Hi.Events 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 2.8.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ticket Tailor grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hi.Events
Open-source event ticketing with a hosted or self-run option
Ticket Tailor
Event ticketing for a flat fee per ticket, with prepaid credits
Which one is for you
Pick Hi.Events if
- Fits if you sell few tickets and want no monthly bill
- Makes sense if you can run your own server and want the open-source edition
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want your own branding, as removing the label costs $33.99 a month
- Skip it if you need reserved seating today, since it is early access
- Watch out: payouts go through your own Stripe account and Stripe's fees are charged on top
- Watch out: self-hosting is free, but seating, box office and SSO on your own server need a licence
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
| 2.8GPAHi.EventsGood | 3.0GPATicket TailorVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BNo monthly fee, but each paid ticket costs 1.25% + $0.60, Stripe's processing fees come on top, and removing branding is $33.99 a month. | 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 | AThe hosted account has every feature with no monthly fee, and free events cost nothing. A self-hosted edition is free too. | 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 | CTicketing, QR check-in, team access and an API. Reserved seating and the box office are marked early access. | 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 connect your own Stripe account to get paid. | 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, an API, and connections to Claude and ChatGPT. | 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 | open-source ticketing with a hosted option | 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: Hi.Events and Ticket Tailor. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hi.Events starts at $28 a month when paid by the year 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 $28 a month lower. Of the other event ticketing platforms on the chart, 9 score higher than Hi.Events 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
- Hi.Events is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Ticket Tailor also covers reports and email campaigns.
At a glance
| Hi.Events | Ticket Tailor | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $33.99 per month to remove branding, or $335.99 per year | Free |
| Free plan | Hosted account at no monthly fee with every feature; paid tickets cost 1.25% + $0.60 each, and free events cost nothing. | 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 | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hi.Events Ltd. | Zimma Ltd |
| Price read from | hi.events | tickettailor.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hi.Events
- Paid-ticket payouts go through your own Stripe account, and Stripe's processing fees are charged on top.
- Reserved seating and the box office are marked early access, and company SSO is on request.
- Self-hosting is free, but reserved seating, box office and SSO on your own server need a licence.
- Removing the Powered by Hi.Events branding costs $33.99 a month or $335.99 a year.
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
Hi.Events
- Ticketing and checkout
- Unlimited events and ticket types, an embeddable checkout widget, promo codes, affiliate tracking, and your own service fees and taxes.
- QR check-in
- Door staff check guests in with a link and no install, by camera scan, USB scanner or name search, with a live count per door list.
- Reserved seating
- Draw a venue once, price it by section, and let buyers choose their own seats. Marked early access on the pricing page.
- Box office
- Staff sell at the door from a browser, taking cash or cards on Stripe readers paid into your own Stripe account. Marked early access.
- AI assistant connection
- Connect Claude or ChatGPT to find attendees, resend tickets or pull sales figures by asking.
- Team access and API
- View-only and per-event team access, required two-factor sign-in, single sign-on on request, and a REST API.
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
Hi.Events
Hosted$0
No monthly fee or contract. Fee of 1.25% + $0.60 per paid ticket, paid by the buyer by default or absorbed by you.
Branding removal$33.99
per month for the whole account ($335.99 billed yearly)
Removes the Powered by Hi.Events label from pages, checkout, widgets, tickets and emails. Plus tax where it applies.
Self-hosted (AGPL)$0
Open source edition you run on your own servers, with no platform fees.
Self-hosted licence€249
per year for the first €10k of ticket sales
Annual licence priced by ticket sales: €12 per €1,000 from €10k to €30k, falling to €5.50 above €1.5M.
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
Hi.Events
- Annual discount
Branding removal cheaper when billed yearly
Removing the branding is $335.99 a year instead of $33.99 a month, the yearly price the pricing page lists.
- Nonprofit
Licence discounts for non-profits and education
The self-hosted licence page says discounts exist for non-profits, education, early-stage startups and PPP-eligible countries, on request.
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, Hi.Events or Ticket Tailor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ticket Tailor is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $28 a month when paid by the year for Hi.Events. Hi.Events starts at $33.99 per month to remove branding, or $335.99 per year, and Ticket Tailor is free.
Which has a free plan, Hi.Events or Ticket Tailor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Hi.Events and Ticket Tailor have a free plan.
Which platforms do Hi.Events 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.