Editors pick

Best Eventbrite Alternatives for 2026: Lower Fees, Better Support, and...

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 5, 2026 - Posted in Editors pick

Eventbrite Alternatives for 2026: Comparing SimpleTix, TicketSpice, Ticket Tailor, and TicketLeap If you’re looking for Eventbrite alternatives, you probably have a pretty specific problem: the fees feel too high, or the platform just doesn’t fit the way you actually run events. You don’t need more software for the sake of it. You need a ticketing platform that fits your event...

Event ticketing

Eventbrite’s New Owner Just Cut Staff: What It Means for Event Organizers...

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 21, 2026

Eventbrite's New Owner Just Cut Staff: What It Means for Event Organizers in 2026 If you run events and use Eventbrite, the last 30 days have been noisy. In March 2026, Italian software holding company Bending Spoons completed its $500 million acquisition of Eventbrite, taking the platform private. In April, new leadership announced staff cuts and a shift to operating with what they called "a leaner team." Here's what actually changed, what it could mean for your events, and why a lot of organizers are quietly evaluating their options. The quick version of what happened December 2025: Bending Spoons announced the acquisition March 2026: Deal closed at roughly $500 million. Eventbrite is now a private company, no longer publicly traded April 13, 2026: New Eventbrite leader Andrea Parodi announced staff cuts and a new product roadmap Headcount trend: Eventbrite went from 866 employees at the end of 2023 to 636 at the end of 2025 — and the latest cuts bring it lower Bending Spoons isn't new to this playbook. They've acquired Vimeo, WeTransfer, Evernote, and AOL in recent years. Each acquisition has followed a similar pattern: buy the product, cut a significant portion of the workforce, consolidate operations. That's the backdrop. Now the organizer question: what does it mean for you? What organizers should actually be watching 1. Support quality Fewer people usually means slower replies. If you've ever been 48 hours out from doors opening and needed a fast answer from support, you know how much that matters. Watch your response times on tickets opened after April 2026 and compare them to what you got in 2024-2025. If things slow down, that's not a one-off — it's the new steady state. 2. Product direction New ownership always means a new roadmap. Parodi's announcement talked about faster event creation,...

Event ticketing

How to Connect Square to SimpleTix and Start Selling Tickets

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 16, 2026

How to Connect Square to SimpleTix and Start Selling Tickets If you need square ticketing that works for online sales and the box office, you do not need a messy setup. You need a way to connect Square to SimpleTix and manage online and onsite ticket sales in one workflow. Square can make sense for organizers who already use Square hardware or want to accept gift cards and catalog upsells. Meanwhile, SimpleTix gives you the ticketing layer: timed entry, season passes, reserved seating, check-in tools, and simple pricing at $0.79 + 2% per ticket, with no contracts or subscriptions. Why use square ticketing with SimpleTix The main reason is simple. You get Square for payments and POS tools, plus SimpleTix for event ticketing. That matters if you sell more than basic admission. For example, you might need season tickets, timed entry, Flex Passes, or onsite scanning. You may also want online checkout and in-person sales to work together instead of feeling patched together. Common use cases include: Farms and agritourism spots selling timed admissions and add-ons Attractions that need re-entry or multi-use passes Venues that sell online, at the door, and through staff devices Festivals handling rushes at gates and box office windows Organizations already using Square hardware for in-person sales If that sounds familiar, this is the kind of square ticketing workflow worth setting up. What you can do after you connect Square Once connected, you can use Square with SimpleTix for POS, gift cards, and catalog upsells. On the SimpleTix side, you also get tools built for ticketing, including: General admission with timed entry and capacity management Reserved seating with interactive seat maps Season tickets for GA and reserved events Flex Pass with attendee photo verification Promo codes, BOGO offers, and quantity discounts Waitlists and abandoned cart recovery...

