7 Best StubHub Alternatives for Ticket Resales Ranked in 2023
By Kay FleuryUpdated on July 18, 2023
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Best customer service
Best customer service overall
App and website experience are top-notch
Most users worldwide
Most popular ticket website
Can get resale tickets closer to face value cost
Only place to get original tickets
No buyer fees
Buyers don’t pay fees
Amazing customer service
Lower seller fees
Seller fees only 10%
Great Buyer Guarantee & policies
Buyer and seller pool very high
The resale ticket market is oversaturated with many websites that all have different fees, buyer and seller protection guarantees, and unique intricacies that make them all different, and StubHub is the longest-standing and biggest of these websites. But StubHub has very large buyer fees - sometimes as high as 46% of the ticket value - so finding a StubHub alternative could be your key to finding cheaper tickets as a buyer, or selling tickets at a higher profit if you’re a seller.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the top StubHub competitors, including:
Let’s start with understanding how to choose from the top alternatives to StubHub.
Pro Tip
If you’re looking for the best ticket resale website overall rather than just the ones that are most similar to StubHub, we’ve compared all 10 of the top resale ticket 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 StubHub competitor
There are four key things that are the most important to consider when choosing an alternative to StubHub: buyer and seller fees, ticket volume and availability, customer service, and ticket protection and guarantees, and here’s how to evaluate them based on our rankings below:
Buyer and seller fees
Fees for buyers vary so drastically from site to site, but these StubHub alternatives generally fall into three categories:
- No to low fees - There are no fees for either buyers, or the fees are below 10% (TickPick, TicketSwap, TicketNetwork)
- Mid-range fees - Fees for buyers range between 10-30% (Ticketmaster)
- High fees - Fees are 30% or higher (VividSeats, SeatGeek, TicketLiquidator)
Seller fees are typically 15%, but some websites offer lower fees for sellers like VividSeats (10%), SeatGeek (10%) or TicketSwap (5%).
Ticket volume and availability
In our rankings below, you’ll see these labels on each website, and here’s what they mean:
- Very High - 100M+ monthly users (Ticketmaster)
- High - 10-100M monthly users (Vivid Seats, SeatGeek)
- Medium - 1-10M monthly users (TickPick, TicketSwap, TicketNetwork)
- Low - Under 1 M monthly users (TicketLiquidator)
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 StubHub might help you make a final decision, because when events are postponed, canceled, or you experience fraud with the tickets you buy or sell, you want a company that will help you resolve your problems, and with your ideal method. Ticket sites generally include options like instant chat, phone, email, contact form, or FAQ help center.
Our ratings below generally indicate how many of these methods are available to you, and if any negative aspects of customer service apply (like they have bad hours available for phoning, or make it intentionally difficult to get in touch with them).
Ticket protection and guarantees
Every ticket resale site offers what they call a “guarantee” which offers you 100% of your money back if certain things occur such as your tickets not arriving on time or not providing you valid entry to your event. Most of these are boilerplate, but some sites have guarantees that stand out and go the extra mile for you.
Pro Tip
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!
7 best StubHub alternatives for buyers and sellers
We’ve narrowed down the list for you to the top 7, and highlighted all their most important aspects for you here:
1. Vivid Seats
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
Biggest resale user base other than StubHub
Buy 10 tickets, get the 11th free
Seller fees are lower at 10%
What We Don't Like
Has some of the highest buyer’s service fees out there at 32%
Adds on additional flat rate fees at checkout
Our Recommendation
If you’re looking for the most direct StubHub competitor, VividSeats is it, having close to the same online experience and number of monthly users as StubHub. VividSeats is best to use if you’re a buyer looking for the largest number of available tickets to choose from, or as a seller looking for the biggest pool of buyers.
2. Ticketmaster
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Very High
Ticket Availability:
Very High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Support Methods:
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia
What We Like
Ticket exchanges are fraud-free because they must be original
More users than any other ticket site
Fees in the mid-range
What We Don't Like
Site is full of bots that buy up tickets and inflate prices
Can only resell Ticketmaster tickets
Notoriously bad customer service
Our Recommendation
If you’re looking for the same ticket availability as you get on StubHub but ideally a price closer to the face value of the ticket, Ticketmaster is the best option. Ticketmaster has more users than any other ticket site, and is best for sellers looking to recoup the cost of your tickets quickly rather than for a profit, and for buyers hoping to get tickets closer to the original cost of the tickets.
3. TickPick
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 buyer fees
Best Price Guarantee means you won’t find cheaper tickets
Website and app experience are amazing
What We Don't Like
User base not massive yet
Proving issues with tickets is sometimes difficult
Our Recommendation
TickPick is better for buyers specifically, as it's like StubHub without the fees for buyers, while sellers pay the standard 15% commission on ticket sales. It’s great to save money for buyers, but it doesn’t have as many users as VividSeats, Ticketmaster, or StubHub, so your pool of available tickets or buyers is probably going to be lower on both sides.
