A PA system costs from about $400 to well over $10,000, and the size of the room and the loudness of the music decide where you land. Thomann had 287 ready-made PA sets in stock on October 19, 2026, at a median of $1,788, plus 56 column systems (median $1,395) and 32 battery-powered speakers (median $607).
PA system prices by use
| Use | What you need | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Speeches, small rooms, buskers | One battery or 8" speaker with a mic input | $400 to $700 |
| Acoustic duo, café gigs | Two 8" to 10" speakers or a small column | $600 to $1,300 |
| Band in a bar (100 to 200 people) | Two 12" speakers + mixer, or a column with sub | $1,300 to $2,500 |
| DJs, loud bands | Two tops + subwoofer(s) | $2,000 and up |
The median PA set by Thomann's type: vocal and speech $618, corporate and restaurant $1,322, acoustic and entertainer $2,204, DJ $3,640 and band $4,386.
Small: speeches and buskers
Mackie Thump GO, $412
A 200-watt battery speaker with an 8" woofer and two combo inputs. #2 of 31 bluetooth speakers.
Alto TS 408 Stereo Bundle, $613
Two 8" active speakers with Bluetooth and a 2-channel mixer each, plus stands. #1 of 10 vocal and speech PA sets.
Medium: bands and entertainers
Yamaha DBR12 & MG10X Bundle, $1,290
Two 12" active speakers and a 10-channel Yamaha mixer: the classic small-band PA. #5 of 39 acoustic and entertainer PA sets.
Yamaha Stagepas 1K MK2, $1,250
A column system with a 12" subwoofer, a slim line array and a built-in mixer, set up in minutes. #6 of 33 column PA systems.
Bose L1 Pro32, $2,010
A portable line array with 32 drivers for singer-songwriters, DJs and bands in medium-sized rooms. One of the highest-ranked column systems we track: #2 of 33 column PA systems.
Large: DJs and loud bands
JBL EON710/718S Bundle, $2,177
Two 10" EON710 tops and an 18" EON718S subwoofer with built-in DSP. One of the highest-ranked PA sets we track: #1 of 90 active speaker PA sets.
Questions
How much PA do I need for 100 people?
For speech, one or two 8" speakers. For a band, two 12" speakers and a mixer, or a column system with a sub.
Is a column PA worth it?
For solo acts and duos, yes: one or two boxes, quick setup and even sound across the room.
How we measured. Every PA set, column system and battery-powered PA speaker Thomann listed as in stock on October 19, 2026, by Thomann's categories, converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate. Typical prices are from our picks and those medians. Products show today's price and rank, updated every night.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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