Best Event Ticketing Software for 2021

Event planners usually have to juggle through multiple roles while planning and organizing events. There are usually several operations involved and each needs to be handled in a specific manner. Event ticketing, for instance, is a complete workflow in itself which can take up much time.

Event ticketing involves creating different types of tickets, managing sales, analyzing which kinds of tickets are selling the most, and whatnot. With an automated event ticketing system in place, you can simply put the word out about an event and almost forget about it. The system will handle ticketing, registrations, payments, and ultimately help you sell more tickets.

There are several aspects of an event ticketing system you should know if you’re into event management, and this guide is aimed at highlighting them. So let’s get started.

First, a look at the top 5 Budget Event Ticketing Software

Here’s a look at the top 5 event ticketing software that can easily fit your budget.

• Bitpod Event
  
  Bitpod Event is a one-stop centralized event management software equipped with powerful yet very flexible ticketing capabilities. It’s flexible because it allows event organizers to set up different categories of tickets and define a variety of rules around them. Offering seamless and smooth set-up and navigation, this is one platform that offers true value for your money.
  
  Here are some of the rules which you can set up when you manage event ticketing with Bitpod Event: Book appointment for one-one or group virtual events
  
  
  • Early bird pricing
  
  
  • Member discounts, Coupon codes, & Bulk discounts
  
  
  • Ticket expiry
  
  
  • Price escalations
  
  
  • Manage tickets inventory
  
  
  • Ticket template for printing
  
  
  • Free tickets
  
  
  • Fundraiser and donations
  
  
  • Integrate with payment gateways
  
  
  • Manage cancellation & Refunds
  
  
  • Check-ins & Reminders
  
  
  • Setting PAX limits
  
  
  • Tickets Promotions
  
  
  In addition to the above, Bitpod Event comes bundled with Seating Layout, a designer tool which allows event organizers to design indoor or outdoor seatings. Whether it is group seating or individual seating you can draw a variety of seat maps for different types of events.
  
  Bitpod Event can be used to sell tickets for Sports, tech, musical, fundraisers, educational training stc. In addition to this, the platform’s strength lies in the 700+ integrations it has to offer, including:
  
  
  • Integration with online meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google meet, Webex, GoToWebinar
  
  
  • Integration with video streaming platforms such as YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and more
  
  
  • Lead generation and capturing by integrating with Salesforce, Hubspot and 700+ cloud apps
  
  
  • GSuite and Office365 Calendar and email integration
  
  
  • Integration with accounting software to manage virtual event invoicing and capturing profitability
  
  
• Ticketleap
  
  Easy-to-use cloud-based ticketing platform where you can almost instantly start selling tickets.
  
  Pros:
  
  
  • Simple and easy-to-use interface
  
  
  • Helps spread the word for your event through social media promotion
  
  
  • Offers templates showcasing customizable themes
  
  
  • Includes features for tracking sales data, redemption information, etc.
  
  
  Cons:
  
  
  • Difficult to make pay-at-the-door reservations
  
  
• Purplepass
  
  All-in-one management hub that lets you sell tickets, design, and print visually stunning flyers and other marketing materials for your event.
  
  Pros:
  
  
  • Seamless event set-up
  
  
  • Includes barcode ticket scanning, kiosk ticketing, online ticketing options
  
  
  • Gives option to print tickets at home
  
  
  • Manages seating map and takes care of concessions management
  
  
  • Expert support system that is at your disposal 24x7x365
  
  
  Cons:
  
  
  • “Promoter site” section is very confusing
  
  
Tix

Another cloud-based ticketing solution with no upfront setup fees, annual maintenance charges, or any other form of hidden costs.

Pros:


• Integrated implementations for effective event management, marketing, channel distribution, and expert data analytics


• Specializes in low cost, feature-rich box office and online ticketing solutions


• Simple set-up and use, very affordable


Cons:


• Faulty user password management


Accelevents

All-in-one platform for managing virtual, hybrid, and in-person events.

Pros:


• Easy integration with fundraising tools


• Built-in emailing and marketing tools to promote event on social media platforms


• Integrated mobile app that allows your team to sell tickets at entry gates


Cons:


• No mobile app


• Difficult to remove sample auction items

How to select Event Ticketing Software

Here’s a look at the basic features every ticketing software must have:

• Expert navigation and simple interface: The software you choose should have a responsive design that’s easy to navigate, has clearly defined or self-explanatory options and can be used even with no prior experience.



• Lets you create great looking event pages with rich text and visual elements: The right event ticketing tool should help you create a webpage that includes all the relevant info about your event and then be enticing enough to prompt users to buy tickets.



• Targeted Marketing: It should allow you to create marketing campaigns targeting a specific audience based on age group, ethnicity, relationship status, and various other factors. This will help you sell the right kinds of tickets to the right kinds of people.



• Custom Reports and analysis: The ticketing tool must offer pre and post-event reporting features that can help planners gain a deeper insight into the minds of their audience. Features like sales tracking, demographic analysis, and preferences of the audience must be included in your ticketing solution.



• Payment gateway integration: A good ticketing solution offers several payment gateway integrations for attendees. The integration of third party payment solutions that the audience is already familiar with must be provided in the software package.



• Event Support: The ticketing solution you purchase must offer expert support round the clock to help you if you run into an issue.

Why use an Event Ticketing Software?

• Everything is online: Today, merely setting up a booth at the gate of the event and selling tickets there doesn’t work. The process is too slow and has very limited reach. With automated event ticketing, you can leverage the power of the online community and social media platforms to sell more tickets in a shorter time and without manual hassles.



• Real-time Analytics and sales alerts: Real-time analysis of ticket sales helps event planners track profit and prepare for unseen troubles. Event ticketing software also lets you analyze audience demographics and what campaigns worked for your event.



• Speed up event entry: Often, events that rely on offline ticket sales have large queues lined up for entry. Automating ticket sales and registration processes through a ticketing tool helps you improve the admission process, ultimately leading to better audience experience.



• Flawless payment options: Ticketing software allows people to pay through online modes reducing the hassle of carrying cash to the event. By integrating multiple payment gateways into your ticketing tool, you can further expand your audience reach as well.



• Much needed support for your team: Automating the ticketing process helps you minimize human errors and provide the much-needed support to you and your team.

Are there any challenges or risks of using Event Ticketing Software?

No system is perfect and opting for Event ticketing software does bring you a few drawbacks that you should consider before making the final decision.

The biggest chunk in the armor is the cost that comes along with such robust solutions. Since the event management industry is still in the early phase of digital transformation, most solutions might be too costly for small-time event planners. A large section of such planning software doesn’t charge you with a single setup cost but includes payment schemes like commission on each ticket you sell. This can be excruciating for some event planners as there might be surge charges as well when you cross a certain ticket sale limit. And we haven’t still included the credit card processing fees and other transactional costs that make ticketing solutions a distant dream for many.

The other factor to consider is limited options of customization that deprive you of creating a personalized experience. Even if the platform offers a completely customizable solution, it will come with rigid templates that will require tech expertise that not all event planners can handle. This becomes a major deal-breaker when event planners are looking to personalize and promote their brand integrating it into the ticket selling process.

To give a final word

Every event involves a bunch of tasks to be taken care of, and event ticketing is a prominent one of them. With specialized event ticketing software in place, planners can minimize a lot of their workload while also streamlining processes and taking care of several additional things like managing ticket inventory, handling discounts, taking care of attendee check-ins, reminders, and a lot more.