Eventbrite vs Checkout Page for conference ticketing (2026 fees)
Eventbrite's standard US service fee is 3.7% plus $1.79 per paid ticket, with 2.9% processing per order. On 300 tickets at $299, service fees total $3,855.90. Checkout Page totals $717 only if the same sales land evenly across three billing periods. Eventbrite offers marketplace discovery; Checkout Page does not, so referral data should be part of the decision.
By Checkout Page · Updated September 5, 2026 · 8 min read
Published by Checkout Page, one of the platforms compared. This comparison uses public pricing and documentation, not a hands-on test of both products. Sources and editorial approach.
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The short version
Eventbrite suits public events that want to be found by strangers browsing a marketplace. Checkout Page suits conferences that already have an audience and want to sell from their own site with no cut taken per ticket. On 300 tickets at $299, Eventbrite's platform fees total $3,855.90 while Checkout Page costs $717 across a three-month campaign.
Both platforms sell conference tickets competently. The difference is the pricing model and who owns the buyer.
Eventbrite is a marketplace with ticketing attached. It charges 3.7% plus $1.79 per paid ticket, and 2.9% payment processing on top, and in exchange your event appears in Eventbrite search and recommendation emails. Checkout Page is checkout software. It charges a flat monthly subscription, takes nothing per ticket, and sends every payment to your own Stripe account. There is no marketplace, so the audience is yours to bring.
The figures below exclude payment processing. Eventbrite publishes a 2.9% processing fee per order for standard US online sales. Checkout Page uses the organizer's Stripe account, where the rate varies by merchant country, payment method and contract. A fixed processing charge applies per payment, not necessarily per ticket.
Fees compared
At $299 a ticket, Eventbrite's platform fee is $12.85: 3.7% of $299 is $11.06, plus the $1.79 fixed fee. Across 300 tickets that is $3,855.90. Checkout Page charges no per-ticket fee, so the same conference costs the price of a plan: $239 a month on Scale across a three-month campaign, or $717 in total.
| Platform | Fee per ticket | Total for 300 tickets | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkout Page | $0.00 | $717 | No per-ticket fee. Scale plan at $239/month × 3 months. Even monthly sales; plan selected by included volume, without paid overages or feature upgrades. Pricing source · Checked 2026-09-04. |
| Eventbrite | $12.85 | $3,856 | 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket, plus 2.9% payment processing. Default payout starts processing three business days after the event. Eligible accounts can schedule pre-event payouts, subject to reserves and caps. Eventbrite Pro email marketing starts at $15/month. Pricing source · Checked 2026-09-05. |
Checkout Page's Scale price steps up with billing-period sales volume. This example assumes the $89,700 of sales land evenly across three billing periods, about $29,900 each, which puts each period on Scale at $239 and makes the total $717. If all sales land in one period, the applicable tier is $499 for that period. Model the actual sales curve before comparing totals.
Now a smaller event. A 120-person workshop at $75 is $9,000 in sales. Eventbrite's fee per ticket is 3.7% of $75, which is $2.78, plus $1.79, so $4.57. Across 120 tickets that is $547.80. Checkout Page's Free plan covers up to $3,000 a month in sales, so $9,000 puts you on Scale at $99 a month, or $198 across a two-month campaign. The gap is smaller in dollars and larger in proportion: Eventbrite takes 6.1% of the gate, Checkout Page takes 2.2%.
Where the money goes and when
Eventbrite's default US payout starts processing three business days after the event, although eligible accounts can use scheduled pre-event payouts subject to reserves and caps. Checkout Page sends payments to your connected Stripe account. Availability and payout timing remain subject to Stripe's verification, reserves and account schedule.
This matters more than most organizers expect until the first time it bites. Conference costs are front-loaded. Venue deposits, catering guarantees, AV and speaker travel are all due before anyone walks through the door, and if your ticket revenue is locked up until a week after the event, you are financing the conference yourself.
With Checkout Page you are the merchant of record. That means the charge on the attendee's statement is yours, chargebacks and refunds run through your Stripe account, and the customer data belongs to you rather than to a marketplace that also emails your attendees about other events.
I can't tell you how much easier it was to work with than Eventbrite. Also way easier to sell a client on the flat rate than getting wrecked by a percentage.
Conference features side by side
Eventbrite wins on discovery, reserved seating and offline check-in. Checkout Page wins on registration questions with conditional logic, embedding on your own site and cost per ticket. For anything we are not certain Eventbrite supports on your plan, the table says check with vendor rather than guessing.
| Feature | Eventbrite | Checkout Page |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket tiers with sales windows | Yes | Yes, start and end dates per ticket type |
| Group tickets | Multiple tickets per order; group pricing via a separate ticket type | Ticket groups, per-order minimums and maximums, bulk discounts on paid plans |
| Registration questions with conditional logic | Custom order and attendee questions; conditional logic check with vendor | Yes, custom fields with conditional logic and multi-step forms |
| Check-in app and multiple staff | Yes, organizer app with offline check-in | Yes, any phone or laptop; invited check-in staff require Launch or above; internet required |
| Embed on your website | Yes, embedded checkout widget | Yes, popup or inline on WordPress, Webflow, Framer, Squarespace and Wix |
| Marketplace and discovery | Yes, this is the main reason to use it | No |
| Seat maps | Reserved seating available; check with vendor for your plan | No |
| Badge printing | Check with vendor; usually a partner tool | No, export CSV or connect a badge tool via Zapier |
| Attendee app | Consumer ticket app; no agenda or networking tool | No |
| Free tickets | Free | Free on every plan |
Two of those Checkout Page rows are plain no. If your conference needs a numbered seating chart in a theater, or an attendee networking app with a session agenda, Checkout Page will not do it and you should not buy it expecting otherwise.
