Eventbrite costs UK charities up to £1.29 per ticket on the Flex plan. There are better options.
- Zeffy is the only completely free alternative: £0 platform fees, £0 transaction fees, every pound stays with your charity.
- Ticket Tailor is the UK independent favourite: flat fee from £0.22 to £0.60 per ticket, 50% charity discount, and direct Stripe payouts.
- TicketSource charges organisers nothing: buyers pay a booking fee, so you keep the full face value.
- Eventcube suits charities needing white-label ticketing: Starter at 5% per transaction or Pro at £99 per month.
- TryBooking is ideal for PTAs and free events: 5% plus 15p on paid tickets, tap-to-pay app included.
Table of contents
Every £15 fete ticket sold on Eventbrite can lose more than £1 in fees before your charity sees a penny. For a village hall selling 200 tickets at £15, that is more than £200 handed to a platform rather than to your cause.
If your charity is already running on volunteer goodwill and a tight budget, watching a tenth of every ticket sale disappear to platform fees is a genuine problem. You did not get into fundraising to become an expert in payment processing models. You just want simple, affordable tools that help you sell tickets without losing money.
There is a deeper problem too. A small UK charity running a summer fete, an autumn appeal, a Christmas raffle, and a sponsored 5K is typically paying four separate platforms to do it: Ticket Tailor for fete tickets, JustGiving for the donate page, Crowdfunder for the Christmas campaign, and Beacon or Donorfy to keep track of supporters. That is four monthly subscriptions, four logins, and four sets of fees. Zeffy consolidates that stack at no cost.
This guide compares seven real alternatives to Eventbrite for UK charities, with transparent UK pricing, honest verdicts, and a clear view of how much you could save.
How much are Eventbrite fees costing your UK charity?
Eventbrite's paid-event plans are structured around two tiers for UK organisers. The Flex plan costs £7.99 per event plus a per-ticket fee plus 2.9% card processing. The Pro plan runs from £19 per month, with a lower per-ticket fee at higher volumes. On a typical £15 community fete ticket under the Flex plan, Eventbrite takes roughly £1.29 or more before processing, which means a charity selling 200 tickets at £15 (£3,000 gross) could lose approximately £280 to £350 in platform and processing fees alone.
Note: the calculator below is calibrated to US dollars and US Eventbrite pricing. For the UK figures, use the worked example above. Verify Eventbrite UK pricing at eventbrite.co.uk before your next event, as UK ticketing pricing changes frequently.
UK charities and donors are increasingly scrutinising platform tip prompts and hidden fees. Zeffy charges £0 in platform and transaction fees to charities, with no voluntary-contribution pressure built into the checkout. There are no hidden costs and no suggested tips.
The only 100% free Eventbrite alternative for UK charities is Zeffy
Zeffy is the only truly free event management platform built specifically for UK charities and community groups. Other platforms claim to be 'charity-friendly' but still take 3% to 7% of your ticket revenue. Zeffy delivers on the promise of zero fees unconditionally.
Example: When you raise £5,000 through events with Zeffy, you keep £5,000. On other platforms, you typically lose £150 to £400 of that to platform and processing fees.
Platform comparison: what you actually pay on a £1,000 event
Based on 50 tickets at £20 each (£1,000 gross). Fees verified from UK sources; re-verify before each event as pricing changes.
|
| Zeffy | £0 platform fee, £0 transaction fee | £1,000 | £0 |
| Eventbrite (Flex) | £7.99/event + ~6.95% + £0.59/ticket + processing | ~£875 to £900 | ~£100 to £125 |
| Ticket Tailor (charity rate) | ~£0.30/ticket + Stripe 1.5% + 20p | ~£960 to £975 | ~£25 to £40 |
| TicketSource | £0 organiser fee; buyers pay ~10% booking fee | £1,000 (organiser) | £0 (organiser); buyers spend ~£1,100 |
| Eventcube (Starter) | 5% + Stripe processing | ~£925 to £935 | ~£65 to £75 |
| TryBooking UK | 5% + 15p per ticket | ~£942 | ~£57.50 |
| Skiddle | ~10% + 25p/ticket (buyer-facing) | £1,000 (organiser) | £0 (organiser); buyers spend ~£1,125 |
Fees verified from published UK pricing pages, June 2026. Re-verify live at each platform before publishing ticket prices. Ticket Tailor and Eventbrite figures cross-checked against Zeffy vs Eventbrite and Zeffy vs Ticket Tailor compare pages (verified 19 June 2026). TicketSource, Eventcube, TryBooking, and Skiddle: verify live at ticketsource.co.uk, eventcube.io, trybooking.com/uk, and skiddle.com before relying on these figures.
