Sell 300 tickets at $25 each on Eventbrite and you'll hand over roughly $870 in platform fees before a single dollar touches your account. Use TixFox for the same 300 tickets and that number drops to $117. That's $753 back in your pocket, your vendor fund, or your next event's marketing budget.
"Free" ticketing software is one of the most misunderstood terms in event planning. Most platforms use it to mean "no monthly subscription" — not "no fees per ticket." The per-ticket costs are where the real money goes, and they vary more than most organizers realize before they've already set their ticket prices.
This guide breaks down how free event ticketing software actually works, what the fees look like across the main platforms, and what to look for before you commit to one.
What "Free" Actually Means in Ticketing Software
Almost every ticketing platform markets itself as free to start. That framing is technically accurate and practically misleading. Here's what free typically means across the industry:
Free to sign up. No monthly fee, no setup cost, no contract. You create an account and start building events immediately. This is standard across TixFox, Eventbrite, TicketLeap, Humanitix, and most others.
Not free per ticket. Every platform takes a cut of each ticket sold. The structure varies: some charge a flat fee, some charge a percentage, most charge both. For free events, most platforms charge nothing at all. The fees kick in when you start charging admission.
Not free for the buyer, either. Most platforms default to passing fees to ticket buyers. That means your "$25 ticket" shows up at checkout as $28.77 or similar. Some organizers don't realize this until a buyer complains about the total at checkout.
The question worth asking before choosing a platform isn't "is it free?" It's "what does it cost per ticket, and who pays that cost?"
How the Fee Math Compares
The numbers below are based on an organizer absorbing all platform fees on a $30 ticket, selling 200 tickets. Payment processing (roughly equal across platforms) is excluded.
Platform | Fee per $30 ticket | Total fees on 200 tickets |
|---|---|---|
TixFox | $0.39 flat | $78 |
SimpleTix | $1.39 | $278 |
TicketSource (own Stripe) | $1.35 | $270 |
TicketLeap | $1.60 | $320 |
Ticketstripe | $1.59 | $318 |
Humanitix | $1.62 | $324 |
Eventbrite | $2.90 | $580 |
TixFox's flat $0.39 per ticket is the key differentiator. Every other platform listed charges a percentage component on top of a base fee. That percentage compounds on higher-priced tickets: a $75 VIP ticket on Eventbrite costs $4.57 in platform fees. On TixFox it's still $0.39.
For free events, TixFox charges nothing. Zero platform cost. Stripe's payment processing doesn't apply to $0 transactions, so free event ticketing genuinely costs nothing.
Always verify competitor fees on their official pricing pages before building your budget. These figures reflect pricing as of March 2026 and change frequently — see how TixFox fees work for the current TixFox rate.
What You Get With Free Event Ticketing Software
Price is one variable. Features are the other. A platform with slightly higher fees might be worth it if the feature set saves you time on the day. Here's what TixFox includes at no extra cost:
Multiple ticket types. General admission, VIP, early bird — each with its own price, quantity cap, and sale window. You control when each tier opens and closes.
Discount and promo codes. Run early-bird promotions, send codes to email subscribers, or offer group discounts. Configured directly from your event dashboard.
Free mobile check-in app. Available on iOS and Android. Volunteers or staff scan QR codes on arrival — the app shows a clear green or red result and blocks duplicate scans. No extra hardware required, and multiple people can scan simultaneously without coordination issues.
Custom checkout fields. Collect T-shirt sizes, dietary requirements, emergency contacts, or any event-specific information at checkout. You get the data in your attendee list, ready to export.
Checkout countdown timer. Reduces abandoned orders at the final step. Buyers who reach checkout are more likely to complete their purchase.
Revenue direct to your account. TixFox uses Stripe Connect — ticket revenue lands in your connected Stripe account as tickets sell. You're not waiting for a post-event payout. The money is yours from the moment of sale.
For a complete look at what TixFox includes, the features page lists everything confirmed and current.
Who Free Event Ticketing Software Is Right For
Free-to-start platforms work well for most independent organizers: concerts, markets, pop-up events, community fundraisers, seasonal experiences, recurring workshops. If you're selling somewhere between 50 and 5,000 tickets per event and don't need reserved seating or a built-in discovery marketplace, a self-serve platform covers everything you need.
Where free ticketing software starts to fall short:
Reserved seating. If your venue has assigned seats and you need buyers to pick their row and seat number at checkout, most low-cost platforms don't support it. TixFox currently doesn't offer reserved seating. Platforms like SimpleTix are better suited for that use case.
Large venues with complex contracts. Platforms like Etix serve arenas and performing arts centers at scale, with custom pricing and dedicated account management. That's a different product category entirely, not a comparison worth making for most independent organizers.
Organizers who want Eventbrite's discovery marketplace. Eventbrite has millions of active ticket buyers who browse the platform for events. If getting found by new audiences through the platform itself matters to your strategy, that's a genuine differentiator worth the fee gap — for some events.
One Thing to Decide Before You Set Your Ticket Price
Whether to pass fees to buyers or absorb them yourself is a choice most platforms let you make, including TixFox. There's no universally right answer, but here's how most organizers think about it:
Pass fees to buyers if your event has strong demand and the total price at checkout remains reasonable. Buyers who want to attend will accept a $1.50–$2.00 service fee on a $30 ticket without much friction.
Absorb fees yourself if you've advertised a specific ticket price externally (e.g., "$25 on the door, $25 online") and want the checkout experience to match. At $0.39 per ticket, TixFox makes absorbing fees easy to budget for in a way that Eventbrite's 3.7% + $1.79 simply doesn't.
Start your first event free — no credit card required, no setup fee. You can build the event, set your ticket types, and see exactly what the fee structure looks like before going live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TixFox actually free? Free to sign up, free for free events, and $0.39 flat per paid ticket. No monthly fee, no setup cost, no percentage component on ticket price. Stripe's payment processing (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) is separate and applies equally across all Stripe-based platforms.
What happens to my ticket revenue? Revenue goes directly into your connected Stripe account as tickets sell. TixFox never holds your funds. You control when to transfer from Stripe to your bank account.
Does TixFox work for free events? Yes. Free events cost nothing on the platform side. No Stripe processing fee applies to $0 transactions. It's genuinely free.
Can I pass the fee to ticket buyers instead of absorbing it? Yes. TixFox gives you full control over whether buyers pay the platform fee on top of the ticket price or whether you absorb it. Configure this per event.
What if I need reserved seating? TixFox doesn't currently offer reserved seating or a seating map. If your event requires buyers to choose specific seats, SimpleTix or TicketSource are better options for that use case.
How do I check people in on the day? Download the TixFox app on iOS or Android. Scan QR codes from buyer confirmation emails. The app works offline and supports multiple simultaneous scanners — useful for events where you have volunteers at different entrances.
Ready to set up your first event? Create a free TixFox account and have your event live in under 15 minutes. No credit card, no monthly fee — just a flat $0.39 per ticket when you sell.
