How to Charge for Events & Sell Tickets Online (2026 Guide)
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By Craig Pollard
The complete 2026 guide to charging for events. Whether you're running a Tuesday comedy showcase, a 400-seat charity ball, a Shakespeare-in-the-park fringe show, an underground supper club, or a two-day tech conference — this is every answer to "how do I charge for my event?" in one place.
Toggle on "Paid ticket" or "Deposit". Set a price and currency.
Connect your Stripe account via OAuth — one-time, ~10 minutes.
Share the link. Customers check out with 16+ payment methods.
Funds land in your Stripe account, not ours. Typical payout: T+2 banking days.
Flat 2.7% platform fee. No per-ticket surcharge, no monthly. Free events free forever.
Your money. Your Stripe. Not ours.
Ticket revenue, deposits, and donations never touch a Who's In bank account. Every payment flows directly from the customer's card (or Apple Pay / Google Pay / Klarna / regional wallet) into your own Stripe Connect Standard account — an account you own, you log into, and you can disconnect at any time. Stripe settles to your local bank on their standard schedule.
We only ever see the 2.7% platform fee Stripe routes to us at the moment of payment. We hold no funds, we cannot withdraw from your Stripe, and we cannot refund on your behalf without your explicit action. This is the same architecture Shopify, Lyft, and Substack use for their creators. PCI-DSS Level 1, 3DS2 SCA for UK/EU cards, Stripe Radar fraud protection, GDPR + UK GDPR compliant. Card numbers never touch Who's In servers.
Every payment method your attendees already use
Stripe Connect powers checkout on every paid event, every ticketed show, every deposit, every donation. Methods available at checkout, selected automatically by Stripe based on the customer's country and device:
Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners, UnionPay
Digital wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link (by Stripe), Amazon Pay, Revolut Pay, Samsung Pay, MB WAY (Portugal), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Naver Pay (South Korea), PAYCO (South Korea)
Buy-now-pay-later: Klarna — split $35+ tickets into 3 interest-free payments (UK / EU / US / AU)
Authenticated bank debit: Bancontact (Belgium), EPS (Austria)
Real-time payments: Pix (Brazil)
Every event you can charge for
Twelve formats with purpose-built landing pages and templates:
Deposits & holds — reserve-the-seat deposits that convert to credit on arrival
Exactly what you pay
Free events → free forever. No credit card, no trial, no feature gate.
Paid events → 2.7% flat Who's In platform fee. No per-ticket surcharge, no monthly. This is the Who's In platform charge — Stripe's standard processing fees apply separately on top (typically 1.5–2.9% + a small fixed amount per transaction, varies by your country and the customer's payment method). See stripe.com/pricing for authoritative Stripe rates.
Payouts to your Stripe account, typically T+2 banking days. Not a held balance on our side.
Worked examples
$10 ticket → Who's In $0.27 vs Eventbrite $2.16 — you save $1.89/ticket
$25 ticket → Who's In $0.68 vs Eventbrite $2.72 — you save $2.04/ticket
$75 ticket → Who's In $2.03 vs Eventbrite $4.57 — you save $2.54/ticket
100 × $25 tickets → Who's In $67.50 vs Eventbrite $272 — you save $204.50
Beyond flat-price tickets
Deposits & reserve-holds. For supper clubs, karaoke booth bookings, private dining, theatre season passes. Set the deposit amount (e.g. $20 of $60), charged immediately; settle the balance on the night. Drops no-show rate 60–80% versus free RSVPs.
Buy-now-pay-later via Klarna. Tickets above ~$35 unlock Klarna's 3-installment split at checkout. Conversion on higher-priced events typically lifts 15–25%. Klarna pays you in full on day one.
Donation add-on for charity events. Any ticketed event can enable an optional donation field at checkout — "add £5 to support the cause". Average add-on take rate on charity balls and fundraising runs is 22–38%.
Craig Pollard is the founder of Who's In and a former Apple team lead (12 years). He writes about event technology, community building, and the future of AI-powered event discovery. Board advisor, investor, and non-executive director in technology and sports.
Create your event (60 seconds), toggle on "Paid ticket" or "Deposit", set a price and currency, connect your Stripe account via OAuth (one-time, ~10 minutes), then share the link. Customers check out with 16+ payment methods including cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Link, Amazon Pay, Revolut Pay, Samsung Pay, Bancontact, EPS, MB WAY, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, PAYCO, and Pix. Who's In takes a flat 2.7% platform fee; Stripe's standard processing fee applies on top. Funds go to YOUR Stripe account, not ours, with payouts typically T+2 banking days.
Is charging for tickets on Who's In safe and secure?