The honest UK shortlist for charity event ticketing
Most small UK charities do not need Eventbrite's global discovery network. What they need is a platform that does not eat into their margin, handles tap-to-pay for the fete gate, and gets money into the charity's account quickly. Here is the honest shortlist.
1. Zeffy: built for charities, completely free
Zeffy is the only event management platform that charges UK charities and community groups absolutely nothing. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no monthly charge. Ever.
Key features:
- £0 platform fees, £0 transaction fees, £0 monthly charges
- Unlimited events, campaigns, and ticket sales
- Customisable ticketing pages and registration forms
- In-person payments via the Zeffy tap-to-pay app (no cash required at the door)
- Easy attendee check-in with e-ticket scanning
- Post-event analytics and automated marketing emails
- Donor management built in
Pricing: Truly free. Zeffy operates on an optional donor-contribution model, with no hidden fees and no pressure on your attendees.
Pros:
- Saves your charity's budget with zero fees on every event
- Designed specifically for charities, community groups, PTAs and not-for-profits
- All-in-one platform: ticketing, donation pages, raffles, memberships, and supporter records in one place
- Excellent support with onboarding help
Cons:
- Newer to the UK, though growing fast
- Fewer third-party integrations than enterprise platforms
Savings example: A charity raising £10,000 annually through events saves roughly £670 or more per year compared with Eventbrite's Flex plan. That money goes directly to your cause, not to a platform.
What about Gift Aid? Gift Aid does not apply to event ticket purchases because a ticket is payment for a service, not a donation. However, if a supporter adds a voluntary donation on top of their ticket, that donation can be Gift Aid eligible. Your charity can reclaim 25p for every £1 donated from HMRC with a valid Gift Aid declaration. See HMRC Gift Aid guidance for the full rules. Contact Zeffy's support team to confirm current Gift Aid declaration capture in your account.
2. Ticket Tailor: the UK independent favourite
Ticket Tailor is UK-founded, B Corp certified, and bootstrapped. It is the Eventbrite alternative most consistently recommended by independent UK event organisers and charity fundraisers.
Key features:
- Flat fee per ticket, not a percentage (your margin is predictable)
- Pay-as-you-go: £0.60 per ticket; pre-purchased credits as low as £0.22 per ticket
- 50% charity discount on all ticket fees
- Free for events with under 2,000 free tickets per year
- Direct Stripe or PayPal payouts (funds arrive in your account fast, not held by the platform)
- No monthly subscription required
Pricing: With the charity discount, expect roughly £0.22 to £0.30 per ticket plus Stripe processing (1.5% plus 20p per transaction for UK cards). On a £20 ticket sold 50 times, total fees are roughly £25 to £40.
Pros:
- Predictable flat-fee model; no percentage surprise at settlement
- Direct payouts to your bank account
- UK-founded, B Corp certified
Cons:
- No discovery marketplace: you bring your own audience
- Stripe processing fees still apply on top of the per-ticket fee
- Zeffy saves you more (the per-ticket fee adds up at volume)
Right fit when: your charity sells tickets consistently above £10 and you want predictable per-ticket costs without a monthly subscription.
3. TicketSource: zero organiser fees, buyer-facing booking charge
TicketSource is Wales-based and has won the STAR Outstanding Customer Service Award twice. Its model flips the fee arrangement: organisers pay nothing; buyers pay a booking fee at checkout.
