Let patrons name their price.
Watch generosity fill your seats.
Pay What You Can (PWYC), also known as Pay What You Wish or Pay What You Want, is a powerful way to offer affordable access to the arts while encouraging generosity. Patrons choose what they pay, starting from a minimum price you set.
ThunderTix makes it easy to offer PWYC tickets on single events and even entire Pay What You Can season packages, alongside your standard pricing, a flexible, sliding-scale approach that welcomes new audiences and maximizes attendance.
Why offer Pay What You Can tickets?
PWYC pricing lets patrons choose what they pay, starting from a minimum price you set. While many patrons pay the minimum (often $5), others choose to give more, turning their ticket into a voluntary donation that supports your mission.
Preview & opening nights
Fill the house for preview or opening night performances while word of mouth builds.
Community & student access
Power community outreach and student access initiatives with pricing every budget can meet.
Welcome new patrons
Introduce new audiences to your venue with a low-pressure invitation to experience live performance.
Fill empty seats
Promote shows that might otherwise play to empty seats, a full house energizes performers and audiences alike.
How Pay What You Can tickets work in ThunderTix
When creating an event, enable Pay What You Can as a standalone ticket type or offer it alongside standard ticket prices. You choose the minimum price, whether that’s $5, $1, or even $0, and patrons can pay that amount or more.
Setting up a Pay What You Can ticket type takes under a minute.
- ✓Add PWYC tickets as an additional or exclusive ticket type on any event
- ✓Set a custom minimum price, as low as $0
- ✓Patrons enter their chosen price during checkout
- ✓All PWYC ticket sales are tracked in your reports
- ✓Patrons can even add Flexible Ticket protection, cancel for any reason up to 24 hours before showtime
Patrons see a clear prompt to enter any amount at or above your minimum, making the pay-what-you-wish experience smooth and intuitive at checkout.
Turn free events into fundraisers
Already offer free events? Replace your $0 ticket with a Pay What You Can ticket instead. You’ll still offer free access, but now supporters can voluntarily contribute any amount, even $20 or $50, to help sustain your programming.
It’s the same welcoming, no-barrier experience for patrons who need it, with an open door for generosity from those who can give more.
Pay What You Can season packages
Bring PWYC pricing to your entire season. Fixed-date season packages now support Pay What You Can package pricing: you set a minimum price and an optional suggested price, and patrons choose what they pay for the whole season at or above your minimum.
Package and single-ticket PWYC work independently, so a season package can include PWYC events, standard-priced events, or a mix of both. And PWYC season packages support automated renewals: each renewal pre-fills your new season’s suggested price, which patrons can adjust before paying.
- ✓Set a minimum price and an optional suggested price per package
- ✓Include PWYC events or standard-priced events in the same package
- ✓Automated season renewals pre-fill the new season’s suggested price
Who uses Pay What You Can ticketing?
PWYC ticketing is a low-pressure way to engage your community, build loyalty, and let patrons choose the value that’s right for them. It’s especially popular with:
Nonprofits & community theatres
Mission-first organizations using flexible pricing to serve their whole community.
Universities & student performances
Student productions where accessible pricing keeps classmates and families in the seats.
Faith-based & mission-driven organizations
Groups whose events are about gathering people, with giving as a welcome option.
Theatres reducing financial barriers
Venues committed to making the arts affordable for every patron, at every income level.
Pay What You Can FAQ
What is Pay What You Can (PWYC) ticketing?+
Pay What You Can, also called Pay What You Wish or Pay What You Want, is a flexible pricing model where patrons choose what they pay for a ticket, starting from a minimum price the venue sets. It offers affordable, sliding-scale access to the arts while inviting patrons who can give more to do so.
How does PWYC pricing work in ThunderTix?+
When creating an event, enable Pay What You Can as a standalone ticket type or alongside standard ticket prices. You set the minimum, $5, $1, or even $0, and patrons enter their chosen amount at or above that minimum during checkout. Every PWYC ticket sale is tracked in your sales reports.
Can I set a $0 minimum for free events?+
Yes. Set the minimum to $0 and your event stays free for anyone who needs it, while supporters can voluntarily contribute any amount. Many venues replace their free tickets with $0-minimum PWYC tickets to turn free events into gentle fundraisers.
Do patrons actually pay more than the minimum?+
Many patrons pay the minimum, often $5, but others consistently choose to give more, effectively turning their ticket purchase into a voluntary donation that supports your mission. Your reports show exactly what each patron chose to pay.
Can Pay What You Can be combined with regular ticket prices?+
Yes. Pay What You Can tickets can be an exclusive ticket type for an event, or offered alongside your standard priced tickets, for example, regular reserved seats plus a Pay What You Can section, or PWYC pricing for a preview night only.
Can I offer Pay What You Can pricing on season packages?+
Yes. Fixed-date season packages support PWYC package pricing with a minimum price and an optional suggested price. Patrons choose what they pay for the season at or above the minimum, packages can include PWYC events or standard-priced events, and automated season renewals pre-fill the new season's suggested price for patrons to adjust before paying.
Do Pay What You Can tickets work with Flexible Tickets (cancel for any reason)?+
Yes. Patrons buying PWYC tickets can add the optional Flexible Ticket upgrade at checkout, letting them cancel for any reason up to 24 hours before showtime and receive a gift card credit for what they chose to pay. Name-your-price flexibility and cancellation protection work together on the same order.
Who uses Pay What You Can ticketing?+
Pay What You Can ticketing is especially popular with nonprofits and community theatres, universities and student performances, faith-based and mission-driven organizations, and theatres working to reduce financial barriers to the arts.
Explore more ThunderTix features
Pay What You Can pricing is one of many tools that help you fill seats and grow revenue.
More access, less hassle
With Pay What You Can tickets, you keep control over pricing while giving patrons the flexibility they appreciate. ThunderTix makes Pay What You Can pricing simple for both your box office and your audience.
Want to learn more about the philosophy and benefits behind Pay What You Can pricing? Read our full article on Pay What You Can pricing in the arts.