Party Rental Business Ideas: 15 Categories With Real Prices

Every category below is a real line of business for a party rental company, with what it costs to buy and what operators publish as their rental price. The point is to compare like for like: money in, money out, and the labor, storage and season each one brings.

All prices were read on the seller's or operator's own page on 16 October 2026 unless the row says otherwise, before tax, freight and delivery. Rental prices are one market's prices, not a national average, and many operators publish none at all: Sky High Party Rentals in Houston says its rentals "start from $150" and shows a live price only once a customer enters a date and ZIP code. Check your own market before you buy anything.

This guide is general information, not insurance, tax or legal advice. Insurance notes are pointers for a conversation with your broker.

If you have not started yet, the whole business is laid out in how to start a party rental business. This page is about what to put on the shelf.

Purchase prices span from under $600 for a popcorn machine to almost $30,000 for a large all terrain stage. Rental prices span from $25 a day for a giant Connect 4 to $1,200 for a 3 hour 360 photo booth package.

Read 16 October 2026 unless stated. Grand Rental Station prices are its customer pickup prices in Hudson and Pelham, New Hampshire, plus a 13 percent damage waiver.

The purchase price is the smaller part of the decision. What a category needs on the day, the crew, the water, the outlet and the floor space, decides whether it fits the company you already run.

Sources: weights from the commercial bounce house guide; slide length from Magic Jump; foam space from SplashTimesFun and FoamParty.com; dunk tank from Twister Display; tent permits from the International Fire Code via the party rental pillar; LendControl, 17 March 2026, on water slide premiums.

Inflatables are where most party rental companies start: a 13x13 commercial bounce house listed at $1,099 to $2,050 on manufacturers' sites in October 2026, and rents for $150 to $300 a day depending on the market. They are light enough for two people and rent every weekend from spring to fall.

Combos, a bounce house with a slide, earn more per booking for the same setup time. Ginflatables, a manufacturer, describes a typical season as April to October, about 30 weeks, with weekend bookings carrying the revenue. Where to buy and what to check is in where to buy commercial bounce houses, and the business around them in how to start a bounce house rental business.

Water slides and obstacle courses are the large inflatables: the highest price per booking in the inflatable fleet and the heaviest units on the trailer. Magic Jump listed water slides at $1,629 to $19,995 and obstacle courses at $1,459 to $16,995 on 16 October 2026.

Water slides. Most of Magic Jump's 15 foot slides sit at $2,129 to $3,295, its 20 foot slides at $2,999 to $5,275, and its 37 foot North Shore at up to $14,995. Grand Rental Station in New Hampshire rents an 18 foot retro double slide at $350 a day. Water raises the insurance bill: LendControl's March 2026 insurance guide says water slides and wet combos "carry higher risk and higher premiums" and tells operators to ask about water slide coverage before buying a policy. The season is the summer. The full buyer's view is in commercial water slides.

Obstacle courses. Magic Jump's range starts at $1,459 for a 15 foot dry course and runs to $7,049 for a 65 foot wet or dry combo, with an 85 foot boot camp at $16,995. They sell to schools, churches and corporate field days as well as birthdays, which stretches the season. Our pricing guide puts a typical obstacle course rental at about $525, derived from JumpOrange's operator figures. Lengths, crews and pricing are in inflatable obstacle courses.

Tents, tables, chairs and linens are the core of an event rental company: every party needs seating, and every outdoor party needs shade or shelter. They earn on quantity rather than on one big ticket, and most of them stack.

Tents. LendControl puts a 20x20 pole tent at about $2,850 to buy and a 20x40 frame tent at about $5,880, renting at $200 to $500 and $400 to $750. Grand Rental Station rents a 10x10 frame tent for $185 a weekend and a 10x20 for $285, and says all its frame tents need delivery and professional setup. Under the International Fire Code a tent over 400 square feet needs a permit, as the party rental pillar explains. Where to buy them is in buying event tents, and the business in how to start a tent rental business.

Tables and chairs. EventStable lists commercial plastic folding chairs wholesale from $12.99 to $15.99, a 6 foot wood banquet table wholesale from $129.99 and an 8 foot plastic one from $144.99. Grand Rental Station rents folding chairs at $1.90 to $2.40 a weekend and an 8 foot banquet table at $10.75. LendControl's ranges are $2 to $5 a chair and $10 to $15 a 6 foot table. Wholesale sources and what to check are in buying tables and chairs wholesale.

