Which ticketing platform takes the lowest total fees? 2026 ranking across 14 scenarios in USD, EUR and GBP

You sold 150 tickets at $25. The dashboard says $3,750, and your bank will see less. The gap is the platform's fee, the card processor's fee and, on some platforms, a monthly plan. We added all three for every scenario, whoever pays them: a fee your buyer pays at checkout comes out of the same pocket that buys your ticket.

Each row shows the cheapest hosted platform, the runner-up and AET's place. The DIY Stripe link and self-hosted Hi.Events aren't ranked: they're the floor, processing and nothing else.

AET is first in 13 of 14; the one loss is scenario 6 (details below). Up to 3 events a month AET sits exactly on the floor. At 4 events it sits $19 above it (Pro) and still wins once the month clears the break-evens below. Foreign cards and two-ticket orders (scenarios 4, 5, 13, 14) don't change the winner.

The ranking at the top is ordered by average place among the 9 ranked plans across the 14 scenarios: AET 1.07; Ticket Tailor prepaid, amortised (the 100-credit bundle price spread over each ticket) 3.14; Tito 3.50; Luma Plus 3.86; Ticket Tailor pay-as-you-go and Hi.Events Cloud 5.21 each; Luma Free 6.14; Humanitix 7.93 (7.13 with the charity rate in place of the standard one); Eventbrite 8.93. The tie is broken on the full tables with the extra USD rows (5.36 vs 5.57). Luma Plus is second in 9 of 14, yet falls to 7th–8th of 9 in months with 60 tickets or fewer, because its $59 is fixed.

Picture three organizers: a monthly meetup with 50 seats at $15, a bigger evening with 150 tickets at $25, a conference with 300 at $50. One event a month keeps AET on Free, so its total equals the floor.

Each table is that month's cost per platform: US cards, Stripe US 2.9% + $0.30 where the platform uses it, one ticket per order. Luma Plus means $708 a year up front. Tito, Luma, Hi.Events and AET don't state VAT treatment, so none is added. Humanitix and Eventbrite include processing and charge the buyer by default.

1 event × 50 tickets × $15, gross $750

1 event × 150 tickets × $25, gross $3,750

1 event × 300 tickets × $50, gross $15,000. AET $525.00 (3.50%, the floor), Luma Plus $584.00, Ticket Tailor $717.00–$780.00 depending on the variant, Hi.Events Cloud $892.50, Humanitix charity $972.00, Tito $975.00 (8th), Humanitix $1,137.00, Luma Free $1,275.00, Eventbrite $1,527.00 (10.18%). The full row set is in fees-scenarios.csv.

In the first table AET keeps the cost at $36.75 out of $750, while Eventbrite takes $139.00. As the event grows, the order behind AET reshuffles. Tito is runner-up at 50 × $15 but 8th at 300 × $50, because 3% grows with the price. Luma Plus climbs from 8th to 2nd as its $59 spreads over more revenue. Eventbrite is last in all three. Why it happens is visible on one ticket: at $10, Eventbrite's total is 24.5% of the price and AET's is 5.9%.

You teach a small weekly class. Ten people at $10, four evenings a month, $400. This is where AET loses, and the reason is arithmetic: four events is above Free's limit of 3, so Pro ($19) goes into AET's total.

4 events × 10 tickets × $10, gross $400 a month

Tito's 3% is $12 on top of the same $23.60 of Stripe processing, so $35.60. AET adds Pro's $19 to that processing: $42.60. AET loses by $7, and Luma Free ($43.60) is $1 behind AET. Tito stays cheaper than AET Pro until the month's gross reaches $633 (19 ÷ 0.03).

You can stay on AET Free in two ways. Run up to 3 paid events a month (3 × 10 × $10 costs $17.70 on Free, 30 × $0.59, against $26.70 on Tito, 30 × $0.89). Or sell the month as one course ticket. AET has no recurring events or series, so 4 separate dates need Pro.

Grow the class a little and it flips back: at 4 × 15 × $15 ($900) AET costs $63.10 against Tito's $71.10.

Sell in euros or pounds and the gap widens. Domestic Stripe processing is cheaper there (1.5% + €0.25 in Ireland, 1.5% + 20p in the UK), while percentage platform fees stay the same.

The table shows the top four in each domestic-card EUR and GBP scenario and AET's lead over second place (with 30% premium/international cards every total rises, but the order and the lead stay the same). All 14 scenarios with every platform are in fees-scenarios.csv.

Where Luma Plus is second, AET's lead is simply Luma's converted plan (€52.35 or £44.67), since both use the same Stripe. FX: $1 = €0.8873 = £0.7571. VAT is added only where the vendor quotes "+ VAT" (Ticket Tailor: 23% Ireland, 20% UK) or states it on its fee (Eventbrite UK, 20%); Humanitix UK's 5.6% + £0.55 includes VAT. Ticket Tailor's cash this month is one 100-credit bundle: €56 + VAT (€68.88) or £48 + VAT (£57.60).

