Eventbrite vs pretix (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Eventbrite: it is second in our ranking of event ticketing platforms, and they share a 3.0 GPA.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Eventbrite grades higher on ease of use. pretix grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Eventbrite
Ticketing and event marketplace, with fees usually paid by buyers
pretix
Open-source ticket shop, hosted or on your own server
Which one is for you
Pick Eventbrite if
- Fits if you want people browsing a marketplace to find your event
- Works for free community events, which pay no fees at all
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your buyers balk at fees, as 3.7% + $1.79 a ticket plus 2.9% processing is the most here
- Not for you if you email a big list, since free sends stop at 250 a day and Pro starts at $15 a month
- Skip it if you're outside the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Ireland, where its plans aren't offered
- Watch out: ad spend on Eventbrite Ads, Facebook and Instagram is extra, and Ads run only in select markets
- Watch out: phone support needs a sales partnership, and 24/7 chat covers paid events only
Pick pretix if
- Fits if you run a business or non-profit and want a ticket shop you control
- Works for teams with a server who want the free Community edition
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are an individual: hosted is for businesses and similar bodies
- Tight if you sell many free tickets, as those past 500 a year cost €0.50 each
- Watch out: fees are in euros, billed monthly and quoted without VAT
- Pricey if you want paid modules on hosted, such as €25 per exhibitor for lead scanning
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAEventbriteVery good | 3.0GPApretixVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBuyers pay by default, so you keep the ticket price, but the fee is the dearest here: 3.7% + $1.79 a ticket is $506 on 200 $20 tickets, with 2.9% processing per order on top that we haven't counted. Absorb it and it's yours. More than 250 emails a day needs Pro from $15 a month. | BHosted has no monthly fee and the first 500 free tickets a year cost nothing. Self-hosted paid tiers start at €499 a year. Hosted per-ticket rates aren't on the listing. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree to publish as many events as you like, and free events carry no fees at all. The free account sends 250 marketing emails a day, and more needs Pro from $15 a month. A small series could run on it for good. | BHosted has no monthly fee, and the Community edition is free to run on your own server. But the hosted service refuses personal users. |
| Features | BMarketplace listing, ticket types, add-ons, waitlists, reserved seating, timed entry, email campaigns, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok promotion, a check-in app with Tap to Pay, and payouts before the event. It covers the whole job. | BCustomisable shop, check-in, box office and kiosks, exhibitor lead scanning, reports and a REST API. Some extras, such as lead scanning, cost €25 per exhibitor. |
| Ease of use | A4.79 from 32,637 App Store ratings, and that's for the Eventbrite Organizer app, the one you use to run the door. Making an event is guided, with AI help to write it up. | CNo store rating on record. A shop has to be built, and the Community edition needs your own server. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Mailchimp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and a public API. No desktop app, which an A needs, and its pricing plans are offered only in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland. | AWeb, iPhone, Android, Windows and Linux, with PayPal, Stripe, Mollie, HubSpot and a REST API. |
| Best for | getting found by buyers on a big marketplace | open-source ticket shop, hosted or your own |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Eventbrite and pretix. How we grade
Price against what you get
Eventbrite starts at $15 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. pretix starts at about $46.46 a month and scores 3.0.
Eventbrite scores higher and starts $31.46 a month lower. Of the other event ticketing platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Eventbrite for less, and 1 scores higher than pretix for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- pretix is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Eventbrite also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| Eventbrite | pretix | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month and up, for Eventbrite Pro email sends | €499 per year, self-hosted, up to 10,000 orders a year |
| Free plan | Free to publish unlimited events. Free tickets carry no fees; paid tickets carry a 3.7% + $1.79 service fee and 2.9% processing per order, paid by buyers by default. Up to 250 marketing emails a day. | The hosted service has no monthly fee and no charge for the first 500 free tickets per calendar year; the Community edition is free open-source software you host yourself. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Eventbrite, Inc. | pretix GmbH |
| Price read from | eventbrite.com | pretix.eu |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Eventbrite
- Paid tickets carry a 3.7% + $1.79 service fee and 2.9% processing per order; buyers pay them by default, or the organizer can absorb them.
- The free account sends up to 250 marketing emails a day; more needs Pro from $15 a month, and ad spend for Eventbrite Ads, Facebook and Instagram is extra.
- Eventbrite says its pricing plans are offered in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, and Eventbrite Ads only in select markets.
