When you’re planning a live-ticketed event, you will probably need to use one of the many ticketing platforms or ticketing software programs on the market when looking to build an audience.
In this article, we’ll compare the most popular online ticketing platforms in 2021. We’ll compare them based on cost, features, payment options, customer service, and reputation.
Eventbee
Eventbee is a scaled-down easy-to-use online ticketing platform. It’s a good option for the event planner who already has enough on their plate and doesn’t want to deal with a complicated ticketing platform.
Unlike other ticketing platforms, Eventbee charges a flat rate per ticket as opposed to a percentage. This is great if you’re selling tickets at a high price. But chances are, if you’re selling a high-price ticket, you’re using a ticketing platform that is a bit more sophisticated than Eventbee.
Pros
- Easy-to-use platform
- Brand customization of registration forms and confirmation e-mails
- No initial start-up costs
- Easy and simple registration
- Immediate access to funds in PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, and Authorize.net
Cons
- Limited payout methods – no bank transfers; they will send you a physical check, or you will have to use Paypal, Stripe, Braintree, or Authorize.net
- High credit card processing fees
- The visual presentation could be considered simplistic, lacking in the wow factor
The Bottom Line on the Pricing
If you sell a ticket for $10 dollars using Eventbee, here’s what will happen:
- Eventbee takes $1 for them
You’re left with: $9
- The credit card processing fee is 4.95% plus 50c of $10 (even though, technically, you are only entitled to 9 of those dollars.
You’re left with: $8.00
- The online payout services they use (PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, or Authorize.net) have their own processing fees – around 2.9% plus 30c of $8
You’re left with: $7.47
Review
The reviews from Eventbee clients leave a bit to be desired. While they have tens of thousands of satisfied clients, their overall customer rating on G2 is 4.5 out of 5.
Generally speaking, their clients are impressed with how easy and user-friendly the software is. But they are left slightly disappointed when it comes to visual appeal, disappointed in the slow response of customer service, and slightly put off by the high credit card processing fees.
Eventbrite
The Eventbrite software and platform were designed to combine ticketing with community building. They promote their events and the communities they host quite well with an attractive, user-friendly site. They are perhaps better suited for the event planner who puts on a series of similarly themed events or many events that are focused on the same themes and would appeal to the same kinds of participants or attendees.
Eventbrite is not difficult or overly complicated to use, though that ease-of-use does come with a certain amount of limitations as far as customizability is concerned.
Pros
- Good promotion on their frequented website
- Good community-building features with their built-in marketing and communication tools
- Analytics that tell you where the sales came from allowing you to better assess your marketing strategy (available only in the Professional and Premium packages)
- Customize an endless variety of ticket types for your event (available only in the Professional and Premium packages)
- Many payout options: direct deposit, check (USD only), PayPal and Authorize.net
Cons
- Limited customization features
- Analytics costs extra (available with a Professional or a Premium package)
- No attendee follow-up feature
The Bottom Line on the Pricing
If you sell a ticket for $10 dollars using Eventbrite, here’s what will happen:
- Eventbee takes 2% (20c) and they take 79c
You’re left with: $9.01
- The payment processing fee is 2.5% of $10
You’re left with: $8.76
- Assuming you don’t use an additional online payment processing service like PayPal and you opt for a direct deposit into your account, you’re left with: $8.76. ($7.81 with the professional package)
Review
With nearly 3,000 customer reviews on Featured Customer, Eventbrite has earned a customer rating of 4.58 out of 5.
Generally speaking, their clients are impressed with the ease of setting up the payment options and how user-friendly the platform is. Their clients tend to like the look of the platform and are happy with the service they paid for. More than a few of their clients expressed frustration with customer service and more than a few complained of high processing fees.
Final Remarks
After comparing the costs of the two software programs and looking at reviews from their respective users, it’s hard to make a compelling case as to why one would prefer to use Eventbee or Eventbrite. However, it comes down to priorities and how exactly the event planner would like to interact with the attendees. Eventbrite does facilitate following up with the attendees, and it does allow for more branded or more highly customized registration forms.
On the other hand, for the event planner who is interested in using another platform (in addition to social media profiles and websites) to build a community of followers, or for the event planner who is selling a low or mid-priced ticket and would like to keep more of the money, Eventbrite seems like the clear choice.
