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Make an event

A free Ticketmaster alternative

Stage gives independent venues, bands and promoters ticketing with no ticket fees and no contract. Your fans pay the price on the poster, and the money goes to your own Square or Stripe account.

Make an event

One $25 ticket, every fee included

Ticketmaster agrees its fees with each venue, so there is no one price list. The closest public figure is GAO’s: fees averaged 27% of the ticket price across the largest primary sellers it sampled.

Primary ticket sellers, GAO 2018

Fees in total$6.75

Ticket
$25.00
Fees, at the 27% average
$6.75
Your fan pays
$31.75

The average fee GAO found across a 2018 sample of the largest primary sellers. Ticketmaster agrees its fees with each venue, so yours may differ.

Stage

Fees in total$1.03

Ticket
$25.00
Added by Stage
$0.00
Your fan pays
$25.00
Card rate, from your $25
$1.03

All of it is your processor’s card rate, 2.9% + 30¢ with Square or Stripe, paid to them. Stage takes $0.

Make an event

US pricing, checked . Sources

Here as a fan? Send this to the venue or band.

What you get with Stage

  • An event page in a minute

    Start from your poster. No account needed to make the first one.

  • Tours

    One page for the whole run, and each date sells on its own.

  • Paid to your own account

    Cards through your Square or Stripe account, or Venmo and Cash App straight to you.

  • Wallet tickets and a door scanner

    QR tickets with Apple Wallet passes, and as many scanners on the door as you need.

Side by side

Fees added to the ticket
TicketmasterService and order fees, often a facility charge
StageNone
Who sets the fees
TicketmasterTicketmaster and the venue
StageNo Stage fees
Who keeps the fees
TicketmasterSplit between Ticketmaster and the venue
StageThere are none. The ticket money comes to you
Getting started
TicketmasterAn agreement with Ticketmaster
StageAn event page in a minute

Questions

What fees does Ticketmaster charge?

A per-ticket service fee and a per-order processing fee, and some venues add a facility charge. Ticketmaster agrees the amounts with each venue or promoter, so they vary by event.

I have a Ticketmaster agreement. Can I use Stage?

Your agreement says which shows Ticketmaster tickets, so check it first. Stage can sell any show it doesn’t cover, and all of them once it ends.

Ticketmaster shares fees with my venue. What replaces that?

Stage adds nothing, so set the ticket price to what you need. Fans see one price, and all of it comes to you, less your processor’s card rate.

Is Stage really free?

Stage adds no ticket fees on any plan. The Free plan covers 2 events a month. Pro, for unlimited events, is free for life for accounts made before the end of December 2026. Your payment processor charges its usual card rate, paid to them, not to Stage.

Is Stage for arenas?

No. Stage is built for independent venues, bands, promoters, markets and festivals: general admission, tiers, reserved seating, multi-day runs and tours, with as many door scanners as the night needs.

I’m a fan. Can Stage get me out of Ticketmaster fees?

Only when the venue or band sells on Stage. Send them this page.

No ticket fees. Really.

Pro is free for life for accounts made before the end of December 2026.

Make an event

Also compare: Stage vs Eventbrite