Cheapest Event Management Platforms: Pricing, Free Plans and What to Look For

If you're searching for the cheapest event management platforms pricing free plan, you'll quickly find that most event platforms offer some kind of free option.

But free doesn't always mean free.

Some platforms charge a percentage of every ticket. Others charge a fixed fee per ticket, while some introduce monthly subscriptions once your event reaches a certain size.

And there is another important difference: what you actually get for the price.

A cheap ticketing platform might be perfect for a 50-person meetup. A 2,000-person conference may need registration, ticketing, check-in, attendee management, networking and hotel booking.

This guide compares some of the cheapest event management platforms and explains what you should look at before choosing one.

What does a free event management platform actually include?

The term "free event management software" can mean several different things.

A platform may let you create an event for free but charge a fee when someone purchases a ticket.

Another may offer free registration but charge for paid tickets.

Some platforms have genuinely free plans but limit the number of attendees, events or features.

There are therefore three different costs worth checking:

• Platform fees
• Payment processing fees
• Monthly or annual subscription fees

For larger events, you should also consider the cost of additional software.

You may need separate tools for ticketing, check-in, networking, attendee management and accommodation.

The cheapest event management software isn't necessarily the platform with the lowest advertised price. It can be the platform that lets you run the entire event with fewer additional tools.

Eventbrite

Eventbrite is one of the most established event registration and ticketing platforms.

You can publish free events without paying a platform fee. Paid events, however, are subject to service and payment processing fees.

This makes Eventbrite relatively straightforward for smaller events and organisers who want their events to appear on an established event marketplace.

The main consideration is the transaction cost.

A percentage-based fee may not matter much for a small event, but it becomes more significant as ticket prices and attendee numbers increase.

Eventbrite is therefore particularly relevant if event discovery is important to you, rather than simply looking for the cheapest event ticketing software.

Luma

Luma has become popular among communities, startups, meetups and professional event organisers.

Free events can be created without a platform fee. For paid events, Luma's free plan currently charges a 5% platform fee in addition to payment processing. A paid plan is available for organisers who want to remove the platform fee.

The percentage model makes the actual cost dependent on ticket price.

For example, a 5% fee on a €20 ticket is €1.

On a €200 ticket, it is €10.

That difference becomes important for conferences and other events with higher ticket prices.

Luma is particularly suited to organisers who want a modern, simple registration experience without the complexity of larger event platforms.

Ticket Tailor

Ticket Tailor focuses heavily on affordable event ticketing.

Rather than primarily charging a percentage of the ticket price, Ticket Tailor uses a fixed fee per ticket, with the exact cost depending on the pricing model and region.

This can make the platform attractive for higher-priced tickets because the platform fee doesn't increase proportionally with the ticket price.

For example, selling a €200 conference ticket doesn't necessarily mean paying ten times the platform fee of a €20 ticket.

The trade-off is that Ticket Tailor is primarily a ticketing platform.

If you also need accommodation management, room blocks or hotel booking for attendees, you may need another solution.

RSVPify

RSVPify combines online registration with event-management functionality.

Its current pricing for paid tickets uses a 1.95% platform fee plus $0.90 per ticket or registrant, with payment processing charged separately.

The fixed fee is particularly important for inexpensive tickets.

For example, a $20 ticket would have a $1.29 platform fee before payment processing, while a $200 ticket would have a $4.80 platform fee.

This is why comparing event management platform pricing purely by percentage can sometimes be misleading.

RSVPify can make sense for organisers who need more sophisticated registration functionality than a basic ticketing platform provides.

EventCreate

EventCreate combines event websites, registration and ticketing with broader event management functionality.

It has a free entry-level option aimed at smaller events, with paid plans available as attendee numbers and requirements increase.

The advantage is that an organiser can manage more of the event from one platform rather than combining several different services.

For smaller events, however, it is worth checking whether you actually need the additional functionality of a paid event management platform.

Hoperfy

Hoperfy takes a slightly different approach to event management software.

It combines event ticketing with hotel booking.

That distinction matters most for conferences, summits, trade shows and international events where attendees are travelling to the event.

Hoperfy's ticketing starts from 2% with the Full Suite, while free events don't have a platform fee.

There is also no monthly subscription for the core platform.

The hotel booking side allows organisers to offer attendees hotels around the event venue without sending them to a separate booking website.

This means Hoperfy isn't necessarily the obvious choice for every type of event.

If you're organising a 50-person local meetup where everyone lives nearby, hotel booking probably isn't important.

If you're organising a 2,000-person international conference, accommodation becomes a much bigger part of the attendee journey.

That's where combining ticketing and hotel booking in one platform can make more sense.

Cheapest event management software isn't always the cheapest overall

The easiest mistake when comparing event management platforms is looking only at the ticketing fee.

Consider an international conference with 1,000 attendees and an average ticket price of €150.

That's €150,000 in ticket revenue.

A 1% difference in platform fees represents €1,500.

But suppose 400 attendees also book hotels and spend an average of €400 on accommodation.

That's another €160,000 of accommodation transactions connected to the event.

At that point, the economics of the event platform become broader than ticketing.

This is one reason Hoperfy combines ticketing and hotel booking instead of treating accommodation as a completely separate part of the event.

What should you look for in cheap event management software?

Before choosing a platform, look beyond the advertised free plan.

Ticketing fees

Calculate the actual fee using your average ticket price.

A platform that is cheap for €20 tickets may not be the cheapest for €300 conference tickets.

Fixed fees

Check whether the platform adds a fixed amount to every transaction.

A €1 fee has a much bigger impact on a €10 ticket than a €200 ticket.

Payment processing

Platform fees and payment processing are often separate.

Make sure you calculate both.

Attendee limits

Some free event management platforms limit the number of attendees or events.

Check what happens when your event grows.

Check-in

If you're running a physical event, QR code check-in can save a significant amount of time at the entrance.

Check whether it is included or requires a paid plan.

Additional software

You may need separate tools for:

• Event websites
• Registration
• Ticketing
• Check-in
• Networking
• Attendee communication
• Hotel booking
• Room blocks
• Invoicing

A platform that looks cheap can become considerably more expensive once these additional tools are added.

Revenue opportunities

Most event software is designed to process money from attendees.

Some platforms can also help organisers generate additional revenue.

For conferences and international events, hotel bookings can be one such opportunity.

Which cheap event management platform should you use?

There isn't one cheapest event management platform for every event.

If you're organising a small community event, Luma or Eventbrite may provide everything you need.

If you're primarily looking for low-cost ticketing, Ticket Tailor is worth considering.

If registration and event-management functionality are more important, RSVPify or EventCreate may be a better fit.

If you're running conferences or international events where attendees also need accommodation, Hoperfy takes a different approach by combining ticketing and hotel booking.

The important thing is to compare the total cost of running your event, rather than choosing based only on the words "free plan."

A free event management platform can be exactly what you need.

But sometimes the cheapest platform is not the one with the lowest ticketing fee.

It's the one that lets you run more of the event from one place without paying for several separate tools.