Updated October 2026: written with Luma's current pricing, checked against its pricing page and help center on October 8, 2026.
Luma is free for as many events and guests as you like. You pay when you sell a ticket: 5% of the price goes to Luma, and Stripe takes its card fee on top. Or you pay for Luma Plus, $59 a month billed annually, and the 5% goes away.
Which plan costs less comes down to two numbers, your ticket price and how many tickets you sell in a year. Here's the fee math for Luma Free, Luma Plus and a third option, TixFox at 39¢ a ticket, and where each one costs least.
How much does Luma cost? Luma is free for free events. On paid events, the free plan charges a 5% platform fee per ticket on top of Stripe's card fee, typically 2.9% + 30¢. Luma Plus costs $59 a month billed annually, or $69 month to month, and charges a 0% platform fee. Stripe's fee applies on both plans.
How Luma's pricing works
Luma has two plans on its pricing page:
- Luma Free: unlimited events and guests, blasts by email, SMS, push and WhatsApp, up to 500 invites or newsletters a week, ticket types, group purchasing and coupons, and a 5% platform fee on paid events.
- Luma Plus: a 0% platform fee, up to 5,000 invites a week, tax collection on ticket sales, a check-in manager role, a custom URL for event pages, Zapier, API access and priority support. It costs $59 a month billed annually ($708 a year) or $69 a month.
Card payments go through your own Stripe account on both plans, and the pricing page is clear about the order: "The platform fee is on top of the Stripe fee." Luma's fee and Stripe's fee both come off each sale as it happens, and the rest lands in your Stripe account.
What Luma's 5% costs on one ticket
TixFox charges a flat 39¢ a ticket (30¢ under $5) plus the same Stripe fee, so the two meet at $7.80. Below that price, Luma's free plan costs less. Above it, TixFox does.
On a one-ticket order, with you covering the fees:
- $5 ticket: $0.70 on Luma Free, $0.84 on TixFox
- $10 ticket: $1.09 on Luma Free, $0.98 on TixFox
- $25 ticket: $2.28 on Luma Free, $1.42 on TixFox
- $50 ticket: $4.25 on Luma Free, $2.14 on TixFox
- $100 ticket: $8.20 on Luma Free, $3.59 on TixFox
Luma's help center works through a $20 ticket and gets $1.88 in fees on the free plan and $0.88 on Plus. That matches our math. TixFox comes to $1.27 on the same ticket.
Outside the US
Luma's pricing page lists one 5% fee, with no change by currency. Stripe's fee depends on your country, but it's the same on both platforms, since both use your own Stripe account. TixFox sets its per-ticket fee for each currency, so the price where the two meet moves:
- UK: £7.60, where 5% equals TixFox's £0.38
- Euro: €7.80, where 5% equals €0.39
- Canada: CA$11.20, where 5% equals CA$0.56
Below those prices, Luma Free costs less. Above them, TixFox does.
Luma Free vs Luma Plus: when the subscription pays off
Luma Plus swaps a percentage for a flat bill. On the annual plan, $708 a year removes the 5% fee, so Plus pays for itself once you sell more than $1,180 in tickets a month. On the monthly plan, that line is $1,380.
Against TixFox, the ticket price doesn't matter for tickets of $5 or more, because both costs are flat. At 39¢ a ticket, TixFox reaches $708 at about 1,816 paid tickets a year. Sell more than that, at $5 or more a ticket, and Luma Plus on the annual plan costs less than TixFox. On the monthly plan, it takes about 2,124 tickets. Under $5, where TixFox charges 30¢, the line is about 2,360.
For a year of $25 tickets, counting platform costs only:
- 300 tickets: $375 on Luma Free, $708 on Luma Plus, $117 on TixFox
- 1,000 tickets: $1,250, $708 and $390
- 2,000 tickets: $2,500, $708 and $780
- 5,000 tickets: $6,250, $708 and $1,950
Take a monthly meetup that sells 40 tickets at $15, or 480 tickets a year. Luma Free takes $360 in platform fees, Luma Plus costs $708, and TixFox comes to $187.20. Stripe's fee is the same on all three, so it doesn't change the order.
Luma builds the fees into your ticket price
Luma doesn't add fees at checkout. Its help center says "The price you set is exactly what your guests will see and pay," and that Luma "doesn't offer an option to add fees on top of ticket prices." If you want guests to cover the fees, you raise the price.
Luma's own example is a $52.50 ticket to receive $50 on the free plan. That roughly covers the 5%, but not Stripe. At $52.50, you receive $48.05. To actually receive $50, you'd price the ticket at $54.61 on Luma Free, or $51.80 on Luma Plus.
