Event Smart vs Ticket Tailor (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Ticket Tailor: it is first in our ranking of event ticketing platforms, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ticket Tailor grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Event Smart
Event registration sites with no per-ticket fees
Ticket Tailor
Event ticketing for a flat fee per ticket, with prepaid credits
Which one is for you
Pick Event Smart if
- Fits if you run classes or workshops and want a flat fee, not a cut per ticket
- Works for nonprofits that can use the 15% to 20% discount
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need QR scanning, which is on Business at $100 a month
- Watch out: card payments are a separate $15 a month, and QR ticket delivery is $20 on lower plans
- Tight if you stay on Basic, with ads on your page and 25 emails an hour
- Watch out: the FAQ quotes $10 for the payment upgrade where the plans say $15
Pick Ticket Tailor if
- Fits if you sell pricier tickets and want a flat fee rather than a percentage
- Works for venues and attractions with timed or recurring entry
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to open a Stripe, PayPal or Square account
- Pricey if you want your own branding, as white label costs $49 a month and a custom domain alone $8
- Tight if you sell lots of seated tickets, as each reserved seat uses an extra credit
- Watch out: tickets issued through the API or imported are charged even when free
- Watch out: HubSpot, ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact links carry a monthly fee
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEvent SmartFair | 3.0GPATicket TailorVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPersonal is $50 a month, the category middle, but phone scanning needs Business at $100, and card payments add $15 on each plan. | B$0.85 a ticket as you sell, so 200 tickets at $20 is $170 a month plus VAT, and prepaid credits from $0.30 a ticket bring that down. You pay it unless you pass it on as a booking fee. Card processing through your own Stripe, PayPal or Square isn't counted. Among the lower fees here. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic is free with unlimited events, but it shows ads and caps email at 25 an hour. A 14-day Business trial needs no card. | ANo subscription and nothing to pay until you sell a paid ticket, and your first five are free. Free events cost nothing up to 5,000 tickets a year, a cap few people will reach, though seated free tickets still use a credit each. |
| Features | CTicket types, forms, promo codes and waitlists exist, but card payments and QR delivery are paid add-ons, so the basic job has gaps. | BEvent pages, embedded checkout, reserved seating, timed and recurring slots, memberships, gift vouchers, waitlists and a check-in app that works offline and takes Tap to Pay. It covers selling, the door and getting paid, since the money lands in your own account. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build the event page and forms yourself. | CNo App Store rating on record. You connect your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account before you can take money, then build your event pages, so there's a bit to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net and Google Analytics. Phone scanning is a browser job, with no app listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Mailchimp, HubSpot, Zapier, WordPress, a public API and an MCP connector for AI assistants. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | registration sites with a flat monthly fee | a flat fee per ticket instead of a percentage |
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: Event Smart and Ticket Tailor. How we grade
Price against what you get
Event Smart starts at $50 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Ticket Tailor has no paid plan and scores 2.7.
Ticket Tailor scores higher and starts $50 a month lower. Of the other event ticketing platforms on the chart, 12 score higher than Event Smart for less, and none scores higher than Ticket Tailor 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
- Event Smart also covers forms and qR codes.
- Ticket Tailor also covers reports and email campaigns.
At a glance
| Event Smart | Ticket Tailor | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $50 per month | Free |
| Free plan | Basic plan: unlimited events and multiple ticket types with no commission, but ads show on the event site and email is capped at 25 per hour. | No subscription. Free tickets cost nothing up to 5,000 a year; paid tickets cost $0.85 each as you sell, or from $0.30 each with prepaid credits, plus VAT and card processing. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Business plan, no card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Event Smart | Zimma Ltd |
| Price read from | eventsmart.com | tickettailor.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Event Smart
- Taking card payments is a separate upgrade at $15 a month on each plan (the FAQ cites $10 for an online payment upgrade).
- Basic shows ads on the event website and caps email at 25 per hour.
- On Basic and Personal, QR code ticket delivery is a paid add-on of $20 a month.
- Gateway fees from Stripe, PayPal or similar still apply.
