Reading a Chicago Forecast Like a Tent Crew
Gust factor, not average wind. The number we actually watch from 96 hours out, and what we do at each threshold.
Read the guideBooking the 2027 Chicagoland season
Tent Rental in Chicago, IL, Priced Before You Even Ask
No quote forms before you can see a price. Fifty tents, nine categories, rates published from $65 to $4,500 — then we survey, permit, install and strike.
Pick a category to jump straight to its sizes and prices.
5 sizes · $175 – $725
5 sizes · $350 – $1,850
5 sizes · $950 – $2,750
5 sizes · $1,400 – $4,500
5 sizes · $650 – $2,950
5 sizes · $150 – $750
10 sizes · $65 – $850
5 sizes · $600 – $2,500
5 sizes · $325 – $2,350
Nine categories, fifty sizes, every rate on the page. Rentals cover a standard event install within 35 miles of our Fulton Market yard — delivery, setup and strike included.
Seats 10 · 100 sq ft
Covers a bar, a cake table or a two-person vendor booth without a single guy line in the walkway.
$175 per event
Seats 20 · 200 sq ft
The back-yard workhorse. Two eight-foot tables end to end with room to walk around them.
$275 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
Four rounds of eight, or a buffet line plus a dance patch for a small graduation party.
$425 per event
Seats 60 · 600 sq ft
Fits a driveway or a narrow city lot where a pole tent's stake lines would never clear.
$575 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Our most-requested frame. Eighty seated with a head table, or 120 standing at a cocktail hour.
$725 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
One centre peak, four corners staked. The cheapest honest way to cover forty people.
$350 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Twin peaks and long swag lines — the shape people picture when they picture a party tent.
$575 per event
Seats 135 · 1,350 sq ft
A graduation or anniversary size: dinner for 135, or 100 with a bar and a band riser.
$850 per event
Seats 180 · 1,800 sq ft
Three peaks across a lawn. Holds 180 at rounds, or 150 plus a 16×16 dance floor.
$1,050 per event
Seats 320 · 3,200 sq ft
Big-lawn territory. Needs 12 ft of stake clearance on every side, and rewards you for it.
$1,850 per event
Seats 80 · 804 sq ft
A single round peak that reads like a chandelier from the driveway. Ideal for a ceremony or a bar.
$950 per event
Seats 160 · 1,600 sq ft
Two peaks of translucent cloth. The light through it at 7:40pm is the reason people book sailcloth.
$1,250 per event
Seats 275 · 2,772 sq ft
Wide enough for rounds of ten down both sides with a clear aisle up the middle.
$1,750 per event
Seats 365 · 3,652 sq ft
Our most-booked sailcloth. 365 at rounds, or 240 once you add a dance floor, bar and band.
$2,250 per event
Seats 450 · 4,532 sq ft
Four peaks across an estate lawn. Wood poles, no ceiling liner needed, no fixture on until dusk.
$2,750 per event
Seats 180 · 30 ft wide
Thirty feet clear wall to wall. Modular in 15 ft bays, so the length grows with the guest list.
$1,400 per event
Seats 320 · 40 ft wide
Hard walls, glass doors and a cassette floor turn this into a room nobody calls a tent.
$1,850 per event
Seats 500 · 50 ft wide
Fifty feet of unobstructed span for a gala, a car reveal or a plated dinner for 500.
$2,400 per event
Seats 660 · 66 ft wide
Engineered for multi-week installs on hard surface. Ballasted, no stakes, no drilling.
$3,250 per event
Seats 960 · 80 ft wide
Our largest structure. Corporate activations, festival main rooms and long-term site cover.
$4,500 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
A small clear roof over a ceremony, a dessert table or a courtyard cocktail hour.
$650 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Eighty seated with the sky still in the room. Popular on Gold Coast and Lincoln Park lots.
$950 per event
Seats 180 · 1,800 sq ft
Three bays of clear roof. Add pin spots and the whole ceiling becomes the lighting plan.
$1,750 per event
Seats 240 · 2,400 sq ft
Wide clear span for a plated dinner where the view up matters as much as the view out.
$2,250 per event
Seats 320 · 3,200 sq ft
The full clear-top wedding room: 320 at rounds, glass walls optional, skyline included.
$2,950 per event
Seats 10 · 100 sq ft
One sharp peak over a welcome table, a DJ or a coffee cart. Sets in under twenty minutes.
