Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between special events coordinators and meeting planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a special events coordinator and a meeting planner. Additionally, a meeting planner has an average salary of $56,257, which is higher than the $40,063 average annual salary of a special events coordinator.
The top three skills for a special events coordinator include customer service, event planning and press releases. The most important skills for a meeting planner are client facing, event planning, and powerpoint.
| Special Events Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $40,063 | $56,257 |
| Hourly rate | $19.26 | $27.05 |
| Growth rate | 18% | 18% |
| Number of jobs | 34,538 | 17,112 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A special events coordinator is in charge of organizing and devising plans for an event, even monitoring all progress to ensure everything is running smoothly. They are typically responsible for consulting with clients and understanding the event's purpose, offering a selection of venues and caterers, providing cost estimates, and booking various services such as speakers, equipment, location, photographers, videographers, and other essential factors. Moreover, a special events coordinator manages all processes involved in setting up and down an event, all while maintaining client satisfaction.
A meeting planner makes professional decisions in all areas of meeting preparation and presentation. They plan meetings, establish meeting objectives, schedule meetings, budget expenses, inspect meeting sites, negotiate with suppliers, and create a speaker lineup. They also need to deal with travel arrangements and with technical equipment used in the course of the meeting.
Special events coordinators and meeting planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Special Events Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Average salary | $40,063 | $56,257 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $60,000 | Between $40,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Smithsonian Institution | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Education | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a special events coordinator and a meeting planner in terms of educational background:
| Special Events Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | San Diego State University |
Here are the differences between special events coordinators' and meeting planners' demographics:
| Special Events Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |