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Ticket Tailor is the strongest all-round pick for small and mid-size organizers, Eventbrite has the biggest built-in audience, and Luma has the best free plan. Cvent is the enterprise conference suite, Humanitix the charity-backed option, and Eventzilla and Ticketbud the simple per-registration choices. All seven were scored on fee transparency, check-in and attendee tools, MCP and API maturity, and deployment flexibility.
Ticket Tailor is the best event registration software for most organizers in 2026. It charges $0.85 per paid ticket with no subscription, sends the money straight to your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account, and ships a free check-in app that works offline. If you are running a 3,000-person conference with badge printing and a procurement department, skip to Cvent.
Event registration software does three jobs that a payment link and a spreadsheet do badly: it sells tickets, it knows who is coming, and it gets them through the door. The differences between products are mostly about fees, who holds your money, and how much conference machinery you actually need. This guide compares seven products on what each vendor publishes today. Prices and features were verified against vendor pricing pages and docs in October 2026.
Online event registration covers forms and attendee records, while event ticketing software also has to handle the sale, fees and payout. The best event ticketing software for a workshop may be different from conference registration software for a multi-session program. When evaluating event registration software for nonprofits, check fee handling and access controls against the same operational requirements.
Why You Need Event Registration Software
- Fewer manual steps. Registration forms, confirmations and reminders run themselves, so nobody copies names from an inbox into a sheet.
- Cleaner money handling. Ticket sales, refunds and payouts sit in one place, and several of these tools pay out through your own processor account.
- A faster door. QR-code check-in apps cut the queue and give you a live headcount.
- Data you can reuse. Order questions and attendee lists export to your CRM or email tool, so the next event starts with a warm list.
- Control over who pays the fee. You decide whether the buyer sees a booking fee or you absorb it into the ticket price.
How We Evaluated
Each product was scored on fee transparency, check-in and attendee tools, MCP and API maturity, and deployment flexibility. Facts come only from each vendor's own pricing pages, help centers and documentation. Where a vendor sells by quote, we say so and do not guess a number. Fees quoted are US dollars unless stated. The full approach is on our methodology page.
1. Ticket Tailor
Ticket Tailor is a ticketing-first platform with a pricing page that fits on one screen. There is no subscription and no marketplace, and the money goes to your own processor account instead of sitting with Ticket Tailor.
Pricing: Pay as you sell is $0.85 per paid ticket; prepaid credits start from $0.30 per ticket (smallest pack 100 credits, credits never expire). A paid seated ticket uses 2 credits. Free events cost $0 up to 5,000 free tickets a year (the FAQ states a different 2,000 figure, so confirm yours). The first 5 ticket sales are free. Payment processing goes to Stripe, PayPal or Square at their own rates, for example 2.9% + $0.30 on Stripe in the US. Registered charities get 50% off.
Top Features
- Custom event pages and embeddable checkout
- Free check-in app with offline QR scanning
- Reserved seating, time slots and recurring events
- Refunds, waitlists, manual orders and buyer self-service
- Email, SMS and WhatsApp reminders
- Tap to Pay in-person sales and memberships
Pros
- No subscription and no seat fees
- Revenue goes straight to your own processor account
- Fees are the organizer's choice to absorb or pass on
Cons
- Seated tickets cost double credits
- Extras such as white-label checkout are paid add-ons with unpublished prices
AI/MCP Integration: Official. Ticket Tailor's own page says its MCP connector is listed on the Anthropic MCP Directory, works with Claude and Cursor, and can create events, change prices and pull sales reports. It is free and set up with an API key.
API Integration: Yes. An open API with multiple scoped keys and webhooks covers events, ticket types, orders, issued tickets and discount codes. The developer docs site would not render for our crawler, so we read the marketing page instead.
Cloud Based: Yes. Hosted on AWS and PCI DSS SAQ-A compliant; no on-premise option is documented.
Platforms: Web admin and box office, plus iOS and Android check-in with offline mode and external scanners.
Best For: Small and mid-size organizers who want low, predictable per-ticket fees and control of their own payouts.
Our take: Choose Ticket Tailor when you want a pricing model you can do on the back of a receipt. The trade-off is that you get no audience: nobody browsing a marketplace will stumble onto your event, so you bring the crowd.
Editor score: 4.6/5. Transparent fees, an official MCP connector and direct payouts win it; no discovery marketplace and extra-credit seating keep it from a higher score.
2. Eventbrite
Eventbrite is the one name attendees already recognize, and it sells that reach as part of the product. Bending Spoons announced a $500 million cash deal for the company on December 2, 2025, and its SEC filings give a March 10, 2026 acquisition date.
Pricing: Free events cost $0. Paid tickets in the US carry a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus payment processing of 2.9% of the order, charged to attendees by default or absorbed by the organizer. At-door sales through the Organizer app are $1 per paid ticket + 2.9%. The pricing page still advertises a Pro plan from $15 a month, while a help-center article says Pro is closed to new subscribers and replaced by Premium at $69 a month or $708 a year; the pages disagree, so confirm at checkout. Payouts start about 3 days after the event ends per the help center, and the pages give conflicting 3 or 5 business-day timelines.
Top Features
- Multiple ticket types, early-bird tickets and promo codes
- Reserved seating and timed-entry ticketing
- Custom order questions, add-ons and merchandise
- Organizer app with QR scanning and on-site sales
- Marketplace discovery, ads and email campaigns
- Embedded checkout, waitlists and instant payouts
Pros
- Built-in marketplace exposes events to ticket buyers
- Mature organizer app for door check-in
- Wide set of promotion and tracking tools
Cons
- Highest per-ticket fees in this group
- Plan and payout details are inconsistent across its own pages
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. Only community servers exist, such as an npm package covering much of the v3 API.
API Integration: Yes. A v3 REST API with a free key covers events, orders and attendees. Third-party sources say the public event search endpoint was removed in 2020, so the API is effectively scoped to your own events.
Cloud Based: Yes. No on-premise option.
Platforms: Web organizer dashboard and attendee marketplace, plus the Organizer app for iOS and Android.
Best For: Organizers who need a built-in audience and can live with higher fees.
Our take: Choose Eventbrite when discovery is worth more than the fee, which is true for first-time organizers with no list. If you already have an audience, the fee buys you very little that Ticket Tailor or Luma doesn't.
Editor score: 4.5/5. Reach and a mature app earn the second spot; the fee load and inconsistent plan pages hold it back.
3. Luma
Luma started as a way to host events with a calendar and has grown into a registration and ticketing platform. It moved from lu.ma to luma.com, and its free plan is more generous than most paid ones.
Pricing: The Free plan is $0 with unlimited events and unlimited guests per event, up to 500 invites or newsletters a week, and check-in included. It charges a 5% platform fee on paid tickets, plus Stripe's fee, typically 2.9% + 30 cents. Luma Plus is $59 a month billed annually with a 0% platform fee, 5,000 invites a week, tax collection, a custom event URL, Zapier and API access. Free events carry no per-ticket fee. Enterprise is custom-quoted. Payouts follow your Stripe schedule, usually the next business day or shortly after.
Top Features
- Unlimited events and guests on the free plan
- Ticket types, group purchasing and coupons
- Registration approval or token gating
- Email, SMS, push and WhatsApp reminders
- Guest check-in with CSV import and export
- Calendars and communities with cohosts
Pros
- Free plan has no cap on events or guests
- Paid ticketing and coupons on the free plan
- Zero platform fee on Plus
Cons
- API access, tax collection and a check-in manager role are Plus-only
- 5% platform fee on the free plan sits on top of Stripe's fee
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. The docs index mentions no MCP, and only unverified community servers exist.
API Integration: Yes. REST API v1 with some v2 webhooks covers events, guests, ticket types, coupons and blasts. The pricing page lists API access under Plus.
Cloud Based: Yes. No on-premise option.
Platforms: Web plus an iOS and Android app, with Zoom, Zapier (Plus), Stripe, webhooks and regional payment methods.
Best For: Community and tech event hosts who want free plans and a modern guest experience.
Our take: Choose Luma when your events are free or low-priced and you want a calendar your community can follow. Once ticket revenue is real, the $59 for Plus pays for itself against the 5% platform fee, which we show in the cost section below.
Editor score: 4.4/5. A strong free plan and clear pricing; Plus-gated API and the absence of an official MCP server limit it.
4. Cvent
Cvent is the enterprise end of this market. Registration and ticketing are one module in a suite that also covers onsite check-in hardware, an attendee mobile app and housing, sold through sales.
Pricing: Custom-quoted. The pricing page has only quote buttons, with no dollar figures, self-serve plan or per-registrant fee. Packaging is Professional (license only the modules you need, with 15 user logins) or Enterprise (all modules, all logins, API access, SSO and MFA). Cvent offers non-profit rates, also by quote, and paid services such as OnArrival 360 and event build.
Top Features
- Drag-and-drop registration sites with personalized paths
- Payments in 130+ currencies with housing and travel
- Built-in email marketing and abandoned-registrant retargeting
- OnArrival check-in with kiosks and on-demand badge printing
- Attendee Hub mobile app and virtual tools
- Native Salesforce, HubSpot and Marketo integrations
Pros
- Covers the whole conference lifecycle in one suite
- Onsite check-in with printed badges and full-service staffing
- ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 1 and 2 Type II and PCI DSS
Cons
- No self-serve plan and no published price
- API access, SSO and MFA are Enterprise only
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. CventIQ is an in-product AI layer for copy and guidance, not an MCP server; third-party MCP connectors exist.