Key features:
- 0% organiser fee on all events
- Buyer-facing booking fee of approximately 10% on lower-priced tickets (reduces proportionally on higher-priced tickets)
- Charity discount available
- Direct Stripe option for instant payouts
- Strong track record with community theatre, schools, churches, and community groups
Pricing: £0 to the organiser. Buyers see a higher total at checkout. On 50 tickets at £20, the organiser receives £1,000; buyers collectively pay approximately £1,100.
Pros:
- Genuinely zero cost to your charity
- Well-established with community and arts organisations
Cons:
- The buyer-facing booking fee can reduce conversion, particularly for price-sensitive audiences
- Less useful when attendees are not already committed to your cause
Right fit when: your event audience is motivated by the cause (charity gala, church concert, amateur dramatics, school play) and is less likely to abandon checkout over a booking fee.
Fees to be verified live at ticketsource.co.uk before relying on these figures (no Zeffy compare page available for TicketSource; fees verified June 2026).
4. Eventcube: white-label ticketing for charities with volume
Eventcube is London-based and puts your charity's brand front and centre at checkout. The Liberal Democrats use it as their official events platform.
Key features:
- White-label ticketing: attendees see your charity's brand, not Eventcube's
- Starter plan: 5% per transaction, no monthly fee
- Pro plan: £99 per month plus 3% per transaction
- Stripe payment processing on top
- Suitable for multi-event charities that need a consistent branded experience
Pricing: On a £20 ticket sold 50 times (£1,000 gross), Starter fees are roughly £50 plus Stripe processing (approximately £65 to £75 all in). Pro plan makes sense above roughly £10,000 in annual ticket revenue.
Pros:
- White-label is a genuine differentiator for charities where brand at checkout matters
- No discovery dependency: attendees come via your own channels
Cons:
- Starter percentage adds up at volume; Pro plan subscription is an additional fixed cost
- More complex to set up than Ticket Tailor or TicketSource
- Processing fees apply on top of the platform fee
Right fit when: your charity has consistent ticket volume (roughly £10,000 or more per year) and brand consistency at checkout is a strategic priority.
Fees to be verified live at eventcube.io before relying on these figures (no Zeffy compare page; fees verified June 2026).
5. TryBooking: free-event friendly, tap-to-pay included
TryBooking is popular with PTAs, schools, community groups and village halls that run a mix of free and paid events. Its included tap-to-pay app is a genuine differentiator for door sales.
Key features:
- Free for free events (no registration cap)
- 5% plus 15p per paid ticket
- Mobile tap-to-pay box-office app included at no extra cost
- Fees can be passed to the buyer if preferred
Pricing: On a £20 ticket sold 50 times, fees are approximately £57.50 (5% plus 15p per ticket).
Pros:
- The tap-to-pay app addresses the "cash is dying at events" problem directly
- Good fit for PTAs, community groups and occasional-event charities
Cons:
- 5% plus 15p adds up quickly at volume; Zeffy is the zero-cost alternative
- Less feature-rich than Eventbrite or Eventcube for large or complex events
- Smaller community of organisers in the UK than Ticket Tailor
Right fit when: your group runs a mix of free and low-cost paid events and needs tap-to-pay at the door without paying for a separate card reader.
Fees to be verified live at trybooking.com/uk before relying on these figures (no Zeffy compare page; fees verified June 2026).
6. Skiddle: discovery-led ticketing for music and cultural events
Skiddle is one of the UK's largest discovery ticketing platforms, with a strong presence in nightlife, dance music, festivals and cultural events.
Key features:
- Large discovery marketplace reaching music and nightlife audiences
- Buyer-facing fee of approximately 10% plus 25p per ticket
- £0 to the organiser on the buyer-fee model
Pricing: Approximately 10% plus 25p per ticket (buyer-facing). The organiser receives the full face value.
Pros:
- Genuine discovery reach for music and cultural events
- No organiser fee on the standard model
- Large established audience
Cons:
- Only worth it if your event needs discovery traffic in the music or nightlife space
- The audience and discovery algorithm are not calibrated for charity fundraisers, fetes or community events
- Buyer-facing fee is proportionally high on lower-priced tickets
Right fit when: your charity fundraiser is genuinely a discovery-driven music, cultural or nightlife event where the Skiddle audience is your natural target.
