"Free ticketing platform" is a phrase that gets used loosely. Some platforms are free for free events but charge for paid ones. Some are free for organisers but charge buyers. Some offer a free tier with limited features. And some genuinely charge nothing. Here's an honest breakdown of what "free" actually means across UK ticketing platforms.
Defining "free" in ticketing
There are several ways a platform can claim to be free:
- Free for free events -- Most platforms don't charge for events with no ticket price. This is the lowest bar.
- Free for organisers, fees to buyers -- The organiser pays nothing, but ticket buyers pay a booking fee on top of the ticket price.
- Free tier with limits -- A basic free plan with restricted features, event numbers, or ticket volumes.
- Genuinely free for all paid events -- No platform fees to organiser or buyer, with revenue coming from other sources or a different business model.
Platform-by-platform breakdown
Tickts -- genuinely free
Tickts charges zero platform fees on all events, whether free or paid. There are no booking fees passed to buyers, no organiser commissions, and no hidden charges. The only cost is Stripe's standard payment processing fee (1.4% + 20p per transaction for UK cards), which applies regardless of which platform you use. Tickts earns revenue through optional premium features and sponsorship rather than transaction fees. For organisers, this means the ticket price equals the price the buyer pays.
Eventbrite -- free for free events only
Eventbrite is free to use for events with free tickets. As soon as you charge for a ticket, fees apply: 6.95% plus 59p per ticket on the Essentials plan. Eventbrite often promotes itself as "free to get started," which is accurate but can mislead organisers who assume free extends to paid events. To be fair, Eventbrite offers significant value for its fees -- strong SEO, event discovery, marketing tools, and a trusted checkout. But it is not a free platform for paid events.
TicketSource -- free for organisers
TicketSource offers an organiser-free model where the platform charges a booking fee directly to the ticket buyer. This typically adds £1.50-2.00 per transaction. The organiser receives the full ticket price. This is a genuine free option for organisers, but the cost is passed to your audience. Some buyers find booking fees frustrating, particularly when the advertised price isn't what they end up paying.
Ticket Tailor -- free tier available
Ticket Tailor offers a free plan for selling up to a limited number of tickets per month. Beyond that, paid plans start from around £19 per month. The free tier is genuinely useful for very small events or testing the platform, but most active organisers will outgrow it quickly. No per-ticket fees apply on any plan -- just the monthly subscription.
Humanitix -- not free
Humanitix charges booking fees similar to Eventbrite, but donates the fee revenue to charity. While this is an admirable model, the platform is not free. Organisers or buyers still pay fees on every paid ticket. The distinction is where the fee money goes, not whether fees exist.
Luma -- free for basic events
Luma is free for basic event listings and registrations. The platform focuses on community events and professional meetups. For most free events and simple paid events, there are no upfront costs, though the platform takes a small percentage on paid tickets. It's a good option for tech meetups and community gatherings but less full-featured for larger events.
The hidden costs to watch for
Even on genuinely free platforms, there are costs to be aware of:
- Payment processing -- Stripe or PayPal processing fees apply on every platform. These are typically 1.4% + 20p (Stripe UK) or 2.9% + 30p (PayPal). This is not a platform fee -- it's the cost of accepting card payments, and it applies universally.
- Feature restrictions -- Free tiers may limit the number of events, tickets, or features available. Check whether you need seating plans, custom branding, or API access before committing to a free plan that doesn't include them.
- Data restrictions -- Some platforms restrict access to attendee data on free plans. If you need customer email addresses for marketing, verify this is included.
- Payout delays -- Free platforms may hold your funds longer than paid ones. Check payout timelines -- some platforms pay within days, others hold until after the event.
Which free option is right for you?
For organisers who want zero fees passed to either themselves or their buyers, Tickts is the clearest option. For organisers who don't mind fees being passed to buyers, TicketSource provides a solid feature set at no cost to the organiser. For free events only, Eventbrite's discovery features make it a strong choice.
The key is to read the fine print and calculate the actual cost for your specific event size and ticket price. "Free" means different things to different platforms, and the devil is always in the details.
Curious how tickts compares? See our side-by-side comparison of tickts vs Eventbrite: fees, payouts, and features for UK organisers.
