How to Sell Tickets Online in 2026

Who this is for

You're running a pop-up fitness class, a yoga workshop, a supper club, a comedy night, a guided hike, a dance class, a game night, a fundraiser — anything where real people show up and it's reasonable to charge them. You are not Ticketmaster. The advice for stadium tours doesn't apply to you, and the platforms built for stadium tours will quietly take 8–11% of your revenue.

Everything below assumes you're an individual or a small organisation selling somewhere between a dozen and a few hundred tickets per event. At that scale, the decisions that matter are the platform fee, the payout model, and whether the tooling around the transaction (reminders, waitlists, check-in) comes included or becomes a second bill.

Step 1: Choose where to sell (the 10% decision)

Every ticketing platform does roughly the same job. What varies wildly is the cut:

Platform fees only, as published June 2026. Card processing (typically ~2.9% + $0.30 via Stripe or equivalent) applies on top at every platform — it's the cost of moving money on the internet, and no honest platform can make it disappear. Who's In rate source: whos-in.app/pricing. The full take-home math, ticket bracket by ticket bracket, is in Real Stripe fees organisers pay in 2026.

Three honest observations from that table:

1. Eventbrite is the most expensive option for small events. Its $1.79 per-ticket component is brutal at community price points — on a $15 ticket it's effectively 15.6% before card processing. The percentage piece shrinks as ticket prices rise, but most community events live exactly where the fixed fee hurts most. Full breakdown of Eventbrite's fees.
2. Flat-per-ticket tools (Ticket Tailor) are genuinely cheap — if all you need is a ticket transaction. They don't run your RSVPs, waitlists, reminders, or check-in. If you already have those covered (or don't need them), the per-ticket cost is hard to beat, especially at higher prices where a fixed fee is a tiny percentage.
3. Percentage-flat platforms like Who's In (2.7%, no surcharge) cost within pennies of the budget tools at community prices and include the entire event platform — free RSVPs, automatic waitlists, WhatsApp and email reminders, QR check-in, Apple/Google Wallet tickets, recurring events, analytics. That's the trade we'd argue for, but run your own numbers — at $75+ ticket prices with no need for event management, a flat-fee tool can win.

If you're weighing the best-known name against this approach head-to-head, the side-by-side is at Who's In vs Eventbrite.

Step 2: Connect payments (Stripe, once, ~2 minutes)

Most modern platforms — Who's In included — are built on Stripe Connect. You create or link your own Stripe account, Stripe verifies your identity, and from then on ticket money flows directly into your account. The platform never holds it.

This matters more than fees. Older models (Eventbrite included, for many organisers) collect the money themselves and pay you out after the event ends — sometimes 4–5+ days after. If you need to pay a venue deposit or instructor up front, that timing hurts. With direct Stripe payouts, sales hit your Stripe balance instantly and reach your bank on Stripe's standard schedule (typically 2–3 business days, rolling).

Do you need a registered business? No. Stripe onboards individuals in most countries. Your yoga class, your name, your bank account. (Income is still income — see the tax note in the FAQ at the end.)

Step-by-step with screenshots: Connect Stripe and get paid for your events.

Step 3: Set your price (and decide who pays the fee)

Two decisions:

The number. Cover your costs (venue ÷ realistic attendance + materials), check what similar local events charge, and don't price at zero out of guilt — paid attendees show up at dramatically higher rates than free RSVPs. Deeper dives: pricing psychology for events and how to monetise without losing attendance.

Absorb or pass on the fee. Either bake the fee into your price (“$20, all in” — cleaner, recommended for community events) or add it on top at checkout. At 2.7%, absorbing costs you $0.54 on a $20 ticket — most organisers consider that the price of never having an awkward fee conversation. At Eventbrite's rates the same decision costs $2.53, which is why this question feels so fraught on other platforms.

Step 4: Build the event page (30 seconds to decent, 5 minutes to great)

The page that sells tickets needs five things above the fold: what, when, where, how much, and one big button. Then:

• A real cover photo. Events with cover images get roughly 2x more RSVPs. Phone photos of real past sessions beat stock art — they tell the buyer exactly what they're walking into.
• Specifics over adjectives. “90 minutes, all levels, mats provided, 12 spots” sells better than “an amazing wellness experience.”
• A capacity limit. Scarcity is honest marketing when the room actually holds 12 people — and it activates the waitlist (next section).
• Zero friction for buyers. Every required account creation costs you sales. On Who's In, buyers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay without creating anything.

Step 5: Sell out, then keep selling (waitlists)

A capacity cap plus an automatic waitlist is the single most underused revenue feature in small-event ticketing. Sell out your 12 spots, and demand keeps queueing. Someone refunds? The next person is promoted and charged automatically. No DMs, no “is there still space?”, no empty seat you paid for.

It also compounds: a visible “Sold out — join the waitlist” event is social proof for your next one. How organisers fill every spot.

Step 6: Deliver tickets people can't lose

PDF attachments get buried in inboxes. In 2026, tickets should land in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — they surface on the lock screen as the event approaches and can't be “lost” the way an email can. Pair that with automated reminders (confirmation → 7 days → night before → morning of) and you'll cut no-shows substantially — published research puts the reduction from automated reminders at 29–38%, and wallet passes keep the ticket on the lock screen.

Step 7: Handle the door (without a clipboard)

QR check-in from your phone: buyer shows their wallet pass, you scan, done — duplicate scans flagged, attendance recorded, works offline in a basement venue. Your post-event data (who came, who no-showed) is what makes the next event easier to price and fill.

Refunds: the policy that protects your reputation

Decide your refund policy before you sell ticket one, and write it on the event page. Common community standard: full refund up to 48h before, then no refund but transferable. Mechanics matter too — on Who's In, a refund is one click, the 2.7% platform fee is automatically refunded as well (you're only charged on money you keep), and the freed spot auto-fills from the waitlist. Check any platform's fee-refund policy before committing; many keep their fees on refunded tickets.

The mistakes that cost first-timers money

1. Choosing a platform by brand recognition instead of fee math. The best-known name charges 4x the least-known good one.
2. Free event, paid vibes. If it costs you money to run, charge something. $5 filters flakes.
3. No capacity cap — so no waitlist, no scarcity, no recovery when plans change.
4. Announcing once. Share the link the day tickets open, at 50% sold, at “3 spots left,” and sold out (waitlist). Each is a legitimate update, not spam.
5. Ignoring the money trail. Know when payouts arrive before you commit to venue deposits.

Quick answers (FAQ)