How to Sell Event Tickets Online Without Paying Monthly Fees

Many organizers use online platforms to sell event tickets online, but most of these services charge monthly subscriptions and ticket commissions. Over time, these fees reduce your event revenue.

Because of this, many event creators often look for the best ways to sell event tickets online. A self-hosted event ticketing system built on WordPress can help you sell event tickets without fees, avoid recurring platform costs, and keep more of your ticket revenue.

In this guide, we will discuss how to sell event tickets online without paying monthly fees using a WordPress event ticketing plugin and a low-cost event ticketing solution.

Let’s get started.

Why Monthly Ticketing Fees Kill Your Event Profit

Most ticketing platforms look simple at first. You create an event, publish a ticket page, and start selling. But behind this convenience is a pricing model that slowly reduces your revenue.

Many platforms charge a combination of fees, including:

• Monthly subscription fees to use the platform
• A percentage commission on every ticket sold
• Standard payment processing fees from gateways like Stripe or PayPal

At first, these charges may seem small. But as your event grows, the cost increases with every ticket you sell. This means the more successful your event becomes, the more money the platform takes from your revenue.

For example, if you sell 500 tickets for a $50 event, your total revenue is $25,000. A typical platform commission of around 5% can take over $1,200 from that amount before payment processing fees are added.

This is why many organizers begin searching for ways to avoid event ticketing fees and move toward a ticketing platform without recurring fees. A system that runs on your own website can reduce these costs and allow you to keep more of your ticket revenue.

The Hidden Cost Problem With Popular Ticketing Platforms

Almost every ticketing platforms promote convenience. They provide a ready-made system where you can create and sell tickets quickly. However, this convenience often comes with trade-offs.

Here are the common costs and limitations organizers face:

• Per-Ticket Service Fees: This is often the highest cost. Platforms typically charge between 2% and 8% for every ticket sold. When ticket sales increase, the total platform fee increases as well.
• Payment Processing Fees: In addition to the platform commission, payment gateways typically charge around 2.9% plus a fixed transaction fee. Some platforms also require you to use their own payment processor.
• Feature Limitations and Paid Upgrades: Some features are locked behind higher pricing plans. Custom branding, data exports, and advanced ticket options like multi-tier ticket pricing may require upgrading your subscription.
• Delayed Payouts: Certain platforms hold ticket revenue until after the event. For organizers who rely on ticket sales to fund their event costs, this delay can create cash flow challenges.
• The “Free Plan” Illusion: Some SaaS ticketing platforms promote a free plan. However, these plans often shift the cost to higher ticket commissions. In other words, the more successful your event becomes, the more you pay in platform fees.
• The Ownership Problem: There is another issue many organizers overlook. When you rely on a hosted platform, you do not fully control your ticketing system. Your attendee data, event pages, and sales process all live inside the platform’s ecosystem. If pricing changes or policies shift, you have limited control.

A Side-by-Side Look at the Biggest Platforms

Here’s how the most popular ticketing platforms stack up when it comes to fees:

Platform	Monthly Fee	Per-Ticket Fee	Payment Processing	Custom Branding	You Own Attendee Data?
Eventbrite	Up to $29/mo	~3.7% + $1.79	2.9% + $0.30	Limited (paid plans)	❌ No
Ticket Tailor	From $29/mo	Small flat fee	2.9% + $0.30	Partial	❌ Limited
Universe	Varies by plan	2% – 5%	Included (no opt-out)	Limited	❌ No
Ticketleap	Free tier available	2% + $0.99/ticket	3% processing	❌ No	❌ No
Eventin (WordPress)	❌ None	❌ None	Your choice	✅ Full	✅ Yes — always

SaaS Ticketing Platforms vs Self-Hosted WordPress: What’s the Difference?

When you decide to sell tickets online, you usually choose between two systems. The first is a hosted SaaS platform. The second is a self-hosted system that runs on your own website.

Both options allow you to sell tickets, manage attendees, and process payments. The difference is how much control and revenue you keep.

SaaS Ticketing Platforms

Hosted platforms such as Eventbrite provide an all-in-one environment for event organizers. You sign up for an account and create your event directly inside their system.

These platforms handle the infrastructure, checkout process, and ticket delivery. For organizers who want a quick setup, this can be convenient.

However, the trade-off is cost and control. As we said earlier, most SaaS platforms rely on subscription fees or ticket commissions to generate revenue. Over time, this creates an event ticketing without commission problem that many organizers try to avoid.

You also depend on the platform’s policies, branding rules, and feature limitations.

Self-Hosted WordPress Ticketing

A different approach is using a self-hosted event ticketing system built on WordPress. Instead of selling tickets on a third-party platform, you manage everything directly on your own website.

With this model, you install a WordPress event ticketing plugin that handles event creation, ticket sales, and attendee management.

One example is Eventin. It allows event organizers to create events, sell tickets, and manage attendees from their WordPress dashboard.

The main advantage of this model is ownership. You control the event page, ticket checkout, and attendee data. More importantly, you can run an event without monthly subscription costs and operate a ticketing platform without recurring fees.

Quick Comparison

Feature	SaaS Ticketing Platforms	WordPress Ticketing
Monthly subscription	Often required	Not required
Per-ticket commission	Common	None
Data ownership	Platform controlled	Fully owned
Branding control	Limited	Full control
Platform dependency	High	Low

For organizers who want a low-cost event ticketing solution, WordPress often becomes a practical option. It allows you to sell tickets without Eventbrite, manage events from your own site, and keep more of the revenue from each ticket sale.

