What is the best event ticketing platform in 2026?
Five ticketing platforms compared on what they actually take from a $10, $25, $50 and $100 ticket, card processing included.
The short answer: for most independent organizers, go with Humanitix. It charges 2.1% + $0.99 per ticket plus 2.9% + $0.30 processing, which comes to about $2.54 on a $25 ticket, and it sends its profits to charity. If you run a nonprofit, Zeffy charges you nothing at all. If your nonprofit raises money around its events, Givebutter costs $0 with tips on and adds donation tools to every ticket page. For meetups and communities with cheap tickets, Luma takes 5% and no fixed fee. And if you need the biggest marketplace, Eventbrite still has it, at the highest cost per ticket in this ranking.
Every platform here sells tickets online, emails a QR code and lets you scan people in. The real differences hide in three places: the service fee, the card processing fee that sits on top of it, and when the money reaches your bank account. We read each platform's official pricing page, ran the math on four ticket prices, then compared it with what organizers say in reviews.
Some links may be affiliate links. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best ticketing platform for what you run
2.1% + $0.99, profits go to charity
Best for nonprofits$0 fees, funded by optional tips
Best for fundraising events0% with tips on, 3% with tips off
Best for communitiesFree plan at 5%, Plus at 0% for $59/mo
Biggest audienceA marketplace, at 3.7% + $1.79 a ticket
Best for charity-minded eventsNonprofit and school rate at 1% + $0.99
The 5 event ticketing platforms compared
The full ranking, with what each platform costs you on a $25 ticket when you absorb the fees. The figure adds card processing whenever the platform lists it. Click a platform to read its card.
| Best for | Cost on a $25 ticket | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Humanitix | Best overall | $2.54 with processing | 4.2/5 | 2.1% + $0.99 per ticket + 2.9% + $0.30 processing | ✓ | Community events, schools, charity galas | Visit → |
| 2 | Zeffy | Best for nonprofits | $0 | 4.6/5 | $0 for nonprofits; optional tip from the buyer | ✓ | Registered nonprofits in North America | Visit → |
| 3 | Givebutter | Best for fundraising events | $0 with tips, $1.78 without | 4.4/5 | 0% with tips on; 3% + 2.9% + 30¢ processing with tips off | ✓ | Nonprofit galas, fundraisers, school events | Visit → |
| 4 | Luma | Best for communities | $2.28 with Stripe | 3.7/5 | Free + 5% platform fee; Plus $59/mo (yearly), 0% | ✓ | Meetups, tech communities, recurring events | Visit → |
| 5 | Eventbrite | Biggest audience | $3.44 with processing | 3.6/5 | 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket + 2.9% processing per order | ✓ | Public events that need discovery | Visit → |
Prices from each platform's official US pricing page in 2026. Free plan means free events cost nothing. Givebutter's figure without tips adds its 3% platform fee to 2.9% + 30¢ card processing.
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How we compared and scored
We started from the question an organizer asks before opening sales: how much of each ticket do I actually keep, and when do I get it? For each platform, we read the official US pricing page, then worked out the cost on a $10, $25, $50 and $100 ticket, adding card processing whenever the platform publishes it. We then read organizer reviews, starting with the negative ones, because that's where fee creep, slow payouts and refund headaches show up.
Why is Humanitix first when Zeffy and Givebutter score higher? Because rank and score answer different questions. The score rates the platform itself, and a platform keeps the same score on every Labs page: Humanitix, Zeffy, Givebutter, Luma and Eventbrite carry the scores from our other event rankings, with the same breakdown under each card. The five criteria below are what we used to order them for this page's question. The rank tells you how many organizers the platform can serve. Zeffy is for nonprofits only, and Givebutter is built around fundraising, so they sit behind the platform any organizer can use. If you run a nonprofit, read the list the other way: Zeffy first, then Givebutter.
A platform without a readable US dollar price stays out of the ranking. Ticket Tailor is the obvious example: it's popular with small venues, but its official page only lists prices in British pounds. TicketLeap is left out too, because we couldn't confirm its current rate on its own site.
