Quick Answer
How much does a class reunion cost?
A typical class reunion costs $45–$125 per person for the main event. Total budgets run $5,000 (casual, 100 attendees) to $20,000+ (premium weekend, 100 attendees). Food and beverage is the biggest line item.
Per-person ticket price by reunion style
- Casual (park, potluck, BYOB): $20–$40/person
- Restaurant private room (dinner + 2 drinks): $55–$85/person
- Hotel ballroom (plated dinner + open bar): $95–$150/person
- Multi-day weekend (Fri mixer + Sat dinner + Sun brunch): $125–$225/person
Where the budget goes (100-person reunion, ~$9,400)
Built-in budget tracking
Stop reconciling Venmo screenshots. Track every dollar in Reunly.
Track your reunion budget →Cost by milestone reunion year
Class reunion budgets scale with attendee expectations, not just inflation. A 10-year crowd is happy with a brewery back room; a 50-year crowd expects a ballroom. Here's how typical per-person budgets shift by milestone:
Two things drive milestone reunion costs higher: nostalgia-priced add-ons (memorial slideshow video, custom yearbook reprint, professional band over DJ) and spousal attendance - at 25-year and beyond, 70–85% of attendees bring a spouse, doubling the catering line without doubling the venue cost.
For a deeper breakdown of class reunion budgeting, see the class reunion budget guide.
Four real sample budgets ($3k / $7k / $12k / $20k)
Each of these is a working committee budget for a 100-person reunion. Pick the one closest to your venue type and adjust line by line.
Sample budget: 100-person 25th reunion
Ticket price set at $100 to cover budget + small surplus for the next reunion.
Hidden costs committees forget
- Venue minimum F&B: Hotels require a $5,000+ food spend. If attendance falls short, you still pay.
- Service + gratuity: 20–25% on top of catering quotes. Always confirm if it's included.
- Audio/visual rental: $200–$500 for a mic, projector, screen.
- Tasting fees: Some caterers charge $50–$150 to taste menus.
- Permits + insurance: Public parks often require both for groups over 50.
- Cleanup fees: Park rentals frequently bill a $100–$300 cleanup fee separately.
- Payment processing: Eventbrite, Venmo for Business, and Square all take 2.5–3.5% per ticket.
How to lower your per-person cost
- Cash bar instead of open bar. Saves $20–$40 per person.
- Stations or buffet instead of plated. Saves $10–$25 per person on catering.
- Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday. Venues often discount 20–30%.
- Restaurant private room instead of hotel ballroom. Frequently no rental fee with F&B minimum.
- Local sponsor. A classmate-owned business often donates $250–$1,000 for logo placement.
- Early bird tier. Charge $10–$15 less for early commitment - locks in cash flow.
Class reunion vs family reunion cost
Class reunions consistently run higher per person than family reunions - even though both might happen at the same venue. Three structural reasons:
- No kids dilution. Family reunions average 25–35% kids who eat little and drink no alcohol. Class reunions are essentially 100% paying adults - so the catering cost per ticket runs higher.
- Heavier bar spend. Bar tabs make up 15–25% of a typical class reunion budget vs. under 5% for a family reunion. A 100-person class reunion easily moves $1,500–$2,500 in alcohol.
- Higher venue expectations. Class reunions skew toward hotel ballrooms, country clubs, and brewery buyouts. Family reunions favor parks, retreat centers, and church halls - cheaper across the board.
For an apples-to-apples comparison see how much does a family reunion cost.
Class Reunion Cost FAQ
How much does a class reunion typically cost per person?
A typical class reunion ticket runs $45–$125 per person for the main Saturday event (venue + dinner + drinks + name badge + decor). Casual events (park, BYOB) come in at $20–$40 per person. Premium weekends (hotel ballroom, open bar, three events) can reach $200+ per person.
What's the total budget for a class reunion?
For 100 attendees, total budgets run $5,000 (casual) to $20,000 (premium weekend). The largest line items are food/beverage (40–60% of budget), venue rental (15–25%), and bar (10–20%). Software, decor, and badges combined are usually under 10%.
What's the cheapest way to do a class reunion?
Park or backyard, potluck or pizza, BYOB, printed-at-home name badges - all in under $20/person. Many 10-year reunions go this route. The trade-off is a less polished feel, which usually matters more at milestone reunions (25, 50).
Do class reunion tickets usually break even?
Most committees price tickets to break even or generate a small surplus that rolls into the next reunion. The biggest budget risks are venue minimums (you commit to feeding 120, only 80 show) and over-ordering open-bar inventory. Reunly's RSVP tracker prevents both by giving you a real headcount before the food order is locked.
What does class reunion software cost?
Reunly is $39 flat per reunion. Most alternatives are $200–$1,500 per year (MyEvent, Cvent) or per-ticket (Eventbrite 3.7% + $1.79). On a 120-person reunion with $75 tickets, Eventbrite fees alone come to $549 - fourteen times Reunly's full price.
How do class reunion costs differ from family reunions?
Class reunions run higher per person ($75–$125 typical) than family reunions ($45–$85 typical) for three reasons: more alcohol consumption (10–25% of budget vs <5%), more formal venues (hotel ballroom vs park pavilion), and fewer kids to dilute the per-head average. Class reunion attendance also skews higher per ticket because no one brings 4 kids - it's almost entirely paying adults.
Why are milestone class reunions (25th, 50th) more expensive?
Milestone reunions cost 50–100% more per person than 10-year reunions because attendees expect a 'lifetime event' production: hotel ballroom instead of bar back room, plated dinner instead of buffet, open bar instead of cash bar, professional photographer, and often a multi-day program (Friday mixer + Saturday gala + Sunday brunch). Attendees in their 50s and 70s also have higher disposable income and tolerate higher ticket prices.