Fees to be verified live at skiddle.com before relying on these figures (no Zeffy compare page; fees verified June 2026).
7. Tito: conferences and professional summits
Tito is Ireland-based and the recognised standard for tech conferences, developer summits and professional events across the UK and Ireland.
Key features:
- Percentage fee capped at approximately €25 per ticket (no runaway costs on high-price tickets)
- 2.5% for charities and not-for-profits
- Clean, professional attendee experience
Pricing: 2.5% for charities, capped at ~€25 per ticket. On a £20 ticket sold 50 times, charity fees are approximately £25.
Pros:
- Genuinely charity-friendly percentage rate
- Well-regarded in the UK tech and conference community
Cons:
- Niche fit: designed for conferences and summits, not for fetes, fundraising galas or community events
- Not a general-purpose charity event platform
- Pricing in euros creates a minor currency mismatch for UK GBP reporting
Right fit when: your charity or not-for-profit is hosting a professional conference, summit or sector event where the Tito design and conference-focused feature set is a genuine asset.
Why UK charities are leaving Eventbrite
UK charities are switching away from Eventbrite for four consistent reasons.
- Per-ticket fees price small charities out of ticketing. "All of these platforms apart from Zeffy charge an overhead per ticket, which would probably make them too expensive for us." (Mick, village hall.) A £1.29 fee on a £10 fete ticket is more than a tenth of the ticket price. When your margin is already thin, that fee is the difference between an event that funds your work and one that barely breaks even.
- Fragmented tool stacks drain time and money. A typical small UK charity is paying Ticket Tailor for fete tickets, JustGiving for its donate page, Crowdfunder for a Christmas campaign, and Beacon or Donorfy to manage supporter records. That is four monthly fees, four logins, four separate reporting views. Zeffy replaces that stack at no cost: ticketing, donation pages, raffles, memberships, auctions, and supporter records in one place.
- Fee transparency matters to UK donors and trustees. UK charities and donors are increasingly scrutinising platform tip prompts. Years of scrutiny from consumer groups and review sites have made donors suspicious of checkout tip prompts on legacy platforms. Zeffy charges charities £0 in platform and transaction fees, with no voluntary-contribution pressure built into the checkout. Your donors see only your ticket price.
- Data protection is a buying criterion, not an afterthought. Trustees and donors now ask whether a platform is UK GDPR compliant before adoption. Look for any ticketing platform to be clear about how it processes donor and attendee data under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Questions to ask: Where is data stored? What is the lawful basis for processing? Can you export your supporter records? The Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on GDPR compliance for organisations handling personal data. Cross-reference any platform's privacy policy against the Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025), which includes requirements on data handling for online fundraising platforms under Section 9.
A note on Gift Aid and event tickets
Gift Aid does not apply to event ticket purchases. A ticket is payment for a service or goods; HMRC's Gift Aid rules require that the donor receives nothing of material benefit in return. This applies to raffle entries, auction lots sold at fair value, and standard event tickets.
However, if a supporter makes a voluntary donation alongside their ticket purchase (a separate, optional amount not linked to the ticket price), that donation can be Gift Aid eligible. Your charity can reclaim 25p for every £1 donated from HMRC, provided the donor signs a Gift Aid declaration confirming they are a UK taxpayer. See HMRC Gift Aid guidance for the full rules and declaration requirements.
For small cash and contactless donations of £30 or less collected at the event door, your charity may also be able to claim a Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) top-up of 25%, up to £8,000 in eligible donations per tax year, without a written declaration. You must have been HMRC-recognised for at least two complete tax years. Contact Zeffy's support team to confirm how Gift Aid declaration capture works in your account before making any claims.
Stop losing ticket revenue. Switch to Zeffy.
Every event you run on Eventbrite or another fee-charging platform is money leaving your charity. Whether it is £50 from a summer fete or £1,500 from your Christmas gala, those fees add up to real impact you are not delivering.
Your charity deserves more than a platform that charges you less. You deserve a platform built specifically for organisations that cannot afford to waste money on fees: one that understands every pound matters when you are running a community food bank, a village hall, a PTA, or a local hospice appeal.