Event ticketing

Get Paid to Share SimpleTix: Introducing the Ambassador Referral Program

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 14, 2026

Get Paid to Share SimpleTix: How the Ambassador Referral Program Works We just launched the SimpleTix Ambassador Referral Program. If you already use SimpleTix and tell other event organizers about it, you can now earn $100 for every qualified referral. No application. No waiting. If you've sold 100 or more paid tickets on SimpleTix, you're already in. How it works The program is built around a unique referral link tied to your account. Here's the step-by-step: 1. Grab your referral link If eligible, log into your Manager Portal. Scroll to the footer and look for Refer & Earn $100. That's where your unique link lives. 2. Share it with other event organizers Trade shows, industry groups, LinkedIn, local organizer communities, group chats — anywhere you talk shop with people who run events. The key detail: referrals only get credited when someone signs up through your link. Word-of-mouth is great, but the link is what gets you paid. 3. Earn $100 when they qualify When a referred organizer sells 50 or more paid tickets through SimpleTix, they're qualified. Our team will reach out to you directly to arrange your $100 payout. There's no cap on how many referrals you can make. Who qualifies You're automatically enrolled if you've sold 100+ paid tickets on SimpleTix. No application form, no approval process. If you're eligible, your referral link is live right now in your Manager Portal. Track your referrals in real time Every click and signup from your link is tracked in your dashboard. You can watch each referral move through three stages: Signed Up — they created an account through your link Event Published — they set up their first event Qualified — they've sold 50+ paid tickets, and you've earned your payout Full transparency, no black box. Why we built this...

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Client Highlights

How Vala’s Pumpkin Patch Scaled to 100K+ Visitors...

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 6, 2026 - Posted in Client Highlights

How Vala’s Pumpkin Patch Scaled to 100K+ Visitors with SimpleTix If you run a busy fall attraction, you already know the pressure: ticketing has to keep up when demand spikes, guests arrive in waves, and lines move fast. That is exactly what Vala’s Pumpkin Patch faced as it grew into Nebraska’s premier fall destination with more than 100,000 visitors each season. Founded in 1984, Vala’s Pumpkin Patch now draws huge crowds across 50+ attractions and multiple food stands. However, growth exposed weak spots in its old setup. Peak-morning surges strained the system, one technical admin became a bottleneck, and layered tools made operations harder than they needed to be. For Vala’s, the move to SimpleTix was about getting one reliable system for admissions, season passes, bookings, and on-site sales. Why Vala’s needed better farm ticketing software Dan McDonald, MS, PMP, IT Manager at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, put it plainly: “We originally used a ticketing platform that served us well in our early years, but as our guest volume grew, it could no longer scale to meet demand.” That issue showed up in a few clear ways. First, the system struggled during peak-morning ticket surges. In other words, the exact time the platform mattered most was the time it became risky. Second, operations depended too heavily on one technical administrator. As a result, routine changes and troubleshooting could pile up around one person. Third, the team had to work across multiple layered applications. That created extra steps, more training, and more chances for something to break during the busiest weeks of the season. Finally, outdoor hardware added another challenge. Farm attractions do not run in perfect indoor conditions, so tools need to work in real weather and real crowds. The bottlenecks were operational, not just technical Vala’s wasn’t just trying to...

Editors pick

Event Ticketing Software: The Complete Guide for Organizers

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 5, 2026

Event Ticketing Software: The Complete Guide for Organizers If you’re comparing event ticketing software, you probably want three things fast: lower fees, fewer headaches, and tools that actually help you sell and manage tickets. That’s exactly where many organizers get stuck. Plenty of platforms can process a ticket sale. Fewer support the work before, during, and after the event. SimpleTix is built for organizers who need more than a basic checkout page. You get flexible ticketing, same-day payouts, strong check-in tools, and clear pricing at $0.79 + 2% per ticket. In addition, there are no contracts, no subscriptions, and no fees on free events. What good event ticketing software should actually do The best event ticketing software should do more than collect money. It should help you sell tickets, manage capacity, reduce lines, support your staff, and give attendees a smooth experience. That means looking beyond a pretty event page. You need software that handles real-world event workflows. For example, you may need timed entry, reserved seating, season tickets, or re-entry passes. You may also need mobile scanning, offline check-in, promo codes, waitlists, and reporting that makes sense. SimpleTix covers those core needs. You can sell: General admission tickets with timed entry and capacity management Reserved seating with interactive seat maps Season tickets for GA or reserved seating Flex Pass products with multi-use or re-entry access and attendee photo verification That range matters if you run different kinds of events. Event ticketing software pricing: what to watch for Pricing is often where platforms start to look very different. SimpleTix keeps pricing straightforward: $0.79 + 2% per ticket No contracts No subscriptions No fees on free events You can also choose whether to pass fees to attendees or absorb them yourself. If pricing is a top concern, review the full SimpleTix...

