8 Eventbrite Alternatives to Maximize Your Event’s Revenue

Many people looking to host events know of Eventbrite as a reliable event management platform. It can be quite useful to sell tickets for a variety of reasons but is not always the best solution for everyone. With that being said, there are plenty of other platforms that offer powerful features and services that go beyond ticketing. Read on to find out the best Eventbrite alternatives to consider using for your next event.

What is Eventbrite? And What Does It Offer You?

Eventbrite is a well-known event management solution that makes it easy to find popular upcoming events in your area. Founded in 2006, the platform has grown from a small company into one of the leading ticketing platforms in the world. Serving 180 countries and hosting more than four and a half million events, it’s easy to see why most event organizers don’t think twice about using its services.

That said, there are plenty of Eventbrite alternatives on the market today, many of them offering comparable if not superior features. After reading this article, you – a would-be event planner – will have a better idea about what features Eventbrite offers, what Eventbrite alternatives are out there, and which one you should be using to sell tickets for your next event.

What Eventbrite Offers You

Eventbrite is a versatile ticketing system equally equipped to plan your local pick-up soccer game, the next major musical event along with a variety of other events. It offers custom event pages and sophisticated ticketing tools that make it both fast and easy to sell tickets online, track online ticket sales, and create event pages.

As a well-known event management system, most event attendees will be familiar with Eventbrite’s system, bringing more traffic to your event page via SEO. Its data-driven analytics help you to focus on what’s important for your event. We’ll get into paid tickets below, but free events are hosted without cost on Eventbrite’s platform.

What Eventbrite Doesn’t Offer You

As we’ve mentioned, free events on its platform carry no fee but paid events do. Eventbrite offers three packages for event planners to pick from.

Simple Event Registration With “Essentials”

The lowest of these, the “Essentials” package, really only offers you the bare bones: one type of ticket (i.e. general admission), ticketing and registration essentials, mobile app compatibility, and little else. They include “Listing on Eventbrite and partners sites” as a “feature” of the package, which pretty much tells you all you need to know.

Find More Event Attendees With “Professional”

The only real option for event organizers is the “Professional” package. This is the meat and potatoes of the Eventbrite platform and offers significantly more features… for a higher price. Choosing this plan will get you unlimited ticket types, detailed sales analytics, and reserved seating, but you could find most of these features on other Eventbrite alternative sites for significantly lower fees.

Increase Ticket Sales With “Premium”

The third package is the “Premium” option, which is essentially a tailored experience. The pricing is determined on a case-by-case basis, so it’s really only for larger event partners who have the resources to afford it. Anyways, tailored doesn’t have to be synonymous with unaffordable, as the first Eventbrite alternative on our list exemplifies.

Why You Shoulder Consider Alternatives to Eventbrite

When it comes to picking an event management solution, Eventbrite is a solid choice. From creating professional-looking listings to supplying you with community engagement tools, Eventbrite’s system is versatile enough to handle events both local and major, live events, and virtual.

That said, while it’s fine to play it safe with the more recognized platforms, the reality is that there are several excellent Eventbrite alternatives out there that are worth considering. Whether you are hosting events that are virtual or live, for a business or a non-profit, there’s an Eventbrite alternative on this list for you.

The Top 8 Ranked Best Eventbrite Alternatives

#1: TicketsCandy

The first and highest-ranked on our list of Eventbrite alternatives is TicketsCandy.

Ticketscandy is completely free for event holders. They do this by charging event holders’ customers an incredibly low fee of 0.9% per transaction if they buy a paid ticket. Free tickets are completely free for both event holders and customers. Thus, making them the most affordable/free option out of all the Eventbrite competitors.

Everything is available for you to use right from the get-go with no hidden fees. Set up your first event page, connect your merchant account, install your widget, and you are ready to go! If you are hosting more than one event and need multiple widgets, you can create another event page on the same account to manage all your events in one easy-to-access location.

Whether you’re planning a fundraising event, a custom event, or multiple events, TicketsCandys’s well-trained team has you covered. Unlike other Eventbrite alternatives where you’ll only receive the tailored service for larger events (or additional fees), TicketsCandy ensures your event gets the attention it deserves at every step in the ticket-selling process. As a ticketing platform built for event organizers, TicketsCandy has made the platform customizable to any business’s requirements. Its sophisticated system makes it easy to manage events and increase ticket sales in real-time.

Another reason TicketsCandy is at the top of our Eventbrite alternatives list is that, through its partnership with Atavion, you’ll receive 25% off a custom website built specifically for your event. Don’t worry if you already have a dedicated event website, it is easy to connect the TicketsCandy ticketing widget to any site.

