Ticketmaster is the biggest ticket sale and resale website - bar none - and has a complete monopoly on selling original tickets to events, but it has its share of problems, including being full of bots that take up available website traffic space and prevent real fans from accessing tickets to their events, and who could forget the 2023 Ticketmaster Taylor Swift tour debacle where Ticketmaster couldn’t keep their website open for sales to the event.
But the options for Ticketmaster alternatives is a sea of websites that all have different fees for buyers and sellers, offer different protection for your tickets, and unique aspects that make them all difficult to assess when you’re looking for specific tickets. So if you’re looking for an alternative, you need to assess all of these aspects to choose the best option that suits your specific needs. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the top Ticketmaster competitors, including:
- Our top picks
- How to choose the best Ticketmaster competitor
- 7 best Ticketmaster alternatives for buyers and sellers
- 4 tips for getting a good deal with a Ticketmaster alternative
- How we completed our ticket resale site research
Let’s start with understanding how to choose from the top alternatives to Ticketmaster.
Pro Tip
If you’re looking for the best ticket resale website overall rather than just the ones that are most similar to Ticketmaster, we’ve compared the top 10 ticket resale sites to help you decide. Depending on what you’re using these sites for, check out our rankings for buyers, or our rankings for sellers.
How to choose the best Ticketmaster competitor
The four most important things to consider when choosing an alternative to Ticketmaster are buyer and seller fees, ticket volume and availability, customer service, and ticket protection and guarantees. This is how to evaluate them based on the rankings you will see below:
Buyer and seller fees
The fees found on alternatives to Ticketmaster range substantially from site to site, but they generally fall into these three categories:
- No fees - There are no fees for buyers added at checkout (TickPick, TicketNetwork)
- Low fees - Fees for buyers range between 5-10% (TicketSwap)
- High fees - Fees are 28% or higher (StubHub, VividSeats, SeatGeek, TicketLiquidator)
Seller fees are typically 15%, but some websites offer lower fees for sellers like TicketSwap (5%), VividSeats (10%), or SeatGeek (10%).
Ticket volume and availability
These labels are used in our rankings below based on the total number of monthly users that each website has:
- High - 10-100M (StubHub, VividSeats, SeatGeek)
- Medium - 1-10M (TickPick, TicketSwap, TicketNetwork)
- Low - Under 1 M (TicketLiquidator)
For reference, Ticketmaster itself has over 100 million monthly users, so no alternative quite matches Ticketmaster’s user count. Use this as your reference of how many tickets will be available on each site compared to one another.
Customer service options and quality
The available customer service options on these ticket sites like Ticketmaster might help you make a final decision, because you may need to get in touch with them if your event is postponed or canceled, or you experience any kind of fraud with the tickets that were sold to you. You want to choose a site that will help you resolve your issue quickly, as when it comes to tickets, if you need replacements for your event, you could be dealing with very short timelines to try to get the issue resolved.
Ticket sites generally include options like instant chat, phone, email, contact form, or FAQ help center. Our ratings below indicate which of these methods are available, and try to rank the sites based on how good their customer service is overall.
Ticket protection and guarantees
Every Ticketmaster alternative listed here offers what they call a “guarantee”, which means you get 100% of your money back if your tickets don’t arrive on time or not provide you with valid entry to your event. Some of these sites have guarantees that stand out and really protect you if anything should go wrong.
TickPick has a Best Price Guarantee in addition to its regular BuyerTrust Guarantee, which offers you 110% of the difference in price to your TickPick account if you find tickets you purchased on another ticket website cheaper, and StubHub is the only alternative here that also protects their sellers.
7 best Ticketmaster alternatives for buyers and sellers
We’ve built a list of just the top 7 to help you choose, and break down all their unique aspects to compare them as directly as possible below:
1. Stubhub
Biggest for reselling
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
High
Ticket Availability:
High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Philippines
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Philippines
What We Like
Best choice for number of available buyers for your tickets, or options for tickets as a buyer
The only ticket resale site to guarantee both buyers and sellers
Excellent resources and customer service
What We Don't Like
Some of the biggest buyer fees out there at 29-45%
Fees range so inexplicably that there’s no real way to know how much the tickets are really going to cost when looking at your options
Our Recommendation
StubHub is the top competitor to Ticketmaster mainly because of its large buyer and seller pool, and years of well-established history as a trusted ticket resale website. If you’re looking to prioritize increasing your chances of actually selling your tickets, or having the most available options to choose from as a buyer, StubHub will be your best bet.
