Event Ticket Pricing Profit Calculator
Price event tickets with confidence: net profit after fixed costs, per-attendee costs and ticketing fees (absorbed or passed to buyers), break-even attendance and price, the ticket price for a target profit, capacity scenarios, comps, early-bird tier, sponsorship, extra spend, no-shows and sales tax.
How it works
Fee per ticket = price × (platform % + processing %) + fixed fee · Net per ticket = price ÷ (1 + tax) − fee (unless buyers pay it) − per-attendee cost × show rate + extra spend × show rate · Costs to cover = fixed × (1 + contingency) + comps × per-attendee cost − sponsorship · Profit = net per ticket × tickets sold − costs to cover · Break-even = costs to cover ÷ net per ticket · Price needed = ((target profit + costs to cover) ÷ tickets + per-ticket costs) ÷ (1 ÷ (1 + tax) − fee %)
Event pricing has to clear three hurdles on every ticket before a dollar reaches profit: the ticketing platform’s fees (a percentage, often a fixed amount per ticket, and sometimes card processing), the variable cost of serving each attendee, and a share of the fixed costs that exist whether ten or ten thousand people show up. The net per ticket is what survives the first two; dividing the costs still to cover by that figure gives the break-even attendance, and against your venue capacity it shows whether break-even is within reach, tight or needs a sell-out. Switch to “Price I need” to work backwards from the attendance you can realistically sell and the profit you want. Under More options you can pass the fees on to buyers (they then don’t reduce your net, but raise the all-in price buyers see), take out sales tax or VAT included in the price, add free comps, no-shows, a contingency, sponsorship and the profit from bar or merchandise spend, and sell an early-bird tier before the regular price. The scenario table shows profit at a quarter, half, three quarters and full capacity, and the price table shows how the break-even point moves if you charge 10–20% more or less.
Worked example
A $40 ticket with a 5% platform fee ($2) and $8 per-head cost nets $30. Covering $4,000 of fixed costs takes 4,000 ÷ 30 ≈ 134 tickets — 53.6% of a 250-seat room, comfortably within reach. Selling 200 yields 200 × 30 − 4,000 = $2,000 profit on $8,000 of gross revenue. To make $2,000 from 200 tickets you need exactly this $40 price; the break-even price at 200 tickets is (4,000 ÷ 200 + 8) ÷ 0.95 = $29.47.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the ticketing platform fee?
It depends on your settings. If you absorb the fee, it comes out of each ticket, as the calculator assumes by default. If you pass it to buyers as an add-on at checkout, turn on “Buyers pay the fees” under More options: it then does not reduce your net, but it does raise the all-in price the buyer sees, which can dampen sales.
What if net per ticket is zero or negative?
Then the fees and per-attendee cost consume the whole ticket price and no attendance can ever cover fixed costs. The calculator flags this — you must raise the ticket price, cut the per-head cost, or reduce fixed costs before the event can be profitable.
How should I set the ticket price?
Work backward from the attendance you can confidently sell — often 60–70% of capacity for a first event. Use “Price I need” to find the break-even price at that attendance, then add a cushion of roughly 20–30% for slower sales and surprises. Check the price against what similar events charge, and use early-bird pricing to fill seats early.
How do comps and no-shows affect profit?
Comps take seats and still cost the per-attendee amount, so they raise the costs to cover without bringing in ticket money. No-shows have paid but do not eat, drink or collect a wristband, so they lower your variable costs — unless your caterer charges per ticket sold, in which case leave the no-show rate at 0.
Does the price include sales tax or VAT?
Where tax is included in the face price (common for VAT), part of every ticket belongs to the tax authority. Enter the rate under More options and the calculator removes it before working out your net. If tax is added on top at checkout, leave it at 0.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.