Client Highlights

SimpleTix vs Eventbrite: Fees, Features, and Which Ticketing Platform Fits...

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 4, 2026

SimpleTix vs Eventbrite: Fees, Features, and Which Ticketing Platform Fits Your Event Comparing Eventbrite alternatives? Here’s the short version: SimpleTix offers $0.79 + 2% per ticket, same-day payouts, Square support, and the ticketing tools many organizers look for — without contracts or subscriptions. If you’re searching for “SimpleTix vs Eventbrite,” you’re probably not casually browsing. You’re trying to answer a practical question: Which platform will help me sell tickets without eating my margins, slowing down payouts, or making setup harder than it needs to be? SimpleTix charges $0.79 + 2% per ticket, with no contracts, no subscriptions, and no fees on free events. You can also choose to pass fees to attendees or absorb them yourself. For organizers looking at Eventbrite alternatives, that alone is often enough to justify a closer look. But pricing isn’t the whole story. If you’re switching platforms, you also need the basics to work well: checkout, embeds, seating, scanning, reporting, and support when something breaks an hour before doors open. SimpleTix is built for that. SimpleTix vs Eventbrite at a glance Here’s the practical comparison for organizers evaluating a switch. Why organizers consider SimpleTix $0.79 + 2% per ticket No contracts or monthly subscriptions No fees on free events Same-day payouts Square and Stripe integrations Embeddable checkout widgets for your own website Reserved seating with interactive seat maps Memberships, season tickets, and Flex Passes Waitlists, promo codes, and abandoned cart recovery Box office tools and in-person sales support Customer support If you’re comparison shopping because of fees, payout timing, or wanting more control over your website and in-person workflow, SimpleTix is worth a look. SimpleTix vs Eventbrite: The biggest difference is fees For many organizers, Eventbrite’s pricing structure is the reason they start looking for alternatives in the first place. SimpleTix pricing is simple: $0.79...

Editor’s Pick

Client Highlights

How Vala’s Pumpkin Patch Scaled to 100K+ Visitors with SimpleTix

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 6, 2026

How Vala’s Pumpkin Patch Scaled to 100K+ Visitors with SimpleTix If you run a busy fall attraction, you already know the pressure: ticketing has to keep up when demand spikes, guests arrive in waves, and lines move fast. That is exactly what Vala’s Pumpkin Patch faced as it grew into Nebraska’s premier fall destination with more than 100,000 visitors each season. Founded in 1984, Vala’s Pumpkin Patch now draws huge crowds across 50+ attractions and multiple food stands. However, growth exposed weak spots in its old setup. Peak-morning surges strained the system, one technical admin became a bottleneck, and layered tools made operations harder than they needed to be. For Vala’s, the move to SimpleTix was about getting one reliable system for admissions, season passes, bookings, and on-site sales. Why Vala’s needed better farm ticketing software Dan McDonald, MS, PMP, IT Manager at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, put it plainly: “We originally used a ticketing platform that served us well in our early years, but as our guest volume grew, it could no longer scale to meet demand.” That issue showed up in a few clear ways. First, the system struggled during peak-morning ticket surges. In other words, the exact time the platform mattered most was the time it became risky. Second, operations depended too heavily on one technical administrator. As a result, routine changes and troubleshooting could pile up around one person. Third, the team had to work across multiple layered applications. That created extra steps, more training, and more chances for something to break during the busiest weeks of the season. Finally, outdoor hardware added another challenge. Farm attractions do not run in perfect indoor conditions, so tools need to work in real weather and real crowds. The bottlenecks were operational, not just technical Vala’s wasn’t just trying to...

