Best Ticketing Software in 2026

Eventbrite is the default choice for many organizers because people already search it for things to do. You can publish an event, set ticket types, add discount codes, and use the organizer app to scan tickets at the door. That familiarity helps for public events, classes, workshops, and conferences where discovery brings extra sales.

The catch is cost. In the United States, paid tickets carry a service fee of 3.7% plus $1.79 per ticket, plus 2.9% payment processing per order. Free events carry no fee. You can pass fees to buyers or absorb them, and that choice changes the price your audience sees. For low-priced tickets, the fixed $1.79 portion is a larger share of the price, so run the math on your cheapest ticket before you commit.

Ticket Tailor appeals to organizers who dislike percentage fees. Its pay-as-you-go price in the United States is $0.85 per paid ticket, with lower per-ticket prices when you prepay for credits. You connect your own payment processor, so ticket money lands in your own account as sales come in rather than sitting with the platform until after the event.

The trade-off is discovery. Ticket Tailor does not bring the same built-in audience as Eventbrite, so you need your own promotion through email, social media, or a venue list. It does offer seating charts, discount codes, and a check-in app, which cover the basics for concerts, theater, classes, and festivals. For a repeat event with a known audience, the flat fee can save a clear amount over a season.

Humanitix positions itself as the ticket platform with a social purpose, directing its profits to education projects. Its standard United States fee is 2.1% plus $0.99 per paid ticket, plus 2.9% plus $0.30 in card processing, with lower rates for verified charities and schools. Free events are free. That structure makes it a natural fit for fundraisers, school events, and nonprofit galas.

Feature coverage is broad for the price. Reserved seating, waitlists, gift cards, merchandise sales, and virtual event tools are included on every plan, so you do not need to upgrade to get seating or a virtual link. The honest catch is that the combined fee is not the cheapest here, and payout timing deserves a check before a large event. If the charity story matters to your audience, it can still be worth it.

DICE is built around music, clubs, and live shows, and its app-first approach fits that audience well. Fans discover events in the app, buy tickets tied to their account, join waitlists for sold-out shows, and transfer tickets between accounts. For promoters, that discovery and waitlist flow can move tickets that a plain checkout page would miss.

Pricing is the part to read closely. Under its United States self sign-up terms, DICE charges a 13% service fee on the face value of each ticket. Free tickets carry no service fee. That rate is higher than the flat-fee options here, so DICE makes most sense when its audience and app experience bring sales you would not get elsewhere. For a general conference or a school fair, a cheaper general platform is usually the better buy.

Universe keeps event setup simple, which suits small teams running concerts, parties, classes, or community events. You can build an event page, sell tickets, and manage attendees without a long onboarding process. The design is clean, and the checkout flow is short, which helps when most of your sales come from a link you share yourself.

The downside is pricing clarity. Published comparisons list a Starter fee around 2% plus $0.79 per ticket and a Standard fee around 2.5% plus $1.99, each capped per ticket, with processing fees excluded. Because those details can change and processing is separate, confirm the full per-ticket cost on the pricing page before you publish. If you want a simple page and you bring your own audience, Universe is a workable option.

TicketSpice is a good fit for organizers who want their ticket page to match their brand. You can customize the page design, add your own questions for attendees, and set ticket types, discounts, and capacities. Its standard fee is $0.99 per paid ticket, with $0.49 for tickets under $5 or sold at the box office, plus card processing at 2.9% plus $0.30.

That flat structure is easy to budget, and the lower box office rate helps for venues that sell at the door. The platform does not offer a large discovery marketplace, so it works best when you already have an audience through a venue, a mailing list, or social channels. Optional upgrades such as email automation and text messaging add monthly cost, so price the full setup, not just the per-ticket fee.

Tix suits venues and organizers who sell both online and at the door. Online tickets cost $1.50 each, while box office tickets cost $0.25 each, according to published comparisons. If you use your own payment gateway, you avoid an added merchant percentage, while using the platform merchant account adds a percentage of the ticket price. That choice matters, so compare both paths on your average ticket price.

Tix covers reserved seating, ticket types, and reporting, which fits theaters, attractions, and recurring shows. It is not a discovery marketplace, so your marketing still does the heavy lifting. For a venue with steady walk-up sales and a loyal audience, the low box office fee is a real advantage over percentage-based platforms.

Luma is best known for community events, startup meetups, and tech gatherings, where the invite and calendar experience matters more than a complex box office. It is free for unlimited events and guests, with a 5% platform fee on paid tickets on the free plan, plus Stripe fees. A paid Plus plan lowers the platform fee to 0% for a monthly charge.

The pages look polished, invites and reminders are built in, and guests can add events to their calendars with little friction. That makes Luma a strong pick for free events and small paid gatherings. It is less suited to reserved-seat theater or large festivals, where seating charts, box office tools, and detailed reporting matter more. For a meetup series, though, the free plan is hard to beat.