Free Ticketing Platforms UK 2026 —
Which Are Actually Free?
Dozens of ticketing platforms claim to be “free.” We investigated every major UK platform to find out which ones are genuinely free — and which ones are just hiding their fees.
What “Free” Really Means in Ticketing
The word “free” gets thrown around a lot in the ticketing industry, but it almost never means what you think it means. There are three very different things a platform might mean when they say “free”:
- Free to sign up — You can create an account without paying. This is true of almost every platform and means very little.
- Free for free events — If you’re not charging for tickets, there’s no fee. This is also extremely common and doesn’t help if you’re selling paid tickets.
- Genuinely free — No booking fees, no commission, no service charges on paid tickets. Fans pay exactly the face value. This is exceptionally rare.
Most platforms that advertise themselves as “free” fall into the first two categories. They’re free to join, and free if you never actually sell a ticket. The moment money changes hands, fees appear — either as a visible booking fee charged to fans, or as a commission deducted from the organiser’s revenue.
The distinction matters. If you’re running paid events, the only definition of “free” that counts is the third one: zero fees on paid ticket sales.
Platform-by-Platform Breakdown
We examined every major UK ticketing platform to determine what “free” actually means in their context. Here’s what we found.
Tickts Genuinely Free
Tickts charges zero fees. No booking fees, no commission, no service charges, no per-ticket fees. The price you set is the price your fans pay — nothing added on top. Payments go directly from the fan to the organiser’s own Stripe account with no middleman.
This isn’t a promotional offer or a limited-time deal. It’s the core business model. Tickts is the only UK ticketing platform where “free” means genuinely free for paid ticket sales.
On a £25 ticket: Fan pays £25.00 — exactly face value.
Eventbrite Free for Free Events Only
Eventbrite is free if you’re listing free events. For paid tickets, they charge 6.95% + 59p per ticket. These fees can be passed to fans as a visible booking fee, or absorbed by the organiser — but either way, someone is paying.
On a £25 ticket: Fan pays £27.33 (or organiser absorbs £2.33).
DICE Not Free
DICE doesn’t show a separate booking fee to fans, which creates the impression of being “free.” In reality, DICE takes approximately 10% from the organiser’s revenue. The fee is simply hidden — absorbed into the ticket price rather than shown as a line item. Organisers receive less than the listed price.
On a £25 ticket: Fan pays £25.00 but organiser receives approximately £22.50.
WeGotTickets Not Free
WeGotTickets charges a commission of up to 10% on each ticket sold, taken from the organiser’s share. While fans may not see a separate booking fee, the organiser pays the cost. The percentage varies depending on the agreement, but it’s never zero for paid events.
On a £25 ticket: Organiser receives approximately £22.50 after commission.
Skiddle Not Free
Skiddle charges 10% + 25p per ticket as a booking fee, typically passed to the fan. There’s no “free” tier for paid events. Skiddle is transparent about their fees, but they’re among the highest of any UK platform.
On a £25 ticket: Fan pays £27.75.
TicketCo Not Free
TicketCo charges approximately 5.5% + 30p per ticket. While cheaper than some competitors, it’s still a meaningful cost on every sale. There’s no free option for paid events.
On a £25 ticket: Fee of approximately £1.68.
Fatsoma Not Free
Fatsoma charges fees on paid ticket sales, typically a percentage plus a fixed amount per ticket. While they market themselves to student events and smaller organisers, there’s no genuinely free tier for paid events.
Others: See Tickets, Ticketmaster, Outsavvy, DesignMyNight Not Free
See Tickets charges booking fees that vary by event but are typically £2–£5 per ticket. Ticketmaster adds service charges, facility fees, and processing fees that can exceed 20% of the ticket price. Outsavvy charges around 5% + 29p per ticket. DesignMyNight charges commission on bookings processed through their platform. None of these are free for paid events.
See Tickets fees · Ticketmaster fees · Outsavvy fees · DesignMyNight fees
Summary Comparison
| Platform | Fee Model | Fee on £25 Ticket | Actually Free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tickts | Zero fees | £0.00 | Yes |
| Eventbrite | 6.95% + 59p | £2.33 | No |
| DICE | ~10% absorbed | £2.50 | No |
| WeGotTickets | Up to 10% | £2.50 | No |
| Skiddle | 10% + 25p | £2.75 | No |
| TicketCo | ~5.5% + 30p | £1.68 | No |
| Outsavvy | ~5% + 29p | £1.54 | No |
| See Tickets | Varies (£2–£5) | £2–£5 | No |
| Ticketmaster | Varies (10–20%+) | £3–£5+ | No |
The Only Truly Free Ticketing Platform
After reviewing every major UK ticketing platform, only one qualifies as genuinely free for paid events: Tickts.
Here’s how it works. Unlike traditional ticketing platforms that sit between the organiser and the fan — collecting the money, taking their cut, then passing the rest on — Tickts uses a direct payment model:
- Organisers connect their own Stripe account — payments go directly from fan to organiser with no intermediary.
- Tickts takes nothing — no commission, no booking fee, no service charge, no per-ticket fee.
- Fans pay face value — the price listed is the price they pay. No nasty surprises at checkout.
- Stripe’s standard processing fee applies — 1.4% + 20p for UK cards, charged by Stripe directly. This is the same fee you’d pay accepting card payments on any website.
The result: on a £25 ticket, your fan pays exactly £25. On a £100 ticket, they pay exactly £100. No hidden fees, no markups, no “service charges” appearing at checkout.
The Verdict
If you’re searching for a “free ticketing platform” because you want your fans to pay the listed price and nothing more, Tickts is the only option in the UK that genuinely delivers this. Every other platform adds fees somewhere — either visible to the fan or hidden from the organiser’s revenue.
Free Ticketing Platforms FAQ
Eventbrite is free to sign up and free to list free events. However, for paid tickets, Eventbrite charges 6.95% + 59p per ticket. On a £25 ticket, that’s £2.33 in fees. So while the platform is free to join, selling tickets is not free.
Yes. Tickts is the only UK ticketing platform that charges genuinely zero fees — no booking fees, no commission, no service charges. Fans pay the face value and nothing more. Organisers connect their own Stripe account and receive payments directly.
Tickts uses a direct-to-Stripe model. Payments go straight from the fan to the organiser’s own Stripe account with no middleman taking a cut. There are no booking fees, no commission, and no platform charges. The only cost is Stripe’s standard processing fee of 1.4% + 20p, which Stripe charges directly — not Tickts.
Payment processing fees (charged by Stripe, PayPal, etc.) are separate from ticketing platform fees. Every platform that accepts card payments incurs processing fees — typically 1.4% + 20p for UK cards via Stripe. The difference is that most platforms charge their own fees on top of processing fees, while Tickts does not. With Tickts, the only cost is Stripe’s standard rate.
Compare Individual Platforms
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