Editors pick

Best Eventbrite Alternatives for 2026: Lower Fees, Better Support, and More Control

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 5, 2026

Eventbrite Alternatives for 2026: Comparing SimpleTix, TicketSpice, Ticket Tailor, and TicketLeap If you’re looking for Eventbrite alternatives, you probably have a pretty specific problem: the fees feel too high, or the platform just doesn’t fit the way you actually run events. You don’t need more software for the sake of it. You need a ticketing platform that fits your event setup, works for your staff, and makes sense for your budget. This guide compares a few commonly compared options for 2026: SimpleTix, TicketSpice, Ticket Tailor, and TicketLeap. Instead of doing a feature dump, we’ll look at which type of organizer each one may fit best. What to look for in an Eventbrite alternative Before comparing platforms, get clear on what matters most for your event operation. For most organizers, it comes down to five things. 1. Fees that don’t eat your margin If you run low-cost tickets, fundraisers, seasonal events, or family attractions, fees add up fast. A platform can look fine on paper and still become expensive once volume picks up. SimpleTix keeps pricing straightforward: $0.79 + 2% per ticket, with no contracts, no subscriptions, and no fees on free events. You can also pass fees to attendees or absorb them yourself. 2. Ticketing that fits how you run events You may need more than basic GA tickets: timed entry, reserved seating, memberships, season passes, promo bundles, or waivers. That’s where differences between platforms start to show. Some are built around simpler setups. Others are better suited for venues, attractions, or recurring programs. 3. Easy check-in for staff On event day, check-in needs to be simple. Fast scanning, offline mode, and clear staff permissions can make operations smoother. 4. Tools for in-person sales If you sell at the gate, box office, or front desk, you’ll want to know whether...

Editors pick

Event Ticketing Software: The Complete Guide for Organizers

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 5, 2026

Event Ticketing Software: The Complete Guide for Organizers If you’re comparing event ticketing software, you probably want three things fast: lower fees, fewer headaches, and tools that actually help you sell and manage tickets. That’s exactly where many organizers get stuck. Plenty of platforms can process a ticket sale. Fewer support the work before, during, and after the event. SimpleTix is built for organizers who need more than a basic checkout page. You get flexible ticketing, same-day payouts, strong check-in tools, and clear pricing at $0.79 + 2% per ticket. In addition, there are no contracts, no subscriptions, and no fees on free events. What good event ticketing software should actually do The best event ticketing software should do more than collect money. It should help you sell tickets, manage capacity, reduce lines, support your staff, and give attendees a smooth experience. That means looking beyond a pretty event page. You need software that handles real-world event workflows. For example, you may need timed entry, reserved seating, season tickets, or re-entry passes. You may also need mobile scanning, offline check-in, promo codes, waitlists, and reporting that makes sense. SimpleTix covers those core needs. You can sell: General admission tickets with timed entry and capacity management Reserved seating with interactive seat maps Season tickets for GA or reserved seating Flex Pass products with multi-use or re-entry access and attendee photo verification That range matters if you run different kinds of events. Event ticketing software pricing: what to watch for Pricing is often where platforms start to look very different. SimpleTix keeps pricing straightforward: $0.79 + 2% per ticket No contracts No subscriptions No fees on free events You can also choose whether to pass fees to attendees or absorb them yourself. If pricing is a top concern, review the full SimpleTix...

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Company News

Eventbrite Is Being Acquired. Here’s What It Means for You.

