Purplepass vs TicketSpice (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Purplepass and TicketSpice share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
TicketSpice
Ticketing for events and attractions at a flat 99¢ per ticket
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Purplepass if
- Fits if you run a venue with assigned seating and a box office
- Works for events that sell printed tickets or wristbands
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell online: 3.0% card processing sits on top of the service fee
- Watch out: preprinted stock costs $0.06 to $0.12 a piece
- Tight if you sell at the door by card, at 2.5% + $0.25 a sale
- Not for you if you want the fee up front: the pricing page lists no tiers
Pick TicketSpice if
- Fits if you sell at the gate as well as online and want one system for both
- Works for venues with seating charts or timed entry slots
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you only run free events, as free tickets then cost 99¢ each
- Pricey if you want to email and text buyers on Standard, at 2¢ an email and $19 a month plus 4¢ a text, or $1.49 a ticket on Premium to get them included
- Tight if you sell a lot at the gate on Standard, as box office card sales cost 49¢ a ticket
- Watch out: the plan cards call box office sales free on Premium and Pro, but the comparison table lists 25¢ and 10¢
- Watch out: a white-label domain is $150 a year, and 2.9% + 30¢ processing comes on top of the ticket fee
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPurplepassGood | 2.6GPATicketSpiceGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo subscription. Online card processing is 3.0% on top of a service fee we could not see a figure for, and box-office card sales cost 2.5% + $0.25. | C99¢ a ticket on Standard, so 200 tickets at $20 costs $198 a month, plus 2.9% + 30¢ processing that we haven't counted. You pay it unless you pass it on to buyers. Middle of the pack here, but on Standard emails are 2¢ each and texts $19 a month plus 4¢, and Premium, which includes them, is $1.49 a ticket. |
| Free plan and trial | BNo sign-up fee, free events cost nothing and there is no cap on events or ticket types. Paid tickets carry a per-ticket fee. | BNo subscription, so nothing to pay until you sell. But free events are free only if you also run paid ones, otherwise free tickets cost 99¢ each, and on Standard email and texts cost extra. |
| Features | BAssigned seating, a phone app and box-office terminals, reservations, recurring events and printed tickets. Nothing core is missing on the listing. | BA drag-and-drop page builder, reserved seating, timed entry, an offline scanning app, a box office with cash drawer reports, iPad kiosks, merch and upgrades, and daily payouts before the event once approved. It covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Seating maps and box-office setup take work. | CNo App Store rating on record. The page builder has conditional logic and custom CSS, which means a fair bit of building before you sell. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Mailchimp, Constant Contact, WordPress and a few more. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, Authorize.net, NMI, Cybersource and Paya as payment gateways, plus an API and webhooks. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | per-ticket ticketing with box-office apps | festivals and attractions selling online and at the gate |
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: Purplepass and TicketSpice. How we grade
Where they differ
- TicketSpice also covers email campaigns and sMS marketing.
In commonFree planWebiOSAndroidReportsTicketing
At a glance
| Purplepass | TicketSpice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | Not published | Free |
| Free plan | No sign-up fee, no fee for free events, and no limit on events or ticket types. Paid tickets carry a per-ticket service fee instead of a subscription. | No subscription. Each paid ticket costs 99¢ on Standard, $1.49 on Premium or $1.99 on Pro (49¢ for tickets of $5 or less), plus 2.9% + 30¢ processing, which the organizer can pass to buyers. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Purplepass.com | Webconnex |
| Price read from | purplepass.com | ticketspice.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Purplepass
- Online card processing is 3.0% on top of the service fee, and box-office card sales are 2.5% + $0.25 per transaction.
- Bulk preprinted ticket stock is extra: $0.10 per thermal ticket, $0.12 per full-color custom ticket, $0.06 per Tyvek wristband and $0.12 per vinyl wristband.
- The pricing page lists no tiers or contract terms; box-office, comp-ticket, map-building and free-event fees are all stated as none.
