Anyone who has bought a ticket online has experienced the frustration of reaching the checkout and watching the price jump. A twenty-pound ticket becomes twenty-three pounds fifty after a "booking fee" is added. Then a "service charge" appears. Then an "order processing fee." By the time you click pay, the total bears little resemblance to the advertised price.
Ticketing fees are a necessary part of how platforms operate, but they are also one of the most confusing and contentious aspects of the live events industry. This guide explains what the different fees actually are, who charges them, and what alternatives exist.
Types of ticketing fees
Different platforms use different names, but most ticketing fees fall into these categories:
Booking fees
The most common fee, charged per ticket. This is the ticketing platform's primary revenue — it covers the cost of running the platform, processing the transaction, and providing the technology that powers the ticket sale. Booking fees are typically a percentage of the ticket price (five to fifteen per cent) plus a fixed amount (fifty pence to one pound fifty per ticket). On a twenty-pound ticket, a typical booking fee might be two to three pounds.
Service charges
Sometimes listed separately from booking fees, sometimes bundled together. Service charges are supposed to cover specific services like customer support, ticket delivery, and fraud prevention. In practice, the line between a "booking fee" and a "service charge" is blurry, and some platforms use both to make each individual fee look smaller while the total remains the same.
Facility fees
Charged by the venue rather than the ticketing platform. Facility fees contribute to the venue's operating costs — maintenance, staffing, equipment, and upgrades. They are more common in North America but increasingly appear in the UK, particularly at larger venues with exclusive ticketing deals. The attendee sees the fee on their ticket but the money goes to the venue, not the platform.
Order fees
A flat fee charged per order (not per ticket). This is meant to cover the fixed costs of processing a transaction, such as payment gateway fees and administration. It is typically one to two pounds fifty per order. The rationale is that whether you buy one ticket or five, the platform incurs the same transaction processing cost.
Delivery fees
In the era of digital tickets, delivery fees have largely disappeared — but not entirely. Some platforms still charge for "e-ticket delivery" (sending a PDF to your email) or for the option to use a mobile ticket. This is widely regarded as the least justifiable fee in ticketing. The cost of sending an email is negligible, and charging for it feels exploitative. That said, physical ticket delivery (post or courier) incurs genuine costs and a reasonable delivery fee is fair.
Payment processing fees
Every card payment incurs a fee from the payment processor (Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay, or similar). This is typically 1.4 to 2.9 per cent of the transaction value plus 20 to 30 pence per transaction. Some ticketing platforms absorb this cost within their booking fee. Others pass it on as a separate line item. Neither approach is wrong, but transparency matters — attendees should be able to see exactly what they are paying before they enter their card details.
Who charges the fees?
The fees on a ticket can come from three different parties, which is part of what makes them confusing:
- The ticketing platform — booking fees, service charges, and sometimes payment processing fees. This is the platform's revenue for providing the technology and service.
- The venue — facility fees and restoration levies. These go directly to the venue, though they are collected through the ticketing platform.
- The event organiser — in some cases, the organiser sets the fee structure. They may choose to absorb fees into the ticket price or pass them on to the buyer.
The distinction matters because when attendees complain about fees, they often blame the platform when the fee structure was actually set or influenced by the venue or organiser.
Absorb vs pass on: the organiser's choice
Most ticketing platforms give organisers a choice: absorb the fees into the ticket price, or pass them on to the buyer.
Absorbing fees
If a ticket costs twenty pounds and the platform fee is two pounds, the organiser receives eighteen pounds per ticket. The attendee sees a clean twenty-pound price with no surprises at checkout. This approach is better for the attendee experience and typically leads to higher conversion rates (fewer people abandon their purchase at the payment stage).
The downside is that the organiser receives less revenue per ticket. They need to price their tickets slightly higher to account for the platform fees.
Passing fees on to the buyer
The ticket is listed at twenty pounds, and the fees are added at checkout. The organiser receives the full twenty pounds, and the attendee pays twenty-two pounds or more in total. This approach maximises the organiser's revenue per ticket but creates a worse checkout experience. Industry data consistently shows that unexpected fees at checkout are the single biggest cause of abandoned purchases in ticketing.
There is no universally right answer. For premium events with high demand, passing on fees is unlikely to deter sales. For price-sensitive audiences or events competing for attention, absorbing fees and advertising a clean price can make the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart.
How fees affect ticket sales
The impact of fees on purchasing behaviour is well-documented:
- Sticker shock at checkout — a 2023 UK consumer survey found that 32 per cent of online ticket purchasers had abandoned a purchase due to unexpected fees at checkout. This is revenue that the organiser never sees.
- Perceived value — attendees compare the total cost (including fees) against their expectation. A twenty-pound ticket with three pounds in fees is compared to a twenty-three-pound experience, not a twenty-pound one. If the event does not deliver twenty-three pounds' worth of value, the fees get blamed.
- Price anchoring — when the advertised price is twenty pounds, that number anchors the attendee's perception. Any fee added on top feels like an unwelcome extra, even if the total is objectively reasonable.
- Comparison shopping — attendees increasingly compare total costs across platforms. If the same event is available on two platforms, the one with lower total cost wins, regardless of which platform has lower face-value ticket prices.
Fee-free alternatives
The frustration with ticketing fees has driven demand for platforms that offer transparent or fee-free pricing. These operate on different models:
No booking fee to the buyer
Some platforms charge fees only to the organiser, keeping the checkout price clean for the attendee. The organiser pays a percentage of each sale, but the attendee pays exactly the advertised price. This model is popular with independent events and smaller organisers who prioritise the attendee experience. Tickts operates on this principle — see how it compares to Eventbrite and how it differs from Ticketmaster.
Flat-fee models
Instead of percentage-based fees, some platforms charge a flat monthly or annual subscription and process ticket sales without per-ticket fees. This works well for organisers who run frequent events with high volume, as the flat fee quickly becomes more economical than per-ticket commissions.
Free for free events
Most platforms (including the major ones) do not charge fees on free event registrations. If your event is free, your ticketing costs are likely zero regardless of which platform you use.
Transparency matters most
The fundamental problem with ticketing fees is not that they exist — running a ticketing platform costs money, and that cost has to be covered somehow. The problem is opacity. When attendees feel misled about the true cost of a ticket, they lose trust in both the platform and the organiser.
The best approach for organisers is straightforward:
- Understand your platform's fee structure before you set ticket prices. Know exactly what the attendee will pay in total.
- Decide whether to absorb or pass on fees based on your audience's price sensitivity and your revenue requirements.
- Communicate clearly — if fees are added at checkout, mention this in your marketing so attendees are not surprised.
- Compare platforms — do not just look at headline fee percentages. Calculate the total cost per ticket on each platform you are considering. A platform with a lower percentage fee but additional order fees and delivery charges may cost more overall.
For a deeper dive into the real cost of ticketing fees, read our detailed analysis of the true cost of ticketing fees and our explainer on booking fees — who pays and why.
Ticketing fees are unlikely to disappear entirely, but the market is shifting towards greater transparency and fairer pricing. Organisers who choose platforms with clear, honest fee structures — and communicate those costs to their attendees — build more trust and sell more tickets.