20 m² Modular Exhibition Stands
Twenty square metres is the footprint European organisers most often allocate as a corner, and a corner is a different brief from an inline plot — two approaches, no natural back wall, and roughly forty per cent more visible frontage. Built on a reusable aluminium system from our Frankfurt workshop.
Designs we build at 20 m²
Open any design to see every angle, choose a configuration and add-ons, and send it to us as an enquiry. Each design is a starting point — layout, counter, storage and branding are adjusted to your products and your stand number before fabrication.
What a 20 m² modular stand costs
European market rates put a full 20 m² modular build at roughly €4,900 to €10,300, which is about €245 to €515 per square metre at this footprint. Smaller stands carry a higher rate per square metre than large ones, because freight and crew are largely fixed regardless of area. The spread is wide because the structure is only part of the cost. Height drives it first: a stand with a three-metre fascia and a suspended lighting rig sits near the top of the range, while a two-and-a-half-metre wall system with structure-mounted lighting sits near the bottom.
Graphics are the second variable. Printed panels are inexpensive; backlit lightboxes cost several times more per square metre and change how the stand reads from the aisle in a way that photographs never quite capture. Furniture is the third — catalogue pieces are included in the figures above, bespoke joinery is not.
What the range does not include is the floor itself. Space rental at a major German show runs somewhere between €180 and €400 per square metre before the stand exists, and organiser fees for power, waste and passes are charged separately again. We quote the build; the venue quotes the rest, and we will tell you what to budget for both.
One thing worth weighing at this size: the system is an asset, not a consumable. Spread across three appearances the per-show cost falls to a fraction of the first build, since only graphics and crew recur. If your calendar has one show in it, say so and we will price the alternatives honestly — a bespoke build sometimes makes more sense for a single flagship appearance.
Designing for 20 square metres
What 20 m² actually gives you
The same three functions as 18 m² with roughly two square metres of slack, and that slack usually goes into circulation rather than into another feature. Twenty square metres that flows well outperforms twenty-four that is crowded.
The corner size
Twenty square metres is allocated as a corner plot more often than any other footprint in the range, and corner plots are where this size earns its money — two approaches, roughly forty per cent more visible frontage, and a natural diagonal for the counter.
Build time at this size
Around a day, occasionally a little over if a lit tower or raised platform is involved. Still well inside a standard build-up window, and rarely a source of overtime charges.
From brief to handover
Brief
Send the show, hall, stand number and open sides. We confirm height limits and rigging rules before anything is drawn.
3D design
A 3D concept within 48 hours, worked to your products and brand rather than dropped onto a template.
Quotation
An itemised quote against the approved design — structure, graphics, lighting, furniture, transport and crew, priced separately.
Production
Built and test-assembled in our Frankfurt workshop, so faults surface on our floor and not in the hall.
Delivery & installation
We ship, build inside the organiser’s window with a project manager present, and dismantle afterwards.
Modular stands from 9 to 80 m²
Every size has its own designs and price range. If your allocation changes, the same system regroups to fit.
9 m²9 m²One message, welcome counter
18 m²18 m²Storage and seating20 m²20 m²You are here
24 m²24 m²Meeting table and storeroom
27 m²27 m²Demo counter plus seating
28 m²28 m²Split display and meeting
30 m²30 m²Product wall and hospitality
45 m²45 m²Separate meeting area
48 m²48 m²Island, four approaches
50 m²50 m²Zoned circulation
54 m²54 m²Closed meeting room
60 m²60 m²Multiple zones
80 m²80 m²Full island20 m² modular stands — common questions
How much does a 20 m² modular stand cost?
Roughly €4,900–€10,300 for a full 20 m² build, or about €245–€515 per square metre. The single biggest variable here is whether the design goes vertical — a lit tower or raised platform pushes a project towards the upper end, a flat wall system sits near the lower. Included: structure, graphics, lighting, catalogue furniture, installation, dismantling. Excluded: floor rental, venue power, organiser fees, travel.
Is 20 m² better as a corner or an inline plot?
A corner, almost always, and it is the way this size is most often allocated. Two open sides give roughly forty per cent more visible frontage and a second approach. If you are offered a 20 m² inline instead, the design changes materially — the counter moves parallel to the aisle and the back wall carries the main message.
Can I fit a meeting area?
A screened seating area for two to four people, yes. A fully enclosed room, no — it would take close to half the floor. At this footprint the useful compromise is seating set behind the display run, which reads as private without being walled.
How much storage does it hold?
One to one and a half square metres, usually taken from the corner behind the counter where the floor is least useful for anything else. On a corner plot that space is often the only genuinely dead area on the stand, which is why storage tends to land there rather than being designed in first.
How long does it take to build?
About a day. A lit tower or raised platform can push it a few hours further, which still fits a standard two-day build-up comfortably.
What is the most common mistake at this size?
Adding one element too many. Twenty square metres will physically accommodate a counter, a product wall, a screen, seating and a storeroom, and a stand carrying all five has no room left for visitors. We would rather remove a feature at design stage than watch people queue into the aisle.
Can the system be reconfigured for other shows?
Yes — and at this size the reconfiguration is usually sideways rather than up or down. Twenty square metres regroups into 18 or 24 m² with no new parts at all, because organisers rarely offer the same footprint twice. Give us the range of allocations you expect over two years and the frame will be cut to cover it.
What is not included in the price?
Floor rental, venue power and organiser fees, as always. The one that surprises people at 20 m² is rigging: if a design uses a lit tower or suspended element, the venue charges per suspension point and some halls do not permit them at all. We confirm that before drawing, but the charge itself is the venue’s. Staff, catering, AV hire and storage are also separate.
Tell us the show and the stand number
We will come back with a 3D concept for your 20 m² space and an itemised quote, usually within 48 hours.