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:
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
Offers discounts and exclusive promos
Has some of the biggest number of users of sites on this list
Seller commissions are lower at only 10%
What We Don't Like
High buyer fees at 34-44%
Customer service is lacking, especially considering how good their Guarantee is
Our Recommendation
Similar to VividSeats, SeatGeek is one of the most direct StubHub competitors as well, as its site, app, user experience, Guarantee, and number of users are all very similar. StubHub is a little better if you’re trying to sell tickets, as you pay a lower commission to do that here, and it’s better if you’re looking for a more well-established, trustworthy ticket site.
5. 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 many sales and coupons for tickets
Sellers and buyers don’t deal directly with each other
What We Don't Like
Fees for buyers are high at 31%
Number of users is low
Customer service is lacking
Our Recommendation
TicketLiquidator is best as an additional option to list your tickets if they aren’t selling on other more popular websites. They offer constant sales, coupons, and deals, so buyers may pop up unexpectedly saving quite a bit of money, and choose your tickets now as the lowest cost option, but in general, this website’s experience is lacking compared to other StubHub alternatives.
6. TicketNetwork
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 on at checkout
Has a lot of promos for tickets
What We Don't Like
Ticket prices seem to be inflated to counter lack of fees
Customer service could be better
Not as many available tickets
Our Recommendation
This is a great website to use to try to compare the bottom line price of tickets you may have found on another website. TicketNetwork duplicates listings from other websites and has no buyer fees added on at checkout, so if you find tickets on another site as a buyer, use TicketNetwork to compare the final price, as their lack of fees might help you save a few bucks.
7. Ticketswap
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 at 5% for buyers and sellers
Resale markup is limited to 20%
SecureSwap system basically eliminates ticket fraud
What We Don't Like
More popular with ticket sales in Europe
Not as many users as StubHub
Our Recommendation
TicketSwap is great if you have the time and patience to search for your tickets or wait for them to sell, because you could really save a lot of money in fees; being only 5% for both buyers and sellers, they are the lowest on the market. TicketSwap is also better for events in Europe, as this is their primary area of service.
Common sites like StubHub & ticket reselling FAQs
Still have questions about these ticket resale sites? Here are the answers to the most common questions.
Are ticket release sites safe to use?
Typically, ticket resale sites have become very safe to use, and fraud occurring within the platforms is very uncommon. Most of these websites use verified payment methods like PayPal, and they have technology that prevents sellers from selling fake tickets. It’s much harder to list fake tickets now because these websites can verify the tickets before they approve your listings.
All ticket resale websites also have buyer guarantees that protect your purchase in the event of an issue, ensuring that even if you aren’t able to attend the event, you will still get 100% of your money back for the purchase you made.
What’s the difference between original tickets, P2P resale, & secondary ticket websites?
You should understand what type of website you are using before purchasing a ticket, as these different types of ticket sales all have unique aspects to them:
- 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.
How do you know if you’re getting a good price for tickets?
Some ticket websites offer some kind of gauge for you to see how the tickets you’re considering compare to others that were recently sold, so you can use these to help you evaluate your purchase.
You can also check out these tips below for how to get the best deal.
Pro Tip
Make sure to look for promo codes on the site you choose before the final stage of checkout, as some StubHub 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.
4 tips for getting a good deal with a StubHub alternative
Saving money as a ticket buyer is one of the top concerns of ticket resale site users. To try to get the best deal, use these tips:
1. Try to buy your tickets at the very last minute
Some sellers will lower their prices right before an event (like the day of, or hours before) to ensure they actually sell, so this is a great time to check out ticket resale sites to see if the prices are generally going down. To do this, you’d need to be incredibly flexible, so it’s best saved for events in the city you live in, rather than traveling somewhere, as you risk not getting a ticket.
2. Look for comparable tickets in the same section
When adding their listings, sellers will often undercut the price of the current lowest-priced ticket in the same section or for similar seats to encourage you to buy theirs instead. So make sure you look around in the same section and check different rows, as you could save a couple of dollars per ticket.
3. Look for the exact same tickets on other websites
Sellers will often list their tickets on more than one website to increase their buyer pool and chances of actually selling the ticket - for sellers, it doesn’t cost anything to list the tickets ever, it only costs them money once they actually sell them. But as a buyer, because the fees are so different across each of these websites, you might get the tickets for slightly cheaper on another site because the fees will change the total cost.
For example, if you find tickets listed for $200 on a site that charges a 40% fee, the total cost is actually $280. But if you find the same $200 tickets on a site that charges a 5% fee, that will only cost you $210.
4. Check for promos or discounts before you complete checkout
Lost of these websites offer promos or discounts (especially if it’s the first time you’re using their website), so make sure to look in the footer (at the bottom) of the homepage for a link to Promos, Discounts, or Coupons to try to find a code you can enter in your checkout. You could save 15-20% typically with a promo code like this, which can really help offset the cost of some of the fees for buyers.
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 StubHub, 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 StubHub alternatives. If you’re interested in learning more, check out some of our other detailed guides and tutorials about ticketing websites, including Best Ticket Resale Sites for Buyers, our breakdown of the Best Ticket Resale Sites Ranked for Sellers, or our head to head comparison of Ticketmaster vs StubHub.