5 Sites Like Eventbrite for Small Creators

So, you're looking for sites like Eventbrite. What you really need is a platform that doesn't punish you for being small. You want things simple. Flat fees instead of confusing percentage cuts. Your branding front and center. A tool that’s actually easy to use without a dozen features you’ll never touch.

Why Look for Eventbrite Alternatives Anyway?

You’re hosting a pop-up dinner, a weekend workshop, or a community meetup. You just want to sell some tickets and get paid. Simple, right? But suddenly you're wading through complex fee structures and looking at a ticket page that screams someone else's brand. Sound familiar?

This is why so many small-scale creators are on the hunt for a better fit. The issue isn't that Eventbrite is a bad platform. It's that it was built for big events. For a local organizer, that often means percentage-based fees unexpectedly slash your profits, and the platform’s heavy branding overshadows your own.

This isn't just a hunch. The online ticketing world is a massive $39.8 billion industry, and Eventbrite commands about 30% of it. They operate on a scale designed for huge concerts and commercial conferences. Their model doesn't always align with smaller, community-focused gatherings.

Let's get into the three core pain points I see time and again.

Confusing Pricing That Punishes Success

Percentage-based fees sound small until you do the math. A "3.7% + $1.79 per ticket" fee might seem reasonable at first. But it actively penalizes you for selling more tickets or pricing them higher. Your success literally costs you more.

Here’s a real-world example from a friend who ran a two-day pottery workshop.

• Her Goal: Sell twelve spots at $150 each, aiming for $1,800 in revenue.

• The Reality: She sold out. Awesome, right? But Eventbrite's fees, once you add in payment processing, took $176.28. That’s nearly 10% of her revenue, gone.

• The Pivot: For her next workshop, she switched to a platform with a simple, flat fee. Her costs were predictable, and she kept an extra $120 of her hard-earned money.

Limited Customization Makes Your Event Look Generic

Your event is unique. Your ticketing page should be, too. But on many of the big platforms, your event page is trapped inside their branded container. Their logo is bigger than yours. Their colors are the default.

It sends a subtle but clear message to your attendees. This event is just another listing in a giant marketplace, not a special experience curated by you. You pour your heart into your event. Your ticketing page should reflect that.

Feature Bloat Gets in the Way

Do you really need assigned seating for your fifteen-person yoga class? How about complex affiliate tracking for a neighborhood bake sale? Probably not.

The big platforms are often packed with features designed for massive festivals and corporate conferences. For small creators, this isn't helpful—it's just noise. It turns the simple task of selling a ticket into a complicated chore. You need a tool that does the few things you care about, and does them really, really well.

The Hidden Costs of Event Ticketing Platforms

Let's talk about money. Specifically, how ticketing platforms talk about it.

Many platforms, especially big names like Eventbrite, have a knack for making their pricing sound simple. They reel you in with promises of being "free for free events." But the real story is usually buried in the fine print, waiting to take a slice of your revenue when you're not looking. It's often a confusing game of percentages, add-ons, and payment processing fees.

You’ll typically run into three kinds of pricing models. There's the per-ticket fixed fee, which is easy to understand but can eat into your profit on lower-priced tickets. Then you have the percentage-of-sale fee, which basically punishes you for selling more expensive tickets. The most common culprit, though, is the dreaded combination of both.

Who Actually Pays The Fees?

This is the million-dollar question. A platform might charge something like $1.00 + 3.5% per ticket. Then you're stuck with a tough decision. Do you absorb that cost, or do you pass it on to your attendees?

If you absorb it, your profit margin gets squeezed. If you pass it on, a $25.00 ticket suddenly jumps to $26.88 at checkout. This is often called "drip pricing," and it’s a surefire way to annoy potential buyers. It feels like a lose-lose. Either you make less money or you risk frustrating the very community you're trying to build.

The real problem isn't the fee itself but the lack of predictability. When your costs scale directly with your success, it becomes impossible to budget accurately. You, or your customers, get punished for your success!