- 24/7 chat support covers paid events; phone support and a strategic advisor come with the sales partnership.
pretix
- The hosted service is for businesses and similar entities such as non-profits and associations; the pricing page says personal users cannot use it.
- Free tickets beyond the 500-a-year quota cost €0.50 each on hosted, and the quota grows with every paid ticket.
- Hosted fees are billed monthly by invoice and are quoted excluding VAT; fees are in euros, and other currencies are converted.
- Paid modules on hosted: Peppol and Italy or Portugal e-invoicing at €0.20 per invoice, and lead scanning at €25 per exhibitor.
Key features
Eventbrite
- Events marketplace
- Events are listed on Eventbrite's own discovery marketplace, where buyers browse local events, so organizers can reach people beyond their own following.
- Ticketing and registration
- Custom event pages, several ticket types, add-ons, custom registration forms, waitlists, promo codes, embedded checkout and AI-assisted event creation.
- Reserved seating and timed entry
- Seat maps that let buyers pick seats, and timed-entry ticketing for attractions and exhibitions that admit people in time slots.
- Marketing tools
- Email campaigns to segmented lists of past buyers, Facebook and Instagram ad tools, TikTok promotion and paid Eventbrite Ads placements on the marketplace.
- Organizer app and Tap to Pay
- The iOS and Android Organizer app scans QR-code tickets, tracks live attendance and sales, and takes payment for tickets and merchandise at the door.
- Payouts before the event
- Eventbrite Payment Processing pays out before the event, with Instant Payouts in minutes or a custom schedule, and sales and fee reports.
pretix
- Customizable ticket shop
- A hosted or self-run shop with individual tickets, discount and voucher options and a choice of payment providers such as PayPal, Stripe and Mollie.
- Check-in and access control
- The pretixSCAN app runs on Android and iOS and works both online and offline, so scanning continues without a connection.
- Box office and kiosks
- pretixPOS is a cash register app for on-site sales and pretixKIOSK turns a device into a ticket vending machine.
- Exhibitor lead scanning
- pretixLEAD lets exhibitors scan attendees' badges for leads. The hosted service bills €25 per exhibitor who scans at least one lead.
- Reports and REST API
- Exports and full API access are included in every edition, and the company publishes REST API documentation.
- Hardware rental
- The company also rents event hardware for scanning and point of sale.
Plans
Eventbrite
Free$0
No subscription. Each paid ticket carries 3.7% + $1.79 plus 2.9% processing per order, paid by the buyer unless the organizer absorbs it; free events cost nothing.
Pro$15
per month and up
A subscription add-on for marketing email that raises the daily limit from 250 sends to between 2,000 and 10,000. Ticket fees still apply.
Sales partnershipCustom
For large or complex events: a strategic advisor, Eventbrite-sponsored marketing, and priority phone and 24/7 chat support.
pretix
pretix Hosted€0
No monthly fee. 2.5% of the ticket price excl. taxes, at most €15 per ticket, plus payment provider fees. Free tickets: first 500 a year are free.
Community€0
Free open-source edition under AGPLv3 with additional terms. You host it yourself, with unlimited ticket volume and email support.
Enterprise Starter€499
per year, self-hosted, up to 10,000 orders and €30,000 revenue
Self-hosted license with 3 plugin license points. Price rises with volume: €2,000 for up to 50,000 orders and €150,000 revenue.
Enterprise Professional€750
per year, self-hosted, up to 10,000 orders and €30,000 revenue
Self-hosted license with 10 plugin license points.
Enterprise Ultimate€950
per year, self-hosted, up to 10,000 orders and €30,000 revenue
Self-hosted license with 20 plugin license points.
Ways to pay less
Eventbrite
- Nonprofit
50% off Pro for qualifying nonprofits
Qualifying nonprofits get half off Eventbrite's Pro plans, and donation tickets carry discounted ticketing fees.
pretix
- Nonprofit
Lower hosted fees for non-profits
Non-profit and charity organizations pay 2.0% of the ticket price (maximum €15) and €0.10 per free ticket on pretix Hosted, after contacting the company.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Eventbrite or pretix?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Eventbrite is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against about $46.46 a month for pretix. Eventbrite starts at $15 per month and up, for Eventbrite Pro email sends, and pretix starts at €499 per year, self-hosted, up to 10,000 orders a year.
Which has a free plan, Eventbrite or pretix?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Eventbrite and pretix have a free plan.
Which platforms do Eventbrite and pretix run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only pretix lists Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.