To fee or not to fee. That is the question.℠
ThunderTix gives you total control over your pricing and fees. Advertise no ticket fees, add a modest one, or name your own: how much you charge and what it is called is entirely your call. Here is how to decide.
- No ThunderTix fees added to buyers
- You keep 100% of fee revenue
- All-in pricing shown upfront
- Manual comps stay free
Evening Performance
Orchestra · Row F · Seat 12The era of hidden ticket fees is over
Few decisions affect your sales, and your audience's trust, more than how you handle ticket fees. Consumer protection rules now require ticket sellers to show the total cost upfront, not buried on the final payment screen. That is good news for buyers, and even better news for venues that were already doing it right.
ThunderTix has displayed itemized, all-in pricing from the first screen for years. You can sell tickets online with no fees to your buyers, or add a modest ticket fee of your own; either way, nothing about your checkout needs to change to stay compliant. The only question left is the strategic one: should you pass ticket fees on to your customers?
Junk fee rules require all-in pricing
Federal and state rules now require ticketing platforms to display the full price, including mandatory fees, from the start of the purchase. Drip pricing at checkout is prohibited.
Buyers reward transparency
Surprise charges are a leading cause of abandoned carts. When patrons see the true total from the beginning, they do not feel tricked, and they finish the purchase.
What buyers actually see
A labeled three-step checkout with all-in pricing at every stop, so buyers always know both the true cost and how close the finish line is.
Cancel for any reason up to 24 hours before show time for a gift card credit. Includes a 10% fee.
General admission works the same way: every ticket type shows its all-in price right beside the quantity selector, before anything is added to the order. The same no-surprise pricing applies whether you sell tickets online or at the box office.
Fee sensitivity varies by crowd
Every organization should cover the cost of its online ticketing service. The real questions with ticket fees are how far above that floor your market allows, and whether the fee appears as a line item or lives inside the ticket price.
Younger, budget-conscious crowds
Students and families watch every dollar, but even the most fee-sensitive buyer won't huff at $1. Keep it modest, keep it visible, and let it quietly cover your ticketing costs.
$1 won't scare anyoneHigh-income or tourist markets
Destination audiences and affluent markets are far less price-sensitive. A reasonable, clearly disclosed fee typically has no measurable impact on sales.
Room well above the $1 floorCollege towns
These buyers grew up with fees and expect them, but they will not tolerate sticker shock. Keep fees modest and visible from the first screen.
Modest fees, zero surprisesBake it in, or pass it through
Bake it into the price
No-fee ticketing at checkout, costs covered in the face value
- A fee-free checkout earns goodwill in fee-weary markets
- Raise the ticket price a dollar and your costs are still covered
- Buyers respond to the psychology of "no fees" even at the same total
- Best for walk-up heavy events and round-number pricing
Add a modest fee
Fund operations with revenue you keep
- Every dollar goes to your bottom line, not your vendor's
- Can offset software and card processing costs completely
- High-demand shows absorb small fees with no conversion impact
- Clearly disclosed fees do not read as junk fees
The break-even math: On a subscription plan, ThunderTix charges a flat monthly rate plus about $1 to $1.25 per ticket beyond your included allotment. Pass at least that much through, as a visible fee or built into the price, and your ticketing software is effectively free. Anything above it is new revenue.
And the advantage grows with your prices: a $510 premium campsite at a music festival costs the venue the same flat $1.25 in ticketing as a $15 seat. On a platform charging 3% of sales, that one site would cost $15.30, more than twelve times as much. The higher your ticket prices, the more flat pricing pays.
Every option, on your terms
Most ticketing providers set and keep their own fees. With ThunderTix, you configure the structure, name each fee whatever you like, and keep every dollar collected. And fee control is just one corner of the platform; browse the full list of ThunderTix features for everything else included.
Per-ticket fee
A flat amount added to each ticket. The simplest way to offset your software costs.
Per-order fee
One fee per transaction regardless of ticket count. Friendly to families and groups.
Percentage fee
Scale the fee with ticket price, useful when your price points span a wide range.
Card processing pass-through
Recover gateway costs as a separate, clearly labeled line item at checkout.
Combine structures
Pair a $1 per-ticket fee with a processing fee matched to your gateway's rate, and both your software and card costs are fully covered.
Name it anything
Service fee, facility fee, restoration fund. The label is yours, and buyers see exactly what it is.
Free means free
Manually comped tickets and $0 tickets for free events carry no ThunderTix charges and no buyer fees. Reward your donors, volunteers, and VIPs without it costing either of you a cent.
Ticket fees don't have to feel like a scam. Handled openly, they fund your operations and still respect your audience.The ThunderTix approach since 2004
Ticket fee FAQs
No. Unlike most online ticketing software, ThunderTix never adds its own fee to your buyers' tickets. Any ticket fee shown at checkout is one you chose to add, and 100% of it goes to your organization. You pay ThunderTix directly through the plan you select, so your buyers only ever see the pricing you set.
Yes. Many venues add a small per-ticket fee, roughly $1 to $1.25, that fully covers their subscription and per-ticket costs, making the software effectively free to the organization. You can also add a separate fee to recover credit card processing.
Manually comped $0 tickets and tickets to fully free events are excluded from ThunderTix billing, and no fees are charged to the recipient. Tickets discounted to $0 with a coupon code and season packages comped to $0 are billed like any other sale, and there's a reason: those features do real work for your staff. Coupon recipients pick their own event, performance, and seats on their own time, and season packages bundle events and seat selection into one quick flow, sparing your box office the calls and manual processing a giveaway would otherwise create. When you simply want to hand someone a free ticket, comp it directly through the box office and no charges apply.
Yes. ThunderTix displays the full ticket cost, including any ticket fees you configure, from the beginning of the purchase process rather than revealing charges at the final payment step. That holds across every ticket type: general admission, reserved seating, and even Pay What You Can pricing. Optional add-ons like the flexible ticket upgrade show their full all-in cost the same way. Itemized, upfront pricing has been the ThunderTix default for years.
You do. Because you connect your own payment gateway, all ticket revenue and all fee revenue deposit directly to your bank account. ThunderTix never touches your funds and never takes a cut of fees you collect.
Your online ticketing costs should be covered either way; even the most fee-sensitive audience won't blink at a $1 ticket fee. The real decision is presentation: show a modest fee as its own line item, or build it into the ticket price and advertise $0 fees for the psychology of it. Because ThunderTix lets you change fee settings at any time, many venues test both and keep what performs best.
Your tickets. Your fees. Your revenue.
Explore ticket fee strategies that fit your audience, and keep every dollar you collect. Compare plans and per-ticket pricing, or sell tickets online with no fees today; the trial is free, no credit card required.