Don't Forget Payout Schedules

The final hidden cost isn't a fee at all. It's time. How long does it take for the money from your ticket sales to actually show up in your bank account?

Many big platforms will hold onto your funds until five to seven days after your event. If you’re a small business owner trying to pay for a venue or supplies upfront, this creates a huge cash flow problem. You're essentially giving the platform an interest-free loan with your own money.

When you're comparing options, always look for a platform that gives you fast, direct payouts. Your money should be yours as soon as the sale is made, not weeks later.

Comparing the Top Eventbrite Alternatives

Alright, let's get into a head-to-head comparison. We're not just listing features. We're digging into what it’s actually like to use these platforms for a small-scale event. This isn’t about which platform has the most buttons. It’s about which one helps you get your event listed, looking professional, and selling tickets fast.

Setup Speed: How Fast Can You Start Selling?

You just had a great idea for a workshop. You don't want to spend three days learning new software. You need to get a page live and share the link, ideally before that burst of inspiration fades.

Ticketbud is fast. They claim you can build an event page in under five minutes, and they're not far off. The interface is direct and to the point. You fill in the basics, set a price, and you're pretty much ready to go.

Ticket Tailor is also impressively quick. Its dashboard is clean and guides you through creating ticket types without any confusing jargon.

But the real test is what happens when you need to make a change. A friend tried to run a thirty-person yoga retreat. When she needed to add a "locals only" discount code, it took her two hours and a support ticket to figure it out. Speed isn't just about the initial setup. It's about not getting bogged down when you need to adapt.

Branding Control: Does It Look Like Your Event?

Your ticketing page is often the first impression someone gets of your event. Does it look like a generic corporate portal, or does it reflect the personal experience you're offering?

This is where a lot of Eventbrite alternatives stumble. Sure, they let you upload a banner image, but their logo is still the most prominent thing on the page.

• Ticketbud: Offers decent customization. You can add images and videos, and their white-label options give you more control. Still, it feels like a nicely decorated room in their house, not your own space.

• Ticket Tailor: They do a much better job here. You can embed their entire checkout process directly onto your own website, which is a huge plus. This keeps the experience seamless and centered on your brand, not theirs.

The goal is for your attendees to feel like they're buying a ticket from you, not from a third-party marketplace. The moment they feel handed off to another company, you lose a bit of that crucial personal connection.

For a deeper dive into making the sales process feel more authentic, we wrote a guide on the best way to sell tickets online at ticketsmith.co.

The Attendee Experience: What Your Guests See

Think about the last time you bought a ticket online. Was it a smooth, one-page checkout? Or did you have to click through three different screens and create an account you didn't want?

This is where many platforms fall short. They optimize for their own data collection, not for your attendee's convenience.

A local pop-up chef I know tried using a popular platform for her first supper club. Goal: twenty seats at $85 each. Reality: She got five emails from people confused by the checkout. One person thought they had to sign up for a newsletter. Another couldn't find the credit card field. She had to walk three people through the entire process over the phone.

The lesson? A confusing checkout doesn't just frustrate people. It costs you sales. The ideal experience is dead simple: a clean page, clear pricing, and a single "Pay" button.

Data Ownership: Who Really Owns Your Community?

This is the one nobody talks about, but it might be the most important factor. When someone buys a ticket to your event, you're not just making a sale. You're building a community.

The real question is, who gets to own that community?

Many larger platforms quietly add your attendees to their own marketing lists. They'll start sending them emails about other events in their area. Suddenly, that loyal attendee who loved your pottery class is getting ads for a monster truck rally.

• Ticketbud: Gives you full access to your data, which is great. You can export it and use it however you see fit.

• Ticket Tailor: Also has a strong, creator-first stance on this. They make it clear that your attendee data is yours and yours alone.

This should be non-negotiable. You did the hard work of bringing these people together. You should be the only one who gets to communicate with them about your future projects. Always read the fine print on this.

Which Ticketing Platform Is Right for Your Event?

