In the US, Eventbrite charges a service fee of 3.7% plus $1.79 on every paid ticket, and a payment processing fee of 2.9% on every order. Free tickets carry no fees. On a $20 ticket that comes to between $3.11 and $3.18, which is about 16% of the ticket price.
This guide shows how the fees are calculated, what they cost at common ticket prices, who pays them, and what a year of ticket sales adds up to. Figures are Eventbrite’s published US rates as of November 2026.
Eventbrite fees at a glance
- Service fee: 3.7% of the ticket price plus $1.79 per paid ticket.
- Payment processing fee: 2.9% of the total order.
- Free events: no fees.
- Who pays: buyers pay the fees on top of the ticket price by default. You can choose to absorb them for each paid ticket type, in which case they are deducted from your sales.
- Monthly cost: none. Eventbrite’s optional Pro plans ($15 to $100 a month) add email marketing capacity and do not change the ticketing fees.
Eventbrite’s own page, How much does it cost for organizers to use Eventbrite, lists the rates for each country.
How Eventbrite calculates its fees
The two fees are calculated on different amounts. The service fee uses the ticket price. The payment processing fee uses the total order, including the service fee and any tax. This means the processing fee is slightly higher when buyers pay the fees than when you absorb them.
For a single $20 ticket:
- Service fee: 3.7% of $20 is $0.74, plus $1.79, so $2.53.
- Processing fee if buyers pay: 2.9% of $22.53 is $0.65. The buyer pays $23.18 and you receive the full $20.
- Processing fee if you absorb the fees: 2.9% of $20 is $0.58. The buyer pays $20 and you receive $16.89.
What Eventbrite fees cost at common ticket prices
| Ticket price | Service fee | Total fees if buyers pay | Total fees if you absorb | Share of the ticket price (absorbed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $2.16 | $2.51 | $2.45 | 24.5% |
| $20 | $2.53 | $3.18 | $3.11 | 15.6% |
| $50 | $3.64 | $5.20 | $5.09 | 10.2% |
| $100 | $5.49 | $8.55 | $8.39 | 8.4% |
The flat $1.79 is what makes cheap tickets expensive to sell. On a $10 ticket the fees take almost a quarter of the price, while on a $100 ticket they take about 8%. Community events, classes and small workshops, which tend to have low ticket prices, feel the fees most.
Service fees apply per ticket, but the processing fee applies once per order. A buyer who purchases four tickets in one order pays the $1.79 four times and the 2.9% once on the combined total.
Should you pass the fees to buyers or absorb them?
Passing the fees on keeps your payout at the full ticket price, but the buyer sees a higher total at checkout. A $20 ticket becomes $23.18, and some buyers will compare that with the price you advertised.
Absorbing the fees lets you advertise a clean price. The cost is that you keep less per ticket, so you may want to raise the ticket price to cover it. If you do, remember that the fees are then calculated on the higher price.
Eventbrite sets this per ticket type, so you can absorb the fees on one ticket and pass them on for another.
Other Eventbrite costs to know about
Selling tickets at the door
Tickets sold at the door through the Eventbrite Organizer app cost $1 per paid ticket plus 2.9% of the order total. The processing fee on app sales cannot be passed on to buyers, although you can choose whether to pass on the service fee.
Payout timing
By default Eventbrite sends your payout 3 days after your event ends, or on a custom schedule you choose. Your bank can then take up to 5 more business days to deposit it (7 for international payouts). For an event that sells tickets weeks in advance, this means you hold none of the money while you pay venues and suppliers, unless you qualify for an earlier payout schedule.
Cancelled events
If you cancel an event or it does not take place, you must refund all attendees. Check Eventbrite’s current refund policy before you cancel, because what happens to the fees on refunded tickets has changed over time.
Eventbrite fees outside the US
Rates vary by country and currency. In the UK, Eventbrite charges 6.95% plus £0.59 per paid ticket, with payment processing included, so there is no separate processing line.
| Ticket price | Total fee | Share of the ticket price |
|---|---|---|
| £10 | £1.29 | 12.9% |
| £20 | £1.98 | 9.9% |
| £100 | £7.54 | 7.5% |
What a year of Eventbrite fees adds up to
A single ticket looks small. Across a year of events it is easier to see. Take an organiser running four events a year with 50 tickets each at $20, so 200 tickets in total, with the fees absorbed.
| Where tickets are sold | Fees per $20 ticket | Fees on 200 tickets | Fixed cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eventbrite | $3.11 | $622 | None |
| Your own WordPress site with EventKoi Pro and Stripe | $0.88 (Stripe only) | $176 | EventKoi Pro licence, from $99 a year |
Even after the licence, the second setup costs about $275 against $622. The gap grows with every ticket you sell, because Eventbrite’s fee scales with volume while a licence does not. For a full comparison of platforms including Ticket Tailor, Luma, Humanitix and The Events Calendar, see our guide to Eventbrite alternatives.
When Eventbrite’s fees are worth paying
The fees pay for more than payment processing. Eventbrite lists your event in a marketplace where people browse for things to do, handles ticket delivery and check-in, and takes on the work of running a checkout. If most of your buyers find you through Eventbrite, a share of the fee is paying for that reach.
The fees are harder to justify when your attendees already come from your own website, mailing list or community. In that case you are paying a marketplace fee on sales the marketplace did not generate. Some organisers keep Eventbrite for discovery and sell to their returning audience directly.
Selling tickets without a platform fee
If you run a WordPress site, you can sell tickets on it and pay only your payment processor. EventKoi Lite is free and sells tickets through your existing WooCommerce checkout. EventKoi Pro adds a direct Stripe checkout, recurring events and QR code check-in. To see how it works, read our guide to selling event tickets on WordPress, or open the EventKoi Pro demo, a live WordPress site that needs no signup.
