The hidden tax on every ticket you sell

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Eventbrite takes 8.7% of every ticket you sell.

Here is what that means in numbers you can hold.

You run a 200-person conference. Tickets are £150. You gross £30,000.

Eventbrite keeps £2,610. Before VAT. Before payouts. Before you have paid the speakers.

Two thousand six hundred and ten pounds. For a payment form and an email.

Most organisers do not notice because the fee hides inside the buyer-pays toggle. The buyer sees £163.05. You see £150 land in your account. The £13.05 in the middle never shows up on your dashboard as a line item.

That is by design. Hidden taxes are easier to charge.

Here is the lesson.

Price the fee inside the ticket. Make it visible. Track it as a cost line in your event P&L, right next to venue and catering.

The moment the fee sits next to the bar tab, you will start shopping for a cheaper one.

The cheapest one charges 1%.

On the same conference, that is £300 instead of £2,610. Same ticket. Same buyer. £2,310 stays in your account.

You do not need a better marketing plan. You need a smaller fee.

Saturday, 16 May 2026