Linens. Polyester tablecloths cost $5 to $12 wholesale, per LendControl, and rent for $8 to $25. Grand Rental Station charges $13.50 a weekend for a 90 inch round and $21.50 for a 120 inch round. Every color you stock is another load of laundry, so start with two.

Concession machines are the cheapest category to add and the easiest to deliver: a popcorn, cotton candy or snow cone machine plugs into a standard outlet and rides along with a larger order. Many operators rent them for customer pickup.

Gold Medal Products listed its Fun Pop 4 ounce popcorn machine at $595.95 on 16 October 2026, its QuickSpin single serve cotton candy machine at $695, the Breeze at $1,025 and the Econo Floss at $1,150. Rental prices are low and the supplies are a second sale:

• Canyon Party Rental, Lehi, Utah: cotton candy machine $40 a day, pickup only, "plugs into a standard 110v outlet".
• Grand Rental Station, New Hampshire: popcorn, cotton candy and snow cone machines at $65 a day each, cotton candy sugar $8.99, cones $4.99 and snow cone syrup $6.99.

The math is simple: at $65 a day, Gold Medal's $595.95 popcorn machine pays back its sticker price in about 10 rentals, our arithmetic, before supplies and cleaning. Ask your county health department whether a rented machine needs any permit where you operate. Which machines last, and how to price the supplies, is in concession machine rentals.

Foam and dunk tanks are summer showpieces: one machine or tank, high visibility, and a booking that often comes with an attendant or a lot of water. Both are wet play, so talk to your broker before you buy either.

Foam. Party Machines lists its foam cannon "for rental event folks" at $1,650, and Froggy's Fog sells the Party Machines Super E 4.0 complete package at $1,150 against a $1,400 retail price. Foam concentrate comes in powder packs at $9.95 to $19.85 each from Party Machines. SplashTimesFun, which runs foam parties around Seattle and Portland, sells 60 minutes of foam with a host at $545 to $750, and asks the customer for a 20 by 20 foot outdoor space, water within 50 feet and a 3 prong outlet within 50 feet. That is a staffed service more than a drop off rental. The machines, solutions and setup are in foam party machines.

Dunk tanks. Twister Display lists the EconoDunker at $3,895 to $4,395, the SpaceSaver at $4,495 and the trailer mounted Easy Dunker at $4,895 to $5,295. The EconoDunker holds a 500 gallon tank and rolls on dolly wheels rather than a trailer. Grand Rental Station rents a dunk tank for $220 a day. At about 8.3 pounds a gallon, 500 gallons of water weighs more than two tons, so the setup spot has to be level and the fill time goes into your schedule. New and used options are in dunk tanks for sale.

Photo booths and movie screens are the two electronics categories: they bring weddings, schools and corporate events, and they bring a projector, a camera or a printer that has to work on the night. Both sell well in the evening, which fits around a daytime inflatable route.

Photo booths. Booths listed at $2,999 for an iPad booth to $15,950 for a large mirror booth on sellers' pages in October 2026, plus a software subscription. Two operators' published packages ran $595 for up to 2 hours in Saint Paul and $725 to $1,200 for 3 hours in Oklahoma City, most with an attendant. That attendant is the catch for a rental company: one person for the whole event. The full breakdown is in how to start a photo booth business.

Movie screens. Open Air Cinema sells screen kits from $1,499 (12 foot) to $5,999 (20 foot, Pro), and complete systems with projector, sound and blower from $6,599 (12 foot) to $19,499 (20 foot, Pro). Grand Rental Station rents an inflatable backyard movie night package with a popcorn machine for $200 a day. A screen paired with popcorn is a natural package. Screen sizes, projectors and pricing are in inflatable movie screens.

Games are light, cheap to store and easy to add to an order: cornhole, giant Connect 4, ring toss, soccer shootouts and carnival booths. Most rent for a small day rate and often go out with a larger delivery or for customer pickup.

Grand Rental Station's game rates in New Hampshire show the spread: giant Connect 4 at $25 a day, cornhole at $50, ring toss at $75, and giant pong, soccer shootout and inflatable axe throwing at $125 each. Awesome Entertainment of Ohio, in Columbus, lists arcade games, toss games, a mechanical bull and a virtual reality roller coaster, with a price filter running from $35 to $2,695, though it quotes individual prices on request.