Best for: Event planners who want a free tailored and sophisticated event management solution.

Pros:

• Free for event holders.
• Marketing oriented checkout process.
• Unlimited tools and of features.
• Branded event page.
• One-time or recurring events.
• Ticket scanner app.
• Unbeatable customer service.

Cons:

• No assigned seating functionality.

#2 Meetup

Our next Eventbrite alternative is Meetup.

Meetup is a popular group management and event planning platform specifically targeted at connecting people with similar interests. Founded in New York City in 2002, Meetup is all about finding and building local communities. Its platform provides event planners with the tools to create groups and events based on a common interest. Many of the platform’s features are based around group interaction: unlike other Eventbrite alternatives, Meetup has a custom chat function to help foster community engagement.

Its platform offers flexible payment options, so event planners can choose between charging a ticket fee per event or charging a monthly membership fee. If you decide on the monthly membership fee, you have the option of offering a limited free trial to potential attendees. You’ll also be able to choose between a monthly or six-month subscription plan for your community members.

Unlike Eventbrite, which is flexible enough to plan both small- and large-scale events, Meetup is best served for creating locally hosted events. While you could use the platform to create larger events, it would be a waste of its community engagement function; not to mention the fact that there are less expensive options out there with superior features. Nonetheless, it still tops our Eventbrite alternatives chart as a solid consideration for your next event.

Best for: Local event planners interested in bringing together a local community with a shared interest or passion.

Pros:

• Excellent community engagement features.
• Straight-forward to use.
• Flexible fees.

Cons:

• Geared more towards smaller-scale events.

#3 Ticketbud

Next on our Eventbrite alternatives list is Ticketbud.

Ticketbud is an event management platform whose mission is to make event planning easy and accessible for everyone. Based out of Austin, TX, Ticketbud has a refreshingly stripped-down feel to its site that doesn’t overwhelm newcomers as some other Eventbrite competitors do. The system is intuitive to use and brings everything a first-time event organizer needs right to the fore.

The site boasts excellent promotional tools with Facebook Pixel integration. The platform’s powerful link-tracking feature lets you know the effectiveness of your ad campaigns, partnerships, and other promotional channels. In addition, its basic, yet robust reporting helps you make informed decisions about what your event needs most.

TicketBud prides itself on its transparency, which extends to the event registration costs. Unlike Eventbrite, there aren’t any payment tiers: everyone pays the same flat fee, which is $4.99 plus $0.99 of the ticket’s sale value. Due to its simplicity, TicketBud can be used for both smaller and larger event types, making it a great Eventbrite alternative.

Best for: Straight forward, but not overly sophisticated: this platform is more geared towards first-time ticket sellers than veterans.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• Available at an affordable price.

Cons:

• Basic functionality.
• Doesn’t offer a ton of variety in ticket types.

#4 Eventbee

Eventbee, an easy-to-use online event management platform, tops our Eventbrite alternatives list for a variety of reasons.

Active since 2003, Eventbee has made a name for itself in the ticketing solution world due to its innovative fee pricing method. Unlike Eventbrite, which charges a flat fee and percentage per ticket, on Eventbee you’ll only be charged one flat fee per ticket. On the other hand, Eventbee does have several tiered options, each with its own benefits and additional costs. The basic ticketing fee option on Eventbee is $1 per ticket, and the advanced option is $2.50 per ticket.

Customizability is really where Eventbee shines as an Eventbrite alternative. It has several excellent features that set it apart from the other Eventbrite alternatives. These include:

• Integrated social media marketing to maximize your event’s promotion.
• Multiple ticket types, including reserved seating and general admission.
• One-time or recurring events.
• A dynamic event registration form meant to reflect your brand’s feel and mission.

Best for: Those looking for an Eventbrite alternative that combines customizability with affordability.

Pros:

• All of its tiers are affordable.
• Dynamic event registration.

Cons:

• Rudimentary data reports.

#5 Eventzilla

Eventzilla is a robust event management platform perfect for conferences/conventions, online/virtual events, trainings/courses, and fundraisers. Like most of the Eventbrite alternatives on our list, Eventzilla has a tiered plan that allows you to pick from three different options, each with increasing sophistication and price. The Basic plan charges $1.50 per registration, the Pro plan charges 1.9% + $1.50 per registration, and the Plus plan is 2.9% + $1.50.