Ticket Tailor
- Paid tickets cost $0.85 each as you sell or from $0.30 with prepaid credits, plus VAT and processing (2.9% + $0.30 with Stripe in the US); organizers may pass fees to buyers.
- Reserved seats use an extra credit each, and tickets issued through the API or imported are charged even when free.
- Removing Ticket Tailor branding (white label) costs $49 a month and a custom domain alone $8; HubSpot, ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact links carry a monthly fee.
- You need your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account to take payments; Ticket Tailor never holds the ticket money.
Key features
Event Smart
- No commission or ticket fees
- The vendor charges only for subscriptions and upgrades, not per ticket; the payment gateway still charges its own transaction fees.
- Multiple ticket types
- Sell several ticket or registration types, with taxes, surcharges and required tickets on the Personal plan and above.
- Custom registration forms
- Ask custom questions and mark them required, and send custom registration emails (Personal plan and above).
- QR code tickets and scanning
- Email tickets with QR codes or barcodes and scan them with a phone or tablet at the door (Business plan).
- Waitlists and promo codes
- The Business plan adds a waitlist for sold-out events, discount codes and an event shopping cart.
- Event calendar and embeds
- Show events on a calendar and embed event listings on another site through an iframe.
Ticket Tailor
- Box office and event pages
- Branded event pages with themes, colors and layouts, checkout embedded on your own site, password-protected private events and a cart that covers several events.
- Reserved seating
- Build seating charts for theaters, stadiums or dinner layouts so buyers choose their own seats; each seat reserved costs one extra credit.
- Check-in app with Tap to Pay
- The free iOS and Android app scans ticket QR codes with the phone camera or an external scanner, works without signal, and takes card sales at the door.
- Recurring events and memberships
- Repeating dates and time slots with a busy-times heat map, memberships and season passes, gift vouchers, waitlists and fee-free donations at checkout.
- Attendee email and reminders
- Free scheduled or instant email broadcasts by ticket type, plus text and WhatsApp reminders; buyers can add text reminders at checkout for a small fee.
- Integrations, API and MCP
- Direct links to Mailchimp, HubSpot, Constant Contact and ActiveCampaign, Zapier for other apps, a public API and an MCP connector for AI assistants.
Plans
Event Smart
Basic$0
Unlimited events, offline invoice payment, attendee list download, 25 emails per hour and ads on the event site.
Personal$50
per month
No ads, multi-date events, custom registration emails, laptop check-in, 200 emails per hour.
Business$100
per month
Adds QR code tickets and phone scanning, promo codes, waitlists, custom CSS, analytics and 500 emails per hour.
Ticket Tailor
Free events$0
No fee for issuing up to 5,000 free tickets a year; larger free events get a quote. Seated free tickets still use one credit each.
Pay as you go$0
A flat $0.85 per paid ticket plus VAT, charged to the organizer, who can pass it to buyers as a booking fee. The first five tickets sold are free.
Pay upfront$0
Prepaid ticket credits from $0.30 per ticket plus VAT, in packs of at least 100, that never expire; the per-credit price falls as the pack grows.
Ways to pay less
Event Smart
- Nonprofit
15% to 20% off for nonprofits
Nonprofit, NGO and charity organizations get 15% off the Personal plan and 20% off the Business plan.
Ticket Tailor
- Nonprofit
50% off fees for registered charities
Registered charities get half off Ticket Tailor's fees for good, applied from the billing page with proof of status; discounts are also offered to B Corps, PTAs and other nonprofits.
- Other savings
Half fee on tickets under $5
Tickets and products under $5, including booking fees and taxes, count as half a usage on application, so low-priced events pay half the normal fee.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Event Smart or Ticket Tailor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ticket Tailor is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $50 a month for Event Smart. Event Smart starts at $50 per month, and Ticket Tailor is free.
Which has a free plan, Event Smart or Ticket Tailor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Event Smart and Ticket Tailor have a free plan.
Which platforms do Event Smart and Ticket Tailor run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Ticket Tailor lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. 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.