Event Ticketing Software: How to Choose an Event Ticketing Platform, Online System or Free Option

What is event ticketing software? Event ticketing software sells admission to your event online, takes the payment, sends each buyer a ticket (usually with a QR code) and gives your door staff a way to check people in. The best one for you depends on three things: how big your events are, how the fees land on your ticket price, and whether you want buyers on a marketplace or on your own website.

Ticketing an event: what event ticketing covers

Event ticketing is everything between "I want to go" and "you're in." Ticketing for an event used to mean printed stubs sold at a box office. Today it is mostly online, and a good system covers five jobs:

1. The page: the event's details, price and the button to buy.
2. The checkout: ticket types, quantities, add-ons and payment.
3. The ticket: an email or wallet pass with a unique code.
4. The door: scanning or searching for each ticket, so it can only be used once.
5. The money: fees, refunds and the payout to you.

If you only need to know who is coming to a free event, a registration form may be all you need. Ticketing matters once you charge, cap numbers or need to stop people sharing one screenshot of a ticket.

Event ticketing software vs event ticketing platforms

People use software for event ticketing and event ticketing platform to mean the same thing, but there is a real difference in how products work, and it affects your buyers, your brand and your data.

Marketplace event ticketing platforms

Marketplace event ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite list your event alongside thousands of others. Buyers create an account with the marketplace, and some will find your event through its search. The trade-off is that the buyer's relationship is partly with the marketplace: its branding is on the checkout, and it may show buyers other events too.

Event and ticketing software on your own site

Event and ticketing software that runs on your own website keeps the buyer on your page and under your brand. Nobody else's events appear next to yours, and every buyer joins your own contact list. The trade-off is discovery: nobody will stumble on your event through a marketplace search, so you bring the audience yourself through your list, social media and partners.

Many organizers use both: their own site for regulars, and a marketplace listing to reach new people. If you do, check that you can keep one shared capacity so you do not oversell.

How online event ticketing works

Online event ticketing follows the same path whichever product you choose. Knowing it tells you where the fees come from and when you get paid.

1. A buyer chooses tickets on your event page and pays by card.
2. A payment processor such as Stripe or Square charges the card and takes its processing fee.
3. The ticketing platform takes its own fee, if it has one.
4. The buyer receives a ticket with a unique code by email.
5. At the door, the code is scanned or looked up, and marked as used.
6. The rest of the money is paid out to you, either as sales come in or after the event, depending on the platform.

The payout timing in step 6 is easy to overlook. If you need ticket money to pay a venue deposit, check whether your platform holds funds until after the event.

Event ticketing systems: the features that matter

Most event ticketing systems do the basics. The differences show up in the details, so check these before you commit.

Must-have features in an event ticketing system

• Ticket types and capacity: general admission, VIP, groups and a total limit that stops overselling.
• Price tiers: early-bird prices that rise on dates you set.
• Unique codes and a door tool: QR scanning or a searchable list, with a record of who was checked in.
• Refunds: full and partial, from the same place you sold the ticket.
• All-in pricing: the full price, mandatory fees included, shown before checkout.
• Your data: an export of every buyer, and the right to contact people who opted in.

Features that depend on your event

• Add-ons: parking, merchandise or a meal on the same order.
• Discount and referral codes, or links that let members sell tickets for you.
• Waivers for physical activities, signed before entry.
• Assigned seating, which matters for theaters and arenas and not at all for most community events.
• Vendor spaces, if you sell booths or tables at markets and festivals.
• Reporting that shows where your buyers came from.

Showing the full price up front

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's rule on unfair or deceptive fees, in force since May 2025, requires sellers of live-event tickets to show the total price, including mandatory fees, whenever they show a price. Some states have their own all-in pricing laws too. Choose event ticketing software that displays fees up front, and check how the rules apply to your events.

What event ticketing software costs

Ticketing costs come from two places: the platform fee and the card processing fee. Some platforms quote them together and some separately, which makes headline percentages hard to compare.

The common fee models are:

• A percentage of each paid ticket. Simple, and it scales with your price.
• A flat fee plus a percentage per ticket. The flat part weighs heavily on cheap tickets.
• A subscription with no per-ticket fee. Cheaper for frequent, high-volume sellers, costly for occasional ones.
• Free with optional tips. Some platforms ask buyers for a voluntary contribution at checkout instead of charging you.

Absorbing fees or passing them on

You can usually choose to absorb fees, so the buyer pays the ticket price and you receive less, or pass them on, so the buyer pays more and you receive the full price. On a $25 ticket with a 9% fee, absorbing it leaves you $22.75; passing it on makes the buyer's total $27.25. Either way, the total must be shown before checkout. Work out both versions for your real price before you set it.

Free event ticketing systems and software

A free event ticketing system is usually free in one of three ways:

• Free for free events: no fee on free tickets, a fee per paid ticket. Most marketplaces work this way.
• Free plan with a ticket fee: the software is free to use, and a percentage applies to paid tickets.
• Open source or a plugin: the software costs nothing, but you pay for hosting, payment processing and your own time to run and update it.

