How much to charge for a yard card rental

A standard birthday display ran from $90 to $155 on the 14 published price lists we read in September 2026, across 11 states. Half charged less than $105 and half charged more, and 10 of the 14 were between $95 and $125.^[2-16]

Most businesses also sell a smaller and a bigger display. The small ones, often a single greeting sign instead of spelled-out letters, ran $70 to $85. The big ones, with custom wording or a yard full of flair, ran $135 to $170.^{[6][9][15-16]}

The greeting, one name and the age, with balloons, stars and a few themed graphics, and delivery, setup and pickup inside the home area. Almost everyone sells it as about 24 hours: staked the evening before, pulled the next evening. A few do it differently, like a 22-hour rental or a three-day minimum.^{[3-4][6][9][12][16]}

Some spell out the size so a customer knows what they are paying for: one lists 30 to 35 pieces with letters 24 inches tall for its standard display, and describes its cheaper one as about 20 pieces with the greeting on one or two big signs.^[6]

Nearly every add-on on these price lists costs the owner something: a letter, a trip or a night. Price them that way and the base price can stay easy to say yes to.

An extra day is the one to think hardest about. Of the 11 businesses that published one, 8 charged between a quarter and a half of their base price per extra day. Some charge more for an extra day in graduation season, and one stops selling extra days then altogether, because a second night keeps the letters away from the next customer.^{[3-7][9-10][12][14-15][17]}

Delivery is free inside a home area everywhere we looked. Past it, owners charge by zone or distance: one charges nothing within 10 miles, $25 from 11 to 15 miles and $45 from 16 to 20; another charges $10 to $40 depending on how far past 10 miles the yard is.^[10][15]

More than the base price. Card My Yard, a yard card franchise, reported an average ticket of $123.77 across the 505 franchised locations open all of 2024, and a median of $119.08, according to a summary of its franchise disclosure document.^[18]

That average sits above the middle base price in the table, and it counts whatever the customer added to the order. Make add-ons easy to pick on the booking page and more customers will pick them.^[2-16][18]

None of the 14 published a deposit. The ones that say when they take payment take the full price, either at booking or 48 to 72 hours before setup, so nothing is staked on a promise.^{[3-4][9-10][14]}

A few price damage up front, which makes it easier to charge when it happens: one charges $25 a piece for signs moved and damaged, and another charges at least $25 to clean signs that come back covered in grass clippings.^[10][17]

1. Read the price lists of three to five businesses near you. Your customers will.
2. Pick a standard display and describe it plainly: the greeting, the name, the age, what flair comes with it, and how long it stays up.
3. Add a smaller and a bigger option, so the standard one looks like the sensible choice.
4. Price every add-on that costs you a letter, a trip or a night.
5. Take the full price by card when they book.

Card fees come off the top. At Stripe's standard 2.9% plus 30 cents, a $105 order costs about $3.35 to take by card.^[19]

Sales tax is not the same everywhere. Some of these businesses include it in the price and some add it at checkout, and whether a rental is taxed at all depends on where you operate, so check with your state and local governments.^[6][9][20]

YardCardOS prices extra days and additional names your way, sets delivery zones by ZIP code with an out-of-area fee, and charges the card in full at booking, straight to your own Stripe account. Every letter is checked before the booking goes through, so an extra day never promises letters that are already booked. Talk to us

YardCardOS starts at $49 a month, flat, with no cut of your bookings. The exact price depends on the size of the business.^[1]