How Much Should You Charge for Pandal Ad Space? (2027 Pricing Guide)

Ask ten puja committees what they charge for their entry gate and you will get ten wildly different answers — ₹5,000, ₹25,000, ₹2 lakh. Most of them are guessing.

That guessing costs money. Committees routinely sell their most valuable space for a fraction of its worth, because nobody has ever told them what the market actually pays.

This guide gives you real reference ranges and a simple method to price your own puja.

First: what you are actually selling

You're selling attention over time in a trusted setting. A visitor at your pandal spends 30 to 60 minutes there, arrives in a good mood, comes with family, and often photographs the place.

Compare that to a roadside hoarding someone passes at 40 km/h. Your space is worth more per person — and your pricing should reflect that, not apologise for it.

The base formula

Start here, then adjust:

Price = (Total footfall ÷ 1,000) × Rate per thousand viewers × Position multiplier

A practical starting rate for a neighbourhood puja is ₹150–400 per thousand viewers for premium positions. So a puja with 30,000 total visitors and a gate (top multiplier) lands roughly at:

(30,000 ÷ 1,000) × ₹300 × 2.5 = ₹22,500 for gate branding.

That's a sane starting point — not a rule. Now adjust with the five factors below.

Reference price ranges

These are working ranges for Indian pujas. Small neighbourhood puja means roughly 3,000–8,000 daily footfall; mid-size means 8,000–25,000; large means a well-known pandal drawing crowds from across the city.

Entry gate / arch branding — the most valuable space you own

• Small: ₹8,000 – 25,000
• Mid: ₹25,000 – 1,00,000
• Large: ₹1,00,000 – 10,00,000+

Stage backdrop — high visibility during programmes and in photos

• Small: ₹5,000 – 15,000
• Mid: ₹15,000 – 60,000
• Large: ₹60,000 – 5,00,000

Main hoarding / road-facing banner

• Small: ₹3,000 – 10,000
• Mid: ₹10,000 – 40,000
• Large: ₹40,000 – 2,00,000

Food stall / kiosk space (per stall, full festival)

• Small: ₹5,000 – 15,000
• Mid: ₹15,000 – 50,000
• Large: ₹50,000 – 2,00,000

Pillar / pole branding (per unit)

• Small: ₹1,000 – 3,000
• Mid: ₹3,000 – 8,000
• Large: ₹8,000 – 25,000

Entry pass / coupon branding (per 1,000 passes)

• ₹2,000 – 15,000 depending on print quality and reach

Prasad packet branding (per 1,000 packets)

• ₹3,000 – 20,000 — high emotional value, often underpriced

Cultural programme announcements (per day)

• ₹1,000 – 10,000 depending on crowd size

Digital LED screen (per day, if you have one)

• ₹5,000 – 50,000

For context at the very top of the market: in Mumbai's Lokhandwala Sarbojanin, rates have ranged from around ₹5 lakh for a banner to ₹25 lakh for front-gate branding. Most committees will never be in that bracket — but it shows how much headroom exists above the ₹5,000 many pujas settle for.

Five factors that move your price

1. Footfall — the single biggest driver. Double the crowd, roughly double the price.

2. Visibility and dwell time — the gate beats a side pillar because every visitor passes under it. Ask: how many seconds does an average visitor spend looking at this spot?

3. Exclusivity — sole sponsorship should cost 2–3× a shared arrangement. The brand is paying for the absence of competitors.

4. Legacy and prestige — a 75-year-old puja with press coverage, awards, or a famous idol artist can charge a genuine premium. Legacy is real value.

5. Location — a main-road pandal beats an inside-lane one, because it reaches people who never enter.

Common pricing mistakes

• One flat price for everything. Your gate and a side pillar are not worth the same. Price each space separately.
• Charging the same as five years ago. Costs have risen; your prices should have too.
• No exclusivity premium. If a brand wants to be the only sponsor at your gate, that's worth considerably more.
• Forgetting the small spaces. Prasad packets, entry passes and pillars add up — often ₹20,000–50,000 in aggregate.
• Undercharging out of shyness. You're offering real marketing value. Price it accordingly.
• No package options. Tiers let brands self-select upward.

Build three packages

Most committees do better with tiers than with a price list:

• Gold — gate branding + stage backdrop + daily announcements + logo on all publicity
• Silver — main hoarding + stall space + logo on publicity
• Bronze — pillar branding + entry pass branding

Price Gold at roughly 3–4× Bronze. Most brands choose the middle tier — which is usually more than they would have offered if you'd quoted a single number.

Test your price before you commit

A quick sanity check: would a local jeweller or restaurant owner consider this a reasonable spend for reaching 30,000 neighbourhood customers over five days?

If the answer is obviously yes, you're probably underpricing. If they'd hesitate but consider it, you're about right.

Frequently asked questions

What if a sponsor says our price is too high?

Don't drop the price immediately — reduce what's included instead. Move them from Gold to Silver. Cutting the price teaches every future sponsor to negotiate.

Should we charge more for the busiest days?

For stalls and daily announcements, yes — Ashtami and Navami command a premium. For fixed branding like gates and hoardings, keep one price for the full festival; it's simpler to sell.

How do we price if this is our first year?

Start at the lower end of the small-puja range, be transparent that it's your first year, and commit hard to sending proof photos. Next year, with photos and a real footfall figure, you can raise prices confidently.

Can we charge different amounts to different sponsors for the same space?

Avoid it. Sponsors talk to each other, especially local shops in the same market. Inconsistent pricing damages trust quickly.

Should our prices be public?

Yes. Published prices filter out time-wasters and make brands far more likely to approach you. Hiding prices adds friction most marketing managers won't bother with.

How much should we raise prices each year?

If your footfall held steady and you delivered proof photos, a 10–20% annual increase is normal and defensible. Big jumps need a reason — bigger crowd, new award, better location.

Put your prices where brands can see them

The fastest way to stop undercharging is to list your spaces publicly, with prices attached — so brands compare you on value rather than haggling in the dark.

**List your puja free on PujaSathi** — add each ad space with its own price and last year's photos, and let brands book directly.

Related: [How to Get Sponsorship for Your Durga Puja](/blog/how-to-get-sponsorship-for-durga-puja) · [Free Sponsorship Proposal Template](/blog/durga-puja-sponsorship-proposal-template) · [Browse festivals](/festivals)

Prices in this guide are indicative ranges compiled from publicly reported festival advertising rates and market practice. Actual rates vary by city, crowd and year.