Exhibition ticketing comes down to four questions: what free trade registration and paid public tickets cost in fees, whether the platform handles day tickets and timed entry, what you can ask visitors at registration, and when you get the money for hall hire. These are the platforms exhibition and trade show 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.
Day tickets and multi-day passes on shared capacities, timed entry from a recurring schedule with a capacity per session, trade and public tickets with their own registration questions, tracked links for exhibitors, and card payments in your own Stripe account as tickets sell.
Worth knowing: No exhibitor lead scanning, no floor plan or stand booking, no consumer marketplace to bring public visitors and no badge printing inside the product. Check-in runs in a phone browser and needs an internet connection.
Open source and used by exhibitions and museums, with event series, vouchers, a waiting list and the pretixSCAN check-in app. Hosted pricing is published in EUR only.
Worth knowing: Hosted pricing is published in EUR only.
A large consumer marketplace that can bring public visitors, with timed entry, custom questions and a free organizer check-in app.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event by default.
Timed entry, add-ons and custom questions on the entry plan, a service fee capped per ticket in the US and UK, and the BoxOffice check-in app.
Worth knowing: Funds are released 48 hours after the event on Universe Payments, then withdrawn on request.
Used mainly for technology and B2B conferences, with an embeddable widget, custom questions, an API and webhooks, and a 3% fee capped at €25 a ticket.
Worth knowing: Fees cannot be passed on to buyers.
Low Australian and New Zealand fees with card processing included, plus session times, waitlists and custom questions.
Worth knowing: Australia, New Zealand and the UK only.
A UK box office platform that charges no fees on free events or on in-person bookings recorded in the dashboard.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event unless you connect Stripe.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Universe | 2% + $0.79 | Charged on top | $2.29 | After the event with Universe Payments, 48 hours after it ends; on your Stripe schedule with Stripe Connect |
| 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 | QR check-in app | Recurring events and time slots | Promo codes | Custom checkout questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi.Events | Yes | Yes | Yes, in any phone browser | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| pretix | Payment provider fees only | Yes | Yes, pretixSCAN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eventbrite | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Universe | Yes, except in eight European countries | Yes | Yes, BoxOffice | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tito | No | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes |
| TryBooking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TicketSource | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Shortlists for other kinds of event
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Free events cost nothing. Paid tickets are 1.25% + $0.60, with no monthly fee and no contract — see the full pricing.