How much does a band cost in the UK?

UK gig fees vary by band size, city and event type. A solo acoustic act typically earns £100–£250 for a pub gig, while a 3–4 piece function band charges £600–£1,300 for a wedding. London rates run 15–20% above the UK average. Use the calculator above to get live percentiles for your exact configuration — the data comes from thousands of real UK observations updated nightly. The Musicians’ Union national gig rates provide a recommended minimum floor.

The median fee for a 3–4 piece wedding band in the UK is around £700–£900 in 2026, based on GigXchange Index data. London weddings command £900–£1,200 at the median. Top-tier acts at the 90th percentile charge £1,500+. These figures reflect the artist fee — agency-booked acts will cost more due to commission on top.

Yes — the calculator is completely free, with no signup, no paywall and no hidden costs. It works instantly in your browser. GigXchange’s revenue comes from its booking marketplace — the calculator exists because the UK live music industry deserves open, honest data.

Every figure comes from real UK data — agency listings, completed bookings, performer rate cards, Musicians’ Union recommended rates and anonymous submissions. Each cell only publishes once it has enough weighted observations to be statistically reliable. The data refreshes nightly and external sources are re-scanned weekly.

UK booking agencies typically add 15–20% commission on top of the artist fee. The percentiles in this calculator reflect the artist fee — what the act takes home. If you’re comparing to an agency quote, expect the agency price to be higher. The calculator helps artists price competitively and helps venues understand fair direct-booking fees without the agency markup. See the full platform comparison for a side-by-side breakdown.

The calculator is the one GigXchange tool that lives fully on the website. Every other tool — setlist builder, booking contracts, stage plots, tour posters, gig flyers, invoices and a bookable availability widget for your own website — comes free with a GigXchange profile, which takes 30 seconds to create. See all free tools, or find stage time with the Open Mic Finder — 1,300+ weekly nights across 30+ UK cities.

Switch the role to “Venue” and the calculator shows what acts of each size typically charge in your city and event type — p25 to p90, from real observations. Venues use it to budget a live music night, sanity-check a quote, and set fair direct-booking fees. Listing on the Grassroots Venue Directory (2,800+ UK venues) is free too.

The GigXchange Index aggregates 9 source classes: public agency listings and rate-card articles (re-scanned every 7 days), confirmed GigXchange bookings and posted gig budgets, Musicians’ Union recommended minimums, and plausibility-checked anonymous submissions from working UK musicians. Cells rebuild every 24 hours and observations older than 12 months decay out of the model.