TicketSpice
- Each paid ticket costs 99¢ on Standard, $1.49 on Premium or $1.99 on Pro (49¢ for tickets of $5 or less) plus 2.9% + 30¢ processing; organizers can absorb it or pass it on.
- Free events are free only for organizers who also run paid events; otherwise free tickets cost 99¢ each.
- On Standard, emails cost 2¢ each (drip emails $9 a month plus 2¢) and texts $19 a month plus 4¢ each; Premium and Pro include them. A white-label domain costs $150 a year.
- Box office card sales cost 49¢ a ticket on Standard; the plan cards call them free on Premium and Pro, while the comparison table lists 25¢ and 10¢.
Key features
Purplepass
- Assigned seating maps
- Seat maps are built to scale with color-coded price sections, partial-view flags, custom notes on seats and venue photos from a seat. Rows, tables and vendor booths can all be sold.
- Phone app and box-office terminals
- A smartphone app for iOS and Android scans tickets with the camera, looks up orders and shows live admission counts. Wireless iPad terminals add a card reader and a ticket scanner.
- Reservations and add-ons
- Reservations mode lets guests hold tickets and pay at the event. An advanced-selling mode sells merchandise, food and drink tickets alongside admission.
- Recurring and multi-day events
- One event page can cover a weekend or a repeating schedule, such as every Friday or a custom list of dates.
- Printed tickets and wristbands
- Purplepass sells preprinted thermal ticket stock and wristbands in bulk, priced per piece on its pricing page.
- Email and survey syncing
- Buyer contacts can be synced to Mailchimp, Constant Contact and SurveyMonkey, and a WordPress plugin and widget put ticket sales on an organizer's own site.
TicketSpice
- Ticketing page builder
- A drag-and-drop builder for branded ticketing pages with custom CSS, conditional logic for workflows and dynamic pricing, donations and social sharing incentives.
- Reserved seating and timed entry
- Seating charts, layouts and pods, plus recurring, daily and timed-entry tickets for attractions, tours and venues.
- Scanning app that works offline
- iOS and Android apps scan QR codes from phones or printouts, check in groups at once, sync across devices within 60 seconds and keep scanning offline.
- Box office and kiosks
- Sell at the gate by card, mobile wallet or cash with cashier tracking and cash drawer reports, or turn an iPad into a self-service kiosk.
- Add-ons, upgrades and merch
- Sell merchandise and experiences with tickets, upgrade existing orders, and send tickets by text message.
- Payouts and reports
- Ticket money can be paid out daily before the event once approved, with an attendee CRM, sales analytics, custom exports, an API and webhooks.
Plans
Purplepass
Non-profit$0
No subscription. Online service fee of 2.0% + $0.99 per ticket, plus 3.0% card processing online. By default the buyer pays the fees; the organizer can absorb them or split them.
For-profit$0
No subscription. Online service fee of 2.5% + $0.99 per ticket, plus 3.0% card processing online. By default the buyer pays the fees; the organizer can absorb them or split them.
TicketSpice
Standard$0
99¢ per paid ticket (49¢ for tickets of $5 or less) plus 2.9% + 30¢ processing; box office card sales cost 49¢ a ticket and email and SMS are paid extras.
Premium$0
$1.49 per paid ticket plus processing; adds payment plans, branding removal, a self-service kiosk, wristband printing and included email and SMS sending.
Pro$0
$1.99 per paid ticket plus processing; adds a white-label domain, full user permissions and the lowest box office and chargeback protection rates.
Ways to pay less
Purplepass
No public discounts listed.
TicketSpice
- Other savings
49¢ fee on tickets of $5 or less
Tickets priced at $5 or less cost 49¢ each instead of the plan's per-ticket fee.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Purplepass or TicketSpice?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Purplepass publishes no starting price, and TicketSpice is free.
Which has a free plan, Purplepass or TicketSpice?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Purplepass and TicketSpice have a free plan.
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.