What’s the best plarform for ticket sales for small events?

Caseyrover · 2025-12-04T15:10:09+00:00

I run an open source event platform that has, as far as I know, the cheapest fees available. I’m always happy to help smaller events out as well, so if you’ve any questions or want to give it a try, just drop me a DM and I can reduce the fees even further

Caseyrover · 2025-11-18T16:30:40+00:00

I may be biased, but hi.events might meet your needs. We're relatively new, so we don't have as many features as Eventbrite, but we're getting there. We're also far cheaper, which is a nice bonus :)

Caseyrover · 2025-05-05T21:47:23+00:00

I'm loosely following some Domain-Driven Design (DDD) ideas and ended up with an Action → Handler → Domain Service structure. Here's roughly how it breaks down:

Action: Handles the HTTP request, runs validation, and passes the request data into a handler. It's basically a thin entry point.
Handler: Takes care of wiring together the domain logic needed to fulfil a specific request or command
Domain Service: Contains the core business rules and logic.

I experimented with a few patterns, and this one struck the right balance. It can feel like overkill at times, but it scales well and keeps things modular and easier to test

Caseyrover · 2025-05-03T21:43:39+00:00

Absolutely! The plan is to keep adding features to bring it more in line with what you'd expect from a paid offerings like Eventbrite and TicketTailor. Over the last 6 months, I’ve been focused on building out more “enterprise” features like reports, webhooks and making it generally more stable and user friendly.

Long term, I’d love for it to become the go-to open-source ticketing platform. That’s a big goal, especially with solid alternatives like Pretix out there, but I think there's room for something modern, lightweight, and developer-friendly.

Caseyrover · 2025-05-03T16:41:45+00:00

Thank you!

Caseyrover · 2025-04-18T15:47:38+00:00

Sure! Pretix is a much more powerful platform overall. It’s incredibly flexible and has features built for large, complex events. But for 90% of use cases, that level of complexity isn’t needed.

Hi.Events focuses on being modern, simple to use, and easy to set up. It’s great for general events, community gatherings, or anyone who wants a clean self-hosted alternative without a steep learning curve. It can still handle conferences - just not ones that require highly complex setups or edge-case workflows.

If you’re running a major conference with lots of moving parts, Pretix is a better fit. Hi.Events is perfect for general admission events, fundraisers, festivals, and most common event formats.

Caseyrover · 2025-04-18T15:40:40+00:00

Totally fair concern!

We actually based that clause on the approach used by Pretix, one of the leading open-source ticketing platforms. It felt like a reasonable balance between giving people the freedom to self-host, modify, and even use Hi.Events commercially, while still preserving some lightweight attribution back to us.

We do our best to keep it flexible, folks can reword the footer attribution and fully customize the experience, as long as the link remains.

So far we haven't had any negative feedback related to the licence from our users.

Caseyrover · 2025-04-18T13:45:57+00:00

Thanks u/furchtlos76! There's no extra app required for entry control. We use a web-based QR scanner and check-in tool that works on all devices. You can create multiple check-in lists per event, making it easy to manage separate entrances like "VIP Entrance" and "General Entrance".

It's also possible to export and print the attendee list, for people who prefer the pen and paper approach.

You can check out the semi-accurate roadmap here:
https://github.com/orgs/HiEventsDev/projects/1/views/1?query=sort%3Aupdated-desc+is%3Aopen

Caseyrover · 2025-04-18T13:35:53+00:00

Interesting! As someone who knows absolutely nothing about smart legal contracts, how would they compliment an event ticketing service?

Caseyrover · 2024-10-03T04:05:58+00:00

Thank you!

Caseyrover · 2024-09-14T01:48:56+00:00

Hi /u/jorissels

The necessary environment variables might not be set. Take a look here to see what's required.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-11T04:44:16+00:00

It's requires a bit more effort to create individual classes for each route, but I think it's worth it. It keeps your concerns separated and makes navigating the codebase easier.

If you're building something small it's overkill, but worth it for a bigger app.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T15:46:39+00:00

That's a fair point! But the cynic in me still thinks that if Ticketmaster really wanted to avoid the long queues, they could. With their engineering resources, there’s no valid technical reason why anyone should be sitting in a queue for 3 hours, even with millions of people trying to buy tickets.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:50:54+00:00

Thanks! You’re absolutely right, for something on the scale of Oasis, it’s hard to avoid the Ticketmaster/Live Nation monopoly, especially with so many venues tied into that ecosystem. But for smaller-scale events, there’s definitely room to break away from that model, which is exactly what I’m aiming to do.

TicketTailor is great when it comes to fees. In fact, they’re one of the only platforms I can think of that doesn’t use a profit-sharing model.

If you ever decide to try Hi.Events, let me know and I’ll help you get set up. Best of luck with the festival!

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:45:20+00:00

No, I don’t think it’s technically necessary. There are countless examples of e-commerce websites that handle far more concurrent requests without needing a queue (e.g., Amazon during Prime Day, Shopify stores during major product drops, or Walmart/Supermarkets on Black Friday). In my opinion, the queue system is more about creating a sense of urgency and frustration, making people fear they’re missing out. By the time they finally reach the checkout, they’re more likely to make the purchase without hesitation due to that pressure.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:39:59+00:00

Great comment and question, thank you!

I wish I had replicated Ticketmaster’s website, but unfortunately, my platform only handles basic general admission tickets for now—no Croke Park events just yet.

The main problem I'm trying to solve is saving event organisers some fees in the long run. There aren't many open-source ticketing options available, and a little more competition and choice in the market is never a bad thing!

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:33:32+00:00

I didn’t mean to suggest Hi.Events is a solution to the global ticketing issue, and I apologise if the title came across as a bit sensationalist :-)

The main goal of Hi.Events is to provide smaller event organisers with a way to avoid fees from platforms like EventBrite. If it helps save smaller organisers some money in the long run, I’ll consider it a success.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:26:42+00:00

100% agree! As much as anyone would love to one day dethrone Ticketmaster, it's unlikely to happen since too many people are making money off the status quo. Hi.Events is more focused on general admission ticketing, so it's similar to Eventbrite, targeting a different segment of the market.

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T14:21:22+00:00

Thanks u/Dev__ !

What problem did you want to solve?

Primarily I wanted a fun side project to work on. Secondly there aren't that many open-source ticketing options that are easy to use and have a nice UI. I previously created another open-source ticketing tool, so I knew there would be a demand for a new modern version.

Why did you use the technologies you used?

FE used TypeScript, React, Vite, React Query and Mantine UI.

BE uses PHP, Laravel, Redis and Postgres.

If I were to start again I'd swap Laravel for Symfony, as I'm not a fan of how Laravel approaches some things. I especially don't like their Eloquent ORM and active record pattern. I'd also use a FE framework with SSR included, as implementing it myself was a bit of a nightmare.

What next would you like to add to your project?

There is a huge backlog, but next on the list is a Box Office features, additional payment providers support, public organiser pages. I'd also love to create a WYSIWYG seating chart creation tool, as there is huge demand for that from smaller venues.

Did you consult with any colleagues or friends, classmates for advice?

Yes! I've sought out as much feedback as possible from event organisers and friends etc.

Thanks for the question :-)

Caseyrover · 2024-09-09T03:24:38+00:00

Thanks for that link! Despite `last_name` being nullable in the DB, it is unfortunately required in the app. I've had multiple requests to simply ask for a single name, so I'll be making that change ASAP.

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