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Open bar or cash bar? Price five ways to serve drinks first
Open bar or cash bar is rarely a choice between two things. There are at least five ways to run a wedding bar, and one venue's menu is enough to price all of them for your own guest count.
The short answer
At one California venue's published prices, a full open bar for 100 drinkers over five hours costs the couple about $7,200, and a cash bar about $260 in bartender fees, with guests paying around $5,340 between them. In between, three hosted hours then a cash bar is about $5,300, and two drinks each, then cash about $2,600. Host the whole reception if you can; if not, cut the hours or the menu before you pass the bill to guests, and tell them in advance.
Most answers give you a range per guest and a list of pros and cons. The range is too wide to plan with, and the pros and cons are mostly about how guests will feel. A better start is one real bar menu and your own count. Then the choice is about money you can see.
The five ways to run a wedding bar
- Open bar, the whole reception. You pay for every drink. It is charged one of two ways: a package, a price per guest for a set number of hours, or on consumption, a price per drink for what is actually poured.
- Beer and wine only. Still hosted, with a shorter list.
- Hosted hours, then a cash bar. You pay through the cocktail hour and dinner; guests buy their own for the dancing.
- A set number of drinks, then a cash bar. You pay for the first one or two drinks per guest, often with tickets.
- Cash bar. Guests buy every drink. You pay for the bartenders.
Zola lists the middle three as the usual ways to spend less, and puts bar service at $5,541 on average, with most couples spending $4,400 to $6,600.
One menu, five prices
The example is the same wedding as our guide to how much alcohol you need: 120 guests, of whom 108 are 21 or over and 100 drink, a five-hour reception, and a pace of two drinks in the first hour and one each hour after. That is 600 drinks: half wine, 30 percent beer and 20 percent spirits.
The prices are from the published banquet beverage menu of Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, at its standard level:
| On the menu | Price |
|---|---|
| Glass of wine | $10 |
| Domestic beer | $7 |
| Single-shot cocktail | $9 |
| Package bar, 3 hours, per person | $36 |
| Bartender, per 100 guests | $100 |
Everything is subject to a 21 percent gratuity and 9 percent sales tax, so each total below adds 30 percent. The 120 guests need two bartenders, $200. Across the 50, 30 and 20 percent mix, the average drink costs $8.90.
1. Full open bar, on consumption. 300 glasses of wine at $10, 180 beers at $7 and 120 cocktails at $9 come to $5,340. With the bartenders, $5,540, and with gratuity and tax, $7,202.
2. Beer and wine only, on consumption. The same 600 drinks as 60 percent wine and 40 percent beer: 360 glasses at $10 and 240 beers at $7, $5,280. With bartenders, gratuity and tax, $7,124. That is only $78 less, because at this venue a glass of wine costs more than a cocktail.
3. A three-hour package, then a cash bar. The package is charged per person, so 108 guests at $36 is $3,888. With bartenders, gratuity and tax, $5,314. Guests then buy their own drinks for the last two hours: 200 drinks, about $1,780 between them, before their own tax and tips.
4. Two drinks each, then a cash bar. The first 200 drinks are hosted on consumption: $1,780, then $1,980 with bartenders and $2,574 with gratuity and tax. Guests pay for the other 400, about $3,560.
5. Cash bar. You pay the bartenders: $200, or $260 with gratuity and tax. Guests pay for all 600 drinks, about $5,340, or $53 each for the 100 who drink.
| Option | You pay | Guests pay |
|---|---|---|
| Full open bar | $7,202 | $0 |
| Beer and wine only | $7,124 | $0 |
| Package for 3 hours, then cash | $5,314 | about $1,780 |
| Two drinks each, then cash | $2,574 | about $3,560 |
| Cash bar | $260 | about $5,340 |
Two things the example shows. First, the menu matters more than the label. Zola says beer and wine only can cut a bar by 40 to 50 percent, which is true of many packages, but on a bar billed per drink the saving depends on what a glass of wine costs against a cocktail. Second, the bar a guest buys from is still a cost to someone: a cash bar moves $5,340 from your budget to your guests' wallets.
Free toolWedding budget breakdownKeep what you have already booked fixed, and see what is left for everything else.Split my budgetPackage or consumption?
Where a venue offers both, a package is a bet on how much your crowd drinks. You can settle it with one division: the package price ÷ the average drink price.
At this menu, $36 ÷ $8.90 = 4.0 drinks. The package wins only if each guest it is charged for drinks more than four drinks in its three hours. In the example, 100 drinkers have 400 drinks in the first three hours, but the package is charged for 108 guests, which is 3.7 drinks each. On consumption those same three hours would cost $3,560 instead of $3,888, so here consumption is cheaper. A late-night crowd of old friends would tip it the other way.
