Education Conferences 2027: The Best Shows for Education Vendors, What They Cost and Who Attends

Listed by 2027 start date, with shows whose 2027 dates are not yet announced placed in their usual month. Updated September 27, 2026.

Nine 2027 education conferences where a company that sells to schools, districts or universities can meet its buyers, with the same exhibitor facts for every one: who attends, how big it is, what a booth and a ticket cost, and what each show is best for.

The education conference roundups that rank today are written mostly for educators choosing professional development. The ones checked for this page give costs unevenly or not at all, and often without the year a price belongs to. This list is written for the marketing, events or sales lead at an edtech, curriculum, facilities or services company who has to decide where the 2027 booth budget goes. It is one of Events Authority’s conference lists by industry.

Two hosts here also publish a real booth price. ISTELive’s 2027 standard rates are $4,315 for a 5 x 10 ft space, which it sells to first-time exhibitors only, and $7,295 for a 10 x 10 ft space. FETC charges $43 per net square foot for its 2027 show. Both figures come from the hosts’ own exhibitor pages, and both are in the blocks below with their source and year.

The shows fall into three kinds, and the kind tells you whose budget is in the room. Seven are K-12 and career-education shows: ISTELive, FETC and TCEA are built around technology in education; NSBA and AASA are built for district leadership, with NSBA’s registration tiers set up for school board members and AASA’s conference billed for superintendents and administrators; NCTE is for English language arts educators; ACTE CareerTech VISION is for career and technical education. One is a higher-education show: the AACRAO Annual Meeting, for registrars and admissions officers. And one, the ASU+GSV Summit, is a cross-sector summit for education and workforce leaders that sells its own Entrepreneur ticket.

Every show here runs in the US, has a vendor floor or sells exhibit space, and was checked on the host’s own live page on 27 September 2026. They are listed by 2027 start date; the two that have not announced 2027 dates yet sit in the month they usually run. Several large associations were left out because their host pages could not be reached to confirm anything, and one known show was left out because it had not published its 2027 dates, city or venue.

Two phrases do a lot of work in the table. “On request” means the host sells booths or sponsorships but has not published the price, so you ask for its exhibitor prospectus. “Not published” means the host has not released that figure on the pages checked. Both tell you what to ask before you sign.

If you want trade show consulting for your 2027 education calendar, Events Authority works with exhibitors from the first shortlist through the review after the show.

FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference)

Dates

January 26 to 29, 2027

City

Orlando, Florida

Venue

Orange County Convention Center

Vertical

education, tech

Who attends

K-12 leaders and district decision-makers (host description)

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request ($43 per net square foot (2027 show); the host names no booth size, so sizes and the prospectus are on request) Source: FETC exhibit page, fetc.org (checked 2026-09-27, rechecked 2026-09-28), 2027

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published (Summer Special rates through October 30, 2026, with no dollar figure on the page checked; 20% off for 3 to 9 attendees, 25% off for 10 or more; Expo pass complimentary for qualified education professionals) Source: FETC 2027 registration page, fetc.org (checked 2026-09-27), 2027

Best for

new customers. The host pitches it to school district leaders and gives qualified education professionals a free Expo pass, so it suits a vendor whose buyer sits in a district office.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by Arc Network LLC. FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference). Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

TCEA Convention & Exposition

Dates

January 31 to February 3, 2027

City

San Antonio, Texas

Vertical

education, tech

Who attends

Educators in every role; the host's line is "TCEA is for ALL Educators"

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

under $500 (Early Bird through November 6, 2026: Basic Badge $438 nonmember ($409 member), Premium Badge $537 nonmember ($508 member), One-Day Badge $228 nonmember ($199 member), Exhibit Hall Only $49; Basic Badge nonmember rises to $483 from November 7, $528 from January 9 and $573 onsite) Source: TCEA Convention & Exposition registration page, convention.tcea.org (checked 2026-09-27), 2027
$438, early-bird price Source: TCEA Convention & Exposition registration page, Basic Badge nonmember Early Bird rate (checked 2026-09-27), 2027

Best for

new customers, learning. It has the lowest published full-conference ticket on this list and its own vendor hall, so it suits a first-time exhibitor testing a state association's show before a national one.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association). TCEA Convention & Exposition. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

AASA National Conference on Education

Dates

February 25 to 27, 2027

City

Atlanta, Georgia

Venue

Georgia World Congress Center

Vertical

education

Who attends

School superintendents and administrators (host description)

