How to lay out vendor booths and tables at your event
Booth and table sizes, aisle widths, exits and accessibility for a vendor floor plan, plus how many tables fit in your room, with sources.
How-to · 6 min read · By the ExpoRight team · Updated October 27, 2026
The short version
- Aisles at large venues
- 10 ft or more
- Standard booth
- 10 × 10 ft
- Floor per table, aisles included
- about 100 sq ft
The layout decides more about a vendor event than most hosts expect. It sets how many tables you can sell, which spots vendors fight over, whether buyers can move when it gets busy, and whether the fire marshal signs off. Here's how to plan one that works for vendors, buyers and the venue, whether it's a card show, craft fair, flea market or expo.
Start with the room and the rules
Before you draw anything, get three things from the venue: the room's measurements (including pillars, doors and anything fixed to the walls), the size of the tables they provide, and their rules for aisles and exits.
Larger venues usually want to see your plan first. Austin Convention Center has the fire marshal approve every floor plan and asks organizers not to sell space until it's approved. Moscone Center wants plans 60 days ahead. A small hall may not ask at all, but if the fire marshal visits on the day, a plan that already follows the rules saves you from moving tables with the doors open.
Standard sizes to plan with
| Item | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 8 ft folding table | 96 × 30 in | Lifetime's specifications; the usual vendor table |
| 6 ft folding table | about 72 × 30 in | Cheaper spots, or two side by side for a bigger seller |
| Standard booth | 10 × 10 ft | The common US in-line booth, per IAEE guidelines |
| Peninsula booth | usually 20 × 20 ft or more | Open on three sides |
A table is only part of a vendor's space. They also need room behind it for a chair, stock boxes and themselves. Real events give a feel for it: one craft festival sells spaces of about 10 by 4 feet to fit an 8 ft table with room to sit behind, and another craft fair sells 10 by 10 feet of floor with the table as an add-on.
Aisles: wider than you think
Aisles are where buyers spend the day, and where people bunch up around the best tables. Big convention centers set a floor: Austin and Moscone both require aisles of at least 10 feet between rows, and Austin wants 15 feet clear at entrances and exits. Smaller halls may allow less, but ask the venue or the local fire marshal for their number rather than guessing; the fire code that sets these minimums varies by building and by city.
For accessibility, the 2010 ADA Standards require an accessible route to be at least 36 inches clear, with a 60 by 60 inch passing space at least every 200 feet where the route is narrower than 60 inches. That's a minimum for one wheelchair, not a comfortable aisle at a busy show, so treat it as the narrowest any gap may ever get, including where a vendor's display sticks out.
Exits matter too. One fire department's rules, citing the national fire codes, limit the walk from anywhere inside a booth to an aisle that leads to an exit to 50 feet.
How many tables fit in your room?
A rough way to work it out: take an 8 ft table (30 inches deep), add about 3 feet behind it for the vendor, and add half of a 10 ft aisle in front, since the aisle is shared with the row opposite. That's about 8 feet wide by 10.5 feet deep, or roughly 85 square feet per table. Allow for walls you can't use, the entrance, exits and corners, and about 100 square feet per table is a sensible starting estimate.
So a 50 by 80 foot hall (4,000 square feet) holds somewhere around 35 to 40 vendor tables with comfortable aisles. Treat that as a starting point, then draw the real room. Pillars, doors and the shape of the space always cost a few tables.
Common layouts
- Straight rows: tables back to back in long rows with aisles between. Fits the most tables and is easy to number, but long rows can feel like a corridor. Break them with a cross-aisle every 8 to 10 tables.
- Perimeter plus rows: a ring of tables along the walls, with rows in the middle. Wall tables are popular with vendors who bring tall displays.
- U-shapes or islands: groups of tables that face outward on several sides. Good for bigger sellers who buy three or four tables, and it gives the room some shape.
- One loop: a single path that takes buyers past every table. Fair to every vendor, but slow to walk when the show is busy, so keep it to smaller rooms.
Price the spots that sell themselves
Not every table is worth the same. Spots near the entrance, on corners (two sides open to buyers), at the ends of rows and on the main aisle sell first. Price them higher, or offer them first to your regular vendors.
Draw it once, reuse it every time
On ExpoRight, the floor plan designer lets you:
- Draw the room to its real size, including pillars and doors.
- Place tables and booths, and line them up with the snap guides.
- Give each table a ticket type, so premium spots and standard tables have their own price and colour.
- Mark any table you're keeping, for staff or a sponsor, as Not for sale.
- Publish. Vendors pick their exact table when they pay, so there are no double bookings and no arguments at load-in.
After the show, duplicate the plan for your next event. Our card show checklist covers everything else that goes into the day.
Before you print the plan
- Every table has a number, and the numbers run in an order a vendor can follow.
- Aisles meet the venue's minimum everywhere, including at pillars and corners.
- Exits, fire extinguishers and electrical panels are clear.
- There's an accessible route to every aisle.
- Vendors who need power are near outlets.
- There's space for the entrance, the admission table and a line on a busy morning.
Questions
How wide should aisles be at a vendor show?
Ask your venue or fire marshal for their minimum. Large convention centers such as Austin and Moscone require at least 10 feet between rows. Whatever the local rule, no gap should ever be narrower than the 36 inches the ADA requires for an accessible route.
How much space does a vendor table need?
An 8 ft table is 96 by 30 inches. Add about 3 feet behind it for the vendor and their stock, and the aisle in front. Once aisles and walls are counted, about 100 square feet per table is a reasonable first estimate.
What size is a standard vendor booth?
In the US, 10 by 10 feet is the standard in-line booth at trade shows and expos. Smaller shows often sell a table space instead, usually around 8 to 10 feet wide.
Do I need a floor plan approved for my event?
Many larger venues and some fire departments require an approved floor plan before the event, sometimes 30 to 60 days ahead. Ask the venue when you book.
Draw your room, place the tables and let vendors pick and pay for their spot online. Free to set up. Start your floor plan