A venue sells tickets every week, so the choice of platform comes down to a few questions: what the fee adds to every ticket, when the money arrives, whether the room needs a seat map, and whether the platform brings an audience or the venue brings its own. These are the platforms venues 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.
A published fee of 1.25% plus a small fixed amount, card payments in the venue's own Stripe account as tickets sell, one organizer page for the whole calendar, recurring schedules for weekly nights, and open source with a self-hosted option.
Worth knowing: No reserved seating or seat maps, no consumer marketplace to bring you an audience, and no box office hardware or point-of-sale system.
A discovery app used mainly by music venues and promoters, with app-held tickets, an official Wait List and partnership rates that venues negotiate.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event.
A large consumer marketplace and app, with reserved seating, recurring events and a free organizer check-in app.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event by default.
A busy UK what's-on guide for gigs and club nights, with allocated seating, face-value resale and a booking fee that includes card processing.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event by default.
A UK box office platform with a seating plan designer shared by online and box office sales, and no fee on in-person bookings.
Worth knowing: Payouts arrive after the event unless you connect Stripe.
Self-service ticketing owned by Ticketmaster, with a service fee capped per ticket in the US and UK, timed entry and the option of your own Stripe account.
Worth knowing: Funds are released 48 hours after the event on Universe Payments, then withdrawn on request.
Open source with a free self-hosted edition, seating plans and point-of-sale apps, with hosted pricing in EUR at 2.5% capped at €15 a ticket.
Worth knowing: Hosted pricing is published in EUR 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Skiddle | 10% + $0.35 (min $1.28)* | Included in the fee | $3.35 | After the event, on twice-weekly remittance runs; at the time of sale 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 |
| DICE | 13% | Included in the fee | $3.90 | After the event, within five business days |
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 | Embed checkout on your site | Listed in a consumer marketplace | QR check-in app | Reserved seating | Recurring events and time slots | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi.Events | Yes | No | Yes, in any phone browser | No | Yes | Yes |
| DICE | Event list widget | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | No |
| Eventbrite | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Skiddle | Yes | Yes | Yes, RapidScan | Yes | Yes | No |
| TicketSource | Yes | What's On listings | Yes | Yes | Not stated | No |
| Universe | Yes | Yes | Yes, BoxOffice | Not stated | Yes | No |
| pretix | Yes | No | Yes, pretixSCAN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Shortlists for other kinds of event
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