Zeffy is free for UK charities. Unconditionally. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no credit card fee. Keep 100% of every ticket sale. Consolidate your ticketing, donations, raffles, memberships and supporter records in one place with four fewer monthly subscriptions. Zeffy follows the expectations of the Code of Fundraising Practice and is subject to the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Frequently asked questions
Is Eventbrite free for charities in the UK?
Eventbrite is free only for free events with fewer than 25 attendees. For paid events, UK charities must use the Flex plan (£7.99 per event plus a per-ticket fee plus 2.9% card processing) or the Pro plan (from £19 per month). On a £15 ticket, Eventbrite typically takes more than £1 before processing. For charities watching their margins, this is a significant cost. Zeffy offers the same core features at £0.
What is the best free Eventbrite alternative for UK charities?
Zeffy is the only completely free option: £0 platform fees, £0 transaction fees, no monthly charge. For charities that want a low-cost alternative rather than a free one, Ticket Tailor (from £0.22 to £0.60 per ticket with the 50% charity discount, plus Stripe processing) is the most widely recommended UK independent platform. TicketSource offers zero organiser fees but passes a booking fee of roughly 10% to buyers. The right choice depends on your event type, audience, and whether you need a tap-to-pay app at the door.
How can UK charities avoid ticketing fees?
Use Zeffy. It is the only platform that charges charities and community groups nothing at all. For in-person events, Zeffy's tap-to-pay app means you can take card payments at the door without a separate card reader or additional fees. Cash is no longer the default at UK events; the ability to take cards quickly and for free is now essential for village halls, fetes, and quiz nights.
Is it worth switching from Eventbrite?
Yes, for most small UK charities. If you are raising £5,000 or more per year through ticketed events, switching from Eventbrite to Zeffy saves you roughly £300 to £600 or more in platform and processing fees annually, depending on your ticket prices and volumes. The switch also gives you access to donation pages, raffles, memberships, and supporter records in one free platform, which reduces the number of paid tools your team needs to manage.
How hard is it to switch platforms?
Most charities can set up a Zeffy account and publish their first event in under an hour. Importing existing supporter data is possible; contact Zeffy's support team to confirm the current import options before you start, so there are no surprises. Your supporters follow the checkout experience you give them; a clear, branded ticket page on Zeffy typically converts as well as or better than Eventbrite, with no tip prompt at checkout reducing donation confidence.
Does Zeffy work for large charity events?
Yes. Zeffy handles unlimited ticket sales, unlimited attendees, and unlimited campaigns with no tiered pricing. Whether you are running a 20-person quiz night or a 500-person gala dinner, the platform and the fees are identical: £0. Post-event analytics, automated confirmation emails, and attendee check-in via e-ticket scanning are all included.
Does Zeffy handle Gift Aid for UK charity event tickets?
Gift Aid does not apply to event ticket purchases because a ticket is payment for a service. HMRC requires that a Gift Aid donation must be a genuine gift with no material benefit in return. However, if you collect a voluntary donation alongside a ticket purchase, that donation may be Gift Aid eligible with a valid declaration. See HMRC Gift Aid guidance for the full rules. Contact Zeffy's support team to confirm how Gift Aid declaration capture is handled in your account.
Can I claim Gift Aid on event tickets?
No. HMRC does not allow Gift Aid on event ticket purchases, raffle entries, or auction lots sold at fair value, because the buyer receives something of value in return. Gift Aid requires a genuine donation with no material benefit. If your event includes an optional voluntary donation element (separate from the ticket price), that donation can be Gift Aid eligible if the donor is a UK taxpayer and signs a declaration. See HMRC Gift Aid guidance for full details.
Do I need a licence to run a raffle at my event?
It depends on how the raffle is structured. If you sell tickets and conduct the draw entirely at the event (an incidental non-commercial lottery), no registration is required. If you sell tickets in advance or online, your raffle is a small society lottery and must be registered with your local council. The registration fee is £40 initially and £20 to renew annually. Key limits: £20,000 maximum ticket sales per draw, £250,000 per year across all lotteries, at least 20% of proceeds to the good cause, and a maximum single prize of £25,000. See the Gambling Commission guidance on small society lotteries for the full rules.
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