Blog
Feb 10, 2026
When planning an event, the costs can quickly add up. At some point you may even start to wonder “Is this thing going to end up costing more than it makes?” Before you start to scale back your plans to save money and cut the number of bands at the concert or drop the dunk tank at the church social, you should look closer at what’s driving your expenses.
One area where you can keep costs under control? Ticketing. Yes, the right ticketing platform can help event organizers keep costs down without sacrificing the ticket-purchasing experience. So, let’s take a look at the five best free ticketing platforms available in 2026.
Top 5 Free Event Ticketing Platforms
A quick Google search will show you that there are dozens of sites that claim to be free, or low-cost, event ticketing platforms. We’ve run the numbers and looked at the details so you don’t have to. Here are the top five free ticketing platforms event organizers should consider in 2026.
TicketsCandy
TicketsCandy is a Free ticketing service for event organizers. When an event planner partners with TicketsCandy they’ll have income they can count on because 100% of the ticket sale proceeds stays with the event. This is because the small 0.9% platform fee, the lowest you’ll find anywhere in the world, is paid directly by ticket purchasers.
This platform does more than just sell tickets. It offers flexible marketing and promotion tools like tracking pixels, promo engines, and retargeting efforts to help close the sale. It also has the capability to act as a fully-inclusive CRM so that you can run your event from a central system. Plus they payout daily!
When you combine TicketsCandy and Square, your initial processing fees will be waived on the first $2,000 in sales.
The TicketsCandy fee structure can lead to:
- Low cart abandonment (3.5X more completed checkouts)
- Bigger bottom lines (Event organizers have made $50k+)
- Higher revenue totals (Organizers have seen revenue increases up to 30%)
| Service Fees | 0.9% |
| Merchant Fees | $0.30 + 2.9% credit card processing fee |
*Fees paid by event attendee
The Verdict
TicketsCandy is a free, all-in-one, multi-faceted event ticketing solution. Organizers can sell tickets through the platform or integrate it into their native systems for a seamless attendee experience.
TicketSpice
TicketSpice is an event ticketing platform that works in tandem with the behaviors of event attendees. For example, it offers the ability for organizers to potentially increase cart sizes by adding accessories and merchandise to the checkout process. The platform can also be configured to offer incentives to attendees when they share their ticket purchasing experience across their social channels.
Organizers can customize their TicketSpice solution with several add-ons which have monthly, yearly, or transactional fees.
TicketSpice makes weekly payments to event organizers.
| Service Fees | $0.99 per ticket |
| Merchant Fees | $0.30 + 2.99% credit card processing fee |
| Email Marketing Fees | $9 per month + $0.02 per email sent |
| Text Messaging Fees | $12 per month + $0.02 per message sent |
*Fees paid by event organizer
The Verdict
The somewhat ala-carte nature of the TicketSpice solution can make it complicated (and pricey) for organizers of smaller events. While the platform has been built to be user-friendly, because it is not an all-in-one solution you may need a person with a base level of technical knowledge to manage it.
TicketLeap
TicketLeap is an easy-to-use, quick to set-up event ticketing platform. It provides end-to-end services for event organizers, meaning that not only can it be used to promote an event and sell tickets, it also has capabilities for check-in on the day of.
TicketLeap also provides two options for free and low cost events – there are no processing charges for free events and events with a ticket price under $5 only have to pay a reduced fee of $0.49 (+ credit card processing fees). And for any tickets sold at the door, they waive their usual fees and only charge the credit card processing costs.
TicketLeap makes payouts to event organizers 4-6 days post event.
| Service Fees | $1 + 2% of the ticket price |
| Merchant Fees | 3% credit card processing |
*Fees can be assigned to the event organizer or attendee
The Verdict
TicketLeap provides strong end-to-end service. But when it comes to costs associated with ticket sales it’s “all or nothing” in terms of whether the ticket buyer or organizer covers them. There is not an option to split the fees to make it more manageable for either side.
Peekpro
Peekpro is a full-service event vendor. They offer online booking software, tour operator software, and equipment rentals. It is a popular ticketing program for experiential adventures like helicopter tours, Segway rentals, and axe throwing! Organizers of those types of events can utilize a wide-range of service offerings inside the Peekpro platform to enhance their POS system. This can include customized add-ons intended to secure bookings and boost cart size.
The Peekpro system is also connected to a series of resellers to facilitate a seamless sales experience for customers.
| Service Fees | $0.30 + 6%-8% variable booking fee |
| Merchant Fees | 2.3% credit card processing |
*Fees paid by event organizer
The Verdict
Peekpro has developed a sophisticated event ticketing system but unless your event is centered around immersive-type experiences, you may not be able to fully utilize the power of this platform.
Universe
The event program developed by Universe has the backing of the grandfather of the industry – Ticketmaster. That means you can easily use this system to incorporate your event with Ticketmaster’s search and calendar. That gives you potential reach into 25 countries and places your event before 100M+ monthly Ticketmaster site visitors. Big numbers to be sure but not every event needs that type of exposure.
Universe offers three levels of service with the number of features included in each level building as the levels grow.
Payments are provided to an event organizer seven days after a ticket has been sold.
| Starter Level Service Fees | 2% + $0.79 per ticket |
| Standard Level Service Fees | 2.5% + $1.99 per ticket |
| Pro Level Service Fees | TBD |
*Fees paid by event organizer
** Fees capped at $19.95 per ticket
The Verdict
The Universe platform gives event organizers global reach but just because you have this option doesn’t mean that you need it. If you’re planning a small and mid-sized event you may find that this Universe is too big (with a fee structure to match).
Conclusion
While there may be dozens of free ticketing systems for events, and those listed here are the top of the list, there is still one that stands above the rest – TicketsCandy. The combination of ease of use for attendees, marketing capabilities, integration opportunities, strong back-end support and of course the cost (0.9% for attendee and Free for organizer) should make it a go-to solution for event planners.
Are you ready to get started?
FAQs
- What’s the ACTUAL cost for TicketsCandy?
For event organizers, TicketsCandy is a free ticketing platform. There is a tiny fee of 0.9% but that is passed directly to event goers.
- Do all services have a cost for credit card processing?
Any sales made using a credit card will invoke a processing fee. This fee is generally controlled by the processing company.
- When will I get paid?
Every platform handles payouts differently. If your preference is to have a continuous stream of revenue you’ll want to use a platform that pays as tickets are sold or even pays daily (like TicketsCandy).
