Luma vs Partiful (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Luma if

• Fits if you run a meetup or club and want people to follow your calendar
• Works for organizers who sell enough tickets that $59 a month costs less than a 5% cut

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want buyers to pay the fees on top of the ticket
• Skip it if you need reserved seating or one event with several sessions
• Tight if you email a big list, as free calendars send 500 invites a week and more costs $50 to $800 a month
• Watch out: Plus covers one calendar and can't be moved, and the API and Zapier need it
• Pricey if you need more than 3 admins, at $12 a month each, $9 billed yearly

Pick Partiful if

• Fits if you host parties and want guests to answer a link
• Works for small ticketed events in the US or UK

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you sell tickets outside the US and UK, as it isn't supported there
• Watch out: the fee on paid tickets varies and no rate table is published
• Pricey if you want premium invite designs, which cost extra at a price not stated
• Watch out: service fees are non-refundable

Luma

• On the free plan Luma keeps 5% of each paid ticket on top of Stripe's fee; fees cannot be added at checkout, so organizers build them into the price.
• Free calendars send 500 invites or newsletters a week; Plus sends 5,000, and more costs $50 to $800 a month. Extra admins cost $12 a month ($9 billed yearly).
• The API and Zapier need Luma Plus, which applies to one calendar and cannot be moved to another.
• There is no multi-session event type; Luma suggests cloning an event, up to 30 copies at a time, for recurring sessions.

Partiful

• The ticketing page says selling tickets is supported in the US and UK only.
• The fee on paid tickets varies with event size and ticket price; no rate table is published on the pages we read, and service fees are non-refundable.
• Premium invite designs are an optional paid extra whose price is not stated on the pages we read.

Luma

Event pages and calendars

Themed event pages and calendars that people subscribe to, with event discovery on Luma, referrals that show who shared the event, and hidden locations for approved guests.

Registration and tickets

Paid, free and sliding-scale ticket types, approval or token-gated registration, group purchases, coupons and unlock codes, waitlists and custom registration questions.

Reminders and newsletters

Blasts and automatic reminders by email, text, push notification and WhatsApp, plus newsletters to calendar subscribers within the weekly send limit.

Check-in and wallet passes

Scan guests' QR codes at the door or check them in by name; tickets go into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and work without the Luma app.

Online and hybrid events

Luma can create Zoom meetings or webinars for an event and track who attended, and supports Google Meet and hybrid events with both kinds of location.

Payments

Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and regional methods such as iDEAL, Konbini and PayNow through Stripe, plus crypto payments in SOL and USDC.

Partiful

Event pages and RSVPs

Hosts share one link; guests respond without an app. Guests can see who is coming, comment and share photos on the event page.

Ticket sales

Ticket tiers, promo codes, early access and capacity limits, with sales, payouts and attendance tracked in the host's view. Payments run through Stripe.

Door check-in

Guests are scanned in by QR code, and hosts can give non-host staff check-in access.

Guest questionnaires and approval

Custom questions such as dietary needs or social handles, plus the option to approve or reject guests.

Text blasts

One SMS message reaches every guest individually instead of a group chat.

Explore and local discovery

Public events can appear in city listings such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

Luma

• Free$0

  Unlimited events and guests. Luma keeps 5% of each paid ticket on top of Stripe's fee (typically 2.9% + 30¢), taken from the organizer's sales.

• Luma Plus$59

  per month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)

  0% platform fee, 5,000 invite and newsletter sends a week, 5 admins, tax collection, custom URLs, a check-in manager role, Zapier and the API.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Organization accounts with single sign-on, security restrictions, more integrations and APIs, and custom-built features.

Partiful

• Free$0

  Invites, RSVPs, text blasts and free events at no cost. Paid tickets carry a service fee that depends on event size and ticket price; the host or the guest can pay it.

Luma

• Annual discount

  Save 14% on Luma Plus with yearly billing

  Luma Plus costs $59 a month billed yearly instead of $69 billed monthly, which the pricing page shows as a 14% saving; send add-ons save up to 11% yearly.

Partiful

No public discounts listed.