Eventbrite UK and Ireland. Its help article gives 6.95% + £0.59 (UK) and 5.9% + €0.79 (Ireland), processing included; the local pricing pages we fetched showed US-style rates (3.7% + 1.79 + 2.9%), likely geo-served. We rank on the help-article rate and keep the pricing-page figures unranked. On those Eventbrite would be last in every EUR and GBP table, so the rule only helps Eventbrite.

"I'll just pass the fees on to the buyer." The fees don't go away. They move into the checkout total, and the buyer sees a bigger number. So the fair comparison is the price the buyer must pay for you to net exactly $25 (US cards, one ticket per order).

On AET you set the price at $26.06, and that is the all-in price the buyer sees. Since 12 May 2025 the US FTC fee rule requires live-event ticket prices to include mandatory fees, so one all-in price is also the compliant way to show it. Luma Plus isn't listed because its cost is the $59 plan: $26.06 plus your share of it.

Why bother? In Baymard's research about 40% of shoppers who abandon a checkout name extra costs such as fees. For the same $25 in your pocket, Eventbrite's buyer price ($28.54) is 9.5% higher than AET's.

Up to 3 events a month AET is free, so there's nothing to break even. From the 4th event you need Pro, and the question becomes: when does a rival's platform fee for the month pass $19? Stripe processing is the same on both sides and cancels out.

EUR and GBP convert Pro's $19 at the printed rate, because AET bills Pro in USD (VAT on Pro not stated).

A week before the event the venue wants its deposit. Organizers in 2025–2026 reviews describe paying it out of pocket while their ticket money sits with the platform until after the show. Fees are one cost. Waiting for your own money is another.

The trade-off is real. As the merchant you get the money on Stripe's schedule, under your account, but refunds, disputes and the dispute fee are yours, and Stripe (not AET) could hold funds under its own risk rules. If you want a platform between you and the card network, Eventbrite or Humanitix on its own gateway do that, at the fees above.

Few organizers sell only tickets. There's a T-shirt table at the door, a group that needs a home between events, regulars who want your calendar. Each piece usually lives in another tool with its own cut.

One realistic month: 2 events × 50 tickets × $20 ($2,000) plus 20 merch items × $25 ($500), each tool's free plan, platform fees only (processing left out; the ticket tables above include it).

The maths: Tito 0.03 × 2,500 = 75; Luma 0.05 × 2,000 = 100; Ticket Tailor 0.85 × 120 = 102; Hi.Events (0.0125 × 20 + 0.60) × 100 + (0.0125 × 25 + 0.60) × 20 = 85 + 18.25 = $103.25; Humanitix (0.021 × 20 + 0.99) × 100 = 141; Eventbrite (0.037 × 20 + 1.79) × 100 = 253. Assumptions: Tito merch sold as Upgrades at the same 3%; Luma doesn't document merch as built in; Humanitix (US rate) and Eventbrite add-on fees aren't counted.

AET is the only tool here with a community, a subscribable calendar and a shop on a free plan at 0% platform fee. The limits: Free gives 1 community and up to 5 shop items, shop orders check out separately from tickets, and the aet.market storefront is Pro.

It's a fact, not a ranking. Luma has more built-in modules: on our 20-module free-plan count Luma scores 84.2 and AET 67.5, 8th of 10. Eventbrite and Humanitix (78.9 each), Ticket Tailor (72.2) and Hi.Events (71.9) are also ahead, as are 2event and Eventmate, which have many unverified cells. That's a separate measure from the 81 vs 63 feature coverage. Discovery, an app, recurring events and reminders are on Luma's side, at 5% on Free or $59/mo for Plus billed annually. Only AET charges 0% on a free plan, so a "cheapest ecosystem" ranking would be decided by that filter alone.

Find the line closest to your month.

Lowest fees is a narrow claim. Here is where another tool wins:

• Very small weekly events (4 × 10 × $10 a month): Tito. $35.60 vs $42.60, because AET needs Pro above 3 events a month. Tito stays cheaper until $633 gross a month.
• You already pay for Luma Plus and want Luma's audience: stay on Luma. At the same Stripe processing the difference is only the plan. Luma leads our pain-weighted feature coverage (81 vs AET's 63) and the "features + fees + money control" score (Luma 85, AET 74, Eventbrite 71, Ticket Tailor 70). AET lacks its free Explore listing and SMS/WhatsApp reminders. In the "best 0% option" view Luma Plus is first (71.2 vs AET's 55.4). All broader scores: results where AET loses.
• You need a marketplace audience: Eventbrite or Humanitix. Both list your event to their buyers. AET has no marketplace or audience of its own. Eventbrite (80) and Humanitix (74) also beat AET (63) on pain-weighted feature coverage.
• You need a box office, promo codes or a waitlist: Ticket Tailor or Humanitix. AET has none of these, and no offline check-in: every scan needs internet.
• You fundraise with donations or pay-what-you-want: Humanitix, Tito or Hi.Events. Humanitix sells donations as add-ons; Tito and Hi.Events offer donation tickets. AET has neither.
• You're in a country Stripe doesn't support, including Ukraine. Ukrainian organizers use plata by mono with a FOP or legal entity, compared in the Ukraine cost and money-control ranking, where broader scores (tools + compliance) put RegToEVENT (73.0) and Eventmate (70.2) ahead of AET (56.8).
• You want the platform to handle refunds and chargebacks: Eventbrite or Humanitix's own gateway. On AET refunds come from your Stripe and disputes cost $15 (US) or €20 (Ireland).
• You need a public API (Tito, Ticket Tailor, Humanitix, Hi.Events, Eventbrite) or an attendee app (Eventbrite, Luma). AET has only a read-only MCP server for AI assistants.
• You run servers and want full control: self-hosted Hi.Events. Same processing-only fees; you pay in hosting and upkeep, plus €499/yr to remove the "Powered by Hi.Events" credit.