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published

Best for

new customers. The host bills it as the premier professional development and networking event for school superintendents and administrators, so it suits a vendor whose sale needs superintendent sign-off.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association. AASA National Conference on Education. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

NSBA Annual Conference

Dates

April 2 to 4, 2027

City

Washington, DC

Venue

Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Vertical

education

Who attends

Education leaders from across the country, with registration tiers for school board members and member districts; the host pitches exhibitors on meeting school district decision-makers

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

$500 to $1,500 (Standard in-person rate for unaffiliated school board members and the general public: $1,375; member and affiliate tiers $935 to $1,170; a Corporate registration is $1,500; Guest Pass $200) Source: NSBA 2027 Annual Conference event page, nsba.org (checked 2026-09-27, rechecked 2026-09-28), 2027
$1,375, full price Source: NSBA 2027 Annual Conference event page, general public standard in-person rate (checked 2026-09-27), 2027

Best for

new customers. Its ticket tiers are built around school boards and its prospectus offers exhibitors school district decision-makers, so it suits a vendor whose sale is decided at district level.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by National School Boards Association (NSBA). NSBA Annual Conference. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

ASU+GSV Summit

Dates

April 4 to 7, 2027

City

San Diego, California

Venue

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Vertical

education

Who attends

Education and workforce leaders; the host calls it the world's largest gathering of them (host description)

Size

5,000 to 20,000 (7,000+ delegates from 65 countries (host figure for the 2027 San Diego edition)) Source: ASU+GSV Summit host page, asugsvsummit.com (checked 2026-09-27), 2027

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

$3,000+ (Delegate $3,950 from October 1 to December 31, 2026, then $4,550 from January 1 to March 31, 2027; Entrepreneur and Nonprofit $2,600, then $2,900; K-12 or Higher Ed Educator $2,500, then $2,800; every tier $5,250 from April 1, 2027 to walk-up. Non-refundable; transfers $75) Source: ASU+GSV Summit 2027 registration page on Cvent, linked from asugsvsummit.com (checked 2026-09-28), 2027
$3,950, full price Source: ASU+GSV Summit 2027 registration page on Cvent, Delegate rate from October 1 to December 31, 2026 (checked 2026-09-28), 2027

Best for

partners, new customers. It sells separate Entrepreneur, Nonprofit and Educator tickets beside the Delegate pass, so founders, education leaders and workforce leaders share one room, which suits an edtech company looking for partners as much as buyers.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by ASU+GSV Summit (Arizona State University and GSV). ASU+GSV Summit. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

AACRAO Annual Meeting

Dates

April 4 to 7, 2027

City

Long Beach, California

Venue

Long Beach Convention Center

Vertical

education

Who attends

Registrars, admissions officers, enrollment managers, transfer professionals and international education staff (host description)

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published (Registration opens in early December 2026; no 2027 prices yet) Source: AACRAO Annual Meeting page, aacrao.org (checked 2026-09-27), 2027

Best for

new customers. It is the one higher-education show on this list, and its room is the registrar, admissions and enrollment staff who run student information, credential and enrollment systems.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). AACRAO Annual Meeting. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

ISTELive

Dates

June 27 to 30, 2027

City

Boston, Massachusetts

Vertical

education, tech

Who attends

host does not publish an attendee profile

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

$5,000 to $15,000 (10 x 10 ft at $7,295; first-time exhibitors may buy 5 x 10 ft at $4,315; 2027 standard rates, in effect after August 31, 2026; larger spaces are multiples of the 10 x 10 ft rate; 50% deposit with the application, balance due March 31, 2027) Source: ISTELive 2027 exhibitor page, conference.iste.org (checked 2026-09-27, rechecked 2026-09-28), 2027

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published

Best for

new customers. Its host is the International Society for Technology in Education and it publishes its booth price, so an edtech vendor can budget a booth before the first sales call with the host.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). ISTELive. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

NCTE Annual Convention

Dates

TBA, usually November

City

Not announced for 2027 (2026: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Vertical

education

Who attends

English language arts educators; the host says thousands attend (host description)

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published

Best for

new customers. It is the English language arts convention on this list, so it suits curriculum, literacy and publishing vendors who need English teachers in the room.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). NCTE Annual Convention. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

ACTE CareerTech VISION

Dates

TBA, usually December

City

Not announced for 2027 (2026: New Orleans, Louisiana)

Vertical

education

Who attends

The career and technical education (CTE) field; the host keeps its attendee breakdown in a data report not reviewed for this page

Size

not published

Exhibit cost

on request

Sponsorship

on request

Ticket

not published

Best for

new customers. It is the one career and technical education show on this list, so it suits vendors of workforce technology, skilled-trades equipment or career curriculum.