- Cost per ticketService fee plus card processing on a $10, $25, $50 and $100 ticket.30%
- Fee transparencyA complete public price list, processing shown, a clear total for the buyer.20%
- Checkout and salesTicket types, discount codes, mobile checkout, audience reach.20%
- Event dayCheck-in app, scanning, on-site tools.15%
- Payouts and refundsWhen the money arrives, how refunds work, what reviews say about support.15%
Some links may be affiliate links. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Humanitix
Humanitix gives you a lower bill than Eventbrite on every ticket price we ran. It charges 2.1% + $0.99 per ticket, plus 2.9% + $0.30 for card processing. On a $25 ticket, that's about $2.54 in total. Eventbrite takes about $3.44 on the same ticket, so on 400 tickets you keep roughly $360 more.
Nonprofits and schools get an even better rate: 1% + $0.99, or about $2.27 on a $25 ticket once processing is added. Free events cost nothing at all.
Then there's the part that sets it apart. Humanitix sends its profits to charity. You can say so on your event page, and for a fundraiser or a school concert, it's a line your audience will actually read.
The catch: the fixed $0.99 hurts on cheap tickets. On a $10 ticket, the total comes to $1.79, close to 18% of the price. If most of your tickets sell for under $10, Luma's straight 5% is lighter, at $1.09 with processing.
- About $2.54 on a $25 ticket, processing included
- Nonprofit and school rate at 1% + $0.99
- Profits go to charity
- Free events at $0
- ✓Cheaper than Eventbrite at every ticket price we checked
- ✓Clear public price list, processing shown
- ✓A story your audience cares about
- ✗Fixed $0.99 is heavy on tickets under $10
- ✗No discovery marketplace the size of Eventbrite's
The default pick for independent organizers: lower fees than Eventbrite, a clear price list and a charity angle that helps sales. Look at Luma if your tickets cost less than $10.
Zeffy
If you run a nonprofit, Zeffy is the cheapest ticketing you'll find: you pay nothing. There's no service fee and no processing fee taken from your tickets. Zeffy makes its money from an optional tip that buyers can add, or remove, at checkout.
On 300 tickets at $40, that's $12,000 that reaches your account in full. The same sale on Eventbrite would cost you about $1,330 if you absorbed the fees (3.7% + $1.79, plus 2.9% processing, per ticket).
The tip model has one side effect worth handling. Some buyers don't notice the tip is optional and feel surprised afterwards. Add a short line near your buy button saying the tip goes to Zeffy, not to you, and that they can set it to zero.
The limit is who can use it. Zeffy is built for nonprofits, and it's focused on North America. A for-profit promoter, a venue or a company event can't use it.
- $0 to the nonprofit, on every plan
- Funded by optional buyer tips
- Tip shown to buyers at checkout
- Focused on North American nonprofits
- ✓Keeps 100% of the ticket price
- ✓No plan to upgrade to unlock features
- ✓The strongest cost score in this ranking
- ✗Nonprofits only
- ✗Buyers may miss that the tip is optional
If you're a nonprofit, start here: you keep every dollar of every ticket. Just tell buyers the tip is optional.
Givebutter
Givebutter gives you a choice most platforms don't. Leave tips on, and buyers can add a tip to Givebutter at checkout while you pay 0% in platform and processing fees. Turn tips off, and you pay a flat 3% platform fee plus card processing at 2.9% + 30¢. That second mode suits a board that doesn't want supporters asked for anything extra.
With tips off, the bill stays low: $0.89 on a $10 ticket, $1.78 on a $25 ticket, $3.25 on a $50 ticket. That's below Humanitix at every price we ran, because there's no fixed fee per ticket beyond processing.
Where it pulls ahead is everything around the ticket. A ticket page can carry a donation add-on, and the same account runs your campaigns, including peer-to-peer fundraising where supporters raise money for you. For a gala, that turns a $50 seat into a $50 seat plus a gift.
The catch: Givebutter is built for fundraising, not for a promoter selling concert tickets. On-site tools are lighter than a dedicated ticketing platform, and Givebutter Plus, from $29 a month billed annually, is priced by contact tier, so a big list moves you up the grid.
- 0% fees with tips on
- 3% + processing with tips off
- Donation add-ons on ticket pages
- Peer-to-peer fundraising in the same account
- ✓Cheaper than Humanitix even with tips off
- ✓You choose whether buyers see a tip
- ✓Tickets and donations in one place
- ✗Built for fundraising, not for promoters
- ✗Lighter on-site tools
- ✗Plus is priced by contact tier
The pick for a nonprofit whose events are really fundraisers. If you only need tickets, Zeffy is simpler; if you're not a nonprofit, start with Humanitix.
