Capacity
6 per 60-inch round, 7 to 8 per 72-inch round.
Reference hub
Event Seating Styles
There are eight room setups that account for nearly every seated event. They differ on three axes: how many people fit, whether there is a surface in front of them, and who they are facing.
This page compares all eight conference seating styles in one table, then explains each with a diagram, a capacity figure and the case against it. Five of them have a page of their own with dimensions and setup detail.
By Rosa Haye, founder of RH Seating StudioLast updated
All eight layouts compared
Capacity figures assume a 2,000 square foot room, which is a common mid-size function space. Scale them proportionally, but expect the smaller layouts to lose more to aisles than the arithmetic suggests.
| Layout | In 2,000 sq ft | Surface | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theatre | 170 to 250 | None | Keynotes, ceremonies, anything watched |
| Classroom | 90 to 115 | Yes | Training, note-taking, all-day sessions |
| Cabaret | 100 to 130 | Yes | Conferences with food, awards with a stage |
| Banquet rounds | 130 to 165 | Yes | Dinners, galas, wedding receptions |
| U-shape | 20 to 30 | Yes | Workshops and boards under 25 people |
| Hollow square | 30 to 40 | Yes | Discussion with no front of room |
| Boardroom | 12 to 20 | Yes | One table, one decision |
| Reception (standing) | 250 to 330 | Some | Drinks, networking, no fixed seats |
Cabaret
Round tables with the stage-facing arc left empty, so nobody sits with their back to the front of the room. It is the layout conferences reach for when there is food and a presentation in the same hour.
A 60-inch round seats six in cabaret against eight or ten at full banquet. You are paying roughly a third of your capacity for the fact that everyone can see.
Use it when
There is both a meal and a stage, or table discussion between presentations.
Avoid it when
The room is tight on capacity. Cabaret is the most expensive layout per head.
Full detail
Dimensions and setup on cabaret seating.
Classroom
Narrow tables in rows, all facing the front, chairs on one side only. The layout for anything where people are writing, typing or referring to printed material for more than an hour.
It is space-hungry. Two people per 6-foot table with 36 to 42 inches between rows means classroom seats roughly half what theatre does in the same room.
Capacity
2 per 6-foot table, 3 at a squeeze. About 17 to 22 sq ft per person.
Use it when
Sessions run long and people need to work, not just watch.
Avoid it when
The session is under an hour. The space cost is not repaid.
Full detail
Row spacing and sightlines on classroom style seating.
Theatre
Chairs in rows, no tables, everyone facing the stage. The densest layout there is, and the one every venue quotes its capacity in.
The constraint is not floor area, it is egress. Aisle widths and the number of seats you may place between aisles are set by fire code, and this is the one layout where getting it wrong is a genuine safety issue rather than a comfort one.
Capacity
8 to 12 sq ft per person including aisles.
Use it when
People are watching, the session is under 90 minutes, and capacity is the priority.
Avoid it when
Anyone needs to write, eat, or talk to the person beside them.
Full detail
Row spacing and egress on theatre style seating.
U-shape
Three runs of tables forming an open U, chairs on the outside edge only, presenter in the open end. Everyone can see everyone, which is the entire point and also the reason it stops working past about 25 people.
Beyond that the U gets long enough that the people at the far ends are further from each other than they would be in a boardroom, and the format's advantage disappears.
Capacity
16 to 25. Allow 24 inches of table edge per person.
Use it when
Discussion matters more than headcount. Workshops, boards, training under 25.
Avoid it when
The group is over 25, or the room is narrow.
Full detail
Dimensions and limits on U-shape seating.
Banquet rounds
Full round tables with chairs the whole way around. The default for dinners, galas and wedding receptions, because it seats the most people who are also eating.
The design decision is table size. A 60-inch round at eight is comfortable and at ten is not; a 72-inch round at ten is comfortable and at twelve is not. Venues quote the higher figure.
Capacity
8 per 60-inch round, 10 per 72-inch. Add two each for the tight version.
Use it when
There is a meal and the stage is secondary.
Avoid it when
There is a presentation. A quarter of the room will have their back to it.
Full detail
Sizes and service aisles on banquet seating plan.
Boardroom
One rectangular table, chairs on both long sides and one at each end. It is the layout of a decision rather than a presentation, and it does not scale: past about 20 people the table is long enough that the ends cannot hear each other.
Allow 30 inches of table edge per person, and remember the chairs need 36 inches of pull-back behind them plus a route past.
Hollow square
A closed square or rectangle of tables with an empty center and chairs on the outside only. It is the U-shape without a front of the room, which suits a discussion between equals and suits nothing with a screen.
It seats slightly more than a U of the same footprint, up to about 40, and it makes an AV setup awkward because there is no direction everyone is facing.
Standing reception
Included because it is the layout people forget to compare against. No fixed seats, some high tables, and roughly 6 to 8 square feet per person - which means a room that seats 150 at rounds holds 300 standing.
Most events that think they need a bigger room actually need a standing hour at the start of the evening.
Capacity maths explained
The arithmetic is simple and the mistake is always the same: using the room's total area instead of its usable area.
Start with total floor area. Subtract the dance floor, the bar, the buffet line, the AV riser, the registration desk and any pillar with a two-foot exclusion zone around it. Subtract the perimeter walkway, which is 42 inches all the way round. What is left is what you divide by your square-feet-per-person figure.
For a worked example on a reception specifically, see wedding floor plan. To do it visually instead, draw the room in the free seating chart maker and let the tables tell you whether they fit.
Accessibility and egress
Two rules govern every layout on this page and neither is optional. Aisles have to stay clear and wide enough to empty the room, and accessible positions have to be dispersed with sightlines comparable to the seats around them.
Aisle widths, the number of seats permitted between aisles, and travel distance to an exit are fire code questions that depend on the venue's occupancy classification. Ask the venue, and ask early - it is the one constraint that can invalidate a layout after you have drawn it. The accessibility section on event seating covers the planning side.
Build any of these free
Every layout on this page can be drawn to scale, filled with a real guest list and shared as a searchable guest page in the free seating chart maker. No account is needed to build one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cabaret and banquet seating?
Both use round tables. Banquet puts chairs all the way around; cabaret leaves the stage-facing arc empty so nobody has their back to the front. Cabaret costs you about a third of the capacity of the same table.
Which seating style holds the most people?
Theatre, because there are no tables. In the same room, theatre typically seats around 50 percent more than banquet rounds and roughly double what classroom does.
What is the best layout for a conference with lunch in the room?
Cabaret. It is the only layout that gives everyone a table surface and a view of the stage at the same time, which is exactly the situation a conference lunch creates.
How many seating styles are there really?
Venues name dozens, but they are variations on the eight here. Chevron is angled classroom, crescent is another word for cabaret, and herringbone theatre is theatre with the blocks turned inward.
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