Curated from public sources.

Hosted by Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). ACTE CareerTech VISION. Hosting an event like this? See exhibitor training for event hosts. Last checked September 27, 2026.

How do you choose the right education conference to exhibit at?

Start with who signs the purchase order, then pick the room they sit in. If your sale needs a district decision, NSBA and AASA are built for the people who make it: NSBA’s prospectus offers exhibitors school district decision-makers, and AASA bills its conference as the premier event for superintendents and administrators. If your product lives in classrooms and school networks, the technology shows are the natural room: FETC pitches itself to K-12 leaders moving their districts forward, and TCEA says it is for all educators. The ISTELive 2027 pages checked carry no attendee profile, so ask ISTE who walks the floor by role before you pay the deposit. A literacy product belongs in front of NCTE’s English language arts educators; a career-tech product at ACTE CareerTech VISION; a student information or enrollment product at AACRAO.

A published booth price answers one question: what the space costs. It does not tell you who will stop at it. So when you ask for the prospectus, ask four questions in the same email: who exactly is attending (by role, not a headcount), what the event’s narrative is, who is speaking and about what, and whether there are scheduled opportunities for real conversations, like meals in the expo hall or dedicated showcase time. I laid those four out in a video in September 2025, and the rest of the method is in how to choose the trade shows worth your budget. Also ask what the booth price leaves out. ISTELive’s page, for one, asks for a 50% deposit with the application and the balance by March 31, 2027, which fixes your cash timing whether or not you have a plan yet.

Mind the calendar, because it is lumpy. FETC and TCEA run back to back at the end of January. AASA follows in late February. Then NSBA, ASU+GSV and AACRAO all fall in the first week of April, with ASU+GSV and AACRAO on the same four days, one in San Diego and one in Long Beach. ISTELive is at the end of June, and NCTE and ACTE CareerTech VISION usually close the year in November and December. This page cannot tell you when your districts set next year’s budgets. Your own customers can, so ask them which of these shows they plan to attend before you choose.

Here’s the truth: choosing the wrong event is the most expensive mistake in events, and the biggest edtech floor is not automatically the right one for a product a superintendent has to approve. If a host cannot tell you, by role, who will be in the room, or if your buyer is a small slice of a broad crowd, attend first. NSBA’s standard rate for the general public is $1,375, and it also sells a Corporate registration at $1,500, so ask which one a vendor should buy. TCEA sells an Exhibit Hall Only badge for $49; confirm with TCEA that a vendor may register on it. Book meetings with the buyers you already know will be there, and decide on the booth for the following year. And if a show asks for a $100K sponsorship with little or no airtime for your brand, my answer is a firm no.

Then plan backward. My preparation horizon for a show I’ve chosen is at least 12 weeks before the event. Decide what should be true 30 days after the show, and score it against that with the event ROI calculator.

If you are an educator choosing which of these to attend, the same table works for you: read the attendee line and the ticket band, and skip the exhibit columns.

Run one of these shows? If you want exhibitors who renew next year, Events Authority offers exhibitor training for event hosts.

Common questions

How much does it cost to exhibit at education conferences? Two hosts on this list publish a 2027 booth price. ISTELive charges $4,315 for a 5 x 10 ft space, open to first-time exhibitors only, and $7,295 for a 10 x 10 ft space at its standard rate, with larger spaces priced as multiples of the 10 x 10 ft rate (ISTELive 2027 exhibitor page, checked 27 September 2026). FETC charges $43 per net square foot for its January 2027 show; booth sizes and options come with its prospectus. The other seven hosts price exhibiting on request, so you ask each one for its prospectus. None of the nine published a sponsorship price on the pages checked.

Which education conferences reach district decision-makers? NSBA Annual Conference (April 2 to 4, 2027, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC) brings together education leaders from across the country, sells registration tiers built for school board members and member districts, and its prospectus offers exhibitors school district decision-makers. AASA National Conference on Education (February 25 to 27, 2027, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta) is billed by its host as the premier professional development and networking event for school superintendents and administrators. FETC (January 26 to 29, 2027, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando) pitches itself to K-12 leaders and district decision-makers. None of the three publishes an attendance figure on the pages checked, so ask for one.

