KPIMarketing

Event Attendance Rate

Percentage of registered attendees who actually attend a marketing event or webinar

What is Event Attendance Rate?

Event attendance rate is the percentage of people who registered for an event or webinar and actually took part. It measures how well registration turns into real attendance.

Registrations only show intent. Attendance shows engagement, and attendees are far more likely to become leads, so a low rate wastes a large share of the promotion effort behind an event.

How this KPI is measured

Function: Marketing
Sub-function: Events & Webinars
Industry: All Industries
Type: Lagging
Impact: Operational
Unit: %
Measurement frequency: Per event
Formula: (Attendees / Registrants) × 100

How to calculate it

Divide the number of attendees by the number of registrants, and multiply by 100.

For example, if 400 people registered for a webinar and 140 joined live, the attendance rate is (140 / 400) x 100 = 35%.

Define what counts as attending, such as joining for a minimum number of minutes. Track separately for live and on-demand viewing, and by registration source, since some channels produce people who register but never show.

Where it is used

Planning events
Estimate how many attendees to expect and size venues, staff and follow-up accordingly.
Judging promotion quality
Compare attendance by registration source to see which channels bring committed people.
Improving reminders
Test whether reminder timing and content lift the share who show up.

How to improve it

Send timely remindersRemind registrants a day before and shortly before the start, with a clear link.
Confirm the value on the dayState what attendees will gain, so the event stays a priority.
Choose a convenient timeSchedule at times that suit your audience, taking into account time zones.
Offer a recordingSend the replay to those who cannot attend, and track it as a secondary result.
Review by sourcePut more effort into the channels whose registrants actually turn up.

Tips and common mistakes

Attendance rates for free online events are usually much lower than for paid or in-person ones.
Count on-demand viewers separately, or the figure will not be comparable between events.
Follow up quickly with attendees, who are your warmest leads.

More Marketing kpi library

← All kpi library

Build better plans, faster

Join the waitlist for early access to curated insights, flexible templates, and rapid iteration across strategy, planning, and project management.