How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Ticketing platforms make money per ticket, not per month: compare the fee on YOUR ticket price, because a flat $1.79 hurts a $10 ticket far more than a $100 one.
- Eventbrite (3.7% + $1.79/ticket + 2.9% processing) buys you discovery traffic; TicketSpice ($0.99/ticket + processing) buys you lower fees and full branding control.
- Nonprofits should start with Zeffy, which is genuinely free including processing fees, or Humanitix, which directs profits to education charities.
- Big venues and festivals live in a different market: Ticketmaster, Tixr and Dice are contract-based and built for scale, not self-serve organizers.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Eventbrite | Organizers who want built-in audience discovery | Free to publish; 3.7% + $1.79/ticket service fee + 2.9% payment processing per order | Yes (free events carry no fees) |
 Ticketmaster | Large venues, tours and high-volume events | See website | No |
 TicketSpice | Organizers who want full branding at low flat fees | $0.99/ticket + 2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing | Yes (free signup; fees only on paid tickets) |
 Humanitix | Organizers who want fees to fund a cause | See website | Yes (free events) |
 Tixr | Festivals and high-demand on-sales | See website | No |
 Dice | Music events with a discovery-minded audience | See website | Yes (free events) |
 Ticketleap | Community events and small organizers on a budget | See website | Yes (free events) |
 Zeffy | Nonprofits running fundraising events | Free (nonprofits only) | Yes |
 EventBookings | Organizers who want the lowest platform-side fees | 1% + $0.30/ticket platform fee, plus your own Stripe or PayPal processing | Yes (free events) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best ticketing software
Run the math on one $25 ticket before you read another feature list. On Eventbrite, fees total about $3.44. On TicketSpice, about $1.97. On EventBookings, about $1.28 plus your Stripe fee. Multiply the difference by your attendance and you have the real price of this decision. Nine platforms, with the fee math done for you.
Starting priceFree to publish; 3.7% + $1.79/ticket service fee + 2.9% payment processing per order
Free planYes (free events carry no fees)
Eventbrite is the default choice because it is two products: a ticketing platform and a marketplace where people browse for things to do. That discovery traffic is real, and for public events it can move tickets you would otherwise pay to advertise. Publishing is free, free events cost nothing, and the organizer dashboard covers the basics well.
The fee structure is the honest trade. US organizers pay 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket plus 2.9% processing on the order total, with no cap. On a $10 ticket that is roughly a quarter of the price. Optional Pro subscriptions ($15 to $100 a month) buy email marketing volume, not lower fees. Use Eventbrite when discovery matters more than fees: public festivals, classes and community events. Skip it when you already have your own audience.
What we like- Largest built-in audience of ticket buyers discovering events
- Fastest setup in the category with instant publishing
- Free for free events at any size
Watch out for- Among the highest fees here, especially punishing on cheap tickets
- No per-ticket fee cap, so premium tickets get expensive fast
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Ticketmaster is not competing with Eventbrite for your 200-person workshop. It is the infrastructure for arenas, stadiums, major tours and festivals selling tens of thousands of tickets in minutes. The queueing system, fraud controls and venue integrations exist because nothing else survives that load. If you run a venue, you likely already have a Ticketmaster relationship.
Everything is negotiated: pricing, fees, terms. Public fee complaints are loud and legitimate, but they concern the buyer side of a market you are not in unless you operate at scale. Independent organizers should look elsewhere. Venue operators and large promoters should get the contract terms in writing and compare the all-in buyer cost, since that affects your attendance.
What we like- Built for massive on-sales with queueing that actually holds up
- Deep venue and promoter integrations
- The resale marketplace is integrated, not bolted on
Watch out for- Contract-based enterprise pricing with no public rates
- Fees are among the highest in the industry and draw regular public criticism
Starting price$0.99/ticket + 2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing
Free planYes (free signup; fees only on paid tickets)
TicketSpice is the anti-Eventbrite: instead of a percentage, it charges a flat 99 cents per paid ticket plus standard 2.9% + 30 cent processing, with the fee dropping to 49 cents for tickets under $5 and for box-office sales. There are no setup fees, no monthly fees and no contracts. You keep 100% of any convenience fee you choose to add on top.
The page builder is the other half of the pitch: full branding control, conditional logic, upsells, merch and custom CSS, all on your own domain for $150 a year white-label. Weekly payouts beat the industry habit of holding funds until after the event. If you have an audience and want to stop paying percentages, TicketSpice is the value leader.
What we like- Flat 99 cents per ticket with no percentage platform fee, no monthly fees and no contracts
- Full control over page branding, custom domains and fee markups
- Weekly payouts instead of post-event holds
Watch out for- No built-in discovery marketplace, so you bring your own audience
- You set up your own processor relationship
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free events)
Humanitix turned the fee conversation into a selling point: as a registered nonprofit, it directs its profits to children's education charities, and organizers can tell attendees their booking fee does good. The platform itself is modern and capable, covering ticketing, reserved seating and event management for concerts, festivals, galas and conferences.
