Eventbrite's Fees Are Taking a Toll

Small community organisations often run on shoestring budgets. A bake sale might fund a seniors' dance night, or a handful of volunteers might pull off a cultural festival. Every dollar counts. But when platforms like Eventbrite take 5-10% off every ticket sold, it's brutal. Sell 100 tickets at $20 each, and you're handing over $100-$200 in fees. That’s money that could’ve gone to your event or back to the community.

You might be thinking, "What about free events?" Sure, Eventbrite lets you host free events without fees, but it’s not really free. You’re still stuck with their branding, limited pricing options, and restrictions on how you manage RSVPs. Plus, you don’t fully own your data — Eventbrite does.

Keeping 100% of Ticket Revenue

This is where platforms like CommunityTix come in. It charges zero platform fees. That means if you sell a $20 ticket, you keep the full $20 (minus standard PayPal processing fees, which are unavoidable anywhere).

Take the real-world example of a cultural association hosting a Diwali event. With 300 attendees paying $15 each, Eventbrite's fees could easily hit $450 or more. Using CommunityTix, they keep every penny of that $4,500 revenue. For small groups, that’s a big deal.

Flexible Pricing for Equity-Focused Events

Another frustration with Eventbrite? It assumes all tickets have fixed prices. But many community organisations run Pay What You Can (PWYC) events to make them accessible. Eventbrite doesn’t support that model natively — you’d have to hack it together or use external tools.

CommunityTix has PWYC built in. You can set up to three suggested price points and let attendees decide what they can afford. No workarounds, no extra effort. For equity-focused groups, this flexibility is a game-changer. Imagine a local arts society running a workshop where attendees pay $5, $10, or $20 based on their budget. CommunityTix makes that seamless.

Owning Your Data and Branding

Here’s another reason Eventbrite falls short: it doesn’t give you control over branding or data. Your event ends up looking like every other Eventbrite event, and attendee information is locked in their system. Community organisations need their own identity, especially when building trust and loyalty.

CommunityTix solves this by giving each organisation a branded subdomain (e.g., mygroup.communitytix.org). You get control of your homepage, event listings, and even a blog. Plus, all member and attendee data stays with you — no vendor lock-in. That’s huge for groups worried about privacy or long-term control.

The Bottom Line

Community organisations are ditching Eventbrite because it simply doesn’t serve their needs. Between high fees, lack of pricing flexibility, and limited branding options, it’s clear why tools like CommunityTix are gaining traction. If your group is tired of handing over hard-earned dollars or struggling with clunky workarounds, it’s worth trying something built for communities — not corporations.