$150 per event
Seats 20 · 200 sq ft
Twin peaks for a bar run or a vendor pair. Reads far more designed than a flat canopy.
$250 per event
Seats 22 · 225 sq ft
Square footprint with a tall centre. Good over a lounge cluster or a ceremony arbour.
$325 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
Forty seated under a peak tall enough to hang a small chandelier from the crown.
$450 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Two 20 ft peaks joined clean. Our pick when a frame tent would look too flat on camera.
$750 per event
Seats 20 · 200 sq ft
Open-sided cover for a birthday, a graduation or a food line in a back yard.
$175 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
Forty under cover with all four sides open. Sidewalls ride along in case the sky turns.
$300 per event
Seats 60 · 600 sq ft
The block-party standard. Fits two serving lines and still leaves a lane for strollers.
$425 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Eighty seated for a church picnic, a reunion or a school field day.
$550 per event
Seats 150 · 1,500 sq ft
Large open canopy for festivals and fundraisers where airflow matters more than walls.
$850 per event
1 vendor · 25 sq ft
Single-table cover for a market stall, a sampling table or a race finish line.
$65 per event
Seats 10 · 100 sq ft
The farmers' market classic. Up in ten minutes by two people, weighted at all four legs.
$95 per event
Seats 15 · 150 sq ft
A little more depth for a booth that needs stock behind the counter.
$135 per event
Seats 20 · 200 sq ft
Two bays of pop-up cover for a double booth or a registration run.
$175 per event
Seats 10 · Heavy duty
Reinforced commercial frame with printed-panel option for repeat market vendors.
$225 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
Tensioned cloth pitched off two poles. Covers a bar or a lounge with a shape nothing else makes.
$600 per event
Seats 60 · 600 sq ft
Sixty under free-form fabric, pitched to follow a slope, a wall or a tree line.
$850 per event
Seats 120 · 1,200 sq ft
Our most versatile stretch. Anchors to buildings, decks and mature trees without a square corner.
$1,200 per event
Seats 240 · 2,400 sq ft
Two hundred and forty covered with sightlines a framed tent would block.
$1,750 per event
Seats 350 · Custom pitch
Multi-pole stretch for festivals and brand activations that need a signature roofline.
$2,500 per event
Seats 20 · 200 sq ft
An entrance marquee or a covered walkway from the car line to the front door.
$325 per event
Seats 40 · 400 sq ft
A formal square room for a ceremony, a champagne wall or a gift-and-guestbook station.
$475 per event
Seats 80 · 800 sq ft
Eighty seated under clean marquee lines, with leg drapes to hide every upright.
$750 per event
Seats 180 · 1,800 sq ft
The full wedding marquee: 180 at rounds, ceiling liner, chandeliers and a dance floor.
$1,450 per event
Seats 320 · 3,200 sq ft
Corporate-scale marquee with hard walls, climate control and a proper double-door entrance.
$2,350 per event
No tents match that search. Try another word, or call us on (312) 555-0148.
We stock fifty sizes and build custom footprints for awkward Chicago lots. Send the guest count and the address and we will size it for you.
Four stages, one project lead, no handoffs. Most Chicagoland bookings go from first call to confirmed date inside a week.
Give us a street address, a date and a rough guest count. That is enough for us to measure most Chicagoland sites from aerial imagery.
Within one business day you receive a scaled site plan, a tent recommendation from our fifty sizes, and a fixed number.
A project lead walks the site, confirms anchoring, and files the Chicago DOB or village permit set on your behalf.
Our crew raises the tent, dresses it, and returns after the event to take it down and leave the lawn as we found it.
Seated at round tables with a bar, a buffet line and room to walk. If you are adding a dance floor or a band riser, move up one size.
| Guest count | Space needed | Recommended tent | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 20 guests | 200–250 sq ft | 10×20 Frame Tent | $275 |
| 30–40 guests | 400 sq ft | 20×20 Frame or Pole Tent | $350 |
| 50–60 guests | 600 sq ft | 20×30 Frame Tent | $575 |
| 70–80 guests | 800 sq ft | 20×40 Frame Tent | $725 |
| 100–135 guests | 1,350 sq ft | 30×45 Pole Tent | $850 |
| 150–180 guests | 1,800 sq ft | 30×60 Pole Tent | $1,050 |
| 200–275 guests | 2,772 sq ft | 44×63 Sailcloth Tent | $1,750 |
| 300–365 guests | 3,652 sq ft | 44×83 Sailcloth Tent | $2,250 |
| 400–500 guests | 5,000 sq ft | 50' Clear Span Tent | $2,400 |
| 600–960 guests | 6,600–9,600 sq ft | 66' or 80' Clear Span Structure | $3,250 |
Tap a row to load that guest count into the calculator.
