Event ticketing fees for nonprofits: how to find the true cost per ticket
How to add up every fee on a ticket, from the buyer's card to your bank, so you can compare event platforms fairly.
Event ticketing fees for nonprofits come in up to three layers: card processing, a platform fee, and sometimes a monthly subscription. To find the true cost per ticket, add up every fee taken between the buyer's card and your bank account. Then multiply by the tickets you sell across a full year of events.
This guide is for event and development staff at nonprofits, churches, and veteran posts who are comparing ticketing platforms. It explains each kind of fee and works through one ticket from start to finish. It also covers who pays the fee, payout timing, refunds, and the questions to ask every platform.
1. Know the three kinds of fees
Almost every ticketing fee is either card processing, a platform fee, or a subscription. Card processing is what the payment company charges to move money from a card to your account, and you pay it on any platform. The platform fee is what the event platform charges for its service, as a percentage of the ticket, a flat amount per sale, or both. A subscription is a monthly or yearly price, which some platforms charge with or without per-ticket fees.
Write down all three for every platform you look at. A low monthly price can hide a high per-ticket fee, and the reverse happens too.
2. Find the processing fee first
Start with the processing fee, because it is the one cost that barely changes from platform to platform. Most event platforms use Stripe or a similar company to take card payments. Stripe's standard US card rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents per charge, but check Stripe's current pricing before you do your own math.
Since processing costs about the same everywhere, it rarely decides which tool is cheaper. The platform fee usually does.
3. Read the platform fee closely
The platform fee is where ticketing platforms differ most, so ask each one exactly how it is charged:
- Is the fee a percentage of the ticket, a flat amount, or both?
- Does the percentage grow as ticket prices go up?
- Is there a cap on the fee per ticket?
- Is there a separate fee for donations added at checkout?
A percentage fee feels small on a cheap ticket. On a $100 banquet seat or a $1,000 sponsor table, it grows with the price. A flat fee stays the same whatever the ticket costs.
4. Work out one ticket, start to finish
The clearest way to compare platforms is to follow one ticket from the buyer's card to your bank. Here is a worked example. It is an illustration, and it does not quote any real platform. It compares a $25 ticket on a platform that takes 5% with one that charges a flat 30 cents. Both use Stripe's standard rate of 2.9% plus 30 cents.
| Example: one $25 ticket | Percentage-based platform (5%) | Flat fee platform ($0.30) |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket price | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Card processing (2.9% + $0.30) | $1.03 | $1.03 |
| Platform fee | $1.25 | $0.30 |
| Total fees | $2.28 | $1.33 |
| You keep | $22.72 | $23.67 |
The difference is 95 cents on one ticket. For example, 200 tickets at $25 means $190 more for your mission on the flat fee. Run 12 events like that in a year, and the gap is $2,280.
Do this math with your own ticket prices and number of events, since the table shows a pattern and your results will differ.
5. Decide who pays the fee
You can either absorb ticketing fees or pass them to the buyer, and many platforms support both. When you pass them on, the guest pays a little more at checkout and you keep the full ticket price.
Passing fees on is still a real cost, because your supporters pay it instead of you. Some groups pass the fee on for tickets and cover it themselves for gifts. Others ask buyers if they want to cover it. Pick one approach and use it across your events, so people know what to expect.
When the buyer covers the fee, the charge gets a bit bigger, so the processing fee goes up slightly too. Your platform should show you the final numbers.
6. Ask where the money goes, and when
Payout timing belongs in your cost per ticket, because a small team with bills to pay feels every day the money sits somewhere else. Ask each platform:
- Does the money go into your own payment account, or does the platform hold it first?
- How many days until it lands in your bank?
- Do you get paid as tickets sell, or only after the event ends?
Waiting weeks for ticket money can make it hard to pay a caterer or a venue deposit. Faster payouts to your own account keep the cash under your control.
7. Count refunds and changes
Refunds can cost you money, so find out what happens to each fee when you give a ticket back. Plans change. A family gets sick, or a storm moves your cookout.
In many cases, the processing fee is not returned when you refund. Some platforms also keep their own fee. Ask so you are not surprised, and budget for a few refunds.
8. Add up a whole year of events
Compare platforms across your full calendar, because most nonprofits run many events a year. A church might host a camp, a cookout, a fall banquet, and a Christmas program. A veteran post might run a golf outing and a benefit dinner.
Multiply your expected tickets by the fees for each event, then add any monthly price. The cheapest tool for one small event may cost the most over twelve. For help mapping your year, see how to plan a nonprofit event.
9. Ask every platform the same seven questions
Asking each platform the same questions, in the same order, gives you answers you can line up side by side. Read these out loud on the call and write down what you hear:
- What is your fee per ticket, as a percentage, a flat amount, or both?
- What processing rate do you use?
- Is there a monthly or yearly price?
- Can we pass fees to the buyer?
- Whose account does the money go into?
- How many business days until it reaches our bank?
- What happens to fees on a refund?
A platform that cannot answer these clearly is harder to budget around, and you should weigh that.
Common questions
Should a nonprofit pass ticket fees on to buyers?
Passing fees to buyers lets you keep the full ticket price, but your supporters pay the cost instead. Many groups pass fees on for tickets and cover them for gifts, or let buyers choose. Whatever you pick, use the same approach at every event so guests know what to expect at checkout.
Are processing fees refunded when I refund a ticket?
Often they are not. In many cases the card processing fee stays with the payment company when you refund a ticket, and some platforms also keep their own fee. Ask each platform how refunds work before you sign up, and set aside a little budget for refunds at every event.
Is a flat fee always cheaper than a percentage fee?
Not always, so compare them at your own ticket prices. A percentage fee grows as the price goes up, while a flat fee stays the same. That means the flat fee usually costs less on banquet seats and sponsor tables. Add any monthly price to both sides before you decide.
How do I compare ticketing platforms for a full year?
List every event you plan to run, with expected tickets and prices. For each platform, multiply the tickets by the fees per ticket, add the processing cost, and add twelve months of any subscription. The platform with the lowest total for the whole calendar is your cheapest choice, even if it costs more for one event.
One record for the whole year
Fees show their true size only when you add them up across every event, and your people work the same way. When every ticket, check-in, and gift lands on one family record, you see the whole year at once, including your real cost per ticket and which families keep coming back.
Bless Events charges a flat $0.30 per checkout plus Stripe's fee, never a percentage, and money lands in your bank the next business day. You can see the details on our pricing page.