API Integration: Yes. A REST API with a developer portal, OAuth 2.0 and TypeScript, .NET and Java SDKs, listed under Enterprise features. We read the developer portal through search snippets only.
Cloud Based: Yes, SaaS. No on-premise option is documented.
Platforms: Web admin and registration sites, the Attendee Hub app, and OnArrival check-in on desktop, phone, tablet and self-serve kiosks.
Best For: Enterprise and professional planners running large conferences with onsite requirements.
Our take: Choose Cvent when the event has a budget line, a hotel block and a project manager. For a 200-person workshop it is a lot of suite to buy; ask for the module list before accepting a demo.
Editor score: 4.3/5. Unmatched breadth for big events; opaque pricing, Enterprise-gated API and an overbuilt feel for small ones hold it down.
5. Humanitix
Humanitix is a ticketing platform run as a registered charity, with booking-fee profits directed to education charities. Every feature is on every plan, so the only decision is the fee.
Pricing: The standard booking fee is 2.1% + $0.99 per paid ticket, plus payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30, which is 5.0% + $1.29 in total. Charities and schools pay 1% + $0.99 plus the same processing. Free events cost $0. Box office sales are 3% + $1 per paid ticket with no fee on cash. Buyers pay the booking fee by default, and organizers can absorb it. Humanitix says it pays within 7 days of your event, with early payouts available on request.
Top Features
- Unlimited ticket types and reserved seating
- Free iOS and Android scanning app
- One-click ticket manager for attendee edits
- Automated waitlist and promo codes
- Email campaigns and Canva branding
- Add-on merchandise, gift cards and invoicing
Pros
- No subscription and all features on every plan
- Registered charity; the site shows over $13.8 million donated
- Attendees can edit their own details without an account
Cons
- All-in cost of 5.0% + $1.29 is mid-to-high
- Public API is read-only, with event creation in a request-only beta
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. A community read-only server and hosted connectors from Zapier and others exist.
API Integration: Yes. A read-only API covers events, orders, tickets and tags, with an API key header and a 200 requests per minute limit.
Cloud Based: Yes. No on-premise option.
Platforms: Web organizer console, a Humanitix for Hosts app, and country sites for Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK and Fiji.
Best For: Organizers who like the charity model and want every feature without choosing a tier.
Our take: Choose Humanitix when the charity angle matters to you or your audience, and the flat structure keeps decisions simple. The fee is not the cheapest here, so you are paying a little for the mission.
Editor score: 4.2/5. A clean model with a real mission; read-only API and a mid-range fee keep it mid-table.
6. Eventzilla
Eventzilla sits between a ticketing tool and a conference platform, with agendas, speaker submissions and sponsor management alongside registration. Pricing is per registration, with tiers that gate features.
Pricing: Basic is $1.50 per registration with one paid ticket type. Pro is 1.9% + $1.50, Plus is 2.9% + $1.50, and Scale is from $200 a month billed annually with no per-registration fees and 500 registrations included. The comparison table also lists annual pricing from $1,999 a year, and Agency Unlimited at $5,999 a year; the page does not reconcile the Scale and annual figures. Free events cost nothing to run. Payment processing is separate, and Eventzilla Payments charges 2.9% + $0.99 per transaction. Non-profits get 25% off the platform fee.
Top Features
- Unlimited events with paid and free ticket types
- Conditional-logic registration forms and event websites
- Seating plan designer on Pro and above
- Mobile check-in, kiosks and badge printing
- Agenda, call for speakers and exhibitor management
- Event Hub attendee app and virtual events
Pros
- Conference tooling beyond basic ticketing
- Fees can be passed to attendees on every plan
- Daily payouts through Eventzilla Payments
Cons
- Fees climb quickly at scale outside the Scale plan
- Basic allows only one paid ticket type
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. Third-party connectors exist; none is Eventzilla-published.
API Integration: Yes. API v2 with an OpenAPI spec and webhooks, authenticated by an API key. Plan gating is not documented.
Cloud Based: Yes. No on-premise option.
Platforms: Web app, an organizer mobile app and Event Hub attendee app (store listings not confirmed), kiosk check-in and card reader sales on Plus.
Best For: Associations and conference organizers who want agenda and speaker tools without Cvent's price.
Our take: Choose Eventzilla when your event is a small conference rather than a ticket sale. Read the plan table carefully: the feature you want is often one tier up from the price you saw first.
Editor score: 4.1/5. Good breadth for the money; layered tiers and no official MCP server keep it down.
7. Ticketbud
Ticketbud is the no-fuss option: no plans, no tiers and no contracts. Every organizer gets unlimited events and ticket types, and the attendee pays the fee by default.