Tell us your guest count and layout — we match you to a frame, pole or sailcloth tent on our racks.
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4.9 · 203 installs this season
Our most-requested frame tent. No centre poles, so eighty guests sit without a single upright in a sightline, and it sets on grass, asphalt or a driveway.
$725per event · 3-day window
Fun Tent Rentals has raised tents across Chicago and the North Shore since 2005. Here is what is behind every rate on this page.
Chicago DOB, the fire marshal walk-through, and village offices from Evanston to Hinsdale. We prepare and file the set rather than emailing you a checklist.
We have raised tents in Lincoln Park courtyards, on West Loop rooftops, across North Shore estate lawns and down the middle of closed streets since 2005.
The person who writes your quote runs your install. No handoffs between sales, operations and the crew on the morning of your event.
Clear, solid and cathedral-window walls in the same fabric run as the top, so the seams line up instead of announcing themselves in photos.
Every frame below is a structure our own crews raised — from West Loop · street closure courtyards to lakefront estates in Lake Forest.
412 verified reviews from Chicago planners, venues and hosts.
Our October gala ran to 41 degrees and nobody reached for a coat. Perimeter heaters, ceiling liner, solid walls — specified before I knew to ask.
Long-term clear span over our loading yard for eleven weeks. Ballasted, no drilling, and they came out twice in high wind just to re-check tension.
Twenty-two commercial vendor pop-ups every Saturday from June to October. Never once a missed delivery.
High peak tents over three bar stations. They look designed rather than borrowed, which matters more than people admit.
Two hundred under a clear top for an outdoor service. Respectful crew, spotless install, and they worked around our timing without complaint.
What we have learned about wind off the lake, October dew points, and the size chart nobody publishes honestly.
Gust factor, not average wind. The number we actually watch from 96 hours out, and what we do at each threshold.
Read the guideBTU maths, liner requirements, sidewall sealing and the reason a heater without a ceiling liner is money set on fire.
Read the guideSlopes, mature trees, building anchors and rooflines that photograph like architecture rather than equipment.
Read the guideMark your irrigation, move the cars, unlock the gate, and three other things that save an hour of install time.
Read the guideEvery quote is written by the person who will run your install. Most site surveys are booked within 72 hours.
For June through October Saturdays, nine to twelve months. Sailcloth and clear top sell out first. Frame tents, canopies and pop-ups are usually available inside two to three weeks, and mid-week corporate dates inside eight weeks.
Our tented minimum is $250 off-peak and $600 in peak season. There is no minimum on furniture, lighting or accessories if you are adding to an existing tent booking.
A clear span is an engineered aluminium box-beam structure with no interior poles at all, available from 30 to 80 feet wide and extendable in bays. It takes hard walls, glass doors, proper flooring and climate control, which makes it the right choice for galas, activations and multi-week installs.
Anywhere, provided it is weighted. On grass we stake; on pavement we use 40 lb plates on each leg. Chicago lakefront wind means we will not leave a pop-up unweighted, even for a two-hour market.
For 100 seated at round tables, plan on roughly 1,000 to 1,200 square feet — a 30×45 pole tent at $850 or a 20×40 frame plus an adjoining canopy. Add a dance floor, a bar and a buffet line and you should move up to a 30×60 pole tent at $1,050 or a 30×60 clear top at $1,750.
Sailcloth is a translucent fabric hung from hand-finished wood poles. It diffuses late daylight rather than blocking it, so the room glows before any lighting is switched on. It costs more because the fabric, the poles and the install labour all cost more. Our sailcloth runs $950 to $2,750.
Send the address and a guest count. You will have a scaled site plan, a structure recommendation and a fixed number within one business day.
Delivery, installation and strike are included within 35 miles of our Fulton Market yard. Beyond that we quote mileage as a separate line so you can see it.
Every quote covers delivery, setup and strike inside 35 miles of Fulton Market. Extras are itemised, never buried.
Send the address and a guest count. You will have a scaled site plan, a structure recommendation and a fixed number within one business day.