Ticketing fees are the single biggest variable cost for most event organisers. Yet understanding exactly what each platform charges is surprisingly difficult. Pricing pages use different terminology, fees are structured differently, and some costs only become apparent once you're committed. This guide breaks down the actual fees across major UK platforms with real-world calculations.
How ticketing fees are structured
Platforms charge fees in several different ways, often combining multiple models:
- Percentage of ticket price -- A percentage taken from each sale (e.g., 5% of a £20 ticket = £1.00)
- Fixed per-ticket fee -- A flat amount per ticket sold (e.g., 59p per ticket regardless of price)
- Per-order fee -- A flat fee per transaction, regardless of how many tickets are in the order
- Monthly subscription -- A flat monthly cost with no per-ticket charges
- Buyer booking fee -- A fee charged to the ticket buyer, not the organiser
- Payment processing -- The cost of processing card payments, typically through Stripe or a similar provider
Platform fee breakdown
Tickts
Platform fee: 0%. Per-ticket fee: £0. Booking fee to buyer: £0. Payment processing: Stripe standard rates (1.4% + 20p UK cards). Tickts charges no platform fees of any kind. The only cost is Stripe's standard payment processing, which the organiser pays.
Eventbrite
Platform fee: 6.95% per ticket. Per-ticket fee: 59p. Payment processing: included in the above. Eventbrite's fee combines platform and processing into one charge. Organisers can absorb the fee or pass it to buyers. There's also a 2% organiser fee on the order total if you use Eventbrite's payment processing rather than your own.
Skiddle
Booking fee to buyer: approximately £1.10 per ticket. Organiser fee: varies by agreement. Skiddle's model primarily charges the buyer a booking fee. Some organiser agreements include additional fees. Contact Skiddle for a specific quote for your events.
WeGotTickets
Commission: 10% of ticket price. Payment processing: included. WeGotTickets takes 10% of each ticket sold, inclusive of payment processing. The fee is straightforward but among the highest in the market.
Ticket Tailor
Per-ticket fee: from £0.60 per ticket pay-as-you-go, or around £0.22 per ticket with pre-paid credits. Subscription: none. Payment processing: Stripe standard rates (additional). Ticket Tailor uses a pay-as-you-go model with no monthly subscription. You pay a flat fee per ticket sold, plus Stripe processing on top.
TicketSource
Organiser fee: £0. Booking fee to buyer: from £1.50 per transaction. Payment processing: included in booking fee. TicketSource is free for organisers, with fees passed entirely to the buyer.
DICE
Fee structure: not publicly listed, varies by agreement. DICE negotiates fees with each organiser or venue. The model is generally a percentage of ticket sales. Fees are absorbed into the ticket price so buyers see one clean number.
Fatsoma
Booking fee to buyer: approximately 10% plus around £1 per ticket. Organiser fee: varies by agreement. Fatsoma charges the buyer and leans on a student-rep network for promotion. The percentage-plus-fixed structure makes it relatively expensive on higher-priced tickets.
Fixr
Booking fee to buyer: approximately 5% plus around 49p per ticket. Fixr is among the cheaper nightlife platforms on a per-ticket basis, with fees charged to the buyer at checkout.
Outsavvy
Booking fee to buyer: up to around 10% plus a small fixed fee per ticket. Organiser fee: £0. Outsavvy passes costs to the buyer and is aimed at independent and community events.