This system’s customizable event registration pages are easy to use and mobile-friendly. This includes multiple registration flows, self-service features, automated waitlists, and multiple notification methods, such as email, reminders, and badges. This will resonate more with your attendees, making it easier to engage with your audience.

While its front end may be a little overwhelming for first-time event planners, veteran planners will get a lot out of its sophisticated back end.

Best for: Planning and managing any kind of business event, including fundraisers, virtual conferences, dinners, and so on.

Pros:

• Customizable at almost every level.

Cons:

• Not the most intuitive system out there.
• Slower than average customer support.

#6 Cvent

Compared to our other Eventbrite alternatives, Cvent doesn’t just help with managing tickets, providing event details, and analyzing ticket revenue, although it does do all these things. Through its all-in-one, sophisticated system, Cvent makes planning events easy by assisting you in practically every aspect of the online ticketing process.

For example, Cvent offers venue booking assistance, which covers the acquisition of the venue and the attendees’ hotel rooms and itineraries. The platform caters to all types of events, from in-person to virtual to hybrid.

All this hands-on assistance doesn’t come cheap though, and Cvent is easily one of the most expensive options on our list. While no fees are listed on its site, you can find ranges of the cost of Cvent’s services out there. According to one source, Cvent charges between $3 to $12 per attendee, plus 3.99% for credit card processing.

Cvent is the epitome of one size doesn’t fit all ticketing solution. That means you’ll get an exceptional tailored experience, but at a price only dedicated event planners can afford.

Best for: Experienced event organizers who can afford to pay more for Cvent’s powerful system.

Pros:

• A sophisticated solution that simplifies event management.
• Sturdy event management tools.

Cons:

• Unaffordable for most casual event planners.

#7 Thundertix

Thundertix is probably the most rudimentary of the Eventbrite alternatives featured on our list. While that sounds like a criticism, it’s really just more of an observation.

The website, while not flashy, is serviceable and intuitive; and compared to Cvent, Thundertix is a much better choice to help casual ticket sellers plan successful events. It offers the essentials in box office management, i.e., an analytics dashboard, embedding options, and flexible ticket types. For payment processing, Thundertix allows you to use your own payment gateway. In addition, it gives you complete control over your ticket fees, so you’re free to charge whatever you’d like.

Setting it apart from most of our other Eventbrite alternatives, Thundertix has a monthly subscription-style pricing plan, as opposed to a per-purchase-style one. For general admission, you’ll pay $79 a month for the first 100 tickets. After that, you’ll pay $0.79 per additional ticket. That’s fairly reasonable compared to Eventbrite’s “Essentials” package. In addition, Thundertix offers a “Maintenance” plan for when you need to place your account on hold, which costs $10 a month.

When it comes to mobile apps, Thundertix has one of the least impressive ones. It serves as a barcode scanner and that’s essentially it, leaving a lot to be desired.

Best for: New and casual event planners looking for an intuitive and basic ticketing platform.

Pros:

• Easy to use interface.
• Great customer service.

Cons:

• No free version available.

#8 Ticketmaster

Last up on our list of top Eventbrite alternatives is the granddaddy of all event ticketing solutions: Ticketmaster.

Founded in 1976, this event management system has been one of the dominant ticketing platforms for almost fifty years. It’s the official event ticketing system for numerous sports organizations, such as the NBA and NFL, and is usually associated with massive events; if you bought a ticket recently for a major concert, it was probably on Ticketmaster – enough said.

Due to its brand recognition, Ticketmaster offers would-be ticket sellers access to one of the largest ticketing marketplaces in the world. Ticket protection is standard with its system, so once the ticket is sold there’s no more hassle on the seller’s end. That said, Ticketmaster doesn’t list its fees anywhere on the website, meaning selling tickets is a bit of a gamble.

Nevertheless, we’d be remiss not to include them on our list of top Eventbrite alternatives as they are still one of the top ticketing solutions out there, even after being in the business for over forty years.

Best for: large organizations and event planners who already have a considerable budget set aside for event management.

Pros:

• Considerable exposure for your event.
• A robust system that provides reports on sales and inventory.

Cons:

• All around lack of transparency, including for fees.

Final Thoughts

While Eventbrite is a popular event management software, it is by no means the final word in ticketing solutions. From making you choose between a number of tiered plans to only providing generic functionality, Eventbrite leaves much to be desired.

As we’ve shown from our list, plenty of Eventbrite alternatives provide a superior ticket-selling experience for a significantly lower price. At the end of the day, it’s that tailored event planning experience that’s the most important: from personalized analytics to effective promotion.