§ 04 · FAQCommon licensing questions
Answers to the questions we get asked most often about self-hosting and licensing.
How is the self-hosted licence priced?
There’s one licence, priced by how much you sell in tickets each year. It’s graduated, like tax brackets: €249 covers your first €10k of sales, and each band’s rate per €1,000 applies only to the sales inside that band, so the share you pay never goes up as you grow. The calculator above shows every rate. For example, €100k a year costs €1,359 (about €113 a month), €1M costs €9,984 (about €832 a month) and €3M costs €22,734. Above €3M we’ll quote you. Licences are billed yearly. Sales means paid ticket sales before VAT, after refunds, and free tickets don’t count. The platform licence includes reserved seating, a box office and company SSO; for your own events they’re a paid add-on.
What if other organizers sell tickets through our install?
Then you need the platform price. It starts at €3,999 a year, covering up to €200k of sales across every organizer on your install, then each €1,000 costs €14 up to €300k, €13 up to €750k, €10 up to €1.5M and €7.50 up to €3M. That’s 2% of sales at €200k, easing to 1% at €3M. So €1M a year costs €13,749. Above €3M we’ll quote you. That covers agencies, SaaS platforms and anyone else whose installation lets third-party organizers run their own events, even just two clients. It adds unlimited organizations and client accounts, the SaaS admin dashboard and fees you can charge your organizers.
Do I have to pay to self-host at all?
No. Self-hosting is free under AGPL-3.0, provided you keep the “Powered by Hi.Events” link visible on all public-facing pages and publish any modifications you make. A commercial licence removes both requirements. You can change logos and colours on the free version — only the notice has to stay.
Self-host in 5 minutes →Is there a licence key? Is the paid code different?
Every licence comes with a licence key that you add to your environment. It removes the “Powered by Hi.Events” link, and with the platform licence or the add-on it switches on reserved seating, a box office and company SSO. The code is the same: the GitHub repository is the full codebase, so there is nothing to reinstall when you buy a licence.
Enterprise features →Are reserved seating, a box office and company SSO included?
They’re included in the platform licence. For your own events they’re a paid add-on to the licence: email
[email protected] and we’ll price it for you. None of them is part of the free AGPL version. On Hi.Events Cloud they’re switched on by request, at no extra charge.
Ask about the add-on →Reserved seating →Box office →How do you know how much we sell?
You tell us. When you buy, you choose the yearly ticket sales your licence covers, and that sets the price. At the end of each licence year, you send us a short report of your paid ticket sales for that year, which you can pull from the reports in Hi.Events. Nothing is sent automatically: your licence key is checked on your own server, so Hi.Events works the same on an installation with no outbound connection.
What if we sell more than our licence covers?
Then we invoice the difference for that licence year, worked out from your year-end report, and move your licence up for the next one. Nothing stops working in the meantime. If you expect to sell more during the year, you can move up at any time: you pay the difference for the full licence year.
Can we move our licence down?
Yes, when your licence renews. Let us know at least four weeks before your renewal date, and the new licence year is priced on your lower sales.
What if we start hosting other organizers’ events?
Move to the platform price whenever you start. What you’ve already paid for the current licence year is credited, so you only pay the difference.
Can I use a payment gateway other than Stripe?
Out of the box, Hi.Events supports Stripe and Stripe Connect only. The licence places no restriction on integrating your own gateway, and several customers have.
What support is included?
Email support is included with every licence. Custom support packages are available — email
[email protected] for details.
Can I get a live demo?
There’s a demo available at app.hi.events, or you can self-host the open-source build to test it out. We strongly encourage anyone to test extensively before purchasing a licence.
Can I modify the code and keep my changes private?
With a commercial licence, yes — there is no disclosure obligation. Keep in mind that extensive changes limit your ability to update: the further you diverge from the main codebase, the harder each new release is to merge, so heavily modified installations may fall behind or need significant work to bring up to date.
Do you offer perpetual licences?
Only in exceptional circumstances. Licences are annual and billed yearly. If your organization needs a perpetual licence, email
[email protected] and tell us why, and we’ll talk it through with you.
Do you offer discounts or instalments?
Yes. Discounts are available for non-profits, education, early-stage startups and PPP-eligible countries, and licences can be paid in instalments. Email
[email protected] and tell us about your situation.
What do you need to invoice us?
Business name, address, and VAT number if you’re in the EU. VAT applies to EU buyers only; intra-EU B2B purchases are reverse-charged.