On TixFox, you choose for each ticket type. Pass the fees to the buyer and a $50 ticket costs them $52.20 at checkout, while you receive the full $50. Or absorb the fees and show one round price, the way Luma does.
Luma vs Eventbrite on a $25 ticket
Here's the same $25 ticket on Eventbrite, with you covering the fees. Eventbrite's US pricing is 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% payment processing, which comes to $3.45. Luma Free comes to $2.28, and Luma Plus to $1.03 plus the subscription. TixFox comes to $1.42.
When you get paid
Luma and TixFox both pay you through your own Stripe account. Luma says funds go out "as guests purchase tickets, following Stripe's standard rolling payout schedule (typically 2 days in the US)." TixFox works the same way: sales go into your Stripe account as they come in, and TixFox never holds the money. In the US, Stripe makes card payments available for payout after about 2 business days, so on either platform your payout schedule is Stripe's. Our guide to selling tickets with Stripe covers the schedule.
What one organizer says about TixFox
Fees aren't the only thing that matters once tickets go on sale. The Modesto Gospel Mission left this review on Trustpilot in August 2026: "TixFox is a great platform for managing and selling event tickets. It's easy to use, and their customer support is excellent - very responsive, helpful, and quick to resolve issues."
Watch how selling on TixFox works
The video shows the setup in under six minutes: connecting Stripe at 0:26, ticket types and the pass-or-absorb fee setting from 1:35, and what your buyers see at checkout from 3:49.
When Luma is the better choice
- Your tickets cost under $7.80, where 5% is less than 39¢.
- You sell more than about 1,800 paid tickets a year at $5 or more and will pay for Luma Plus annually.
- You want paid memberships, or approval on paid tickets, where a guest's card is charged only if you approve them.
- You run online events and want Zoom with attendance tracking, or token-gated registration.
- Your guests pay with regional methods such as iDEAL, Konbini or PayNow, which Luma lists on its free plan.
If you need reserved seating, neither platform has it today. Luma's help center says it doesn't support it, and TixFox's is coming soon.
When TixFox costs less
- Tickets over $7.80, compared with Luma Free: 39¢ a ticket instead of 5%. On a $50 ticket, that's $2.11 less.
- Under about 1,800 paid tickets a year, compared with Luma Plus: no subscription, and free events cost $0.
- Covering the fees: pass them to the buyer and receive the full ticket price.
- Selling at the door without buying hardware: TixFox's Tap to Pay takes cards on an iPhone or Android phone, with no card reader.
Related fee breakdowns: Humanitix, Ticket Tailor and TicketSpice.
To try TixFox, create a free account, connect Stripe and put your first event on sale. Free events cost $0, and paid tickets are 39¢ each ($0.30 under $5) plus Stripe's card processing. See TixFox pricing.
FAQ
How much does Luma cost?
Luma is free to use. Paid events pay a 5% platform fee per ticket plus Stripe's card fee, typically 2.9% + 30¢. Luma Plus costs $59 a month billed annually or $69 month to month, and drops the platform fee to 0%.
Does Luma charge fees on free events?
No. Free events have no platform fee.
Does Luma Plus remove Stripe's fee?
No. Plus removes Luma's 5% platform fee, but Stripe's card fee still applies. By Luma's own example, a $20 ticket still carries $0.88 in fees on Plus.
Can I pass Luma's fees on to my guests?
Not as a separate charge. Luma has no option to add fees on top of the ticket price, so you raise the price instead. To receive $50 on the free plan, you'd price the ticket at $54.61.
Is Luma Plus worth it?
Compared with Luma Free, once you sell more than $1,180 in tickets a month on the annual plan. Compared with TixFox, once you sell more than about 1,800 paid tickets a year at $5 or more.
Is Luma cheaper than Eventbrite?
In our $25 example, yes. With you covering the fees, Luma Free costs $2.28 and Eventbrite $3.45. TixFox costs $1.42.
Sources
- Luma: Pricing (Free and Plus, monthly and annual), Creating a Paid Event, Understanding Payouts and Event Proceeds and Luma vs Eventbrite. Checked October 8, 2026.
- Eventbrite: Organizer pricing (US).
- Stripe: Pricing (US cards) and Payouts.
- Trustpilot: TixFox reviews, screenshot taken October 8, 2026.
- TixFox: Pricing and FAQ. Ticket screens from the TixFox demo account, October 2026.
