The Best Eventbrite Alternatives for UK Organisers (2026)
Ten ticketing platforms compared on what they actually charge, who pays the fee, and what each one is genuinely best at. Fees checked on each vendor’s own site.
Short answer
The best Eventbrite alternatives for UK organisers in 2026 are TicketSource for community groups and theatres, Ticket Tailor for organisers who sell in volume, and TryBooking for simple all-inclusive pricing. Eventbrite’s UK fee is 6.95% + 59p per paid ticket, passed to the buyer by default, which comes to £1.98 on a £20 ticket. TicketSource charges 7% + VAT with card processing included, or 4.5% + VAT if you connect your own Stripe account. Ticket Tailor charges a flat 60p + VAT per ticket, or from 22p if you buy credits in advance, with card fees on top. TryBooking charges 5% + 15p, including VAT and card processing. Tickts takes no commission but charges £29 or £69 a month for its larger plans. Registered charities can use Zeffy, which charges nothing. Cwtch Events charges 3% + 30p with no monthly fee, but only covers events in Wales. All fees were checked on each vendor’s site on 22 September 2026.
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UK fees compared
| Platform | Fee per paid ticket | Who pays by default | Card processing | Monthly fee | On a £20 ticket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eventbrite | 6.95% + 59p | Buyer | Included | None | £1.98 |
| TicketSource | 7% + VAT (min 25p + VAT), or 4.5% + VAT on your own Stripe | Organiser chooses | Included at 7% | None | £1.68 |
| Ticket Tailor | 60p + VAT, or from 22p + VAT with prepaid credits | Organiser | Extra (Stripe, PayPal or Square) | None | £1.22 |
| TryBooking | 5% + 15p, VAT included | Organiser chooses | Included | None | £1.15 |
| Cwtch Events | 3% + 30p | Organiser | Included | None | £0.90 |
| Humanitix | 5.6% + 55p incl. VAT (charities 3.33% + 25p ex VAT) | Buyer | Included | None | £1.67 |
| Tickts | 0% commission | No booking fee | Extra (your own Stripe or PayPal) | Free, £29 or £69 | £0.50 + plan |
| Skiddle | 10% + 27p, minimum £1 | Buyer | Not listed separately | None | £2.27 |
| Billetto | 3.99% + 90p ex VAT | Buyer | Not published | None | £1.70 + VAT |
| Fatsoma | 10%, minimum £1 | Organiser chooses | Not published | None (Professional from £1,500) | £2.00 |
| Zeffy | £0 (charities and nonprofits only) | Optional donor tip | Covered by Zeffy | None | £0 |
There is no single cheapest platform: a flat per-ticket fee wins on expensive tickets, a percentage wins on cheap ones, and a subscription only pays off if you sell every month. The ranking below weighs fees against what most small UK organisers need — reach, support and no lock-in — and it says where each platform beats us.
Eventbrite alternatives for UK organisers, ranked
TicketSource
Best overall for community groups, theatres and charities
Free for free events, 7% + VAT per paid booking with card processing included, or 4.5% + VAT if you connect your own Stripe account. No contracts or tiers. Phone support, seating plans and Gift Aid make it the default box office for choirs, amateur dramatics and village halls.
Ticket Tailor
Best for organisers selling in volume
A flat 60p + VAT per ticket on pay-as-you-go, falling to 22p + VAT if you prepay credits in bulk, with no subscription. Card processing is charged separately by Stripe, PayPal or Square. Charities get 50% off.
TryBooking
Best for schools, PTAs and clubs
5% + 15p per ticket, and that figure includes VAT and card processing, so the number you see is the number you pay. Free events are free with no limits. The simplest pricing on this list.
Cwtch EventsThat’s us
Best for events in Wales, in Welsh and English
3% + 30p per ticket sold, with no monthly fee, no setup cost and card payments included — the lowest per-ticket cost here for a £20 ticket, short of subscription and charity-only platforms. Every listing is published in both languages. The catch is reach: we only cover Wales, and our audience is far smaller than Eventbrite’s.
Humanitix
Best for organisers who want fees to fund charity
Booking fees of 5.6% + 55p including VAT, paid by the buyer by default, and Humanitix gives its profits to charity. Charities and schools get a lower rate. Free events cost nothing.
Tickts
Best for promoters who sell every month
No commission and no booking fee for fans on any plan; you pay card processing to your own Stripe or PayPal account. The free Starter plan works for small events; the Growth (£29 a month) and Pro (£69 a month) plans only pay off at steady volume.
Skiddle
Best for club nights, gigs and festivals
A booking fee of 10% + 27p with a £1 minimum, paid by the customer by default. Expensive per ticket, but Skiddle brings its own nightlife audience and a rep scheme, which the cheaper platforms do not.
Billetto
Best for reaching a European marketplace audience
The buyer pays 3.99% + 90p ex VAT per ticket, with no monthly or setup fee; organisers can absorb it instead. Billetto runs its own consumer marketplace with pay-per-sale advertising.
Fatsoma
Best for student nights and club promoters
A 10% fee with a £1 minimum on paid tickets, nothing on free tickets. Strong rep and direct-marketing tools for promoters with a following; the branded Professional tier starts at £1,500.
Zeffy
Best for registered charities
Completely free for charities and nonprofits — Zeffy covers card fees too and is funded by optional tips from supporters at checkout. Not available to commercial organisers. Launched in the UK in October 2025.
Common questions
- How much does Eventbrite charge in the UK?
- Eventbrite’s UK help centre lists a service fee of 6.95% + £0.59 per sold ticket, with card processing included, and by default the buyer pays it. Free events carry no fees. Note that on 22 September 2026 the pricing page on eventbrite.co.uk displayed US dollar rates; the help centre article is the authoritative UK figure.
- What is the cheapest Eventbrite alternative in the UK?
- It depends on your ticket price and who you are. Registered charities pay nothing on Zeffy. For a commercial £20 ticket, Tickts costs about 50p in card fees plus any plan fee, Cwtch Events 90p (Wales only), TryBooking £1.15 and Ticket Tailor about £1.22. On cheap tickets, percentage-based fees usually beat flat ones; on expensive tickets, a flat fee like Ticket Tailor’s wins.
- Should the buyer or the organiser pay the booking fee?
- Most platforms let you choose. Passing the fee to the buyer protects your margin but raises the price people see at checkout; absorbing it keeps the advertised price honest. Eventbrite, Skiddle, Billetto and Humanitix default to the buyer paying, so check the setting when you create an event.
- Is Eventbrite still worth using?
- For discovery, often yes. Eventbrite’s marketplace brings in people who were not looking for your event specifically, which none of the cheaper box-office platforms do. Many organisers list on Eventbrite for reach and sell through a cheaper platform, or accept the higher fee on events that need the audience.
We run Cwtch Events, so treat our own entry with appropriate scepticism: it sits fourth because TicketSource, Ticket Tailor and TryBooking serve more organisers across the whole UK. Every fee on this page was read from the vendor’s own pricing or help page on 22 September 2026, and the £20 column is our arithmetic from those rates. Ticket Tailor’s pricing page gives two different allowances for free tickets (5,000 and 2,000 a year), so check it directly. Fees change; confirm them before you commit.