Every platform claims to be free. Most of them are not wrong, and that is the problem
When an organiser searches for a free ticketing platform, they are usually asking the wrong question. The question is not whether the platform is free. It is: free for whom, and under what conditions?
Some platforms are free to list an event but charge a percentage of every ticket sold. Some charge nothing to the organiser but add a booking fee to the buyer's checkout. Some offer a free plan with hard limits and a paid tier sitting above it. Some use a subscription model that becomes free per ticket only once you are running events regularly enough to justify the monthly cost. And a small number charge neither the organiser nor the buyer anything, with other arrangements in place.
None of these models is dishonest. But they suit different types of organiser, and choosing the wrong one means either paying more than you expected or giving your attendees a more expensive checkout experience than you intended. This comparison covers the five platforms most likely to come up in your research, what they actually offer, and which type of event each one serves best.
Five platforms, side by side
The table below compares each platform on the criteria that matter most when you are setting up ticketed events. All pricing is approximate and subject to change. Verify current rates on each platform's pricing page before committing.
| Platform | Fee model | Free events | Scanner app | AddOns at checkout | Affiliate links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShowRave | Platform fee deducted from organiser payout on paid sales. Attendees pay only the ticket price set. | Yes, no charge | Free, iOS and Android, offline mode | Yes, native | Yes, with commission tracking |
| Eventbrite | Percentage plus flat fee per ticket on paid events, absorbed by organiser or passed to buyer. Free events at no charge. | Yes, no charge | Free, iOS and Android | Limited | No (requires third-party integration) |
| Humanitix | Percentage fee, profits donated to educational charities. Free events at no charge. | Yes, no charge | Yes | Limited | No |
| Ticket Tailor | Monthly subscription or pay-per-ticket flat fee. No percentage charge on ticket revenue. | Included in subscription | Yes | Partial | No |
| Luma | Free for free events. Percentage fee on paid events. | Yes, no charge | Yes | No | No |
Verify all pricing, features, and availability directly on each platform before publishing or making a decision. Details change.
What each platform is actually built for
ShowRave
ShowRave is built for independent organisers who want professional tools without a per-ticket cost eating into their revenue. The fee comes out of the organiser's payout rather than being added to the buyer's checkout, which means attendees see and pay only the price the organiser sets. For community events, clubs, and nonprofits where every additional charge at checkout risks losing a sale, this matters.
Beyond the fee model, the platform includes a free QR scanner app that works on iOS and Android with offline capability, native AddOns so attendees can add extras at checkout without a second transaction, and an affiliate link system that lets you give unique tracking links to promoters with commission on each sale they generate. These features come standard rather than as paid upgrades.
Where ShowRave suits you less: if your event has no existing audience at all and you are relying on a platform's built-in discovery marketplace to find attendees, a platform with stronger organic reach in your city may serve that specific need better.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite's strongest asset is its discovery marketplace. People search Eventbrite specifically to find events in their area, and a listing there gives you passive exposure to that traffic. For organisers launching a new event with no existing audience, this discoverability has genuine value that is difficult to replicate through your own channels alone.
The trade-off is cost. On paid events, the fee structure is one of the higher ones across the major platforms, and it is either absorbed by the organiser as reduced revenue or added to the buyer's price at checkout. For high-ticket-price events or events with a well-funded budget, this is manageable. For events where the ticket price is already modest and the margin is tight, the per-ticket cost compounds quickly across a full run of sales.
Eventbrite's feature set is comprehensive and well-established, with detailed analytics, email tools, and integrations. It is the natural choice when discovery is the primary need and cost per ticket is not a constraint.
Humanitix
Humanitix occupies a genuinely distinct position: it is a social enterprise that directs its booking fee profits to educational charities. For nonprofits, charities, and value-driven events where the platform choice itself is part of the story, this alignment is a real differentiator. An event page that mentions "booking fees on this event support youth education programmes" connects with certain audiences in a way no other platform can.
The fee rate is lower than Eventbrite's, which makes it cost-effective for organisers who want a simple, purpose-aligned platform. Where it has less to offer: advanced features like AddOns, affiliate links, and detailed analytics are limited or absent. For straightforward ticketing of charity galas, fundraisers, or community events where simplicity and values matter more than feature depth, it is a strong option.
Ticket Tailor
Ticket Tailor uses a subscription model rather than a percentage of ticket revenue. You pay a flat monthly rate for unlimited events, with no cut taken from each ticket sold. For organisers running frequent events throughout the year, this model becomes the most cost-effective of any platform at a certain volume, because the monthly cost gets spread across a high number of sales.
It also has strong white-labelling options, allowing the ticket widget to be embedded directly on your own website rather than sending buyers to a third-party page. For established venues and promoters with their own brand, keeping buyers on their own domain matters.
The subscription model works against you if you run events infrequently. Paying for twelve months to run two events rarely makes financial sense compared to a per-event model. The platform is also less suited to organisers who need AddOns, affiliate links, or a built-in discovery network.
Luma
Luma has established itself in the professional and tech community event space. Its event pages are clean and well-designed, and the calendar and RSVP features are genuinely polished. For free professional events, networking meetups, product launches, and community talks where the audience skews towards professionals, it handles the basics well and looks the part.
For paid events with any complexity, Luma is limited. There are no AddOns, no affiliate tracking, and no advanced analytics. It is a specialist tool that does one thing well rather than a general-purpose ticketing platform. If your event is free and your audience is professional, it earns consideration. If you are selling tickets and want to grow sales over time, it is likely to constrain you.
The question is not which platform is cheapest
Organisers who approach this decision purely on cost often end up on the wrong platform. The cheapest option for a 20-person corporate networking event is not the right choice for a 500-capacity music night, and vice versa. The more useful question is: what does this specific event need, and which platform delivers it without gaps?
If your attendees are price-sensitive and every charge at checkout risks losing a sale, you want a platform where the buyer pays only what you set. If you are running events frequently enough to justify a monthly subscription, a flat-fee model will save you more over time than any per-ticket percentage. If your event relies on word-of-mouth and community selling, affiliate links and referral tracking are not optional extras, they are how you run the campaign.
And if you have never run a ticketed event before and want to test the water with a small event, the worst thing you can do is lock yourself into a platform with complex onboarding or a monthly commitment before you know whether the event will work.
Where ShowRave sits in this
ShowRave is the right fit for most independent organisers running community events, music nights, sports events, charity fundraisers, professional workshops, and private parties, where attendee price sensitivity is real, where AddOns and affiliate selling are part of the commercial model, and where a free scanner app is needed for check-in without paying for it separately.
It is not the answer for every situation. But for the organiser who wants professional tools, no per-ticket charge added to the buyer's price, and a platform that includes affiliate links, AddOns, and QR check-in from day one, it removes the need to stitch together separate tools for each part of the job.
The pricing page has the current details.
