18 verified organisations
Speaker bureaus and speaking agencies in United States
18 organisations, each one checked on its own website.
The United States has the deepest speaker market in the world, the highest fees, and the widest gap between the bureaus that tell you what things cost and the ones that won't.
At the top sit two very different operations. The Harry Walker Agency has been going since 1946, works from Park Avenue South, is now part of WME, and represents presidents, Nobel laureates and household names exclusively. Washington Speakers Bureau calls itself the world's largest talent agency for corporate speaking and has been at it more than 45 years. Neither publishes a price, and at that level you wouldn't expect one.
Three bureaus break ranks on fees. All American Speakers lets you filter by budget band, with separate ranges for live and virtual. Executive Speakers Bureau goes further and shows a fee range on every profile, again splitting live from virtual. Gotham Artists publishes a fee guide and curates a browsable list of speakers at $15,000 and under. If you're planning to a number rather than a name, start with those three.
The rest of the field is unusually spread out for a market this size. Boston, Brooklyn, Santa Barbara, Annapolis, Memphis, Franklin in Tennessee, Minneapolis. American Program Bureau alone runs offices in six cities and is 60 years old. This isn't a one-city industry the way London or Auckland is.
Getting signed varies more than anywhere else covered here. Executive Speakers Bureau, Harry Walker, Leading Authorities and American Program Bureau all publish a route in. BigSpeak says plainly that it works by invitation and doesn't accept unsolicited approaches. Most of the others simply expect an email.
One piece of plumbing is worth knowing about. eSpeakers, founded in 1999, runs the directories for both the American and British speaking associations and syndicates a single profile out to many bureau sites. A lot of American speakers get found through it without ever dealing with the company directly.
Speaker bureaus 14
Washington Speakers Bureau
Calls itself the world's largest talent agency specialising in corporate speaking events, and has been booking for more than 45 years.
All American Speakers Bureau
Booking since 2002 with more than $500 million of talent placed, and a search that filters by budget band for both live and virtual fees.
Executive Speakers Bureau
More than 30 years in the business, and unusually open about money: each profile shows a speaker fee range and a separate virtual fee range.
Gotham Artists
New York bureau that publishes a speaker fee guide and curates a browsable list of speakers at $15,000 and under, which is rare at any size.
BigSpeak Speakers Bureau
A business-focused bureau from Santa Barbara that works by invitation and does not take unsolicited approaches from speakers.
Leading Authorities
More than 30 years old, running its own video marketing and event production arms alongside the bureau. Visitors outside the US are routed to its UK site.
Keppler Speakers
Aimed squarely at business events, with a roster weighted to ambassadors, former national security officials, astronauts and senior journalists.
Premiere Speakers Bureau
Thirty years and 40,000 events from a base in Franklin, Tennessee, with a noticeably strong faith-based and author roster.
Speakers.com
A full-service booking agency of more than 30 years, working from Annapolis, Maryland.
Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau
Forty years old and one of the most searchable bureaus anywhere: filter by in-person fee band from $3,001 through to $75,001 and above, and by the state the speaker lives in.
The Speaker Exchange Agency
A boutique bureau of more than ten years aimed squarely at meeting planners, with fee filtering that starts at an under $5,000 band.
Brooks International Speakers Bureau
Twenty-five years matching talent to events, and one of the few bureaus anywhere stating outright that its service comes at no cost to the buyer.
AEI Speakers Bureau
Carries broadcast personalities and bestselling authors alongside business speakers, and publishes a speaker representation route as well as an industry terms glossary.
Goodman Speakers
Long-running bureau with an unusually specific niche in financial and insurance-sector speakers alongside the general business roster.
Speaker management 1
The Harry Walker Agency
Operating since 1946 from Park Avenue South and now part of WME, representing presidents, Nobel laureates and household names on an exclusive basis.
Entertainment agencies that book speakers 1
American Program Bureau
Sixty years old, working from Boston with offices in New York, Washington DC, Kansas City, Dallas and San Diego, and strong in the college market.
Directories, marketplaces and industry bodies 2
National Speakers Association
The US industry body, nearly fifty years old, whose members appear in a Find-a-Speaker directory once they complete an eSpeakers profile. It also awards the Certified Speaking Professional designation.
eSpeakers Marketplace
Founded in 1999, this is the software behind the directories of both the American and British speaking associations, and it syndicates a profile out to many bureau sites.
