If you've ever tried to figure out how much a ticketing platform actually costs, you've probably noticed that the answer is rarely straightforward. Platforms list one number prominently, bury another in a help article, and leave a third for you to discover at payout time. Then your attendees see a different number again at checkout.
This post breaks down exactly what Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, and TicketSpice charge in 2026: the complete formula, not just the headline rate. If you're evaluating ticketing platforms right now, this is the comparison you need. And at the end, we'll cover a fourth model (flat subscription, no per-ticket fees at all) that's worth understanding before you commit.
What are ticketing platform fees? Ticketing platform fees are charges that an event ticketing service deducts from ticket sales in exchange for processing registrations, issuing tickets, and handling payments. They are separate from payment processing fees (charged by Stripe, PayPal, etc.) and are either passed on to attendees as a "service fee" or absorbed by the organizer.
How Eventbrite Fees Work in 2026
Eventbrite's US fee formula is: 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket (service fee) + 2.9% of the order total (payment processing).
Those two components add up. On a $25 ticket, the math looks like this:
- Service fee: (0.037 × $25) + $1.79 = $2.715
- Processing fee: 0.029 × ($25 + $2.715) = $0.804
- Total deducted: ~$3.52 per ticket (about 14.1% of the ticket price)
On a $50 ticket:
- Service fee: (0.037 × $50) + $1.79 = $3.64
- Processing fee: 0.029 × ($50 + $3.64) = $1.556
- Total deducted: ~$5.20 per ticket (about 10.4% of the ticket price)
The effective percentage shrinks as ticket prices rise, which is why Eventbrite's fees feel brutal on $10–$25 tickets and more tolerable on $75+ ones.
By default, Eventbrite passes these fees to your buyers (so they see a higher checkout total than your listed price). You can choose to absorb them instead, but then the deduction comes out of your payout.
One more thing worth noting: Eventbrite holds your ticket revenue and pays you out on a rolling weekly schedule after your event. The money isn't in your account when the ticket sells.
For free events, Eventbrite charges nothing, which is genuinely useful for community organizers running free registrations.
Source: Eventbrite's Ticketing Fees help article (verified May 2026).
How Ticket Tailor Fees Work in 2026
Ticket Tailor's model is simpler: a flat fee per ticket sold, with no percentage component. There's no commission on your ticket price: a $10 ticket and a $100 ticket cost exactly the same in platform fees.
The two main options:
- Pay as you sell: ~$0.85 per ticket
- Prepaid credits: From ~$0.70/ticket (small bundles) down to ~$0.30/ticket (large bulk purchases)
Payment processing (Stripe, PayPal, or Square) is charged separately on top, at whatever rate your processor charges.
The flat-fee-per-ticket model is genuinely organizer-friendly for higher-priced tickets. If you're selling $75 tickets, $0.85 is less than 1.2% of your ticket price, significantly better than Eventbrite's effective 8–9% at that price point. The math shifts at low-priced tickets: on a $5 ticket, $0.85 is 17% of the face value.
Ticket Tailor also doesn't charge for free events (under ~2,000 free tickets per year), which is a meaningful benefit for organizers who mix free and paid events.
One note on branding: Ticket Tailor's white-label features (custom domain, "Powered by" removal) are paid add-ons with their own monthly fees on top of the per-ticket rate.
Source: Ticket Tailor pricing page and Equaticket competitor fee library (verified April 2026).
How TicketSpice Fees Work in 2026
TicketSpice charges a flat $0.99 per ticket, plus standard credit card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. There are no monthly fees, no contracts, and no setup charges.
For tickets priced at $5 or less, the platform fee drops to $0.49 per ticket. When you use TicketSpice's box office app to sell tickets on-site, the rate also drops to $0.49.
Like Ticket Tailor, TicketSpice's flat-per-ticket model is more predictable than a percentage model: you know exactly what you'll pay before you sell a single ticket. You can choose to absorb fees or pass them to buyers, and you can add your own convenience fee on top and keep 100% of it.
TicketSpice pays out weekly to your bank account, which is faster than Eventbrite's post-event schedule.
Source: TicketSpice pricing page (verified May 2026).
Side-by-Side Fee Comparison
Here's how the three platforms compare on a $30 ticket, excluding payment processing:
| Platform | Fee structure | Fee on a $30 ticket | Fee on a $75 ticket | Fee on a $10 ticket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eventbrite | 3.7% + $1.79 + 2.9% processing | ~$3.85 (12.8%) | ~$6.87 (9.2%) | ~$2.51 (25.1%) |
| Ticket Tailor | $0.85 flat/ticket | $0.85 (2.8%) | $0.85 (1.1%) | $0.85 (8.5%) |
| TicketSpice | $0.99 flat/ticket | $0.99 (3.3%) | $0.99 (1.3%) | $0.99 (9.9%) |
| Equaticket | Flat subscription ($29–$189/mo) | $0/ticket | $0/ticket | $0/ticket |
Eventbrite figures include payment processing. Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice figures are platform fees only; payment processing is additional.
The table makes a few things clear. Eventbrite's percentage-based model becomes very expensive on lower-priced tickets. Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice are both much cheaper than Eventbrite, especially above $20/ticket. And a flat subscription model becomes competitive once you're selling more than a few dozen tickets per month.
When Per-Ticket Fees Add Up Faster Than You Expect
The individual-ticket fee numbers look small. It's when you run the monthly or annual math that the picture changes.
