Top 5 Ticket Resale Sites with the Lowest Fees to Buy & Sell
By Kay FleuryUpdated on September 4, 2023
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No buyer fees
Buyer fees: None
Seller fees: 15%
Best Price Guarantee = lowest possible price
No buyer fees
Buyer fees: None
Seller fees: 15%
Tons of promos & discounts to save more
Lowest fees overall
Buyer fees: 5%
Seller fees: 5%
Resale price markup is capped at 20% max
Reduced fees over time
Buyer fees: 21%
Seller fees: 15% first sale, 12% returning sales, 10% for Silver/Gold sellers
IN THIS GUIDE
There are a lot of ticket resale sites out there to choose from, but if you’ve tried purchasing or selling tickets on them before, you probably know that they often come with large fees, either cutting into the profits you make while selling, or being tacked on at the end of checkout, sometimes increasing the cost of your tickets by over 40%!
If you’re looking for a list of the best ticket resale sites with the lowest fees, we’ll cover that here, as well as:
Let’s first explain exactly how these sites charge you when you’re using them to understand the fees you’re being charged.
How ticket resale site fees work for buyers and sellers
Buyer fees on ticket resale sites are a ‘service fee’ that is added on during the checkout process that pays the website for conducting the resale for you and the seller. These fees are typically made up of a percentage of the ticket price (anywhere from 5-40+%), and sometimes additional flat rate fees of a few dollars to cover specific processes like shipping or digital transfer of the tickets.
Seller fees are always a commission on the total amount you sell the tickets for, and the standard on most ticket resale sites is 15%. Once you sell the tickets, they will deduct that commission from the amount of money you receive from the buyer.
Did You Know
Because most ticket resale sites charge fees to buyers and to sellers, these websites make money off both sides of this process for helping conduct the same between you and the other person. Some websites like TickPick only charge the sellers, which means buyers pay no fees at all.
Because most ticket resale sites charge fees to buyers and to sellers, these websites make money off both sides of this process for helping conduct the same between you and the other person. Some websites like TickPick only charge the sellers, which means buyers pay no fees at all.]
5 best ticket resale sites with lowest fees
There are a lot of ticket resale sites out there, and we’ve covered all of them in our extensive lists of the best ticket resale sites for buyers, and the best resale ticket sites for sellers, but if you’re specifically looking for just the ones with the lowest fees (either as a buyer or a seller), these are the top 5 that stand out from the group.
1. 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 fees for buyers
App is just as good as the site
What We Don't Like
Less users than bigger sites
Refunds take longer
Our Recommendation
If you’re just buying tickets, TickPick is the best option out there because buyers pay no fees on top of the cost of their tickets, and no additional fees are ever added at checkout - you see the bottom line price while you are picking your seats. For sellers, it's fairly standard, as they still pay the 15% commission, so it's generally a better site for buyers.
2. 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 tacked on at the end
Offers a lot of promos and discounts
What We Don't Like
Pricing isn’t transparent
Sellers have to interact directly with buyers
Our Recommendation
TicketNetwork is better as a buyer, because they advertise no buyer fees, and you you won’t see any additional charges added onto your total at the last minute, which means as you're choosing your seats, you're seeing the full price you're going to pay at the end - which makes a big difference. However, the base price of tickets do seem to be inflated to roughly match the same cost of a typical service fee, so still use other sites to compare bottom line prices to what you find here.
3. 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 fees for both buyers and sellers
Secure Swap generates new legit tickets
Great customer service
What We Don't Like
Only popular in Europe
Less users than some other sites
Our Recommendation
TicketSwap is probably the best to use overall when it comes to fees, as both buyers and sellers only pay a 5% fee each, so if you plan on using it as a buyer and a seller over time for multiple ticket purchases or sales, it's probably the best site out there. However, it's also currently mainly popular in Europe, so it's better for sellers right now than buyers when it comes to ticket availability and event coverage.
4. TicketSmarter
Buyer Fees:
21% + $4-$10 fulfillment fee
Buyer Fees:
21% + $4-$10 fulfillment fee
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Colombia
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Colombia
What We Like
Buyer fees are only 21%
Seller fees are 15% or lower
Seller commissions lower as you sell more
What We Don't Like
Bad customer service
Refunds are done by sellers directly
Our Recommendation
If you’re planning to sell a high volume of tickets, TicketSmarter is great because your commissions go down over time the more you sell, starting at 15%, lowering to 12%, and then 10%. This site is also good to use a ticket buyer, as they charge fees that are a bit lower than the other ‘big’ ticket resale sites.