Questions people ask about American speaker bureaus
Which US bureaus publish speaker fees?
Three of the thirteen here. All American Speakers filters its search by budget band, separately for live and virtual events. Executive Speakers Bureau shows a fee range on every speaker profile, again splitting live and virtual. Gotham Artists publishes a fee guide plus a curated list of speakers at $15,000 and under.
Everyone else quotes on request.
What do keynote speakers charge in the United States?
The budget bands that All American Speakers uses give the clearest public picture: $5,000 to $10,000, $10,000 to $20,000, $20,000 to $30,000, $30,000 to $50,000, and $50,000 to $100,000, with more above that.
Virtual sessions run materially cheaper. Executive Speakers Bureau lists them separately, and a speaker at $20,000 to $30,000 in the room may be $10,000 to $15,000 online.
How do I get signed by a US speaker bureau?
Several publish a route. Executive Speakers Bureau has a Become A Speaker page, Harry Walker has Speaker Representation, Leading Authorities has Being Represented by LAI, and American Program Bureau has a Representation page.
BigSpeak is explicit in the other direction: invitation only, no unsolicited applications. Washington Speakers Bureau, Keppler, Premiere and Speakers.com have no public form and expect direct contact.
What is the National Speakers Association and is it worth joining?
The NSA is the US industry body, based in Minneapolis and nearly fifty years old. It isn't a booking agency.
Members who complete an eSpeakers profile appear automatically in its Find-a-Speaker directory, which event organisers do search. The NSA also awards the Certified Speaking Professional designation, which is the recognised credential in the American market.
What is eSpeakers and why does it keep coming up?
It's infrastructure rather than a bureau. Founded in 1999, eSpeakers runs the member directories for both the National Speakers Association in the US and the Professional Speaking Association in the UK and Ireland.
Its paid tiers syndicate one profile out to many directory and bureau sites, which is why a single eSpeakers listing can surface a speaker in places they never signed up for individually.
Is the US market all in New York?
No, and that sets it apart. Harry Walker and Gotham Artists are New York, but Executive Speakers Bureau is in Memphis, Premiere is in Franklin, Tennessee, BigSpeak is in Santa Barbara, Speakers.com is in Annapolis, American Program Bureau is in Boston and the NSA is in Minneapolis.
American Program Bureau alone runs offices across six cities. Compare that with the UK, where nearly everything is in London.
What's the difference between a bureau and an exclusive agency here?
A bureau represents many speakers non-exclusively and sells them to event organisers. You can appear on several rosters at once, and most American speakers do.
The Harry Walker Agency works the other way. It represents its people exclusively, which is how it holds a roster of former heads of state and Nobel laureates. That model comes with a much higher bar to entry.
Do virtual speaking fees really cost less?
Yes, and the American bureaus are the only ones in this directory that show it publicly. All American Speakers runs separate live and virtual budget filters, and Executive Speakers Bureau publishes both figures on each profile.
The pattern is consistent: virtual sits well below the in-room fee, because there's no travel and less of the speaker's day is gone.
Which bureaus work with colleges and nonprofits?
American Program Bureau is the clearest fit. Its site breaks out higher education and community and nonprofit as distinct markets, and it's been serving the college circuit for much of its sixty years.
Gotham Artists also names college and nonprofit events alongside corporate work.
How far ahead should I book a speaker?
Six to twelve months for a conference keynote, and a year or more for a high-profile name. American conference season is crowded and the recognisable people commit early.
The depth of the market helps at short notice more than anywhere else in this directory. There are simply more people available.
Should I approach a US bureau if I'm based overseas?
The large ones all book internationally, so yes as a buyer. As a speaker, it's harder. The American bureaus are selling into American events, and a speaker who needs a long-haul flight and a visa is a tougher sell than an equivalent name already in the country.
Leading Authorities is the interesting case: it runs both US and UK operations, and routes visitors outside the US to its UK site.
How do I get a listing on this page corrected or added?
Email us. Every organisation here was checked on its own website on the date at the bottom of this page.
The US market is the biggest in this directory and this is the first pass at it, so if we've missed a bureau you rate, tell us. Nobody pays to appear, and nobody can pay to be removed or moved up. See how we verify.
Listings last verified 20 September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.