Other AET gaps for paid events: no recurring events or series, no automatic reminder emails, no SMS/Telegram/WhatsApp reminders, no wallet passes, no embeddable widget, no own domain (only name.aet.events on Pro), and a "Made with AET" badge on every page that can't be removed on any plan.

• Question and candidates: lowest total fees for paid events in Stripe-supported countries. Same set in every table of a currency: AET, Tito, Ticket Tailor (pay-as-you-go, prepaid amortised, prepaid cash), Luma Free, Luma Plus, Hi.Events Cloud, Humanitix (standard and charity), Eventbrite. That is 7 platforms and 9 plans or fee options in the average-place ranking; the USD tables add two variants (Humanitix charity rate, Ticket Tailor prepaid paid in cash this month), so a table has up to 11 rows. Not evaluated: Meetup, Partiful, Zeffy and similar tip-funded platforms, pretix and others whose terms we didn't verify.
• Metric: platform fee + processing + a monthly plan if the scenario needs one, whoever pays. Buyer-pays is normalised as the price at which you net $25. Floors and Eventbrite UK/IE pricing-page figures aren't ranked; no scenario has a tie, and the one tie in average place is broken above.
• Formulas per ticket P (USD): AET 0.029 × P + 0.30; Tito 0.03 × P + 0.029 × P + 0.30; Ticket Tailor 0.85 (or 0.70) + 0.029 × P + 0.30; Luma Free 0.05 × P + 0.029 × P + 0.30; Hi.Events Cloud 0.0125 × P + 0.60 + 0.029 × P + 0.30; Humanitix 0.05 × P + 1.29 (charity 0.039 × P + 1.29); Eventbrite 0.037 × P + 1.79 + 0.029 × P. Card-mix scenarios price 30% of payments at 3.15% in Europe, which is conservative (premium EEA cards are 2.8%).
• Ticket Tailor prepaid: amortised (100-credit rate) and cash this month (smallest bundle covering the tickets: 100 @ $0.70, 200 @ $0.66, 300 @ $0.64, 500 @ $0.60, 1,000 @ $0.52).
• Updated 02.10.2026 figures: our earlier ticket fee comparison counted Luma Plus at $69 monthly and converted Ticket Tailor's GBP price; here it's $59 on the annual plan and Ticket Tailor's US price ($0.85).
• Data: fees-scenarios.csv; check your own month in the ticket fee calculator. Full rules and the neutral results where AET loses: ranking methodology.
• Disclosure: this ranking is published by AnyEventTool and written by AET's founder, so weigh it with that in mind. That's why every formula is on the page. Corrections: support@anyeventtool.com. Vendors have a right of reply; verified corrections are published with a date.

Read on the vendors' own pages on 1–2 October 2026. Prices change; check before you decide.

• Stripe: US 2.9% + $0.30, +1.5% international, dispute $15; Ireland 1.5% + €0.25, 2.8% premium, 3.15% international, dispute €20; UK 1.5% + 20p
• AnyEventTool pricing: 0% on tickets and shop; Free 3 events/mo; Pro $19, 30 events/mo
• Eventbrite: US pricing 3.7% + $1.79 + 2.9%; fees outside the US UK 6.95% + £0.59, Ireland 5.9% + €0.79; pricing pages as fetched, unranked: UK, Ireland; VAT on fees 20%; payouts 3 days after, 20% reserve; merchant agreement
• Luma: pricing Free 5%, Plus 0% at $59/mo billed annually; payment countries Stripe only
• Tito: pricing 3% capped at €25; payment options Stripe or PayPal
• Ticket Tailor: US pricing $0.85 PAYG, bundles 100 @ $0.70 … 20,000 @ $0.34; GBP/EUR pricing £0.60 / €0.70 + VAT, bundle £0.48 / €0.56 + VAT
• Humanitix: US 2.1% + $0.99 + 2.9% + $0.30, charities 1% + $0.99; UK 5.6% + £0.55 incl. VAT; EUR fees 2.1% + €0.99 + own Stripe; payout currencies
• Hi.Events pricing: Cloud 1.25% + $0.60 (€0.50, 45p); self-hosted AGPL-3.0; licence €499/yr
• Exchange rates: $1 = €0.8873 = £0.7571 on 02.10.2026
• FTC rule on unfair or deceptive fees: all-in ticket pricing since 12 May 2025
• Baymard cart abandonment: ≈40% of abandoners cite extra costs
• Capterra reviews of Eventbrite: organizer complaints about stacked fees and payouts, 2025–2026
• Stripe unavailable in Ukraine (DOU)