Check Out Available Tickets
2. Vivid Seats
Best customer service
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
High
Ticket Availability:
High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, Philippines, Mexico, UK
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, Philippines, Mexico, UK
What We Like
Second biggest resale user base (other than StubHub)
Buy 10 tickets, get the 11th free rewards program
Lower seller fees at only 10%
What We Don't Like
At a whopping 32%, it has some of the highest fees for buyers
Also adds flat rate fees to the final checkout total, increasing costs event further
Our Recommendation
VividSeats is a close second to StubHub in terms of how big its user base is, so this would be a good choice if your priorities include having the most options to choose from as a buyer, or increasing your chances of actually selling your tickets as a seller. VividSeats also has the best customer service of any ticket resale site, so if resolving potential issues is important to you, this is the site you should choose.
Check Out Available Tickets
3. TickPick
No buyer fees
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, UK, Mexico, India
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, UK, Mexico, India
What We Like
No fees for buyers ever
Find 'price matching' for tickets with their Best Price Guarantee
Absolutely incredible site and app experience
What We Don't Like
Hasn't yet accumulated a huge user base
Proving you had issues with your tickets is sometimes difficult
Our Recommendation
TickPick is typically a better site for buyers because it’s like other ticket resale sites, but without any fees. It works kind of like real estate where the sellers pay for all of the commission (a standard 15%), so buyers don’t have to pay anything on top of the real cost of the tickets. Though better for buyers for this reason, it’s also good for sellers because it attracts a lot of buyers who are sick of paying huge fees on other sites like Ticketmaster, StubHub, VividSeats, or SeatGeek.
Check Out Available Tickets
4. SeatGeek
Buyer Fees:
Ranges from 34-44%
Buyer Fees:
Ranges from 34-44%
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
High
Ticket Availability:
High
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone Number, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone Number, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, India
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, India
What We Like
Has a lot of users to buy from or sell to
Often offers exclusive promos, deals, & discounts
Lower commissions for sellers at 10%
What We Don't Like
Some of the highest buyer fees at 34-44%!
Customer service needs improvement when dealing with issues
Our Recommendation
SeatGeek is one of the top Ticketmaster competitors because it has one of the biggest, most well-established user bases, and has been around long enough to be established and well-trusted by ticket buyers and sellers, so if your primary concern is to use a trusted site and increase your available options, use SeatGeek. If your primary concern is saving money, SeatGeek’s fees will not help you accomplish that.
Check Out Available Tickets
5. Ticketswap
Lowest fees overall
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany
Top Countries:
Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany
What We Like
Lowest overall fees for both buyers and sellers at only 5% each
Resale cost is capped at a 20% markup
SecureSwap eliminates possibility of ticket fraud
What We Don't Like
Mostly popular for events in Europe only
Not nearly as many users or available options as Ticketmaster
Our Recommendation
TicketSwap is best if you are looking for events in Europe specifically, as you’ll be hard pressed - at least at the moment - to find a lot of options for other events. However, if you have a lot of time to wait for your tickets to sell, you should still list them here as you can save a lot of money with those 5% fees.
Check Out Available Tickets
6. TicketNetwork
Best promos
Buyer Fees:
None, but ticket prices are inflated
Buyer Fees:
None, but ticket prices are inflated
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy
What We Like
No buyer fees added to your total at checkout
Has constant promotions to help you save money
What We Don't Like
Lack of fees for buyers seems to be met with inflated ticket prices
Customer service is seriously lacking
Not as many users or available tickets
Our Recommendation
This is a great site for buyers specifically or if your aim is to pay less for your tickets, as no buyer fees are going to increase the prices you see while choosing your actual seats. But, TicketNetwork does have fewer users than some of these bigger sites, so it’s best used to compare options you might find on other websites to try to save money on your bottom line because of the fees.
Check Out Available Tickets
7. Ticket Liquidator
Buyer Fees:
31%
Buyer Fees:
31%
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Low
Ticket Availability:
Low
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Israel. Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico
Top Countries:
US, Israel. Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico
What We Like
Offers coupons and constant sales for tickets
Buyers and sellers don’t have to deal with each other directly
What We Don't Like
Buyers fees are quite high at 31%
Number of users is lower than some of these other sites
Customer service is poor
Our Recommendation
TicketLiquidator isn’t as well-established as some of these other Ticketmaster alternatives, but it is great as an extra option to compare available tickets to try to save some money, as the total cost may be slightly lower than the sites with the highest fees like SeatGeek or StubHub that get into 40%+. You can also knock some cost off by scanning their promos and coupons, so if your priorities are to save money on the bottom line, use TicketLiquidator.