Pricing: The standard fee is 2% + $0.99 per ticket, charged to attendees by default; nonprofits and schools pay 1.75% + $0.99. Free events cost $0. A separate processor fee of 2.9% + $0.30 applies. Payouts are daily, weekly or monthly per the homepage, which the pricing page does not state. Organizers can absorb the fee, and a discounted rate for tickets under $10 is available by contacting Ticketbud.
Top Features
- Free iOS and Android check-in app with offline lists
- Custom event pages and registration forms
- Unlimited ticket types, promo codes and timed entry
- Reserved seating with interactive maps
- Order edits, refunds and team access levels
- Real-time dashboard plus Zoom virtual events
Pros
- No subscription and no tiers
- Rentable scanning hardware for US customers
- Choice of daily, weekly or monthly payouts
Cons
- Pricing page is vague on payouts and currencies
- API is labelled beta with no documented rate limits
AI/MCP Integration: None official found. Zapier and viaSocket offer third-party MCP connectors.
API Integration: Yes. A beta REST API with OAuth 2.0 covers events, ticket sales, tickets and check-in, with docs at api.ticketbud.com.
Cloud Based: Yes. No on-premise option.
Platforms: Web event pages on desktop, mobile and tablet, the check-in app on iOS and Android, and US-only rentable scanner and POS hardware.
Best For: Local organizers who want one flat fee and daily payouts without learning a tier chart.
Our take: Choose Ticketbud when your events are modest and you value the absence of a pricing decision. It is operating as an independent product as of October 2026, but we found no press confirmation beyond its own pages.
Editor score: 4.0/5. Simple and fair; a beta API, thin docs on payouts and no MCP server leave it last.
Comparison Table
| Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Standout Feature | AI-MCP Support | API Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket Tailor | Low, transparent fees | $0.85 per paid ticket | Free offline check-in app | Official | REST, webhooks |
| Eventbrite | Built-in audience | 3.7% + $1.79 plus 2.9% | Marketplace discovery | None official | REST v3 |
| Luma | Community and free events | Free (5% on paid tickets) | Unlimited events and guests | None official | REST (Plus) |
| Cvent | Enterprise conferences | Custom-quoted | OnArrival badge printing | None official | REST (Enterprise) |
| Humanitix | Charity-backed ticketing | 5.0% + $1.29 all-in | All features on every plan | None official | Read-only REST |
| Eventzilla | Small conferences | $1.50 per registration | Agenda and speaker tools | None official | REST v2 |
| Ticketbud | Flat, simple fees | 2% + $0.99 plus processing | Daily payouts | None official | Beta REST |
How to Choose
- Count your tickets and average price first. Per-ticket fees dominate the bill, so volume matters more than any plan name.
- Decide who pays the fee. Eventbrite, Humanitix and Ticketbud default to the buyer; Ticket Tailor lets you add your own booking fee.
- Ask whether you need an audience. Eventbrite is the one whose marketplace reach we could document; the rest assume you bring your own.
- Check where payouts land. Ticket Tailor, Luma and Eventzilla can route money through your own processor account.
- Test the door experience. Every tool here has a check-in app or kiosk, but only Ticket Tailor, Ticketbud and Cvent state offline or limited-connectivity support.
- Check API plan gating. Luma wants Plus and Cvent wants Enterprise, while Humanitix's API is read-only.
- Confirm seating needs early. Ticket Tailor charges double credits for seated tickets, and Eventzilla gates its seating designer to Pro and above.
What This Actually Costs
Take a US event with 200 paid tickets at $25 each, bought as separate orders, using a Stripe-style processing rate of 2.9% + $0.30 where the vendor does not bundle it. On Ticket Tailor pay as you sell that is $0.85 per ticket plus $1.03 processing, about $375 in total. Luma's free plan is $1.25 platform fee plus processing, about $455, while Luma Plus at $59 for the month and no platform fee comes to about $264. Humanitix at 5.0% + $1.29 is about $508, and Ticketbud at 2% + $0.99 plus processing is about $503. Eventzilla Basic at $1.50 per registration plus processing is about $505 with one ticket type. Eventbrite at 3.7% + $1.79 plus 2.9% on the order is about $704. Cvent needs a quote. Whether the buyer or you pays, the fees come out of the same $5,000 in sales.
Final Thoughts
Ticket Tailor is the default recommendation: the fee is easy to model, the money moves through your own processor, and it is the only one here with an official MCP connector. The exceptions are specific. Take Luma if you run free or community events and want to drop the platform fee at the Plus tier, Eventbrite if you need strangers to find your event, and Cvent if the event needs hardware and a contract. Choose Eventzilla for a small conference with an agenda, and Humanitix or Ticketbud when you prefer a flat structure over a tier chart. For related reading, see our guides to event management software, event marketing software, virtual event platforms, webinar software and payment processing software.
