Eventbrite and Ticketmaster are two of the most popular ticket sales and event management platforms, but they are not the same service. While there is some overlap in their features and target markets, there are also key differences that event organizers should understand when choosing between Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster.
What is Eventbrite?
Eventbrite is an online event management and ticketing platform founded in 2006. Eventbrite allows event organizers to create event registration pages, sell tickets, promote events, and manage attendees. Some key things to know about Eventbrite:
- Designed for small to medium sized events like conferences, workshops, classes, fundraisers, and community events
- Free to create events and sell tickets, Eventbrite charges a fee per ticket sold rather than a flat monthly fee
- Main features include customizable registration pages, integrated payment processing, attendee management and reporting, email and social media event promotion tools
- Popular among event organizers in niche markets like tech, design, small business/entrepreneurship, and community organizations
In summary, Eventbrite is an affordable and easy-to-use platform suitable for most small and medium sized events. The flexibility and pay-as-you-go model of Eventbrite makes it accessible even to event organizers on a budget or with no technical expertise. It lacks some advanced features for very large or complex events.
What is Ticketmaster?
Ticketmaster is a much larger global ticketing company that primarily serves large event venues and live entertainment events. Some key facts about Ticketmaster:
- Works with major event venues and promoters to sell tickets for concerts, sports games, theater shows, festivals and more
- Charges venues and event organizers monthly fees and/or a per ticket service fee
- Owns or partners with many major ticketing platforms like Eventim and Universe
- Provides ticketing services to over 12,000 venues and sells 500+ million tickets per year
- Offers features for custom ticket sales pages, access control, inventory management, analytics, fan club presales, etc.
In short, Ticketmaster caters to professional sports teams, concert promoters, live entertainment venues, and other large organizations running major live events. Their platform, fees, and sales volume is optimized for big venues and massive ticket inventory.
Key Differences
While both Eventbrite and Ticketmaster sell event tickets online, they differ significantly in their target customers, fees, features, and overall service offering. Some of the key differences include:
Eventbrite | Ticketmaster |
---|---|
Designed for small/medium events | Designed for large events |
Free to use, pay-per-ticket fees | Monthly or per-ticket fees |
DIY platform, easy for beginners | Advanced features for pros |
More niche event categories | Mainly major concerts/sports |
Some other differences between the two platforms include:
- Eventbrite offers free basic plan while Ticketmaster requires fees and contracts
- Ticketmaster integrates with major ticketing inventory systems while Eventbrite does not
- Eventbrite better supports recurring events like classes, Ticketmaster focuses on one-off events
- Eventbrite has email and social tools built-in, Ticketmaster partners with Salesforce, MailChimp, etc. for marketing
- Ticketmaster provides fan club and VIP presales while Eventbrite does not
When to Use Each Platform
With their different strengths in mind, here are some recommendations on when to use Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster for your next event:
Use Eventbrite For:
- Smaller scale conferences, workshops, classes (under 500 attendees)
- Networking events, meetups, community gatherings
- Fundraisers like charity runs, galas, and balls
- Entry level or recurring classes and events
- Free or very low cost community events
- DIY events without dedicated marketing staff
Use Ticketmaster For:
- Large scale conferences and conventions (over 1000+ attendees)
- Live entertainment events like concerts, sports games, theater
- Music festivals, cultural events spanning multiple venues
- Events in major convention centers, arenas, stadiums, theaters
- Events managed by professional marketing and promotions staff
- Events needing VIP, presale, package, or other advanced ticketing
Of course, there is overlap where either platform may work. Evaluate the size, complexity, and marketing needs of your specific event to decide if Eventbrite or Ticketmaster is a better fit.
Can You Use Both Together?
For some large events, it may be possible to use Eventbrite and Ticketmaster together in different capacities. For example, Eventbrite could handle registration and check-in while Ticketmaster handles the core event ticketing. Their APIs do allow some integration capabilities between the two platforms. However, this is not a common setup given their overlapping feature sets. Most events will use one platform or the other to simplify the process both for organizers and attendees.
Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster Pricing
When comparing Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster, pricing is also an important factor for event organizers to consider outside of features. Here is an overview of how ticketing fees work with each platform:
Eventbrite Pricing
- Free plan allows unlimited free events and ticket sales
- Paid plans start at $299/year for additional features
- 2.5% + $0.99 fee per paid ticket sold online
- Smaller fees for complimentary or donation tickets
- No monthly or annual contracts, pay-as-you-go
Eventbrite is very transparent about their simple pay-per-ticket fee structure. There are no hidden monthly fees if you do not regularly sell tickets. Transaction fees are competitive at 2.5% plus $0.99 per ticket.
Ticketmaster Pricing
- Provides custom quote based on event size and type
- May charge monthly platform fees, integration fees, etc.
- Higher per-ticket service charge, average over 20%
- Discounts for larger partners and ticket volume
- Long term contracts required in most cases
Ticketmaster pricing is more opaque and customized per client. Published reports indicate the average service fees are over 20% of ticket face value. There are likely monthly minimums, integration costs, and multi-year contracts especially for major partners. Overall, Ticketmaster offers advanced capabilities but likely at a higher overall cost than Eventbrite.
