same
Guests a departure needs4
Profit per departure with 6 guests€103
Profit per departure when full€251
Card and booking fees per guest€1.85
Profit a year from 300 departures€30,866
What one departure makes at each group size
Your profit on one departure at your price, after every cost and fee: first with every guest booked with you directly, then with every guest booked through a marketplace at the same price.
What three businesses should charge
Three example businesses, worked out with the same sums as the calculator. In each, 80% of guests pay online, the booking system takes 2% of online payments and prices are before VAT.
A kayak trip with two guides
With €8 of costs per guest, €240 per departure including overheads and 10 guests out of 16, charge €48 per guest. A departure covers its costs from 7 guests and makes €145 with 10.
Boat tour booking softwareA pottery workshop
With €15 of costs per guest, €120 per departure including overheads and 6 guests out of 8, charge €49 per guest. A departure covers its costs from 4 guests and makes €75 with 6.
Workshop booking softwareHow the price is worked out
The calculator starts with your costs. Costs per guest go up with every guest, like food, entry tickets or equipment hire. Costs per departure stay the same however many guests come, like the guide's pay, fuel or a permit. Yearly overheads, such as insurance, your website and your booking software, are shared out over the departures you run in a year.
It then shares each departure's costs over the guests you expect, not over a full departure. A price that only works when every place is sold loses money on quiet days. If you are new, start with half to two thirds of your places and change the number once you have real bookings.
Your margin is the share of the price you keep as profit. The calculator divides your full cost per guest by one minus your margin, so €40 of costs with a 30% margin gives €57.14, and 30% of that is yours.
Fees come last. For guests who pay online, it adds the card fee, 1.5% + €0.25 with Stripe for a standard card, and your booking system's fee on online payments. Guests who pay on arrival add no fee here. If your price includes VAT or sales tax, the calculator takes it off first. The card's fixed fee is counted on every ticket, which is a little more than you pay when one booking has several guests.
The marketplace price is the price that leaves you the same money after the marketplace's commission. Some marketplace agreements ask for the same price everywhere, so read yours before you set a different price there. All prices round up to a whole amount.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for a tour?
Charge enough to cover what each guest costs you, your departure costs and overheads, your margin and your fees, at the group size you usually get. A food tour with €20 of costs per guest, €120 per departure and 6 guests comes to €59 with a 30% margin. Then compare your price with five to ten similar tours near you.
How do I work out a tour price per person?
Add your cost per guest to your departure costs divided by the guests you expect. Divide the result by one minus your margin, then by one minus your fees. As a formula: price = (cost per guest + departure costs ÷ expected guests) ÷ (1 - margin) ÷ (1 - fees). The calculator above does this for you.
What profit margin should a tour have?
There is no single right margin. Yours has to pay for your risk, your quiet months and anything you want to invest, on top of every cost, including your own wage if you guide. This calculator opens with 30% as an example. Check your margin each season against your real bookings.
Should my price be higher on Viator and GetYourGuide?
To keep the same money per guest, yes, because the marketplace keeps its commission, which tour operators usually report at 20% to 30%. Some agreements ask for the same price everywhere, so read yours first. Many businesses keep one price and accept less profit on marketplace bookings, which makes every direct booking worth more.
How many guests do I need to run a departure?
Divide your departure costs by what each guest leaves you after their own costs and fees. The calculator shows this as the guests a departure needs. Many businesses use it as their minimum group and tell guests when they book, with another date or a full refund if a departure doesn't reach it.
How do I price private tours and child tickets?
A private tour takes the whole departure, so price it for the group: at least your price per guest times your usual group size, plus a little for choosing the time. For children, start from what a child really costs you. A child who takes a place you could sell to an adult on a busy day should pay full price.
Should my tour price include VAT?
If you charge VAT, prices you show to guests in the EU and the UK must include it. Enter your rate in the calculator and it comes off the price first, so your margin stays the same. Tours can fall under special VAT rules, such as the tour operators' margin scheme, so check with your accountant. This is general information, not tax advice.
Should I add a booking fee on top of my price?
Build your fees into the ticket price, so guests see one clear price. In many countries a fee every guest must pay has to be in the first price shown anyway, which is why this calculator counts every fee as yours. On TicketPa, guests who pay on arrival never carry a fee.
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