For a house party of thirty people, a rented projector costs €25 to €60 a day, a powered speaker €20 to €40, a karaoke kit with two microphones €50 to €90. All of it together, with a screen and lights, stays under €150 for a weekend. Buying the same equipment costs €1,200 to €1,800, and after the party it sits in a cupboard until the next birthday.
The problem with renting is not the price. It is finding out at nine in the evening that the projector cannot be seen because the room is not dark enough, or that the HDMI cable is one metre long and the socket is on the other side. This guide exists to avoid that.
Prices
| Item | Rental shop | Peer to peer | New |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full HD projector, 3,000 lumens | €35–60/day | €25–40/day | €400–800 |
| 2–2.5 m screen with stand | €10–20/day | €8–15/day | €80–200 |
| 12-inch powered speaker | €25–40/day | €15–30/day | €250–500 |
| Battery party speaker | €30–50/day | €20–35/day | €350–600 |
| Karaoke kit (speaker + 2 wireless mics) | €60–90/day | €40–70/day | €400–700 |
| LED or laser party lights | €15–30/day | €10–20/day | €60–200 |
A weekend counts as a day and a half or two almost everywhere. Peer to peer, a Friday evening pickup and Monday return is often agreed in the chat and counted as a single day.
Projector: the three things that matter
The first is brightness, in lumens. In a room with the blinds down, 2,000 lumens is enough. In a room with light leaking in, or in a garden at dusk, you need 3,000 or more. Below 1,500 lumens the picture is only visible in total darkness. Cheap €200 projectors quote figures that correspond to nothing: ask for the model and look up the spec sheet.
The second is distance. A standard projector has a throw ratio of 1.2 to 1.5: for a picture 2.5 metres wide it needs to sit 3 to 3.7 metres from the screen. Measure the room before booking. If you only have 2 metres, you need a short-throw model, rarer and more expensive.
The third is how the video gets there. HDMI from a laptop is the solution that always works. If you want to use a phone, ask whether the projector has a streaming stick or a USB-C input. And ask for an HDMI cable of at least 5 metres: the one-metre cable in the box is never enough.
Speakers: how many watts you really need
For thirty people in a living room, a 12-inch powered speaker with 300 to 500 watts RMS is more than enough. The big number printed on the box, 1,000 or 2,000 watts, is peak power and means nothing. Ask for RMS watts.
Battery party speakers are handy because they need no socket and have Bluetooth built in. They last 6 to 12 hours at medium volume. For a garden you need two, one does not cover it.
If you use the projector for a film, the audio has to go from the projector or the laptop to the speaker. That takes a 3.5 mm jack cable or an adapter, and it needs testing beforehand. It is the most common mistake: perfect video, sound from the laptop speakers.
Karaoke
A rented karaoke kit is a speaker with a built-in mixer and two wireless microphones. You supply the software: YouTube has thousands of backing tracks with lyrics, a laptop connected to the projector is all it takes.
Check that the microphones come with charged batteries, or spares. Test them three metres from the speaker: if they howl, turn down the microphone volume, not the master.
The checklist before you say yes
- Projector lumens and throw ratio against your room.
- HDMI cable of at least 5 metres and an adapter for your laptop or phone.
- Speaker RMS watts, not peak.
- Audio cable between source and speaker, or Bluetooth tested.
- Extension lead with at least three sockets.
- Batteries for the microphones and the remote.
- An hour’s test the day before, or at least two hours before the guests.
- Building rules on hours: almost all set quiet time from 10 or 11 pm.
If you own this equipment
A party speaker bought for one party and used three times a year is the ideal object to rent out: it carries in one hand and everyone knows how to use it. At €25 a day, rented three weekends a month, it makes €75 a month. The projector a bit less, because the lamp has a life of 3,000 to 5,000 hours and that should be stated in the listing.
Projector and speaker rental searches are among the few with no season: birthdays, graduations, matches and Christmas parties spread across the whole year. The cities where people search most in Italy are Milan, Rome, Bologna, Florence, Naples and Padua. In the listing give the exact model, the lumens or RMS watts, and the list of cables included. People searching want to know if it works with their laptop, and the answer has to be in the listing. Our guide on how much you can earn renting out your stuff has figures by category; on Sharepact every rental is insured and every renter is ID-verified.
FAQ
Projector or a big TV?
Above 15 people, the projector: a 2.5-metre picture is visible from the whole room. Below that, the TV you already have.
Is a deposit required?
In shops yes, often €100 to €200 for a projector. Peer to peer, the owner decides. On Sharepact the deposit is handled by the platform and returned on handback.
Can I project in the garden?
Yes, after sunset, with at least 3,000 lumens and a screen on a stand. A white wall works if it is smooth. And check the forecast: a projector in the rain is a projector you pay for in full.