Fee-wise it sits in the middle of the pack, and the mission angle genuinely helps with certain audiences, especially galas, fundraisers and education events. It will not match Ticketmaster for stadium on-sales or Eventbrite for raw discovery traffic. For organizers whose brand benefits from the charity story, it is an easy recommendation.
What we like- Registered nonprofit model directs profits to education charities
- Modern checkout with a strong mobile experience
- Competitive fees with a mission story attendees respond to
Watch out for- Smaller discovery audience than Eventbrite
- Fewer advanced enterprise features for complex events
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Tixr built its name on the hardest problem in ticketing: selling out. The platform handles tiered ticket releases, waitlists, payment plans and multi-day festival logic with a fan experience designed for mobile. Major festivals and touring acts use it because the on-sale mechanics work under pressure.
Like Ticketmaster, it is a sales-led product, not self-serve software. Pricing is custom and the fit is narrow: if your event does not sell out or need release tiers, you are paying for machinery you will not use. Festival organizers and high-demand tours should demo it against Ticketmaster.
What we like- Purpose-built for hype-driven on-sales with waitlists and tiered releases
- Strong mobile-first fan experience
- Handles complex festival ticketing (multi-day, VIP, payment plans)
Watch out for- Contract-based pricing aimed at established events
- Overkill for simple single-day gatherings
#6
Dice
Best for: Music events with a discovery-minded audience
Visit dice.fm
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free events)
Dice started by fixing the gig ticket experience: mobile tickets locked to the buyer, no screenshot scalping, and a discovery feed music fans actually open. For clubs, promoters and independent venues, that audience is valuable, and the organizer tools cover the essentials without bloat.
The trade is scope. Dice is a music platform first; corporate events and charity galas will find the feature set and audience mismatch. Pricing is not published. If you promote live music and your crowd skews young and mobile, Dice deserves a look alongside the generalists.
What we like- Fan-first brand with strong discovery among music audiences
- Mobile-native tickets with anti-scalping controls
- Clean organizer tools for gigs and club nights
Watch out for- Music-centric, so conferences and fundraisers fit awkwardly
- Smaller US footprint than Eventbrite
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free events)
Ticketleap targets the long tail: school fundraisers, club nights, community theater, the events run by volunteers. Setup is simple, the interface is friendly, and free events are genuinely free. For organizers who find Eventbrite's fee stack intimidating, the simplicity has real appeal.
Verify the fee math before committing, because Ticketleap's published rates are harder to pin down than TicketSpice's flat 99 cents. At small volumes the difference is minor, but it compounds. It fits best when the organizer values simplicity over squeezing every cent of margin.
What we like- Simple setup aimed at small and community events
- Social sharing tools built in
- Free events cost nothing
Watch out for- Fee details are less transparent than flat-fee competitors
- Feature depth is thin for complex or multi-day events
Starting priceFree (nonprofits only)
Free planYes
Zeffy is the only platform here that charges nonprofits nothing, including the processing fees other "free" platforms pass through. The model runs on optional donor tips at checkout, and the platform covers ticketing, donations, raffles, auctions and memberships. Over 100,000 nonprofits use it according to the company.
The catch is eligibility: you need nonprofit status. Commercial organizers should stop reading. For galas, charity runs, school fundraisers and church events, Zeffy removes the fee line from the budget entirely, which is a genuine advantage over Humanitix's small per-ticket charge. Confirm your organization's eligibility during signup.
What we like- Completely free for nonprofits, and Zeffy covers the credit card processing too
- Ticketing plus donations, raffles, auctions and memberships in one platform
- Funded by optional donor tips, not fees
Watch out for- Nonprofits only, so commercial events are excluded
- The optional tip prompt at checkout can confuse some donors
Starting price1% + $0.30/ticket platform fee, plus your own Stripe or PayPal processing
Free planYes (free events)
EventBookings wins the fee math. The platform charges 1% + $0.30 per ticket and connects to your own Stripe or PayPal account for processing, so the all-in cost on a $50 ticket is roughly $1.55 in platform fees plus standard processing. Branded pages, multiple ticket types and mobile check-in come standard rather than as upsells.
The trade is operational: you own the processor relationship, including its setup and its own fee schedule. For organizers comfortable with Stripe, that is a minor chore for major savings. For volunteers who want everything in one login, the simplicity of Eventbrite or TicketSpice may be worth the premium.