It seems obvious, right? The best tool for a pop-up chef isn't going to be the best tool for a community fundraiser. Yet, most platform comparisons hand you a laundry list of features as if everyone needs the exact same thing. They don't.

The goal isn't to find the platform with the most buttons to press. It's about finding the one that solves your specific problems so you can get back to creating an amazing event.

For Workshop Hosts and Course Instructors

You probably run recurring events. Simplicity and speed are your best friends. You need a platform that lets you duplicate a past event, tweak the date, and go live in less than three minutes. Anything more is a waste of your time.

The registration form has to be simple, too. A name and an email are likely all you need. A clunky, multi-step checkout process will only frustrate your students and lead to abandoned carts.

• Look for: One-click event duplication, clean registration forms, and an easy way to manage different time slots or dates.

• Avoid: Platforms that force attendees to create an account or that suffer from slow-loading pages.

For Pop-Up Chefs and Supper Clubs

Your brand is everything. The vibe you create online is just as important as the food you serve. You need a platform that lets your unique branding shine through, not one that buries your logo under its own.

You also have practical details to manage, like dietary restrictions. Your ticketing tool must allow you to ask custom questions during checkout. "Any allergies?" is a non-negotiable field for you.

A friend of mine running a supper club learned this the hard way. Goal: 20 guests. Reality: Three people with severe nut allergies showed up. She had no clue because her generic platform didn't have a custom question field. The scramble to overhaul the menu mid-service was a nightmare she never wants to repeat.

Her fix was simple. She switched to a tool that let her add a mandatory "Dietary Needs" text box. It added ten seconds to her setup but saved her hours of stress.

For Local Musicians and Artists

For you, promotion is half the battle. Your ticketing platform should make it ridiculously easy to share your event across social media.

Look for tools that create clean, shareable event links and pages that look great on mobile. Most of your fans will discover your event on Instagram or TikTok first. The link they click has to work flawlessly on a phone.

Fast payouts are also critical. You have to pay the venue and the sound guy before you play a single note. Waiting seven days after the show for your money can be a total cash-flow killer.

A Quick Checklist to Cut Through the Hype

Before you commit to any platform, ask yourself these brutally honest questions.

• Does this solve a problem I actually have? Don't get distracted by assigned seating if you're hosting a show in a dive bar.

• Can I make the checkout page look like mine? How important is it that the page matches your website’s font and colors?

• Do I need tiered ticketing? Are you selling VIP passes and early bird tickets, or is one price enough?

• How much do I really care about analytics? A detailed dashboard is cool, but will you actually use it? Or do you just need to know how many tickets you sold?

Choosing the right site like Eventbrite is about honesty. Be honest about your needs, your skills, and your priorities. The simplest tool is often the best one.

An Option We're Building for Creators, Not Corporations

Full disclosure: we got so fed up with the existing event ticketing sites that we decided to build our own. It’s called Ticketsmith, and we're making it for people pouring their heart into events.

I'm not going to tell you it’s the perfect tool for everyone. It isn't. Right now, it doesn't have assigned seating charts. That feature gap will eventually cost up potential clients who need it. We'll get to it at some point.

What Ticketsmith does have is a laser focus on what actually matters for small, independent events.

You can spin up a beautiful event page in under five minutes. No code, no chaos. Your brand, your colors, and your logo are front and center, so the page feels like yours. Because it is.

Simple, Honest Pricing

Our pricing is just one flat fee per ticket. That’s it. We don't do percentages. We don't tack on sneaky service fees. No surprises. You always know exactly what you’ll pay, which means you can finally budget without doing complex math.

This clear-cut model gives you predictability. Something you just don’t get from the convoluted fee structures out there.

Built for People, Not Giant Companies

We designed Ticketsmith for events ranging from five to 5,000 attendees. It’s for the pop-up chefs, the workshop hosts, and the community organizers. Payouts are fast and secure, landing straight in your account. You aren’t left waiting weeks for your own money.

We believe your ticketing tool should get out of your way and let you focus on creating a memorable experience. We're building a waitlist now, and we’d love for you to join us. Help shape the future of simple, honest event ticketing.

