Types of Exhibition Stand and How to Choose Between Them
Once you've booked your space, you choose how to build on it — and the build type drives cost, presence and reuse.
Once you've booked your space, you choose how to build on it — and the build type drives cost, presence and reuse. This is about the stand you construct, not the plot you rent. Here are the main types, from lightest to largest, and roughly what each costs.
Shell scheme: the venue's basic package
The shell scheme is the entry-level build most organisers offer as a package: a partitioned booth with walls, a fascia board carrying your name, basic lighting and often a carpet, all supplied and installed by the venue's contractor. Its virtue is simplicity and low cost — you turn up, add graphics and furniture, and you are trading. For a first show, a small budget or a secondary market, it is a sensible, honest choice, and there is no shame in it. Its limit is that every shell-scheme booth in the hall is essentially identical, so your presence depends entirely on the graphics and how well the space is worked. If your goal is simply to be present and start conversations, the shell scheme does the job. If your goal is to stand out in a competitive hall, it is a floor to build up from rather than the answer.
Modular stands: reusable, reconfigurable, cost-effective
A modular stand is built from a reusable system — engineered aluminium framing, connectors and interchangeable panels — that assembles into different configurations for different shows. The appeal is economic and practical: you invest once in the system and reconfigure it for a 6-metre booth at one show and a larger layout at the next, changing graphics rather than rebuilding. A well-designed modular stand no longer looks like a kit; current systems hide their framing behind full-height graphic panels, integrate lighting and screens, and read as a custom build to everyone but the crew assembling it. For a company that exhibits several times a year, modular is usually the most cost-effective route over a season, because the structure amortises across shows and only the graphics and layout change. The trade-off is that a system, however flexible, works within its own geometry; genuinely unusual shapes and features sit outside what it can do.
Custom stands: built around your brand and goal
A custom stand is designed and fabricated specifically for you, unconstrained by any system's geometry — bespoke shapes, double-decks, integrated product display, whatever the brand and the goal require. It delivers the strongest presence and the most control, and on a large or flagship show it is often what a serious exhibitor needs to hold its own. The trade-offs are cost and lead time: a custom stand costs more than a modular equivalent and takes longer to design, approve and build, so it rewards planning ahead. The honest nuance many builders skip is that "custom" and "reusable" are not opposites. A well-engineered custom stand can be designed to be rebuilt and reconfigured across several shows, spreading its cost the way a modular system does, provided reuse is designed in from the start rather than bolted on afterwards. If it matters that the stand tours, say so at the design stage.
Double-decker stands: buying floor space upward
A double-decker — a two-storey stand — is the answer when floor space is expensive or scarce and you need more of it: a ground floor for display and meetings and an upper deck for private hospitality or quieter conversations. On a crowded show where large plots are costly or fully booked, building upward can be more economical than renting a much larger single-storey footprint, and the raised deck gives genuine sightline presence across the hall. The costs are real and specific, though: double-deckers carry strict engineering and safety requirements, need structural approval drawings and usually a sign-off from the venue, and take more time and budget than any single-storey build. Pricing is genuinely project-specific — there is no honest "from" figure — so it is quoted case by case. For the right exhibitor on the right plot, the presence and the extra usable area justify it; for most, a well-designed single-storey stand is the better value.
How to choose between them
The right build type falls out of three honest questions rather than a preference for one style. First, how often will you exhibit? A one-off show points toward a shell scheme or a rented modular; several shows a year make an owned modular system or a reuse-designed custom stand pay for itself. Second, what is the goal — presence and conversations, or standing out in a flagship hall? The former is well served by modular; the latter is where custom earns its cost. Third, what is the plot and the budget? A small plot in a secondary market rarely justifies a custom build; a large plot at a headline show rarely does justice to a shell scheme. Match the build to the answers, not to what sounds most impressive. The most expensive stand is not the best one — the best one is the type that fits how often you show, what you are there to achieve, and the space you have taken.
Real shots from our Frankfurt workshop and European show floors. Click any image to enlarge.
Think in total cost, not per-show price
The mistake that quietly wastes the most money is judging a stand on its single-show price rather than its cost across the season. A shell scheme is cheapest once and expensive if you rebuild the equivalent five times a year; an owned modular system or a reuse-designed custom stand costs more up front and far less over several shows, because the structure travels and only graphics and layout change. Before you choose, count the shows you will do in the next twelve to eighteen months and price the options across all of them, including storage between shows and refurbishment of graphics. Seen that way, the "expensive" reusable option is frequently the cheapest, and the "cheap" repeated build is the costly one. Decide the build type against your real exhibiting calendar, and the stand stops being a recurring surprise and becomes an asset you have planned.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of exhibition stand?
Shell scheme (the venue's basic partitioned package), modular (a reusable system reconfigured across shows), custom (designed and built specifically for you), and double-decker (a two-storey stand that buys floor area upward). Each suits a different combination of budget, frequency and goal.
Is a modular stand cheaper than a custom one?
Usually per show, and especially across a season, because the reusable system amortises over several shows while only graphics and layout change. But a custom stand can also be designed for reuse, spreading its cost similarly — provided reuse is built in from the start rather than added later.
When is a double-decker worth it?
When floor space is expensive or scarce and you need more usable area than the plot allows — building upward can beat renting a much larger footprint, and the raised deck adds sightline presence. It carries strict engineering, approval and cost requirements, and is quoted project by project, so it suits the right exhibitor on the right plot rather than most.
How do I choose the right stand type?
Answer three questions: how often you will exhibit, what the goal is (presence versus standing out at a flagship), and what plot and budget you have. Frequent shows favour reusable modular or reuse-designed custom; flagship presence favours custom; small plots in secondary markets favour shell or modular.
Further reading: How Fabric Exhibition Stands Became an Excellent Option for Expos and Portable vs Custom Displays: Which Is Right for You.