SaaS vs No-Monthly-Fee Model: What You’re Really Losing (The Revenue Math)

To understand why many organizers look for the best platforms to sell event tickets online, it helps to look at the numbers.

Let’s consider a simple example.

Example Event

• Ticket price: $50
• Tickets sold: 500
• Total revenue: $25,000

Now imagine you sell these tickets using a typical SaaS ticketing platform.

Most platforms charge around 5% commission per ticket, plus payment processing fees.

Estimated Cost Breakdown

Cost Type	Example Fee	Total
Platform commission	5%	$1,250
Payment processing	~3%	$750
Monthly platform fee	$49	$49
Total cost		$2,049

From a $25,000 event, you could lose over $2,000 in platform and processing costs.

Now compare this with a self-hosted event ticketing system.

If you use your own website with a WordPress event ticketing plugin, you avoid the platform commission and monthly subscription. The only unavoidable cost is the payment processing fee.

Self-Hosted Model

Cost Type	Example Fee	Total
Platform commission	$0	$0
Payment processing	~3%	$750
Monthly platform fee	$0	$0
Total cost		$750

In this scenario, you save more than $1,200 from a single event.

How to Sell Event Tickets Online Without Monthly Fees Using WordPress

The best way to sell event tickets online without paying monthly fees is to run ticket sales directly on your own website. WordPress makes this possible with event plugins like Eventin that handle ticketing, registrations, and payments in one place.

With Eventin event manager, you can create a self-hosted ticketing system while only paying standard payment gateway fees.

Here is a simple process to set it up.

1. Set Up Your WordPress Website

First, create a WordPress website with a domain name and a hosting provider. This website will act as your central place to promote events and manage ticket sales. This step creates the foundation for a low-cost event ticketing solution that you fully own.

2. Install an Eventin Event Ticketing Plugin

Next, install Eventin. The plugin adds event management and ticketing features to your website.

With Eventin, you can:

• Create event listings
• Add multiple ticket types
• Set ticket prices and availability
• Manage registrations and attendees

Watch the Full Eventin Setup Walkthrough

Watch the video below for a complete walkthrough of the setup process.

3. Create Your Event and Ticket Types

Once the plugin is installed, you can add your event details and configure different ticket options.

Common ticket types include:

• Standard admission
• Early bird tickets
• VIP tickets
• Group tickets

Watch How to Create and Sell Tickets with Eventin

Watch the video below to see how to set up an event and start selling tickets inside WordPress.

3. Connect a Payment Gateway

To accept payments, connect a payment gateway such as Stripe or PayPal. These services process the transaction and send the payment directly to your account.

This means your revenue goes to you instead of a third-party ticketing platform.

4. Publish Your Event and Start Selling

Once everything is configured, publish your event page and start selling tickets. Visitors can view the event details and purchase tickets directly through your checkout process.

Why Owning Your Ticketing System with Eventin Increases Profit

When you run ticket sales through your own website, you control how your event operates and how revenue flows. This is one of the main reasons many organizers choose a self-hosted event ticketing system instead of relying on third-party platforms.

A WordPress event plugin like Eventin provides you with the best way to promote events and sell tickets online​ from your WordPress dashboard. 

This approach helps increase profit in several ways.

• No monthly subscription: Eventin does not require a recurring platform subscription to sell tickets. Once installed on your website, you can manage events and ticket sales without paying ongoing service fees to a third-party platform.
• Full control over your event page: Eventin allows you to create and customize event pages directly on your WordPress website. You can add event details, speaker information, schedules, and ticket options while maintaining your own branding.
• Flexible ticket types: Eventin allows you to create multiple ticket options, such as standard, early bird, VIP, or group tickets. You can set different prices, availability limits, and sales periods directly from your dashboard.
• WooCommerce-powered payments: Eventin integrates with WooCommerce, allowing you to accept payments through popular gateways like Stripe and PayPal. This makes the checkout process familiar and secure for attendees.
• Built-in attendee management: You can track registrations, manage attendee lists, and handle check-ins from the WordPress dashboard. This helps organizers monitor ticket sales and event participation from one place.
• Support for different event formats: Eventin supports physical, virtual, and hybrid events. You can connect tools like Zoom or Google Meet for online sessions while managing ticket sales on your website.
• Event scheduling and speaker management: The plugin lets you organize multi-session events, add speakers, and display schedules on your event page so attendees can easily view the full event agenda.
• Ownership of attendee data: All attendee registrations and ticket information stay inside your WordPress database. This allows you to manage participants, export attendee lists, and communicate with your audience for future events.

Because of these advantages, many organizers see WordPress as a low-cost event ticketing solution and one of the cheapest ways to sell event tickets online while maintaining full control over their event business.

FAQs on How to Sell Tickets for an Event

Conclusion: WordPress Ticketing Scales Better Long-Term

Selling tickets online should support your event growth, not reduce your earnings through recurring fees. 

If you want to sell event tickets online without paying monthly fees, using a self-hosted event ticketing system is a practical option. Running ticket sales on your own website allows you to avoid platform commissions and maintain control over your event pages and attendee data.

With a WordPress event ticketing plugin like Eventin, you can manage events, sell tickets, and process payments directly from your website. This approach helps you sell event tickets without fees from platform commissions while keeping your event infrastructure under your control.

Ready to Start Selling Tickets on WordPress?

Eventin helps you create events, manage registrations, sell tickets, and track attendees directly from your WordPress website. Everything stays under your control.

Get Eventin for WordPress