Event ticketing software that is free is a good fit for occasional or free events. For regular paid events, the cheapest option is often the one with the lowest fee at your actual price, plus the hours you would otherwise spend stitching tools together.

Best event ticketing platforms: how to choose for your event

There is no single best event ticketing platform. Match the kind of product to the kind of event.

• Free community events and meetups: a marketplace that is free for free events, or a simple registration form.
• Recurring paid events (club nights, classes, monthly markets): software on your own site, so regulars buy from you and join your list.
• Festivals and markets with vendors: a system that sells vendor spaces and tickets together and handles teams on the day.
• Conferences: session choices, badges and group or company registration.
• Theaters and arenas: a dedicated reserved-seating system. Large venues often have exclusive contracts with big ticketing companies such as Ticketmaster or AXS.

Where Linxi fits

Linxi's Events and ticketing is built for organizers who run their own events on their own site, and it was built running real monthly events. It covers the event page, card checkout through Square or Stripe, tickets emailed with QR codes, passes that admit several people, comps, up to four price waves that rise as the date gets closer, add-ons, sign-up and referral discounts, and tax and fees shown up front. Members can sell tickets with their own links, and a ticket funnel shows each step to a ticket by the link it came from.

On the day, there is a check-in station for door staff with undo, history and a waiver check. Afterwards, costs, payee shares and payouts are settled in the same place, with refunds handled. Events and ticketing are included on every plan, including Free, with a 9% fee on paid tickets; compare the plans. On Linxi the fee is added to the buyer’s total, so you are credited the full ticket price.

One honest note: Linxi is built for general admission, passes and vendor spaces at markets and festivals. Its floor plan sells booths, tables, tents, food trucks and carts, not theater seats, so a venue with assigned seating needs a reserved-seating system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best event ticketing app?

The best event ticketing app is the one your buyers and your door staff can both use easily. For buyers, that means a checkout that works on a phone with no forced account, and a ticket that opens without an app. For staff, it means scanning that is quick and a list to search when a phone won't scan. Test both on the devices you will actually use on the day.

What do event ticketing companies and services do?

Event ticketing companies sell admission on behalf of organizers and take a fee for it. Some are self-service platforms where you set everything up yourself; others, used by large venues, provide a full service with box offices, staff and reserved seating under a contract. Live event ticketing companies at the largest scale often hold exclusive deals with venues, so a touring act may have no choice of ticketing at those venues.

What is a white label event ticketing system?

A white label event ticketing system lets you sell tickets under your own brand and domain, with the provider's name kept out of the way. It suits organizations that run many events and want buyers to see only their name. Linxi can run as your own branded site on your own domain, with events and ticketing included; see Your own Linxi.

Is there open source event ticketing software?

Yes. Pretix is a well-known open source ticketing system, and there are others. Open source software costs nothing to license, but you need someone to host it, set up payments, apply updates and keep it secure. It suits organizations with technical staff or very specific needs.

Is there an event ticketing plugin for WordPress?

Yes. Event Tickets, from the makers of The Events Calendar, is one of the best-known event ticketing plugins for WordPress, and several plugins build on WooCommerce. A plugin keeps ticketing on your own site, but you take on plugin updates, payment setup and the load on your hosting during a busy on-sale.

What is event ticketing for nonprofits?

Nonprofit event ticketing is ticketing with features charities need: tickets alongside donations, sponsorships and receipts that show which part of a payment was a gift. Some platforms, such as Zeffy, are aimed at nonprofits and are funded by optional contributions from buyers rather than fees to the organization; check each one's current terms. Any ticketing platform can sell charity event tickets, but check how it handles donation receipts.

How do event ticketing platforms make money?

Most charge a fee per paid ticket, as a percentage, a flat amount or both, and many add card processing on top. Some charge a monthly subscription instead, and some rely on optional tips from buyers. A few also earn from promoting events or selling advertising, so read what a "free" platform does with your buyers' details.

What is event management ticketing software?

Event management ticketing software combines ticketing with the rest of running an event: schedules, staff, vendors, budgets and settling up afterwards. It suits organizers whose work goes well beyond selling admission, such as festival and market organizers. If ticketing is all you need, a simpler tool may be easier.

Can I sell event tickets without a ticketing platform?

You can take payments with a payment link from Stripe, Square or PayPal and keep a spreadsheet of buyers. It works for a small, one-off event. The cost shows up later: no unique tickets, no door scanning, no capacity limit and a lot of manual work when someone needs a refund or a name change.

How far ahead should ticket sales open?

Open sales as soon as the date, venue and price are firm, so early buyers can commit. Use early-bird pricing to reward them and to give you cash flow for deposits. Close online sales shortly before doors if you need a final count, or keep them open and sell at the door if your venue has room.