Which education conferences suit an edtech startup? The ASU+GSV Summit (April 4 to 7, 2027, Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego) is the one on this list that sells a separate Entrepreneur ticket, for early-stage education and skills companies before Series B: $2,600 from October 1 to December 31, 2026, then $2,900 until March 31, 2027. Its Delegate pass, which the host describes as for investors, employers, industry leaders and innovators, is $3,950 over the same October to December window and $4,550 from January 1, and a K-12 or higher-education educator ticket is $2,500, then $2,800. Every tier rises to $5,250 from April 1, 2027, and registrations are non-refundable. The host describes it as the world’s largest gathering of education and workforce leaders, and its 2027 page invites you to join 7,000+ delegates from 65 countries in San Diego. Exhibit and partnership prices are on request.

Which education conferences suit higher-education vendors? The AACRAO Annual Meeting (April 4 to 7, 2027, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California) is the higher-education show on this list. It gathers registrars, admissions officers, enrollment managers, transfer professionals and international education staff, which makes it the room for student information, credential and enrollment vendors. Registration opens in early December 2026, so no 2027 ticket price is published yet, and sponsorship is priced on request. The ASU+GSV Summit also sells a ticket to higher-education educators, alongside K-12 ones.

Who attends ISTELive? ISTE does not publish an attendee profile or an attendance figure on the ISTELive 2027 pages checked on 27 September 2026, and its attend and registration pages returned errors when checked, so ask ISTE for both with the exhibitor application. What ISTE does publish: ISTELive 2027 runs June 27 to 30, 2027 in Boston, and exhibit space costs $4,315 per 5 x 10 ft (first-time exhibitors only) or $7,295 per 10 x 10 ft at the standard rate, with a 50% deposit due with the application.

What is the ROI of exhibiting at an education conference? Compute your own rather than borrowing a benchmark. Before the show, write what should be true 30 days after it. Afterwards, add up the full cost (booth or sponsorship, tickets, travel and your team’s time) and set it against the pipeline and deals you can trace to conversations at the show, counted at the same window every time. Count conversations that led somewhere, not badge scans. The event ROI calculator linked above gives a keep-or-rethink verdict at the counting window you choose.

When are 2027 education conference dates announced, and when should I book? Seven of the nine have announced 2027 dates: FETC (January 26 to 29), TCEA (January 31 to February 3), AASA (February 25 to 27), NSBA (April 2 to 4), ASU+GSV and AACRAO (both April 4 to 7) and ISTELive (June 27 to 30). Two have not: NCTE usually runs in November (its 2026 convention is November 19 to 22 in Philadelphia) and ACTE CareerTech VISION in December (its 2026 edition is December 2 to 5 in New Orleans). My preparation horizon is at least 12 weeks before the event, so preparation for FETC should start by November 3, 2026, for TCEA by November 8, 2026, and for AASA by December 3, 2026, which means the booking decision comes before that. If a host wants the contract signed earlier than 12 weeks out, ask for the proposed agenda and proof of scheduled showcase time before you sign.

Which education conferences fit a smaller budget? To exhibit: ISTELive’s standard entry point is $7,295 for a 10 x 10 ft space, in the $5,000 to $15,000 band, and first-time exhibitors can start at $4,315 with a 5 x 10 ft space. No host on this list publishes a booth under $5,000 that every exhibitor can buy. Under $500 to attend: TCEA, with a nonmember Basic Badge at $438 until November 6, 2026 ($409 for members), and an Exhibit Hall Only badge at $49. $500 to $1,500: NSBA, at $1,375 for the general public at the standard rate (its Corporate registration is $1,500). $1,500 to $3,000: the ASU+GSV Summit’s Entrepreneur ticket, $2,600 until December 31, 2026. $3,000 and up: the ASU+GSV Delegate pass, $3,950 until December 31, 2026. FETC, AASA, NCTE, AACRAO, ACTE CareerTech VISION and ISTELive did not publish a 2027 ticket price on the pages checked, so ask the host before you plan around them.

Before you sign for 2027

Find the room your buyer is already in. Then buy the booth.

If you’d like a second read on your 2027 education shortlist before you sign, Events Authority offers a complimentary event assessment.