SmartScale Events vs Eventbrite
Both let you pass fees to buyers and both are free for free events. On a paid ticket, your buyers pay less with SmartScale Events at every price below, and you get nightlife tools Eventbrite doesn't focus on. Eventbrite brings a much bigger marketplace audience.
Fees, worked out
SmartScale Events: free to create. 3.5% + $1.59 service fee per paid ticket plus card processing, shown to the buyer up front. You choose per event whether buyers pay the fees (below) or you absorb them. Free events are free.
Eventbrite: 3.7% + $1.79 service fee per paid ticket, plus 2.9% payment processing on the order. Buyers pay by default; organizers can absorb fees per ticket type.
| Ticket price | Buyer pays, SmartScale | Buyer pays, Eventbrite | You keep, SmartScale | You keep, Eventbrite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $17.62 | $17.85 | $14.69 | $15.00 |
| $25 | $28.27 | $28.52 | $24.68 | $25.00 |
| $50 | $54.89 | $55.20 | $49.66 | $50.00 |
| $100 | $108.14 | $108.55 | $99.61 | $100.00 |
One ticket per order, fees passed to the buyer on SmartScale Events. With fees passed to buyers, Eventbrite organizers keep the ticket price. With SmartScale Events you receive your ticket price minus about 30¢ per order that Stripe keeps (less per ticket when an order has several tickets). Rates checked September 27, 2026 from Eventbrite pricing, Eventbrite: how much it costs organizers. Prices change; check their pages for current rates.
Where Eventbrite is better
- A consumer marketplace with tens of millions of monthly users browsing for events, so some buyers find you there without your own promotion.
- Brand recognition: some buyers already have an Eventbrite account and trust the checkout.
- Paid promotion tools and a Premium plan ($69/month) with ads credit and social promotion.
Where SmartScale Events is better
- Lower all-in price for your buyers on every paid ticket.
- Tables, VIP sections and private pay links for bottle packages and deposits.
- Promoter links with commission tracking, and co-hosts with their own dashboards.
- Tickets by text with Apple and Google Wallet, reminder texts, and text blasts to your buyers.
- Upload your flyer and the AI builds the event, tickets and launch posts.
- Free API, webhooks and a ChatGPT / Claude connector on every account.
Switching takes about ten minutes
Create your SmartScale Events account, upload the same flyer, and your event is rebuilt in about a minute. Point your links and bio at the new page. Your Eventbrite event can stay up until it ends.
- Create a free organizer account.
- Upload your flyer to the AI builder. It fills in the date, venue, lineup and ticket types, and you fix anything it missed.
- Connect your bank through Stripe so payouts go straight to you.
- Publish, and share your new link.