Two things make games worth carrying. They fill a school field day or church picnic order alongside inflatables, and themed versions extend the season: Awesome Entertainment lists Halloween, gingerbread and Easter toss games and holiday photo props. We did not find a manufacturer price page for commercial carnival games to verify, so price them from quotes.

Staging, dance floors and lighting are the wedding and corporate end of the catalog: high purchase prices, a crew to install, and customers who book months ahead. They make most sense once you already sell tents and seating to the same events.

• Staging. EventStable lists complete portable stages from $2,832.99 for a 12x8 Intellistage system to $29,672.99 for a 12x24 all terrain system, read 16 October 2026. We found no operator page publishing a stage rental price, so quote these by the job.
• Dance floors. EventStable lists a 12x12 laminate floor at $5,968.95 and a 24x24 at $20,894.95. LendControl puts a 12x12 rental at $250 to $500.
• Lighting. LendControl puts LED uplights at $30 to $60 to buy and $35 to $50 to rent, so one can pay back in two rentals, and string light sets of 100 feet at $40 to $80 to buy against $50 to $150 a strand to rent. Lighting is a natural add on to every tent.

The wedding side of the business, with its longer lead times and larger orders, is in how to start a wedding rental business.

No trade body or survey ranks party rental categories by profit, so any list that names "the most profitable rental" is a guess. What you can compare honestly is payback: how many rentals it takes to earn back the purchase price, before labor, delivery and wear.

Using the prices in this guide, our arithmetic:

• Uplights: a $30 to $60 light at $35 to $50 a rental pays back in 1 or 2 rentals.
• Popcorn machine: $595.95 at $65 a day, about 10 rentals.
• Folding chair: $12.99 to $15.99 at $2 to $5, about 3 to 8 rentals.
• Water slide: a 17 foot dual slide at $2,999 to $4,495 against $350 a day, about 9 to 13 rentals.
• Dunk tank: $4,395 at $220 a day, about 20 rentals.
• Movie screen system: $6,599 at $200 a day, about 33 rentals.

Payback is not profit. A $65 popcorn rental and a $350 water slide both cost a delivery, and the slide costs two people, a water hookup and a higher premium. The steadiest earner is usually the category every order needs, which is why the pillar names chairs as the steadiest earner. For inflatables, the worked numbers are in what a bounce house business actually makes.

The same customers who rent tables and tents also need the things around a party. A rental store that already delivers can carry them without a new trade, which is what "rental business ideas" often means for an operator.

Grand Rental Station in New Hampshire is one example of how wide a party catalog runs at a general rental store. Alongside bounce rides, tents, tables, linens and games, its party section lists portable restrooms, grills, food and beverage service, audio visual gear and a 100 cup coffee pot at $20 a weekend. A portable PA speaker with microphones rents at $75 a weekend.

Each of those rides on a delivery you are already making, and some, like restrooms, bring a service schedule of their own. Add them only where a customer has already asked.

In Canada, the categories are the same but some rules differ. Ontario licenses inflatable operators through TSSA and permits each inflatable, as the commercial bounce house guide sets out, and tent permits follow provincial fire codes rather than the International Fire Code. Prices in this guide are US dollars.

Add the category your existing customers already ask for, that fits the truck you already drive, and that earns in the months you are quiet. A new category that needs a new vehicle, a new crew or a new season is a new business. A name built around one category gets in the way too: see party rental business names for names that leave room to grow.

Four questions to ask before you buy:

1. Who asked for it? Count the calls in the last season for something you did not carry.
2. Does it ride along? A popcorn machine or a game goes on a delivery you are already making. A dance floor needs its own crew.
3. Which months does it fill? Water slides fill July, which is already full. Photo booths, concession machines and games earn in October and December.
4. What sells out already? If your combo is booked every Saturday in June, a second combo may earn more than a new category.

The last question is the one your booking history answers. Rentopus reports count how busy each rental was on the day of the party, and the Demand tab flags the rentals that sell out, the busiest ones and the ones nobody booked in 90 days, with what to do about each: buy another, charge more on the days it sells out, feature it, or retire it.

Before you buy, the bounce house startup cost calculator shows what a new unit costs to put on the road and how many bookings pay it back.