Yes. Payments are processed by Stripe — PCI-DSS Level 1 certified, 3DS2 Strong Customer Authentication enabled in the UK/EU, and Stripe Radar fraud protection on every transaction. Card numbers never touch Who's In servers. Funds flow directly from the customer's card into YOUR own Stripe Connect Standard account — we do not hold your money, we cannot withdraw from your Stripe, and you can disconnect at any time. This is the same architecture Shopify, Lyft, and Substack use.
Do funds go to Who's In or to me?
Directly to you. We use Stripe Connect Standard — you own the Stripe account, funds settle to your local bank on Stripe's standard schedule (typically T+2 banking days), and we only ever see the 2.7% platform fee Stripe routes to us at the moment of payment. We hold no balance on your behalf.
What's the cheapest way to sell event tickets online?
For small-to-medium events, Who's In is the cheapest mainstream option at 2.7% flat (Who's In platform fee), no per-ticket surcharge, no monthly fee. Stripe's standard processing fees apply on top of the platform fee and are paid directly to Stripe — the same Stripe fees you'd pay on any competitor's platform. On a $15 ticket the Who's In platform fee is $0.41 vs Eventbrite's $2.35 platform fee (3.7% + $1.79). Lower fees only exist on self-hosted open-source options, which require technical setup and lose you Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Klarna by default. See https://stripe.com/pricing for Stripe's authoritative processing rates.
Can I take deposits instead of full-price tickets?
Yes. Deposit mode is designed for supper clubs, karaoke booth holds, theatre season bookings, private dinners, and any event where you want to lock a commitment without charging the full amount upfront. Set the deposit amount (e.g. $20 against a $60 cover), the deposit is charged immediately, and you settle the balance in person or via a follow-up Stripe invoice.
What payment methods do my attendees see at checkout?
Every event checkout offers: cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, JCB, Diners, UnionPay); digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, Amazon Pay, Revolut Pay, Samsung Pay, MB WAY, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, PAYCO); buy-now-pay-later (Klarna); authenticated bank debit (Bancontact, EPS); and real-time payments (Pix). Stripe automatically shows the methods most likely to convert based on the customer's location and device.
Does Who's In support Apple Pay and Google Pay?
Yes. Both are on by default on every paid event, every device. On Safari (iOS/macOS) the Apple Pay button renders in the Payment Request API; on Chrome (Android/desktop) Google Pay appears. One-tap biometric checkout typically converts 2–3× higher than card entry. Apple and Google Wallet ticket passes are also issued automatically after purchase.
Can I offer Klarna or buy-now-pay-later on event tickets?
Yes — Klarna is enabled by default and appears at checkout for eligible tickets and eligible customer locations (UK, EU, US, AU). Attendees can split a $100+ ticket into three interest-free payments, which lifts conversion for higher-priced events like galas, conferences, and multi-day festivals. Klarna pays you in full on day one; the installment relationship is between Klarna and the customer.
Is Who's In a good charity / fundraising ticketing platform?
Yes. Charity balls, gala dinners, sponsored walks, fun runs, and fundraising auctions all use Who's In — the flat 2.7% means ~$175 more per $10,000 raised vs Eventbrite, and the optional donation-upsell field at checkout typically takes 22–38% add-on rate. Table sponsorships and tier-priced tickets (Early Bird / Standard / VIP / Sponsor) are all supported.
How do refunds work?
One-click refund from the organiser dashboard — partial or full. Our platform fee is refunded automatically too (you're only ever charged on money you actually keep). Stripe's processing fee refund policy varies by country — in the UK/EU the processing fee is non-refundable; in the US it's typically refunded within 180 days.
Which countries can payout via Who's In
Any country where Stripe Connect Standard operates — currently 60+ countries including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, every EU member state, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, UAE, and more. Payouts land in your local currency in your local bank.
Do I need a Stripe account before I start?
No. You can create a Stripe account during the onboarding flow in about 10 minutes. If you already have a Stripe account (common for studios, gyms, club organisers), use the "Link existing Stripe account" option on the /settings page — OAuth round-trip, no re-verification needed.
What about chargeback protection?
Chargebacks are handled through Stripe's standard dispute flow. Who's In provides the full evidence pack automatically (customer email, purchase timestamp, device fingerprint, IP, QR check-in record if applicable) — you just submit. Event ticketing has a naturally low chargeback rate because attendees receive an immediate confirmation and a wallet pass; disputes that do happen win 70%+ of the time with the evidence we auto-generate.
What makes Who's In different from Eventbrite, Luma or Partiful?
Three things: (1) the lowest mainstream ticket fee at 2.7% flat — roughly half of Eventbrite's 3.7% + $1.79 stack on typical price points; (2) payouts to your own Stripe account rather than a held balance, so cash flow is T+2 not T+7; (3) purpose-built templates for the formats that actually charge — comedy, karaoke, theatre, galas, workshops, conferences — with the right defaults (capacity, disclaimers, deposit mode, waitlist, reconfirmation) pre-configured instead of a blank form.
