Most event registration software does the same basic job: a sign-up form, a confirmation email and a list of who is coming. What separates them is what a free registration costs, what a paid one costs once card processing is counted, what you can ask on the form, and when the money reaches you. These are the registration platforms organizers 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 registrations cost nothing, with no limit on events or attendees. On paid ones the fee is added at checkout and paid by the attendee, so it costs you nothing. Registration questions per order or per ticket type, invoices and bank transfer for attendees whose employer pays, check-in from any phone, and card payments in your own Stripe account as people register.
Worth knowing: No event app for attendees, no call for papers or abstract review, and attendees cannot book individual sessions. No consumer marketplace to bring you sign-ups.
Free events are free, with custom questions, a public API and webhooks, a free organizer check-in app and a large consumer marketplace. Buyers need an Eventbrite account to open their tickets.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event by default.
Event pages and registration for meetups and tech events, free for free events, with 5% on paid tickets that cannot be passed to the buyer, or 0% on the Luma Plus subscription, and guest messaging by email, SMS and WhatsApp.
Worth knowing: Fees cannot be passed to the buyer.
Registration and ticketing used mainly for technology and B2B conferences, with an embeddable checkout you can style with your own CSS, a read and write API, and a 3% fee capped at €25 a ticket.
Worth knowing: Fees cannot be passed on to buyers.
Open-source registration and ticketing from Germany, with a free self-hosted edition, a hosted fee of 2.5% capped at €15 a ticket, and the first 500 free tickets a year free on the hosted service, then €0.50 each.
Worth knowing: Hosted pricing is published in EUR only.
A not-for-profit platform, free for free events, with every feature on every plan and lower rates for charities, not-for-profits and schools.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event on the default gateway.
Free registration and ticketing for registered nonprofits in six countries, with no platform or card processing fees, funded by an optional contribution buyers are asked for at checkout.
Worth knowing: Nonprofits only, in six countries.
Registration and ticketing for schools, community groups and charities in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with card processing included in the fee, and seating plans, session times and waitlists included.
Worth knowing: Australia, New Zealand and the UK only.
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 |
| pretix | 2.5% (max $16.30)* | Charged on top | $1.92 | As tickets sell, directly into your own payment provider or bank account |
| Tito | 3% | Charged on top | $2.07 | As tickets sell, into your own Stripe or PayPal 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 | Embed checkout on your site | Tickets work without an app or account | QR check-in app | Waitlist | Custom checkout questions | Agenda or lineup on the event page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi.Events | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, in any phone browser | Yes | Yes | Lineup and agenda by room |
| Eventbrite | Yes | Yes | Buyers need an Eventbrite account to open tickets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Agenda and lineup sections |
| Luma | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tito | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Schedule via Activities, session choice in beta |
| pretix | Payment provider fees only | Yes | Yes | Yes, pretixSCAN | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Humanitix | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Agenda and lineup sections |
| Zeffy | No fees to pass on; buyers see an optional tip | Yes | Yes | Yes, in any phone browser | No | Yes | Not stated |
| TryBooking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
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.