Before you divide, ask your venue two things: whether the package is charged for every guest or only those 21 and over, and whether soft drinks are included or charged per glass. On this menu they are included in the package and $4 each on consumption.
Get your own venue's menu
The same bar costs very different amounts in different places. The Galaxy Banquet Center in Wadsworth, Ohio, publishes a five-hour open bar of house wine, well spirits and draft beer at $19 per person, with a $90 bartender fee per bar and one bar per 100 guests. For the same 108 guests: $2,052 plus $180, then its 18 percent setup fee and 6.75 percent tax, about $2,800. That is less than half of option 1 for two more hours than option 3.
Zola puts the gap between cities at 20 to 40 percent, and its example of 150 guests runs from about $4,375 in Milwaukee to $14,031 in New York. So price your own bar from your own venue's menu, not from a national range.
Is a cash bar rude?
Guests' views differ, but the etiquette view is clear. Anna Post of the Emily Post Institute told Roll Call that the institute is not against cash bars outright, but that "you can't invite someone to dinner and then expect them to pay", and that the most gracious thing is to host. If you do have one, she said, tell guests in advance.
So the rule is:
- If you can afford to host the whole reception, host it.
- If you cannot, cut before you charge. Fewer hours, a shorter list, a signature cocktail with beer and wine, or one or two drinks per guest. Option 4 above is a third of the cost of option 1.
- If guests will pay for some or all of it, say so on your wedding website, in the questions guests ask, so they bring a card. Our guide to what to put on a wedding website covers that section.
- Keep water and soft drinks free whichever you choose.
If the bar is where your budget is too tight, our guide to planning a wedding on a budget shows how much a saving per guest is worth against a fixed one.
Deciding it together
The bar is easy to decide in one sitting. Agree first on the number you will spend, then on which of the five ways fits it. One of you can then own the conversation with the venue and the other the note to guests. The replies on your guest list give you the count of who is coming; for how many of them drink, ask each other.
Keeping it in the budget
In Yes, I Do, the bar goes in the Food and drinks line of your budget, which starts at about a quarter of the total. Add it as an expense with its amount and payments, and the budget shows what is committed, what is paid and what is left. Your partner sees the same numbers on their phone or in a browser. If you have a cash bar, your wedding website in the app has a questions section where you can say so.
Yes, I Do
Every cost, and what is left to pay
Add a quote or photograph it, and the amounts and due dates are filled in. You both see what is paid and which month is the heavy one.
Questions
Is it rude to have a cash bar at a wedding?
Traditional etiquette says a host pays for what guests eat and drink, so etiquette experts discourage a full cash bar. If you have one, tell guests in advance, and consider hosting at least the first drink or the cocktail hour.
How much does an open bar cost for 100 guests?
It depends on the venue. At one California venue's prices, a five-hour open bar for 100 drinkers billed per drink is about $7,200 with gratuity and tax. A five-hour package at an Ohio banquet hall is about $2,800 for 108 guests. Zola puts the national average for bar service at $5,541.
What is the difference between a package bar and a consumption bar?
A package bar is a fixed price per guest for a set number of hours, whatever they drink. A consumption bar charges for each drink poured. Divide the package price by the average price of a drink: if guests will drink more than that each, the package is cheaper.
Is a beer and wine only bar cheaper?
Usually, when the bar is a package: Zola says it can cut the cost by 40 to 50 percent. On a bar billed per drink, it depends on the prices. At one venue, a glass of wine cost more than a cocktail, so beer and wine only saved $78 on a $7,200 bar.
What is a limited open bar?
A bar you pay for only part of the time or for part of the list: the cocktail hour and dinner, then a cash bar, or one or two drinks per guest. It is the usual middle ground between a full open bar and a cash bar.
How do you tell guests there is a cash bar?
Say it plainly on your wedding website, in the questions section, so guests know to bring a card. Some couples also put a line on the invitation insert. Avoid surprising guests at the bar.
Sources
- Pechanga Resort Casino: banquet beverage menu (PDF), Temecula, California, for the standard per-drink prices, the per-person package prices, the bartender fee, soft drinks and the 21 percent gratuity and 9 percent tax, read October 2026.
- The Galaxy Banquet Center: bar and beverages (PDF), Wadsworth, Ohio, for the five-hour open bar per person, the bartender fee, one bar per 100 guests, the 18 percent setup fee and 6.75 percent tax, read October 2026.
- Zola: how much does an open bar at a wedding cost?, updated 19 February 2026, for the $5,541 average and its range from the Zola Wedding Cost Index, the 40 to 50 percent saving of beer and wine only, the city gap, the New York and Milwaukee examples and the hybrid options.
- Roll Call: Anna Post on cash bars, 8 November 2012, for Anna Post of the Emily Post Institute on cash bars.
- The drinking pace and the drink mix follow our guide to how much alcohol you need for a wedding, which has its sources.