The cost of ticketing systems varies enormously. With some, costs run as high as 15% of your sales. Other systems claim to be free. We are happy to give you more insight into the differences between these fees.
What are the costs?
There are always 2 parts to the cost of ticket systems. You have ticket costs and transaction costs.
- Ticket fees are charged for the use of a ticketing system.
- Transaction fees are charges for processing payments. Each payment method has a different rate. For iDEAL, in many cases you pay €0.29 per payment and for credit cards 2 to 3 percent of the ticket price.
It happens that ticketing systems aggregate the above charges. You then pay a total rate. Usually this total rate applies only to tickets paid for by iDEAL and Bancontact. If someone pays with another method, there are almost always additional costs.
In addition, in some cases there are other additional costs. Consider, for example, periodic fees and fees for special features.
Free ticketing systems
Be careful when you think you've found a free ticketing system. There is often a catch. After all, a revenue model is needed to maintain the system.
When a ticketing system claims to be free, it is advisable to check what the underlying revenue model is. Usually you'll see one of the following come up:
- Free tickets are free: Eventbrite became big with this strategy. If you sell free tickets then you can use Eventbrite completely free of charge. If you want to start selling paid tickets then you pay top dollar.
- Free for organizers: Many ticketing systems charge no fees to organizers. While that of course sounds insane, the reality is a little less attractive. They then charge high fees to your visitors, causing your visitors to pay more that you receive.
- Your visitors as a product: Your visitors' data is worth a lot. Many ticket sales systems collect data and resell it. Also, in many cases, advertisements are shown.
- Free with limited functionality: Ticket systems that operate on a subscription basis often have a free module. The can be attractive at startup. But chances are you will soon have to upgrade
Conclusion
Many ticketing systems appear at first glance to be free. The reality is often a bit more complex. Therefore, it is good to find out the underlying revenue model of the ticket sales system. In addition, look at the transaction costs for all the payment methods you want to activate. This way you can make a good and informed decision for your organization.
At WeTicket, we make every effort to keep costs low. Read more about our fees here.
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