Check Out Available Tickets
Common sites like Ticketmaster & ticket reselling FAQs
Still have questions about these ticket resale sites? Here are the answers to the most common questions.
Are these Ticketmaster alternatives & ticket release sites safe to use in general?
Yes, these sites are typically very safe to use, and have found ways to counteract the fraud that used to occur more commonly on them. These sites use verified payment methods like PayPal, they offer 100% money-back guarantees with their ticket protection when you place orders, and some of them have newer technologies that prevent sellers from selling fake tickets. It’s much harder today to list fake tickets because these sites can verify them so quickly before they even approve your listings.
What’s the difference between original tickets, P2P resale, & secondary ticket websites?
All of these types of websites have unique aspects to them, and in some, you have to deal directly with the buyer or seller to get your tickets (or to deal with issues like refunds), while in others, you only deal with the website directly who will resolve all issues for you. Here’s the basic breakdown on what each site type is:
- Original ticket - The website is licensed and approved by the venues promoting the event to sell tickets directly from the venue to the purchaser. Tickets are always guaranteed and verified.
- P2P resale - Meaning “person to person”, the website facilitates a seller listing their tickets for sale on the website, who then is responsible for providing the tickets to a buyer when the sale is made.
- Secondary ticket website - The website buys tickets from a seller of the original tickets, and then lists them for sale so the website’s buyers can purchase them directly from the website.
Am I getting a good price for these tickets? How do I know?
The best way is to utilize some of the websites that offer a gauge to see how these tickets compare to other sales that were just made, like TickPick’s Deal Score rating system:
Sites will sometimes show you either how much tickets actually sold for in this section, give you an A, B, C, type rating, or a “this deal is better than 25% of other sales”, and most commonly, a green (good), yellow (average), or red (bad) color coding system to show you how good the price is. Use these rating systems to compare your deals across sections within a single site, or even across multiple websites.
You can also check out these tips below for how to get the best deal on your tickets.
4 tips for getting a good deal with a Ticketmaster alternative
Trying to save money on the bottom-line cost of a ticket is one of the top criteria buyers use to choose a ticket resale site. To get the best deal when purchasing resale tickets online, use these tips:
- Buy your tickets last-minute - Sellers lower their prices right before the event to ensure they sell, so this is the best time to try to buy (if you can be flexible, and risk not going to the event).
- Look for comparable tickets in the same section - When choosing your site, look around at different rows in the same section, as sellers will often do this and lower their ticket price by a few dollars per ticket to entice you to purchase their seats instead of someone else’s.
- Look for the exact tickets on another site - Once you’re happy with your ticket choice, look through the other Ticketmaster alternatives on this list to see if you can find the exact same tickets; sellers often list on multiple websites to increase their chances of selling, but if you buy on a site with lower fees, your overall cost will end up being lower.
- Try to find a promo or discount before checkout - Many sites offer these, so check out the footer (bottom) of the homepage for a link to Promos or Discounts to find a promo code you can enter at checkout.
Make sure to look for promo codes on the site you choose before the final stage of checkout, as some Ticketmaster alternatives have promotions, like TicketNetwork’s $25.00 off purchases of $150 or more, or TicketLiquidator’s standing offer of 15% off your first purchase.
How we completed our ticket resale site research
Techboomers has been helping our users learn to use the world’s most popular sites and apps for years, but getting acquainted with the resale ticket industry took a lot of effort, especially because of how different each site models its commission structures, fees, guarantees, and everything that make the sites unique, so ranking these sites like StubHub was no easy task.
We conducted over 30 hours of research comparing every aspect of these alternatives to see how they stack up against each other, and then narrowed down our list here to the best 7 that compare to Ticketmaster, and offer you something as a potential ticket buyer or seller.
Because the fees are so inconsistent on every site, we even went to great lengths to research specific events in the same and different locations to verify the true service fees being charged.
Because we looked at every single aspect of all of these resale websites, it was easy to rate them by their various components, knowing what the baseline for the industry was, and knowing which ones stand out for potential ticket resellers and buyers like yourself.
That’s it for our detailed comparison of the best alternatives to Ticketmaster. If you’re interested in learning more, check out some of our other detailed guides and tutorials about ticketing websites, including our breakdowns of the best ticket resale site for buyers, and for sellers. If StubHub struck your fancy as the best Ticketmaster competitor, be sure to read our guide Ticketmaster vs StubHub where we do a head-to-head comparison.
