Comedy is one of the most active live entertainment sectors in the UK, from weekly pub comedy nights to Edinburgh Fringe shows and arena tours. For promoters and venues running comedy events, the choice of ticketing platform affects both your margins and your ability to fill rooms. Here's a practical comparison.
The comedy ticketing landscape
Comedy events sit in a sweet spot for ticketing platforms. Ticket prices are typically £5-20 for grassroots comedy and £20-50 for established circuit acts. Venues range from 50-seat pub back rooms to 500-seat purpose-built comedy clubs. This mid-range territory means fees matter but so does audience reach.
Platform comparison
Tickts
For independent comedy promoters running regular nights, Tickts offers a compelling proposition. Zero booking fees mean that a weekly comedy night selling 80 tickets at £12 keeps the full £960 each week (minus Stripe processing). Over a year of weekly shows, that's potentially £2,000-3,000 saved compared to platforms charging 5-10%. The platform handles promo codes well, which is useful for offering industry comps and 2-for-1 deals -- standard promotional tactics in comedy. The trade-off is that Tickts doesn't have a dedicated comedy audience browsing its listings, so you need your own marketing channels.
WeGotTickets
WeGotTickets has a long history in UK comedy. Many comedy clubs have used it for years, and audiences in the comedy circuit know and trust it. The 10% commission is the highest among major platforms, but the built-in audience of comedy fans can drive incremental sales. For new comedy nights trying to build an audience, WeGotTickets' comedy category listings have genuine value.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite works for comedy events but doesn't offer anything specifically tailored to comedy promoters. The 6.95% + 59p fee is mid-range. Eventbrite's discovery features help, and the platform's SEO strength means your event page will appear in Google searches. For comedy festivals and larger-scale events, Eventbrite's reporting and team management features are useful.
Skiddle
Skiddle lists comedy events alongside its core music and nightlife offering. The audience skews younger, which can work well for alt-comedy and late-night comedy shows. Fees are around £1.10 per ticket passed to the buyer. Skiddle's promotional tools and recommendation engine can help reach new audiences.
TicketSource
TicketSource is used by many smaller comedy venues and arts centres. Its free-to-organiser model passes fees to buyers, keeping things simple for the promoter. The platform supports reserved seating, which is useful for comedy venues with table layouts. The interface is straightforward and particularly popular with community venue managers.
Comedy-specific considerations
Comp tickets and guest lists
Comedy promoters regularly need to provide complimentary tickets for acts, agents, reviewers, and industry guests. Your platform should make it easy to issue comp tickets without creating workaround hacks. Look for guest list features or free ticket types that can be allocated manually.
Last-minute sales
Comedy shows often sell a significant portion of tickets in the 48 hours before the event. Your platform needs a smooth mobile checkout experience -- someone seeing a social media post at 5pm and buying a ticket for an 8pm show needs to complete the purchase in under a minute.
Recurring events
Weekly and monthly comedy nights are common. Setting up the same event with different dates should be quick. Platforms that let you duplicate events and just change the date save considerable time over the course of a year.
2-for-1 and promotional pricing
Promotional offers are standard in comedy marketing. "2-for-1 Tuesdays" or early-bird pricing drive midweek sales. Check that your platform supports percentage discounts, fixed-amount codes, and multi-buy offers.
Running the numbers
For a promoter running a weekly 100-capacity comedy night at £10 per ticket, with 70% average occupancy:
- Annual gross revenue: 52 weeks x 70 tickets x £10 = £36,400
- Tickts: £0 platform fees (approx £546 Stripe processing)
- Eventbrite: approx £3,050 in platform fees plus processing
- WeGotTickets: £3,640 in commission
The difference between zero fees and 10% commission is £3,640 per year -- enough to book an extra headline act each month or invest in marketing to grow your audience. For comedy promoters who already have effective marketing channels through social media, mailing lists, and venue partnerships, this saving goes straight to the bottom line.
Curious how tickts compares? See our side-by-side comparison of tickts vs Eventbrite: fees, payouts, and features for UK organisers.