What we like- Lowest platform fee here at 1% + 30 cents per ticket
- Branded event pages, custom forms and check-in scanning included, not gated
- You keep your own processor relationship and rates
Watch out for- You manage your own Stripe or PayPal account, which adds setup
- Smaller brand recognition than Eventbrite
What to look for before you buy
Model the fee on your actual ticket price, not the marketing headline. A $1.79 flat fee is 18% of a $10 ticket and under 2% of a $100 ticket; percentages punish expensive tickets, flat fees punish cheap ones. Decide who pays: passing fees to buyers protects margin but raises checkout totals, and late-appearing fees are a known cause of abandoned purchases. Absorbing fees keeps the advertised price clean but comes straight off revenue.
Then check payout timing and data ownership. Some platforms hold funds until after the event; TicketSpice pays weekly, which matters for cash flow. Confirm you can export your attendee list with emails, because that list is the marketing asset your next event depends on. Finally, test the check-in app before event day. The smoothest checkout in the world means nothing if the door scanner fails at 8 p.m.
Who should skip Eventbrite
Eventbrite earns its fees through discovery, so skip it when you already have the audience. If your tickets sell through your email list, your Instagram following or a partner's promotion, you are paying 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket for traffic you did not need. TicketSpice or EventBookings will cut that cost by half or more with ten minutes of extra setup. Also skip Eventbrite for expensive tickets: with no fee cap, a $500 VIP ticket carries roughly $35 in fees that a flat-fee platform would reduce to a few dollars. And nonprofits should price Zeffy first, because zero beats any percentage. Eventbrite's real home is public, discovery-driven events where strangers find you through the marketplace.
How we chose
We built this list from vendor pricing pages, product documentation, and 2026 ticketing fee comparisons, checked in October 2026. A tool made the cut only if it sells event tickets today, serves US organizers, and fits a real organizer profile, from free community events to stadium on-sales. Fees come from each vendor's own published rates where available: Eventbrite's 3.7% + $1.79, TicketSpice's 99 cents and Zeffy's zero-fee model were all read off current vendor pages. Where pricing is contract-based or unpublished, we write See website instead of guessing. We did not run hands-on trials. The trade-offs reflect consistent reviewer feedback and the documented fee math.
Frequently asked questions
What is ticketing software?
Software that lets event organizers sell tickets online: event pages, checkout, payment processing, attendee management and check-in scanning. Most platforms charge per ticket sold rather than a monthly subscription. Free events are typically free on every platform listed here.
How much does ticketing software cost?
Per-ticket fees range from Zeffy's $0 for nonprofits to Eventbrite's 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% processing. Flat-fee platforms like TicketSpice ($0.99/ticket) and EventBookings (1% + $0.30) sit in the middle. Enterprise platforms like Ticketmaster and Tixr use custom contracts. There are usually no monthly fees; you pay when tickets sell.
Who pays the ticketing fees, the organizer or the attendee?
Almost every platform lets you choose. The default is usually the attendee paying at checkout, which protects your margin but raises the total the buyer sees. Absorbing the fees keeps your advertised price clean. Either way the money comes from the transaction; decide based on your audience's price sensitivity.
Is Eventbrite free?
Publishing events and selling free tickets is free. Paid tickets carry a 3.7% + $1.79 service fee per ticket plus 2.9% payment processing per order in the US. Optional Pro subscriptions ($15 to $100/month) add email marketing volume but do not reduce per-ticket fees.
What is the cheapest ticketing platform?
For nonprofits, Zeffy at zero fees. For everyone else, EventBookings has the lowest platform-side fee at 1% + $0.30 per ticket, though you pay your own Stripe or PayPal processing on top. TicketSpice's flat 99 cents per ticket is the cheapest simple option with everything in one bill.
Can I sell tickets on my own website instead?
Yes, and for high volumes it is often cheaper: a Stripe checkout costs 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction with no platform fee, versus Eventbrite's additional 3.7% + $1.79. What you give up is the ticketing workflow: event pages, discount codes, check-in scanning and attendee management, which you would need to build or buy separately.
Sources we checked (10)
- https://ticket-generator.com/blog/eventbrite-pricing
- https://www.simpletix.com/eventbrite-fees-explained-2026/
- https://checkoutpage.com/blog/eventbrite-fees
- https://www.ticketspice.com/pricing
- https://www.zeffy.com/pricing
- https://www.freshtix.com/blog/the-battle-for-the-best-ticket-selling-platform
- https://www.eventbookings.com/blog/cheapest-event-ticketing-platforms-in-the-us/
- https://www.eventbookings.com/blog/who-pays-ticketing-fees-platform-breakdown/
- https://dev.to/jeffreyinman/eventbrite-fees-vs-selling-tickets-on-your-own-wordpress-site-with-the-actual-numbers-21hi
- https://inevent.com/blog/event-registration-software/the-best-event-registration-software-in-2026.html
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.