Key Features Comparison
Beyond cost and target markets, the features and functionality available on Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster are another key differentiation. Here is an overview of some of their respective platform capabilities:
Eventbrite Key Features
- Create custom event pages
- Sell tickets and collect payments
- Issue electronic or printable tickets
- Check-in attendees via mobile device
- Accept donations and tips
- Email and social media marketing tools
- Basic reporting and analytics
- Organizer mobile app
- Simple integration with Zoom, PayPal, Xero, and others
Eventbrite provides an end-to-end platform for smaller events with easy DIY signup, ticketing, promotion, and management features. Customizable event pages and email/social marketing help drive ticket sales.
Ticketmaster Key Features
- Integrated point-of-sale ticket sales
- High volume ticket inventory management
- Dynamic pricing and premium seating options
- Fan club and VIP package presales
- Robust access control and gate processing
- Integrations with major venue systems
- Customizable white label experiences
- API access and reseller programs
Ticketmaster caters to high volume ticket sales and complex events with flexibility like dynamic pricing, package offerings, and specialty ticket sales. The platform integrates directly with major venue management systems for a true end-to-end solution.
Ease of Use
For smaller organizations without dedicated IT teams, Eventbrite has a clear advantage in terms of ease of use. Their platform is designed for self-service, allowing beginners to quickly configure, promote, and manage a basic event flow. Ticketmaster offers advanced capabilities but requires more technical expertise to tap into its more customized platform and integrations. It also relies heavily on support staff to manage the ticketing process onshow days. For one-off or infrequent events run by novices, Eventbrite is much simpler to pick up and use effectively.
Customer Support
Both Eventbrite and Ticketmaster offer customer support channels to help users of their platforms. Here is an overview and comparison of the support options provided by each company:
Eventbrite Support
- Email support available for all account types
- Response time <24 hours on weekdays
- Online help center with FAQs and tutorials
- Active user forums and community
- Phone support for paying accounts
Ticketmaster Support
- Email, web, and phone support
- Dedicated account management
- 24/7 phone support for larger partners
- Proactive service monitoring
- On-site support for major events
- API documentation and developer tools
While both platforms provide solid customer service, Ticketmaster offers more personalized and proactive support focused on major partners. Eventbrite prioritizes self-service via help docs, forums, and email. Ticketmaster provides true concierge-level service including 24/7 phone and on-site staff.
Reputation and Public Perception
In terms of public reputation, Ticketmaster tends to have more negative associations from consumers due to its position as a large player in the live entertainment industry. Frequent complaints focus on high ticket fees and lack of alternatives for big concerts and sporting events.
Eventbrite maintains a better reputation as an independent self-service platform for niche events. They are not tied into exclusivity deals that limit options for event organizers. Their fees are also more reasonable compared to Ticketmaster’s average 20%+ service charges.
However, Ticketmaster’s reach and dominance does mean they are the go-to platform for millions of mainstream live entertainment fans. While their fees and closed ecosystem draw some backlash, they excel at serving high-volume, high-profile events.
Integrations and APIs
When it comes to integrating with external tools and software platforms, both Eventbrite and Ticketmaster provide APIs and add-on compatibility:
Eventbrite Integrations
- APIs for web, mobile, and point-of-sale
- Official app integration directory
- Popular apps include Mailchimp, Zoom, PayPal, Xero
- Webhooks and RSS feeds
Ticketmaster Integrations
- Open API provides full access to inventory, orders, etc.
- Certified partner program for major vendors
- Integrates with Salesforce, Oracle, Adobe, and more
- Range of e-commerce integrations
- In-house development teams for custom solutions
Both ticketing platforms allow for integration with external apps and services via APIs. However, Ticketmaster tends to offer more robust enterprise-scale capabilities optimized for major partners. Eventbrite caters more to long-tail lightweight apps for small businesses.
Security
For any ticketing platform, security around payments and user data is paramount. Both Eventbrite and Ticketmaster utilize industry standard encryption and security measures:
Eventbrite Security
- PCI compliant credit card processing
- HTTPS encryption for data transmission
- Follows strict GDPR data privacy regulations
- Email validation to prevent spoofing/phishing
- Spam monitoring for promotional emails
Ticketmaster Security
- Partners with major payment gateways for secure transactions
- Dedicated cybersecurity program and CISO
- Vulnerability assessments and penetration testing
- In-house and third-party security monitoring
- Preventative controls like rate limiting APIs
Overall both platforms take security very seriously given the sensitive customer data and transactions involved. Ticketmaster perhaps has the edge in terms of larger dedicated security resources monitoring their systems and traffic globally 24/7. But Eventbrite employs all the standard protections appropriate for a platform managing payments and user info at scale.
Conclusion
Eventbrite and Ticketmaster have developed distinct models for serving different tiers of the live events market. Eventbrite excels at delivering an affordable and easy-to-use solution for smaller events with simple ticketing needs. Ticketmaster dominates the market for major live entertainment thanks to its advanced inventory and access control capabilities tuned specifically for massive venues and audiences.
For individuals or small groups organizing events sporadically, Eventbrite will likely be the best fit thanks to its transparent fees and intuitive DIY platform. But large promoters running commercial events with thousands of tickets will require Ticketmaster’s robust system integration, high volume sales support, and account management services.
The choice between Eventbrite vs Ticketmaster depends mainly on your event size, technical needs, and budget. But thankfully online ticketing has expanded enough that both major platforms co-exist to each serve their own segment of the market effectively. Savvy event organizers should evaluate their own requirements and target audience to decide which platform is the ideal pick to help maximize ticket sales and create an amazing live event experience.