Ready for a ticketing platform that’s actually on your side? Sign up to the waitlist at the bottom of this page and we'll let you know when we're ready to help you.

The Final Cut: Your Decision-Making Checklist

Alright, let's bring this home. You can spend days comparing feature lists until your eyes glaze over. Choosing the right platform isn't about finding the one with the most bells and whistles. It’s about protecting your brand, your sanity, and your bottom line.

To cut through the marketing fluff, just ask these five dead-simple questions before you commit. The answers will paint a far clearer picture than any sales page ever will.

The Five Questions That Actually Matter

1. What’s my exact payout on a $100 ticket sale?
   Don't settle for vague estimates. Ask them to show you the math. Every single fee, from their service charge to the payment processor's cut. You need to know, down to the penny, how much money lands in your bank account.

2. Can I make the page look like my brand in under 20 minutes?
   Your event page is your digital storefront, not a billboard for the ticketing company. You shouldn't need a graphic design degree to make it look and feel like your event. If you can’t quickly upload your logo and tweak the colors, walk away.

3. What will my attendees see and click during checkout?
   Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Go through the entire checkout process. Is it a clean, one-page experience? Or are they bombarded with upsells, forced account sign-ups, and confusing buttons? A clunky checkout kills sales. Period.

4. How many days until the money is in my bank account?
   For any small workshop or pop-up, cash flow is king. Waiting a week after your event is over to get paid can be a real killer. Look for a platform with fast, direct payouts so you have your money when you actually need it.

5. If I’m in a panic, can I talk to a real person?
   When things go sideways an hour before doors open, a chatbot or a dusty FAQ page is useless. Find out if there's a real support email or a phone number with a human on the other end. Better yet, test it out.

Answering these questions honestly shifts the focus from abstract features to the practical reality of running your event. It’s the difference between a tool that works for you and one you have to work around.

I learned this the hard way after miscalculating the fees for my own pop-up and getting slapped with a surprise $150 processing bill. To make sure it never happened again, I built a simple tool to compare the real costs. Feel free to use the same Google Sheet I do: Ugly But Useful Fee Calculator.

Got a Few Questions?

Good. You should. Choosing the right ticketing platform is a big deal. Here are a few questions I hear all the time from creators who are tired of the big, clunky sites.

Can I Switch Platforms Mid-Campaign?

Technically, you can. But it's a terrible idea. Trust me.

Imagine you’ve already sold half your tickets. Suddenly, you switch systems. Now your event page has a different look, and your original attendees are getting emails from a place they don't recognize. It’s a recipe for confusion. People might even think it's a scam and demand a refund.

My advice is simple. Grit your teeth and finish the event on the platform you started with. Take detailed notes on every single thing that drives you crazy. Then, use that frustration as fuel to find a much better tool for your next event.

What’s More Important: Fees or Features?

This isn't even a debate. It's fees. Every single time.

It's so easy to get mesmerized by a platform that promises a million features. But let's be honest, do you really need assigned seating charts for a 20-person pottery workshop? Probably not. Those "nice-to-have" features often come with a hefty price tag that eats directly into your profit.

Fees are real money leaving your pocket. A platform might have all the bells and whistles, but if it’s skimming an extra 5% off your revenue, that’s a tangible loss. I once watched a pop-up chef lose $450 in hidden service fees on a single sold-out dinner. She didn't need more features. She needed to keep more of her own money.

Do I Really Need to Own My Attendee Data?

Yes. A thousand times, yes. This is the hill to die on.

When someone buys a ticket from you, they're giving you their contact information because they trust you. But some of the bigger platforms see that data as their own asset. They’ll grab your attendee list and start marketing completely unrelated events to them. Your loyal followers who signed up for a sourdough workshop are suddenly getting spammed about a monster truck rally.

That list of attendees is the community you’ve poured your heart into building. It’s your most valuable business asset. Make sure you partner with a platform that gives you full, exclusive ownership of your data. No exceptions.