5. viagogo
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:
Brazil, Argentina, US, Czech Republic, Spain
Top Countries:
Brazil, Argentina, US, Czech Republic, Spain
What We Like
Fees are only 10% for sellers
Fees are under 30% for buyers
More international ticket coverage
What We Don't Like
Refund policy & ticket guarantee aren’t great
Refunds take a long time
Our Recommendation
viagogo is another all-around lower-fee site for both buyers and sellers, and is especially good if you’re selling or looking for tickets for events outside of the U.S, or you have unique tickets to things like festivals (https://www.viagogo.com/Festival-Tickets), which are very popular on viagogo. You may find a better deal or profit here on viagogo, where the fees are still much lower overall than the bigger sites like StubHub or Ticketmaster.
Other ticket resale site options
If you’re not sure if any of those low fee ticket sites will work for you, here’s a few of the other top sites and a breakdown of their fees:
Ticket Website | Buyer Fees | Seller Fees | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
Ticketmaster | Ranges from 15-30% | 15% | |
StubHub | Ranges from 28-46% | 15% | |
Vivid Seats | 32% + $2-$5 download / transfer fee | 10% | |
SeatGeek | Ranges from 34-44% | 10% | |
TicketLiquidator | 31% | 15% |
Are there any ticket resale sites with no fees?
Yes, some ticket resale sites have no fees, but there is sometimes a caveat to this. TickPick is the only ticket resale site with truly no fees for buyers, as sellers pay the entire commission on the ticket resale. TicketNetwork also boasts no fees for buyers, and you won’t see fees added on at checkout - which is great.
This is only ever the case with buyer fees, as sellers always pay some kind of commission to sell their tickets on all existing ticket resale sites.
Our research indicates that on some websites like TicketNetwork, the base price of the tickets are inflated to basically the same cost as typical buyer fees. So make sure to still use tactics to save money when purchasing your tickets, like the ones below.
4 tips for saving money when buying tickets on resale sites
If you’ve chosen one of these sites that offers lower fees, you’re already halfway there! Unfortunately as a seller, there’s not much you can do to save your profits other than using a site with lower seller commissions. But as a ticket buyer, here are a few other tips for saving money when purchasing your tickets.
1. Wait until the last minute or day of to buy the tickets
Sellers will sometimes lower the price on the final day to make sure their tickets actually sell, because once the event starts, the tickets become worthless. This is a great way to save money, but it should really only be utilized if you’re in a situation where you are okay missing the event, because you won’t always be able to find tickets for the price you’re looking for at the last minute.
2. Look at different rows in the same section
Ticket resale sites aren’t like sites that sell original tickets like Ticketmaster where all the tickets in one section generally cost the same amount. Because an individual who owns those tickets is choosing any price, these can vary from seat to seat, and because the sellers can see other listed tickets in their section when selling, they will sometimes lower the price by a few dollars per ticket compared to the other tickets for sale, which could help you save a bit when it comes to checkout time.
3. Look across different sites to see if the fees will lower the overall price
With our list above of the ticket sites with the lowest fees, you can jump from site to site and see if you find your tickets listed somewhere else. Sellers will often list their tickets on multiple sites to increase the chances of someone buying them, because in the case of all ticket resale sites, sellers only have to pay if the tickets actually sell - they never pay any fees for listing them.
See if you find the same tickets on another site and proceed through the checkout to see what the bottom line price is going to be because of the fees.
Pro Tip
Remember, the fees make a huge difference. If you buy a ticket for $200 from TicketSwap which only charges a 5% fee, that ticket will only cost you a total of $210, while on a site like StubHub that charges up to 46%, that same ticket would cost you $292.
4. Look for a rating system of your deal score
Some websites like TickPick will have a rating system next to the tickets you purchase to show you how good the deal is compared to other tickets listed on the site, and other tickets that have been sold, and it might look something like this:
Sometimes there’s a letter grade, a percentage, or a red (bad) / yellow (average) / green (good) color coding system to help guide you, so make sure you pay attention to this when sorting through the available options. Other tickets nearby what you’re currently looking at with a better deal rating could save you some money.
How we conducted our ticket resale sites research
We conducted over 30 hours of very thorough research when diving into ticket resale websites, as each site has its own unique way of doing things - especially with the way they charge fees to their buyers and sellers. The fees are an especially challenging aspect to compare because many ticket websites simply aren’t transparent about the true amount they charge for fees - which is why you see some of our answers show ranges.
We tried our best to get to the bottom of this when doing our research, so we even went to the trouble of trying to buy tickets for the same event in different locations and at different venues to verify the true amounts they were charging.
With all this research, we think we’ve become as informed as possible while rating these websites and picking out the ones that truly charge lower fees when it comes to the bottom line, so hopefully you can save some money when buying or selling your next tickets.
And that’s everything about which ticket resale sites have the lowest fees. If you’re planning on using ticket resale sites and still aren’t sure about which one is best based purely on the fees, be sure to check out our guide on the most trustworthy and reliable ticket resale sites, or if you want to deep dive into two of your biggest options, check out our head-to-head comparison of Ticketmaster vs StubHub.