Clubs, societies and community groups run on small budgets and volunteer time, so the questions are practical: whether free tickets are free, what a paid ticket costs, whether charities pay less, whether the platform also handles donations or memberships, and how soon the money reaches the group. These are the platforms community groups shortlist, with each one's published fee and what it is good at.
Fees and features from each platform's own pricing pages, checked September 2026. We make Hi.Events, so it is listed first and labelled. Every figure for the others is sourced on its comparison page.
Free tickets cost nothing, free, paid and donation tickets sit on one event, offline payment covers cash and bank transfer, volunteers check in from a link with no account, and the code is open source so a group is not locked in.
Worth knowing: No memberships, no tax receipts for donations, no discounted rate for charities, and no consumer marketplace for local people to find the event.
A not-for-profit platform that says it gives its booking-fee profits to charity, with lower rates for charities, not-for-profits and schools and free events free.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event on the default gateway.
A large consumer marketplace used for community events of every size, free for free events, with payouts after the event by default.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event by default.
Widely used by schools, clubs and community groups in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with seating plans included and donation and fundraising pages.
Worth knowing: Australia, New Zealand and the UK only.
Started with amateur theatre and now covers community, school and charity events, with no fees on free events or in-person bookings and a charity discount.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event unless you connect Stripe.
Event pages and a community calendar popular for meetups, free for free events, with email, SMS and WhatsApp guest messaging built in.
Worth knowing: Fees cannot be passed to the buyer.
No platform or card processing fees for registered nonprofits, with ticketing next to donations, memberships and tax receipts, funded by an optional contribution buyers see at checkout.
Worth knowing: Nonprofits only, in six countries.
Published standard fees, cheapest first on a $30 ticket once card processing is counted.
| Platform | Published fee | Card processing | All-in on $30 | When you're paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy | 0%, nonprofits only | Included in the fee | $0.00 (registered nonprofits only) | Weekly by default, after a fraud review of one to three business days |
| TryBooking | 5% + $0.19* | Included in the fee | $1.69 | On request from your TryBooking balance; requests before the event can be held for checks of up to seven days |
| TicketSource | 3.5% + $0.99 | Included in the fee | $2.04 | After the event, sent the following Monday; as tickets sell with your own Stripe account |
| Hi.Events | 1.25% + $0.60 | Charged on top | $2.15 | As tickets sell, on your own Stripe payout schedule |
| Luma | 5% | Charged on top | $2.67 | As tickets sell, on your own Stripe payout schedule |
| Humanitix | 2.1% + $0.99 | Charged on top | $2.79 | After the event, within about five business days; earlier by request or with your own Stripe account |
| Eventbrite | 3.7% + $1.79 | Charged on top | $3.77 | After the event by default, sent three business days after it ends |
Standard published rates, excluding negotiated, nonprofit and subscription pricing. Where card processing is charged on top, the all-in figure adds the platform's own stated rate or a standard 2.9% + $0.30. * No published rate in this currency. Converted from the platform's published rate at approximate exchange rates (1 USD ≈ €0.92, £0.78 and A$1.55); the vendor may price differently, or not sell, in this currency.
The features that tend to decide it for this kind of event, platform by platform.
| Platform | Pass fees on to buyers | Listed in a consumer marketplace | Tickets work without an app or account | Recurring events and time slots | Custom checkout questions | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi.Events | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Humanitix | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Eventbrite | Yes | Yes | Buyers need an Eventbrite account to open tickets | Yes | Yes | No |
| TryBooking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| TicketSource | Yes | What's On listings | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | No |
| Luma | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Zeffy | No fees to pass on; buyers see an optional tip | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Shortlists for other kinds of event
Create the event and share the link. No credit card, no sales call, and nothing to move until you're ready.
Free events cost nothing. Paid tickets are 1.25% + $0.60, with no monthly fee and no contract — see the full pricing.