Who should choose Eventbrite
Choose Eventbrite if discovery earns its fee. A first-year conference with no list, a consumer-facing event, or a series that genuinely gets registrations from Eventbrite search and its recommendation emails is buying distribution, not just software. At low ticket prices the 3.7% plus $1.79 stays small in absolute terms.
Eventbrite's brand recognition may reduce procurement or attendee concerns for some organizations. Verify that assumption with the actual decision-makers rather than treating familiarity as universal. For a free community event, Eventbrite does not charge ticketing fees on free tickets.
The honest test is measurable. Look at your last event's referral data and ask what share of registrations came from inside Eventbrite rather than from your own email, social posts and speakers. If it is 20% or more, the marketplace is doing real work. If it is 2%, you are paying a distribution fee for distribution you did yourself.
Who should choose Checkout Page
Choose Checkout Page if you bring your own audience and the modeled subscription costs less than Eventbrite's service fee. Payments go to your connected Stripe account rather than an Eventbrite event balance, but Stripe controls availability and payout timing. You give up marketplace discovery, seat maps, native badge printing and an attendee app.
A plausible fit is a professional conference that already attracts attendees through a mailing list, sponsors and returning participants, needs conditional registration questions, and wants checkout embedded in its own site. Event size and ticket price alone do not decide the fit.
I did the math forward and backward, short term and long term to see what the best way would be. Checkout Page came out at the top of my list. When I began to use the platform, it was extremely easy to set up.
Switching from Eventbrite
Switching mid-cycle is possible but creates two registration systems to reconcile. Export attendees from Eventbrite to CSV, rebuild ticket types in Checkout Page, update links, and preserve access to the Eventbrite event for existing buyers. Test how both ticket sets will be checked in before changing the live sales path.
- Export your Eventbrite attendee list, including the answers to your order questions, as CSV. You will need it for name badges and for the check-in fallback list.
- Rebuild ticket types in Checkout Page: one per tier, each with its own price, capacity and sales window, so early bird closes automatically.
- Re-create your registration questions, adding conditional logic where the Eventbrite version needed a note telling people to skip a question.
- Connect Stripe and run a real $1 test purchase, then refund it, so you see the confirmation email and the QR ticket exactly as an attendee will.
- Embed the new ticket page on your website and update the link in your email footer, speaker pack and sponsor deck.
- Stop sales on the Eventbrite listing but keep the page published, with a line pointing to the new page, until the conference is over.
If you are moving a large event, the Unlimited plan includes free migration, so somebody at Checkout Page rebuilds the tiers and questions with you rather than leaving you with a CSV and a weekend.
From our publisher · Checkout Page
Put your ticket plan into practice
Set up ticket types and registration questions on Checkout Page. Free up to $3,000 in monthly sales; Stripe processing fees apply.
Bottom line
Eventbrite charges $3,855.90 in platform fees on a 300-ticket, $299 conference. Checkout Page charges $717 across a three-month campaign and nothing per ticket. If Eventbrite's marketplace brings you registrations you could not get yourself, pay the fee. If it does not, that money is a speaker budget.
Run your own numbers before deciding. The ticketing fee calculator does the arithmetic for your ticket price and volume, and the guide to conference ticketing fees explains how per-ticket fees, processing and pass-through interact. If a marketplace is not what you are buying, compare Tito and Humanitix as well, since both charge less than Eventbrite and neither one lists your event publicly.
Fees on this page were verified on 2026-09-05 against Eventbrite's organizer pricing page and Checkout Page pricing.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Eventbrite or Checkout Page cheaper for a conference?
- In this example, Checkout Page is cheaper. Eventbrite's standard US service fee is 3.7% plus $1.79 per paid ticket, so 300 tickets at $299 produce $3,855.90 in service fees. If those sales land evenly across three Checkout Page billing periods, Scale costs $717. Different sales timing can change the Checkout Page total.
- Can I switch from Eventbrite to Checkout Page before my event?
- Yes. Export your attendee list from Eventbrite as CSV, rebuild your ticket types in Checkout Page, and point your website at the new ticket page. Keep the Eventbrite listing live until it sells out or you close it, so people holding old links can still find you.
- Does Eventbrite pay out before the event?
- Eventbrite's default payout starts processing three business days after the event. Eligible accounts can schedule pre-event payouts, subject to reserves and caps. Checkout Page sends payments to the organizer's Stripe account, but Stripe settlement, verification and reserve rules still determine when money reaches the bank.
- Will I lose ticket sales without the Eventbrite marketplace?
- It depends on where your attendees come from. If registrations arrive through Eventbrite search or recommendation emails, that traffic may justify the fee. Check your own referral and order-source reports. A conference that generates registrations through its email list, speakers and sponsors may place less value on marketplace discovery.
- Who pays the Eventbrite fee, me or the ticket buyer?
- Eventbrite passes fees to buyers by default, and you can choose to absorb them instead. Passing them on does not make them free: the buyer-facing total includes the service fee and Eventbrite's per-order payment-processing fee. Check the displayed total for your event and measure whether passing on fees affects completed orders or support requests.
Published by
Checkout Page builds checkout and event ticketing software. This site covers conference registration through product documentation, fee calculations and practical planning examples.
Published by Checkout Page, one of the platforms covered. Comparisons use public pricing and documentation. Our editorial approach.
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From our publisher · Checkout Page
Sell conference tickets on your own website with Checkout Page
Create ticket types, collect registration details and check attendees in with QR tickets. Checkout Page connects to your Stripe account and charges no per-ticket platform fee. Free up to $3,000 in monthly sales; paid plans add features and higher sales allowances.
No card required for the free plan. Stripe processing fees apply. Staff accounts and bulk discounts require a paid plan. About the publisher.