You find an event you want to attend. The ticket is fifteen pounds. You click buy. At checkout, the total is eighteen pounds fifty. What happened? Booking fees happened.
This guide explains what booking fees actually are, why platforms charge them, who ends up paying, and what the alternatives look like.
What are booking fees?
Booking fees are charges added by ticketing platforms on top of the face value of a ticket. They go by various names: booking fee, service fee, transaction fee, handling fee, convenience fee, delivery fee. The terminology varies, but the effect is the same: you pay more than the advertised ticket price.
These fees are how most ticketing platforms make their money. The platform provides the technology to sell tickets online, and the fee is their revenue for providing that service.
Types of fees
Not all fees are created equal. Here is what you might encounter when buying an event ticket:
Booking fee / Service fee
The main platform charge. Usually a percentage of the ticket price plus a fixed amount per ticket. This is the fee that generates the most frustration because it can add a significant amount to the total cost. On a fifteen-pound ticket, a booking fee of two to three pounds represents a thirteen to twenty per cent markup.
Transaction fee / Processing fee
The cost of processing the card payment. This covers the charges from payment processors like Stripe, Visa, or Mastercard. Standard card processing in the UK is one and a half to two per cent plus twenty pence per transaction. Some platforms separate this from their booking fee; others bundle it in.
Delivery fee
A charge for delivering the ticket. For physical tickets sent by post, a delivery fee is reasonable. But some platforms charge a delivery fee for e-tickets, which are sent by email at zero cost to the platform. Charging for email delivery is pure profit.
Facility fee / Venue fee
A fee added by the venue rather than the ticketing platform. This is more common in the US but appears on some UK tickets, particularly for larger venues using Ticketmaster. It ostensibly covers venue maintenance or improvement costs.
Order processing fee
A per-order fee (rather than per-ticket) that covers the administrative cost of processing the purchase. This is less common but does appear on some platforms.
Who actually pays?
There are two models for how fees are handled, and it is important to understand the difference:
Fees passed to the buyer
The most common model. The organiser sets the face value of the ticket, and the platform adds its fees on top at checkout. The buyer sees one price on the listing and a higher price when they go to pay.
This model means the organiser receives the full face value of the ticket, but the fan pays more than advertised. It creates the frustrating experience of unexpected costs at checkout.
Fees absorbed by the organiser
Some platforms allow (or require) the organiser to absorb the fees. The fan pays the listed price, and the platform takes its fee from the organiser's revenue. On a fifteen-pound ticket with a two-pound fee, the organiser receives thirteen pounds.
This is better for the fan experience (no surprise charges), but it reduces the organiser's revenue. Many organisers simply increase their ticket price to compensate, which means the fan pays the same amount either way, just without the unpleasant surprise at checkout.
How much do major platforms charge?
Fee structures vary considerably across the major UK ticketing platforms. Here is a representative comparison:
- Eventbrite: 6.95% + 59p per ticket (on the Professional plan). Organiser can absorb or pass to buyer
- Skiddle: Typically 10% of ticket price, passed to the buyer as a booking fee
- Fatsoma: 5% + 25p per ticket, with options for organiser or buyer absorption
- Ticketmaster: Variable but often 15-25% of face value for larger events. Fees include booking fee, service charge, and sometimes a facility fee
- Ticket Tailor: No percentage fee. Flat per-ticket charge (from 26p) or monthly subscription (from nineteen pounds per month)
- Tickts: Zero booking fees, zero commission. Only standard Stripe processing (1.5% + 20p) applies
The fan perspective
From a fan's point of view, booking fees are consistently ranked as one of the most frustrating aspects of buying event tickets. Research by consumer groups and industry surveys repeatedly shows that unexpected fees at checkout are the number one reason for abandoned purchases.
The frustration is not just about the money. It is about transparency. When a ticket is advertised at fifteen pounds and costs eighteen pounds fifty at checkout, it feels dishonest. The fan's trust in both the platform and the event is damaged.
This is why some countries have introduced legislation requiring all-inclusive pricing. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that headline ticket prices should include all mandatory charges, but enforcement is inconsistent and many platforms still show pre-fee prices prominently.
The organiser perspective
For organisers, booking fees create a difficult choice. If fees are passed to the buyer, the total cost is higher than what you advertised, which can hurt sales and reputation. If you absorb the fees, your revenue drops.
On a platform charging seven per cent plus fifty-nine pence per ticket, an organiser selling ten thousand tickets at twenty pounds loses approximately seventeen thousand nine hundred pounds to fees over a year. That is a substantial cost for what amounts to a checkout page and a QR code generator.
Many organisers accept these fees as a cost of doing business because switching platforms feels risky. But fee-free alternatives exist, and switching is usually straightforward.
Fee-free alternatives
A small but growing number of platforms have adopted a fee-free model. Instead of charging booking fees or commission, they offer the ticketing technology for free and let organisers pay only the unavoidable card processing fees charged by payment processors like Stripe.
On Tickts, for example, there are no booking fees, no service charges, and no commission. The organiser connects their own Stripe account, and ticket revenue goes directly to them. The only cost is Stripe's standard processing fee of one and a half per cent plus twenty pence per transaction, which applies to any online card payment regardless of platform.
The result: a fifteen-pound ticket costs exactly fifteen pounds at checkout. The fan pays less, the organiser receives more, and the only entity that loses out is the platform that was taking a cut.
How fee-free platforms sustain themselves
A reasonable question is: how does a fee-free platform stay in business? Different platforms use different models. Some rely on optional premium features (analytics, marketing tools, priority support) that organisers can pay for if they choose. Others are funded by the volume of payments processed through their integrated payment processor. Some are simply built by teams who believe the traditional fee model is broken and are finding alternative ways to sustain the business.
The key point for organisers is that fee-free ticketing is not a gimmick or a temporary loss leader. It is a viable business model that already serves thousands of events.
Making the switch
If you are currently paying significant booking fees, consider how much you would save by switching to a fee-free platform. The calculation is straightforward: take your total fee payments over the last year and imagine that money back in your pocket.
Switching platforms does not require a complex migration. You can start listing new events on a fee-free platform while existing events on your current platform run out naturally. There is no data to transfer, no contract to break (most platforms are pay-as-you-go), and no downtime.
Your fans will appreciate the transparent pricing. Your accountant will appreciate the improved margins. And you will wonder why you did not switch sooner.
Curious how tickts compares? See our side-by-side comparison of tickts vs Eventbrite: fees, payouts, and features for UK organisers.