Independent research, Summer 2025
The Speaker Industry Research
Dr Alison Edgar MBE commissioned an independent study of 250 UK professionals who book speakers. It found an average keynote fee of £5,000 to £6,000, and a gender pay gap on stage that is wider than the national one: men earn 15% more per booking, rising to 27% in the most prestigious topics.
The headline numbers
- £6,029average fee per booking, male speakers
- £5,248average fee per booking, female speakers
- 15%more per booking for men, against a 13.1% national pay gap (ONS, 2024)
- 59 / 41split of recent keynote bookings, men to women
How the research was done
In Summer 2025, Alison Edgar Ltd commissioned independent research into the UK speaking industry: who takes the stage, what topics are in demand, and how fees are distributed. The survey reached 250 UK professionals who had booked a speaker in the previous 24 months, from event managers to HR and learning-and-development leaders and the senior decision-makers who contract keynote speakers, and analysed their real booking data.
It follows the practice's earlier work on what organisations book speakers for, the 2024 Speaker Demand Study of 1,236 companies.
What is the gender pay gap for speakers?
Male speakers in the study earn an average of £6,029 per booking; female speakers £5,248. That £781 difference means men earn around 15% more per engagement, against a UK national gender pay gap of 13.1% (ONS, 2024). The speaking industry is not mirroring the national gap: it is exceeding it.
- Male speakers£6,029Highest recorded fee in the study: £9,000
- Female speakers£5,248£781 less per booking. Highest recorded fee: £6,500
Hover or tab to a bar for the fee ceilings. Source: 250 UK bookers, Summer 2025.
The imbalance is structural as well as average. Men in the study consistently broke into the £7,000 to £9,000 fee bracket, with the highest recorded male fee at £9,000. The highest recorded fee for a woman was £6,500, with women's fees clustering between £4,500 and £6,000. Men set the market's benchmarks; women are priced to its middle.
Which speaking topics pay the most?
Embracing change tops the market at £6,030 per booking on average, followed by personal growth and development (£5,859), leadership and autonomy (£5,755), AI and digital transformation (£5,717) and sales and customer service (£5,716). The lowest-paying topics in the study were sports success (£5,352) and financial success (£5,429).
- Embracing change£6,030Also where women come closest to fee parity
- Personal growth£5,859
- Leadership & autonomy£5,755
- AI & digital£5,717Carries a 20% gender gap despite being a growth category
- Sales & customer service£5,716Near fee parity: a 2 to 3% gap
- Financial success£5,429
- Sports success£5,352The lowest-paying topic, and the widest gender gap: 27%
Fees cluster tightly: the whole market sits within £700 of itself.
The study also found a clear divide in who leads what: technical and commercial themes are typically led by men, while wellbeing and personal-growth sessions are more commonly led by women. Across all of it, demand for authentic, relatable, mindset-focused content continues to rise, a signal of what clients increasingly value on stage.
Where the gap is widest
The higher the status of the topic, the wider the gap. The most prestige-driven, best-platformed niches carry the biggest differences in pay.
- Sports success27%Men average £6,175 per booking; women £4,846
- High performance25%The second-widest gap in the study
- AI & digital transformation20%A growing category, still unequal
- Wellbeing and leadership15–18%Even where women are strongly represented
- Change and sales topics2–3%The closest the industry gets to parity
The higher the status of the topic, the wider the gap.
The four takeaways
Men command higher fees in every niche. Whatever the topic, male speakers average more per booking. The difference is not about presence, since women are active across every category studied; it is about perceived market value.
Women come closest to parity on change. Topics centred on change and on sales and customer service show gaps of only 2 to 3%, suggesting organisers see clear value in women's voices on adaptability and people-focused transformation. Even here, women rarely reach the highest fee brackets.
Prestige widens the gap. Sports success (27%), high performance (25%) and AI and digital transformation (20%) carry the biggest gaps, and these are also the categories most likely to bring big stages, media coverage and corporate investment. Women lose visibility as well as fees.
The ceiling is part of the gap. With men reaching £9,000 and women capped near £6,500 in the study, premium pricing keeps reinforcing the idea of men as the default choice for the biggest events.
Questions about the research
How much does a keynote speaker cost in the UK?
The average fee for a professional keynote speaker in the UK is £5,000 to £6,000 per engagement, according to Alison Edgar Ltd’s 2025 Speaker Industry Research, a survey of 250 UK professionals who had booked a speaker in the previous 24 months. Fees in the study ranged up to £9,000, varying by topic, audience and event.
Is there a gender pay gap among professional speakers?
Yes. The 2025 Speaker Industry Research found male speakers earn on average 15% more per booking than female speakers (£6,029 against £5,248), wider than the UK national gender pay gap of 13.1% (ONS, 2024). The gap grows with the prestige of the topic, reaching 27% for sports-success keynotes.
Who conducted the research, and how?
The study was commissioned by Dr Alison Edgar MBE and conducted independently in Summer 2025. It surveyed 250 UK professionals who had booked a speaker in the previous 24 months, including event managers, HR and learning-and-development leaders, and senior decision-makers, and analysed their real booking data: fees, topics and speaker selection.
Which speaking topics pay the most?
In the 2025 study, the highest-paying topics were embracing change (£6,030 average), personal growth and development (£5,859), and leadership and autonomy (£5,755), followed by AI and digital transformation and sales and customer service (both around £5,700). The lowest-paying were sports success (£5,352) and financial success (£5,429).
Can the data be quoted or referenced?
Yes, with attribution to Alison Edgar Ltd’s 2025 Speaker Industry Research. Journalists and researchers wanting the underlying detail or a comment from Dr Alison Edgar MBE can contact the team.
Want a comment on the findings, or a speaker who closes gaps?
Journalists and researchers are welcome to the underlying detail. Event organisers can get a tailored quote in minutes.