Luma
Luma is built for communities that run event after event. The free plan costs nothing for free events and takes a 5% platform fee on paid tickets, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30. Luma Plus costs $59 a month, billed yearly, and drops the platform fee to 0%.
The math is easy. Plus pays for itself once you sell about $1,180 of tickets a month, because 5% of $1,180 is $59. Below that, stay on the free plan. On a $10 ticket, the free plan costs you $1.09 with Stripe, the lowest in this ranking after Zeffy.
On pricier tickets, the 5% adds up fast. On a $50 ticket, you pay $4.25 on the free plan, against $3.79 at Humanitix. And Stripe's fee comes on top of both plans, Plus included.
Luma's limit is scope. It shines for meetups and workshops, not for a seated concert or a festival with gates and wristbands.
- Plus at $59/mo removes the platform fee
- $1.09 on a $10 ticket with Stripe
- Free for free events
- Built for recurring events
- ✓Cheapest for low-priced tickets
- ✓Clear break-even for Plus
- ✓No fee on free events
- ✗5% gets heavy on tickets above $30
- ✗Not built for seated or large on-site events
The pick for meetups and communities with tickets under $25. Once you sell over $1,180 a month, switch to Plus.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is the platform people already know, and that's what you pay for. Its fee is 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket, plus 2.9% processing per order. On a $50 ticket, that's about $5.09. By default the buyer pays those fees on top of your price, but you can choose to absorb them.
Free events cost nothing, which makes Eventbrite a reasonable choice for a free talk you want people to discover. If you want to email your past attendees from inside the platform, Eventbrite Pro starts at $15 a month.
The cash flow is the other thing to plan for. By default, Eventbrite pays you out a few days after the event ends, not during sales. If you need ticket money to pay a venue deposit, check your payout settings before you open sales. And if a buyer gets a refund, the fees aren't returned to them unless the event is canceled or postponed.
Reviews keep coming back to the same complaint: the fees add up and keep going up. If your audience comes from your own list, Humanitix will cost you less on every ticket.
- A marketplace where new attendees browse
- Free events at $0
- Buyer pays fees by default
- Pro email marketing from $15/mo
- ✓Discovery you won't get elsewhere
- ✓Familiar checkout for buyers
- ✓Pro email tool from $15/mo
- ✗Highest cost per ticket in this ranking
- ✗Payouts after the event by default
- ✗Fees not refunded to buyers in most cases
Worth it when discovery matters more than fees. If you bring your own audience, you're paying for a marketplace you don't use.
What each platform takes at your ticket price
Comparing headline percentages won't tell you much. A fixed fee per ticket, a processing fee on top, or a monthly plan changes the order depending on your price. Here is the cost per ticket on four common prices, when you absorb the fees, using each platform's published rates.
$10 ticket
Zeffy $0, Givebutter $0.89 with tips off, Luma $1.09, Humanitix $1.79, Eventbrite $2.45. Fixed fees dominate here: Humanitix's $0.99 and Eventbrite's $1.79 weigh more than their percentages.
$25 ticket
Zeffy $0, Givebutter $1.78 with tips off, Luma $2.28, Humanitix $2.54, Eventbrite $3.44. On 400 tickets, the gap between Humanitix and Eventbrite is about $360.
$50 ticket
Zeffy $0, Givebutter $3.25 with tips off, Humanitix $3.79, Luma $4.25, Eventbrite $5.09. This is where Luma's 5% stops being the cheap option: past about $34, Humanitix costs less.
$100 ticket
Zeffy $0, Givebutter $6.20 with tips off, Humanitix $6.29, Luma $8.20, Eventbrite $8.39. On pricier seats, percentages take over and the fixed fees matter less.
Free events
Every platform in this ranking charges $0 for free events. Pick on features and audience, not on price.
Who pays the fees?
It's a setting. Eventbrite passes fees to the buyer by default; most platforms let you choose. If buyers pay, show the full price early so nobody drops off at checkout.
- Run the math on your real ticket price, not the headline percentage
- Add card processing whenever it's listed separately
- Check when payouts arrive before you commit to venue deposits
- Decide who pays fees, then show the all-in price from the start
- Ask about nonprofit options: Humanitix has a reduced rate, Zeffy and Givebutter can run on tips
Six mistakes that eat into your ticket money
Ticketing rarely goes wrong at checkout. It goes wrong on a fixed fee you didn't see coming, a payout that lands too late, or a refund nobody planned for. These are the cases organizers and buyers bring up most, with the fix.