Say you run a weekly event (a comedy night, a workshop series, a yoga class) with an average of 60 attendees at $25 per ticket. That's 240 tickets a month, roughly 2,880 per year.
| Platform | Monthly fees | Annual fees |
|---|---|---|
| Eventbrite (on $25 tickets) | ~$845 | ~$10,140 |
| Ticket Tailor ($0.85/ticket) | $204 | $2,448 |
| TicketSpice ($0.99/ticket) | $238 | $2,851 |
| Equaticket Starter ($29/mo) | $29 | $348 |
Those aren't typos. Eventbrite would take over $10,000 a year from that one organizer on that one recurring event series. Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice are dramatically better, but a flat subscription wins on anything resembling regular event volume.
The Case for a Flat Subscription Model
Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, and TicketSpice all charge per ticket in some form, which means your platform cost is a variable that grows with every event and every attendee. If you run events regularly, that unpredictability is its own tax on your planning.
A flat subscription flips the model: you pay the same amount whether you sell 50 tickets this month or 500. It's easier to budget, and it means you're not doing per-ticket math every time you plan an event.
Equaticket is a ticketing platform built on this model. Equaticket offers four plans: Free (up to 50 tickets/month), Starter ($29/month), Growth ($79/month), and Pro ($189/month), all billed quarterly. There are no per-ticket fees on any plan. Payment processing happens through your own connected Stripe account, so the money goes directly to you when someone buys a ticket. Equaticket never touches your revenue. You can compare all four plans at equaticket.com/pricing.
The flat model doesn't win in every scenario. If you run a single event once a year with a small ticket count, per-ticket pricing is almost certainly cheaper. But for organizers who run events consistently, or who are trying to build a real recurring revenue stream from live events, per-ticket fees are a structural cost that compounds quietly over time.
You can see the break-even math for your specific ticket volume and price point using the Equaticket pricing calculator.
What About "No Fee" Platforms?
You'll occasionally see platforms advertise "no fees" in their marketing. Worth knowing what that usually means in practice:
Most "no fee" claims refer to the organizer not paying the platform fee. The platform still takes a cut: it's just collected from your buyers at checkout as a service fee tacked onto the ticket price. The money still comes from your event, just from a different pocket.
The distinction that actually matters for organizers is whether the fees come out of what you expected to receive, or whether your attendees pay a separate charge on top of your listed ticket price. Both can be arranged on most platforms. The point is to model it before you publish, not after.
FAQ
How much does Eventbrite charge organizers in 2026?
Eventbrite charges organizers a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket sold, plus a payment processing fee of 2.9% of the total order. By default, these fees are passed on to ticket buyers at checkout rather than deducted from the organizer's payout. If an organizer chooses to absorb the fees, they are deducted at the time of payout. Free events are not charged any ticketing fees.
What is the difference between Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice pricing?
Both Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice use flat per-ticket pricing rather than percentage-based fees, but their rates differ slightly. Ticket Tailor charges approximately $0.85 per ticket on a pay-as-you-sell basis, with lower rates available if you prepay credits in bulk (down to roughly $0.30/ticket at high volume). TicketSpice charges $0.99 per ticket as a standard flat rate, dropping to $0.49 for tickets priced at $5 or under. Both platforms charge payment processing separately. For most organizers selling tickets above $20, the fee difference between the two is under $0.15 per ticket, not the most important factor in choosing between them.
Can I avoid per-ticket fees entirely on a ticketing platform?
Yes. Some ticketing platforms charge a flat monthly or quarterly subscription instead of a per-ticket fee. On these platforms, your per-ticket platform cost is effectively zero regardless of how many tickets you sell within your plan's monthly limit. Equaticket is one example, with plans starting at $29/month. The subscription model costs more than per-ticket pricing at very low volumes but becomes cheaper as your ticket sales grow, and makes your platform costs predictable month to month.
Does Eventbrite charge a monthly fee?
As of 2026, Eventbrite does not charge a mandatory monthly subscription fee for standard use. Organizers pay per-ticket fees only when they sell paid tickets. Eventbrite does offer a Pro plan with additional features (primarily around email marketing) at a monthly rate, but the base ticketing functionality is available without a monthly charge. The core cost is the per-ticket fee of 3.7% + $1.79 + processing on every paid ticket sold.
How do ticketing platform fees affect what my attendees pay?
Most ticketing platforms, including Eventbrite, default to passing their service fees on to your buyers rather than deducting them from your payout. This means the price your attendees see at checkout is typically higher than your listed ticket price. On a $30 ticket on Eventbrite, for example, your buyer might see a total of roughly $34 at checkout. Organizers can usually choose to absorb the fees instead (so buyers pay only your listed price), but then the fee is deducted from what the organizer receives. Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice also allow organizers to choose which party absorbs the fee.
Where to Go From Here
If you're actively comparing platforms, the numbers in this post are a starting point, not the whole picture. Fees matter, but so do payout speed, embed options, check-in tooling, and whether your attendee data stays yours. The Equaticket pricing calculator lets you put in your actual ticket volume and price to see the break-even math for your situation. If you want a deeper platform-by-platform comparison, Equaticket vs Eventbrite, Equaticket vs Ticket Tailor, and Equaticket vs TicketSpice each walk through the full feature and fee comparison side by side.