Real-world calculations
Let's compare costs for three common event scenarios:
Scenario 1: Small event -- 100 tickets at £10
- Tickts: £0 platform + £34 Stripe = £34 total fees
- Eventbrite: £69.50 + £59 = £128.50 total fees
- WeGotTickets: £100 total fees
- Ticket Tailor: £60 per-ticket fees + £34 Stripe = £94 total fees
- TicketSource: £0 to organiser (£150+ charged to buyers)
Scenario 2: Mid-size event -- 500 tickets at £25
- Tickts: £0 platform + £275 Stripe = £275 total fees
- Eventbrite: £868.75 + £295 = £1,163.75 total fees
- WeGotTickets: £1,250 total fees
- Ticket Tailor: £300 per-ticket fees + £275 Stripe = £575 total fees
- TicketSource: £0 to organiser (£750+ charged to buyers)
Scenario 3: Regular weekly event -- 80 tickets at £15, 50 weeks
- Annual gross: £60,000
- Tickts: £0 platform + £920 Stripe = £920 total annual fees
- Eventbrite: £4,170 + £2,360 = £6,530 total annual fees
- WeGotTickets: £6,000 total annual fees
- Ticket Tailor: £2,400 per-ticket fees + £920 Stripe = £3,320 total annual fees
What the numbers tell us
The differences are stark. For regular event organisers, the choice of platform can mean a difference of £5,000+ per year. For one-off small events, the differences are smaller but still meaningful when margins are tight.
Percentage-based fees hurt most on higher-priced tickets. A 6.95% fee on a £50 ticket is £3.48 -- nearly seven times the fee on a £5 ticket. Per-ticket models like Ticket Tailor cost more as ticket volume increases, since the fee applies to every ticket sold.
Zero-fee models like Tickts offer the lowest total cost at every price point and volume, with the only variable being Stripe's standard processing rate that applies universally across all platforms.
When comparing platforms, always calculate the total annual cost for your specific event schedule, not just the per-ticket rate. And remember to factor in payment processing fees, which some platforms include in their headline rate and others charge separately.
Curious how tickts compares? See our side-by-side comparison of tickts vs Eventbrite: fees, payouts, and features for UK organisers.
Ticketing fees FAQs
Which UK ticketing platform has the lowest fees?
Zero-fee platforms like tickts have the lowest total cost at every ticket price, because they charge no platform or booking fee at all. The only deduction is the standard Stripe payment-processing rate, which applies on every platform. Percentage-based platforms (such as Eventbrite at 6.95% + 59p per ticket in the UK) cost more as your ticket price rises, while flat per-ticket models can work out cheaper at high volume.
Do free events have ticketing fees?
On most UK platforms, free tickets carry no fee for you or your attendees. Fees only apply to paid tickets. If you run free events, almost any platform will cost you nothing, so the decision comes down to features rather than price.
Who pays the booking fee, the organiser or the buyer?
It depends on the platform and your settings. Many platforms let you choose to absorb the fee (it comes out of your ticket price) or pass it to the buyer (added on top at checkout). Passing it on protects your margin but raises the price your audience sees, which can dampen sales. A zero-fee platform avoids the trade-off entirely.
Are ticketing fees the same as payment processing fees?
No. A ticketing or booking fee is what the platform charges to use its service. Payment processing is the separate cost of taking the card payment, typically Stripe's standard rate. Some platforms fold both into one headline number while others charge them separately, which is why a like-for-like comparison should always include both.
How much does Eventbrite charge in the UK?
Eventbrite charges UK organisers 6.95% of the ticket price plus 59p per ticket, combining its service fee and payment processing into a single rate. On an £18 ticket that is about £1.84 per sale. Free tickets are not charged.
Why do two platforms quote such different fees for the same ticket?
Because they structure fees differently. A percentage fee (say 6.95%) scales with ticket price, a fixed per-ticket fee (say 59p) does not, and a subscription spreads cost across volume. The same £20 ticket can therefore cost very different amounts depending on the model. Always run your own numbers — ticket price × quantity — through each platform's structure rather than trusting the headline rate.
Can I avoid passing booking fees on to my customers?
Yes. Either absorb the fee into your ticket price on a platform that charges one, or use a zero-booking-fee platform such as tickts where there's no fee to absorb or pass on. Buyers increasingly notice and resent surprise fees at checkout — and the CMA has been cracking down on drip-pricing — so a clean, all-in price is becoming a competitive advantage.
For the bigger picture, see our guide to the best ticketing platforms for small events in the UK.