Picking on the percentage when your tickets are cheap
Most commonA fixed fee per ticket hurts small tickets. Eventbrite's $1.79 is 18% of a $10 ticket before the percentage, and Humanitix's $0.99 is close to 10%.
The fix: for tickets under $15, pick a platform with no fixed fee, like Luma, or go free with Zeffy if you're a nonprofit.
- Eventbrite
- $2.45 on a $10 ticket
- Luma
- $1.09 on a $10 ticket
Forgetting the processing fee
Many platforms list their service fee and then add card processing on top. At 2.9% + $0.30, that's another $1.03 on a $25 ticket. Luma's 5% and Givebutter's 3% both come before processing.
The fix: add processing to every comparison, and run one real order before launch to see what lands in your account.
- Typical processing
- 2.9% + $0.30
Counting on ticket money before the event
Eventbrite pays out a few days after the event by default. If you planned to pay the venue or the band with early sales, you'll be short. Other platforms don't all publish their schedule, so ask before you sign up.
The fix: check the payout setting before you sign any deposit.
- Eventbrite
- after the event, by default
Not planning for a cancellation
If you cancel, you owe buyers their money, and if the payout already reached you, the platform can't refund on your behalf. Organizer reviews also mention postponed events where refunds dragged on for months.
The fix: write your refund policy on the event page and keep enough cash set aside until the event happens.
- Who refunds
- the organizer
Paying for a monthly plan you don't need
Luma Plus at $59 a month only pays off above about $1,180 of monthly ticket sales. Eventbrite Pro adds $15 a month for email. Both are useful, but only past a certain volume.
The fix: start on the free plan, track one quarter of sales, then upgrade if the math says so.
- Luma Plus break-even
- about $1,180 a month
Ignoring sales tax on admissions
Sales tax on tickets is a state matter, and the rules differ. In Texas, for example, sales tax is due on the sale of an admission to an amusement service. There's an exemption when the amusement is provided exclusively by a nonprofit and the proceeds don't benefit an individual, but social clubs don't qualify.
The fix: check your state's rule on admissions before you set prices. If you need to collect tax at checkout, pick a platform that can do it: on Luma, that's a Plus feature.
- Texas
- admissions taxable
- Nonprofit exemption
- exclusive provider, no private benefit
Run the rest of your event
Ticketing sells your seats. For registration, nonprofits or payments, here are our other rankings.
The full event platform ranking
You run events for a nonprofitNonprofit event softwareTicketing, donors and members
You're leaving EventbriteEventbrite alternativesHow to switch without losing attendees
You sell more than ticketsOnline payment solutionsTake payments on your own site
You need a payment gatewayPayment gatewaysCompare processing fees
Event ticketing platform FAQ
What is the cheapest event ticketing platform?
Zeffy, if you're a nonprofit: it charges you $0. Givebutter is also $0 with tips on, and $1.78 on a $25 ticket with tips off. Outside the nonprofit world, Luma is cheapest up to about $34 a ticket ($1.09 on a $10 ticket), and Humanitix wins above that ($3.79 on a $50 ticket).
How much does Eventbrite charge per ticket?
In the US, 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket, plus 2.9% payment processing per order. On a $50 ticket, that's about $5.09. Buyers pay it by default, but you can absorb it. Free events cost nothing.
Is there a free ticketing platform for nonprofits?
Yes. Zeffy charges nonprofits nothing and lives on optional tips from buyers. Givebutter also charges 0% when tips are on. Humanitix has a reduced 1% + $0.99 rate for nonprofits and schools.
Should I pass ticket fees on to buyers?
Usually yes for low-margin events, as long as you show the all-in price early. Buyers who discover a fee at checkout drop off. If you absorb fees, build them into your ticket price instead of eating them from your margin.
When do organizers get paid?
It varies. Eventbrite pays out a few days after the event by default. Other platforms differ, and not all of them publish it, so ask in writing before you plan any deposit with ticket money.
What happens to fees if I refund a ticket?
On Eventbrite, the service fee isn't returned to the buyer unless the event is canceled or postponed. Say clearly on your page whether fees are refundable, so buyers aren't surprised.
Why isn't Ticket Tailor in this ranking?
Its official pricing page only lists prices in British pounds. Without a published US dollar rate, we can't compare its cost per ticket the way we did for the five platforms here.