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • December 10, 2025

On December 2, Eventbrite announced it's being acquired by Bending Spoons for ~$500M, down from a $1.7B peak valuation. The deal takes Eventbrite private and puts it in the hands of a firm known for aggressive cost-cutting and price increases. If you're an Eventbrite customer, this is worth paying attention to. Who is Bending Spoons? Bending Spoons is a Milan-based tech company that acquires underperforming software brands (Evernote, Vimeo, WeTransfer, Meetup, AOL) and restructures them for profitability. Their playbook is consistent: cut headcount (often 50-75%), raise prices, and streamline operations. That's not speculation. It's their stated model. What This Likely Means for Eventbrite Customers Higher fees. Bending Spoons is explicit about monetization being a priority. Eventbrite has already experimented with pricing over the past two years. Expect that to accelerate. Reduced support. Major headcount reductions typically mean fewer experienced support reps and longer response times, especially during the transition. If you run complex events (reserved seating, multi-day festivals, timed entry), this matters. Product stagnation. Ownership changes usually mean roadmap resets and internal focus on cost savings. Don't expect new features anytime soon. Questions to Ask Yourself You don't need to panic. But you should treat this as a prompt to evaluate your options: What are you paying in total fees today? How sensitive is your margin to a 10-20% increase? How critical is hands-on support to your events? Can you afford slower response times mid-season? What's your contingency plan if pricing or policies change after you've already committed to your event calendar? If any of those questions give you pause, now is the time to explore alternatives, not after new pricing is announced. Why SimpleTix Is Different SimpleTix was built for organizers who care about margins, flexibility, and responsive support. A few key differences: Transparent pricing with a hard fee...

Company News

Pay with Square Gift Card… is now here!

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • August 15, 2021

The #1 Request we've had in 2021 - When will you support Square Gift Cards? Square Gift Cards give venues so much flexibility. Want to buy your best friend tickets to the zoo? You’re just not sure what date and time would be best for them.Get ’em a Gift Card! They can later use it online to buy the tickets and pick the best time slot of their schedule. Next time you need to refund an order, make it an opportunity! Imagine the next time you need to refund an order, you can instead ask the patron if they would be interested in supporting your organization and take their refund as a gift card. Thus they can use it for a future event. After enabling Square Gift Cards as a checkout option, the next time you do a refund you’ll have the option to create a Square Gift Card for the order’s amount. This helps keep your cash flow positive. Canceling an event is devastating. Turn it into an opportunity! This August 2021, the COVID-19 Delta variant is starting to spread and jurisdictions are requiring event organizers to postpone or cancel their events. If you have to cancel an event with over 25 orders SimpleTix can offer a special type of bulk refund option for you. Want to simply give all of the attendees a full refund – we can still do that. However, we can offer you a better option now. We can send an email to all ticket buyers and offer them a quick link where they can click and get a full refund. Below this, we’ll include a message, written by you where you explain the reason for the event’s cancellation and how taking a Square Gift Card instead of a refund help your organization stay afloat. The ticket buyer can then click a button to create their Square Gift Card. They can use this...

Company News

Buncombe County Switches to Local Event Tech Provider, Saves Hundreds and Sees...

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • December 15, 2019

Buncombe County switched to SimpleTix, a local tech company, for the county’s annual Lake Julian Festival of Lights celebration. Ultimately, the county saved hundreds of dollars in fees and saw a record turnout for opening weekend attendance. Asheville, North Carolina December 9, 2019 – Buncombe County’s annual Lake Julian Festival of Lights was just a bit more festive this year. The county switched to a local tech company to provide the eTicketing service for the event and ultimately saved hundreds of dollars on fees and saw the highest attendance ever for opening weekend. The annual celebration is always a huge draw for Asheville, NC, residents, as well as those across the state. The drive-through only tour includes thousands of dazzling lights and displays carefully choreographed and installed around Lake Julian Park. Each year, 20% of the proceeds goes to support the Buncombe County Special Olympics, as well. For 2019’s event, county organizers switched from Eventbrite to SimpleTix, a local ticketing technology company based in Asheville. The decision was made for multiple reasons, including saving money on fees, but also to help support a local company and bolster the area economy. The result was a record turnout, with almost 1,300 people visiting on Sunday alone, a new single-day record. Part of the increased attendance was due to lower ticket prices. Because the county saved money on fees, it was able to pass those savings along to eventgoers in the form of lower ticket prices. Chris Bubenik, Buncombe County Recreation Services’ Marketing Generalist, stated, “It couldn’t be easier to run an event with SimpleTix. From setting up our festival to scanning tickets, every step of the process is intuitive. The SimpleTix team also provided personal attention to ensure success. Plus, we were able to receive instant payments instead of waiting weeks for a check.” The partnership was so successful that Buncombe...

