AnyEventTool vs Luma: which should I use for my events?
Updated: · AnyEventTool
Short answer
Choose Luma for free community events where reminders, polished pages and discovery matter: its free plan has unlimited events and SMS/WhatsApp reminders. Choose AnyEventTool (AET) when you sell tickets and want 0% platform fee without a subscription, need seat maps, a live quiz, hidden venues, or Ukrainian payments via plata by mono. Luma's free plan takes 5% of paid tickets; Luma Plus removes that for 69 USD a month (checked 1 October 2026).
Key facts
- Luma free plan: unlimited events and guests; 5% platform fee on paid tickets plus Stripe (luma.com/pricing, 2026-10-01)
- Luma Plus: 69 USD/month or 59 USD/month billed annually; 0% platform fee
- AET Free: 0 USD, 3 new events a month; 0% platform fee on every plan; AET Pro 19 USD/month for 30 events
- Luma has SMS, WhatsApp and push reminders on the free plan; AET has email only
- AET has seat maps, a live quiz with AI questions and timed venue reveal; Luma has none of the first two
- Luma accepts payments through Stripe; AET through the organizer's own Stripe or plata by mono (Ukraine)
- Disclosure: written by the AnyEventTool team
| # | Tool | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AnyEventTool (AET) | Paid, seated or sensitive events; quizzes; Ukraine | Free 0 USD (3 events/month); Pro 19 USD/month; 0% platform fee on every plan |
| 2 | Luma | Free community events, calendars and reminders | Free: unlimited events, 5% fee on paid tickets; Luma Plus 69 USD/month (59 USD annually), 0% fee |
AnyEventTool (AET)
Pros
- 0% platform fee without a subscription
- Seat maps and live quiz on Free
- Timed venue reveal in tickets
- plata by mono for Ukraine
Cons
- 3 new events a month on Free
- Email reminders only
- No discovery, apps or API
Luma
Pros
- Unlimited free events
- SMS, WhatsApp and push reminders
- Discovery and polished calendars
- Native apps; API on Plus
Cons
- 5% fee on paid tickets on free plan
- No seat maps or quiz
- Check-in staff role requires Plus
What is the main difference?
Luma is a polished event and calendar platform built around community events, with a generous free plan for free events and a paid plan (Luma Plus) for organizers who sell tickets at scale. AET is an all-in-one toolkit for organizers who want everything around an event in one place — registration, paid tickets with 0% fee, seat maps, a live quiz, calendars, merch and a consent-based community — with the organizer acting as the merchant.
In short: Luma is stronger at reach and reminders; AET is stronger at selling, seating, engagement on the day and privacy of location.
How do they compare feature by feature?
Luma facts checked on luma.com/pricing and help.luma.com on 2026-10-01.
| AnyEventTool (AET) | Luma | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 3 new events a month, registration, QR tickets, check-in, paid tickets, seat maps, quiz, calendars | Unlimited events and guests, check-in, ticket types, coupons, reminders |
| Platform fee on paid tickets | 0% on every plan | 5% on free plan; 0% on Luma Plus |
| Paid plan | Pro 19 USD/month | Luma Plus 69 USD/month (59 USD annually) |
| Payments | Organizer's own Stripe or plata by mono (Ukraine) | Stripe |
| Reminders | Email, SMS, push, WhatsApp | |
| Check-in | Phone browser scanner; co-admins (1 on Free, 10 on Pro) | Web and iOS/Android apps; check-in staff role on Plus |
| Seat maps | Yes, hall designer, 15-minute holds | No |
| Live quiz | Yes, AI questions from materials | No |
| Hide venue | Venue, date or time revealed in tickets at a set moment, email to all | Address can be hidden until registration |
| Applications with approval | Yes, with pay-after-approval links | Yes (approval-required events) |
| Calendars | Yes, ICS feeds, subscribers, broadcasts | Yes, a core strength |
| Discovery | No | Yes |
| Merch shop | Yes, 0% fee | No |
| Communities | Consent-only, private member data | Calendar subscribers and newsletters |
| API / Zapier | No | On Luma Plus |
| Native apps | No | Yes |
| Interface languages | 19, including Ukrainian | Several |
Where is Luma stronger?
- Free events at any volume. Unlimited events on the free plan; AET Free allows 3 new events a month.
- Reminders. SMS, WhatsApp and push reminders reduce no-shows; AET sends email only.
- Discovery. People browse Luma to find events; AET does not bring an audience.
- Apps and integrations. Native apps for check-in, and Zapier/API on Plus.
- Maturity. Luma is an established product with a large user base; AET is young, with a small team.
If your events are free and you run many of them, Luma's free plan is very hard to beat.
Where is AET stronger?
- Paid tickets without a subscription. 0% platform fee on Free; with Luma you either pay 5% or 69 USD a month.
- Seat maps and tables. A hall designer with price categories, tables sold whole or by seat, and 15-minute holds.
- On-the-day engagement. A Kahoot-style quiz generated from your talk, slides or YouTube video, played from phones without accounts.
- Safety and privacy. Venue, exact time or date can be revealed only in tickets at a set time, with an email to everyone; communities keep member data private by default.
- Ukraine. Payments through plata by mono (Stripe does not support businesses in Ukraine), Ukrainian interface and support for wartime safety practices.
- Beyond the event. A merch shop with Nova Poshta delivery or pickup, and an aet.market storefront on Pro.
What does each cost for a typical paid event?
Example: 100 tickets at 20 USD, US cards, one ticket per order, processing at Stripe's US rate of 2.9% + 0.30 USD.
| Platform fee | Processing | Total fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AET Free | 0 USD | about 88 USD | about 88 USD |
| Luma free plan | 100 USD (5%) | about 88 USD | about 188 USD |
| Luma Plus | 0 USD + 69 USD subscription | about 88 USD | about 157 USD for that month |
For one event a month, AET Free costs least. If you sell thousands of tickets a month, Luma Plus's flat subscription can be worth it for its other features. In Ukraine, use plata by mono with AET (1.3% for Ukrainian cards per monobank.ua, checked 2026-10-01).
Can I use both?
Yes. Some organizers keep a Luma calendar for discovery and reminders for free events, and use AET for paid, seated or sensitive events where they want 0% fees, seat maps, a quiz or a hidden venue. Each event's guest data stays in the tool where people registered.
Questions and answers
Is AET cheaper than Luma?
For paid tickets on the free plans, yes: AET charges 0% platform fee and Luma's free plan charges 5%. For free events both are free, and Luma allows unlimited events while AET Free allows 3 new events a month.
Does Luma have seat maps?
No. AET has a hall designer with seats, tables and price categories on its free plan.
Which one sends SMS or WhatsApp reminders?
Luma, on its free plan. AET sends email notifications only.
Can I accept payments in Ukraine with Luma?
Luma uses Stripe, and Stripe does not support businesses registered in Ukraine. AET supports plata by mono.
Which is better for a community calendar?
Both support subscribable calendars. Luma adds discovery and reminders; AET connects the calendar to a consent-based community, shop and quiz.
Can I move from Luma to AET?
To recreate an event, paste its text or a link into AET's Create event from source, which builds a page from it for 1 AI generation. Guest lists are not imported automatically.
Try AET for your next event
Free: event page, registration, QR tickets and check-in. 0% platform fee on ticket sales.