Client Highlights

Zapier now features SimpleTix

  • Vikram Bodas
    by Vikram Bodas • April 19, 2019

Automate repetitive tasks! Do you use other CRMs, email tools, or even Google Sheets? You can now find SimpleTix in the Zapier app list. Currently the most common SimpleTix Zaps are: Google Sheets - automatically add all new orders into a Google Sheet as the come in. Gmail - automatically email a copy of the order details to other members of your team. Slack - add new orders into Slack, this is ideal if you need to take care of mailing them a welcome packet. MailChimp - automatically add attendees to your email list. SalesForce - automatically add ticket buyers as an opportunity.

Client Highlights

Taking the Hassle Out of Conference Registration

  • Jenna Spinelle
    by Jenna Spinelle • November 25, 2018

Anyone who has ever registered for a conference knows that it can be time-consuming to click through page after page of registration options. For the past three years, the Pacesetter Conference has used SimpleTix to streamline their process for attendees. The conference is organized by Pacesetter Claims, an insurance claims organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company utilize the conference to share updates and best practices with its clients across the U.S. Streamlined Process By having all of the registration information on one page, Pacesetter’s employees can easily make all of their selections at once, or keep the page open and come back to it later. This functionality also allows managers to register more than one employee at once and choose which break-out sessions each team member will attend. CRM Integration Each registration is automatically linked to Pacesetter’s customer relationships management system through Zapier. Data does not need to be entered manually into another system or batch loaded once per day. The transfer happens in real time. This allows conference organizers to track and communicate with each registrant. The SimpleTix integration with Zapier allows ticketing data to be automatically sent to any of the major CRM systems on the market, including Salesforce and Constant Contact.   Learn More SimpleTix is a low-cost solution for any conference registration, no matter how large or small the event. All of the features that the Pacesetter Conference is using are included for just $0.99 per registration. Other conference registration services can cost $15 or more for each registrant. Contact us to learn more about how SimpleTix can streamline your next conference or professional development event.

Company News

Combining Registration and Payment for a Club Event

  • SimpleTix Team
    by SimpleTix Team • January 8, 2018

It’s winter time in British Columbia and that means one thing — skiing! The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club is a community of more than 1,000 skiiers who share access to trails, equipment, and facilities in Prince George, British Columbia. The club holds events for its members throughout the year and recently used SimpleTix to move the registration process online to save time and money over other vendors. They were familiar with Square and were looking for a way to combine it with event registration for the Moonlight Snowshow event. SimpleTix allowed them to do that by providing a registration page that also collected payment at different tiers for club members and nonmembers. Canadian payment platforms like Beanstream and Moneris can take over a week to setup an account on. There’s also setup fees and monthly fees. With Square the new account took minutes to setup and there’s no setup or monthly fees. The club was able to set everything up themselves and said the process could not have gone more smoothly. “It took less than 10 minutes to setup our entire event page,” said John Bowes, Pesident of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. Through their SimpleTix account, the club can monitor registrations and payments in real-time and have that information available to check people in on the day of the event. The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club is one of many athletic groups that use SimpleTix to manage their event registrations. We offer the lowest prices in the industry and combine payment with event registration. For a club like this one, that means more of its members hard-earned money is going toward an unnecessary expense. The nonmember ticket price for the Moonlight Snowshoe is $25. The transaction fee on each  SimpleTix purchase is just $0.99, compared to $2.62 from Eventbrite. Money collected from ticket purchases is instantly...

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