When trying to buy resale tickets online, there are endless options, all with different fees that seem to be added onto your purchase at the very last minute. We completed over 30 hours of research about the resale ticket market to determine the differences between all these websites, and to help you choose one when you’re trying to buy tickets online.
We’ll cover all key topics you need to know to choose the best ticket resale website for buying tickets, including:
Let’s jump right in with how to choose the best ticket resale site.
Did You Know
Which resale ticket site you should use really varies depending on whether you are buying tickets or trying to resell them. In this guide we’re helping buyers, but if you’re a seller, check out our guide on the best ticket resale sites for sellers instead.
How to choose the best ticket resale site to buy tickets
When choosing a ticket website to buy tickets from, things like how the fees work, the areas the website serves, the customer service options, and the guarantees and protection they offer buyers are some of the biggest considerations you should think about before choosing one. Here’s a breakdown of the most important things to understand, and how we’ve established our rankings for each site below.
Buyer fees
The way fees are charged to buyers when purchasing tickets across these sites are not standardized, and they vary quite a bit. For the most part, buyers are charged a service fee that is a percentage of the total cost of the ticket, and then occasionally, they are charged smaller flat rate fees to cover things like instant digital downloads or shipping physical tickets.
Unfortunately, most ticket resale sites are not transparent about what these fees are upfront, and it is unclear exactly how much they will charge because their service fee can vary depending on the type of event, the venue, and the dates. In general, these can be as low as no fees to 5%, but as high as 30-40% of the value of the tickets, and typically, you won’t know what they are until you’re in the very final stage of your checkout.
Pro Tip
Make sure you look at the buyer fees before choosing a website to buy tickets on. Some ticket sites offer lower or no buyer fees like TickPick, which only charges sellers their commission so buyers don’t pay any fees.
Buyer pool, ticket volume, and areas of service
When it comes to areas of service and number of users, in general, the more users there are, the more variety and opportunity you will have when trying to purchase your tickets. Sellers will typically flock to sites with larger buyer volume, because it increases their chances of selling their tickets before the event deadline.
Our ratings below rank ticket resale sites into groups from “Very High” to “Very Low”, and this is what each ranking means based on the average monthly visits for each website:
- Very High Volume = 100M+
- High Volume = 10-100M
- Medium = 1-10M
- Low Volume = Under 1M
- Very Low Volume = Under 10K
Ticketmaster has the most monthly users, but sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats, and SeatGeek also have a lot of recurring users each month that will increase your chances of finding tickets for your event.
Customer service options for buyers
Resale ticket sites have some of the worst reputations when it comes to having good customer service, but some websites do stand out and try to go the extra mile to help resolve any issues you might have when buying your tickets from a seller. Each ticket website will have some or all of these customer service options, which you should consider when deciding which ones will meet your needs:
- Instant Chat - Immediate - online discussion
- Phone - Immediate - Discussion on a call with a real human
- FAQ - Immediate - Quick answers to common questions
- Email - ~2-7 days - Send a message and be contacted at a later date
- Contact Form - ~2-7 days - Fill out a form and be contacted at later date
Ticket guarantees, policies, and protections for buyers
All ticket resale sites offer something called a ‘guarantee’ in some form, which offers buyers a 100% refund on the money spent on their website if any of the following conditions occur:
- The tickets did not arrive on time
- The tickets did not provide valid entry to the event
- The tickets purchased weren’t for the same seats you thought you had
- The tickets purchased were not how they were described online (ex. “unobstructed view”)
- The transaction was not safe or secure
- The event was cancelled
This guarantee offers peace of mind to buyers who have to purchase from a seller, so that you don’t need to worry about the tickets being fraudulent or anything bad happening when dealing with sellers. Most of these sites have the same boiler plate guarantee, but some have some unique characteristics or go above and beyond.
Offers opportunity for promos, discounts, or rewards
Some resale sites offer promotions, discounts, or rewards programs to buyers or repeat customers. These deals can typically help save you some money when making your purchase, so be on the lookout for offers like this. Here are some of the best ones to lookout for:
- SeatGeek Deal Score - Tells you exactly how good a deal you’re getting when you buy a ticket (compared to similar ticket exchanges).
- VividSeats Rewards Program - Buy 10 tickets, and get your 11th ticket for free with this program.
- Ticketmaster Ticket Deals - See their page of 2 for 1, Me+3 Packs, Tickets Under $40, or any other deals running at the time.
- TicketNetwork Promo Code - Enter “TNTIX25” into the promo code field at checkout to save $25 on any order of $150 or more.
- TicketCity Email List - Sign up for emails from TicketCity to receive exclusive discounts and promotions.
- TicketLiqudator Seasonal Sales & Coupons - Check out this page for promo codes and sales, like saving 15% off your next order.
10 best ticket resale sites for buyers
We took all the ticket resale sites out there and narrowed them down to the best 10 based on how good they are overall for buying tickets on. Because each site has something unique about it, and each buyer for each event has unique needs, make sure to take a look through the differences between the sites to choose the ones that’s best for you depending on what you’re prioritizing.
1. TickPick
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, UK, Mexico, India
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, UK, Mexico, India
What We Like
No buyer fees of any kind
Best Price Guarantee is essentially ‘price matching’ for tickets
Has a great app
What We Don't Like
Proving issues with your tickets can be timely
Not a huge user base yet
Our Recommendation
TickPick is revolutionizing resale ticket sites for buyers by having only sellers pay the fees, which will really cut your costs down, so it's definitely a great option. However, there's not as many sellers using it yet compared to other bigger ticket sites, so because your options may be a bit limited, it's best used for really popular events.
2. StubHub
What We Like
Highest resale seller volume on the market
Excellent resources and customer service
Best possible Buyer Guarantee
What We Don't Like
Buyer fees are steep and irregular
Fewer options for postponed events
Our Recommendation
StubHub has the biggest resale marketplace, so here you’ll likely find the biggest number of options for purchasing tickets, which makes it the best overall option to compare available tickets if you're looking for the best seats. But you’re also likely to find some of highest fees to go with those options, so use StubHub when total price isn't your top priority.
3. Ticketmaster
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Very High
Ticket Availability:
Very High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Support Methods:
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia
Top Countries:
US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia
What We Like
Can get tickets closer to face value cost
Ticket exchanges are virtually fraud free because they can only be for Ticketmaster original tickets
What We Don't Like
You can only find Ticketmaster original tickets here, not tickets for any other events
Terrible customer service
Our Recommendation
Ticketmaster is the only resale site that actually sells original tickets, so here you may be able to find tickets closer to face value cost than on most other ticket sites, so it's best to use if you care about price, and you have the time to dedicate to looking for tickets as soon as they do on sale. However, Ticketmaster is also notoriously slow, has bad customer service, is full of bot traffic, and has irregular and relatively expensive buyer fees, so use it if you have the patience for this.
4. Vivid Seats
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
High
Ticket Availability:
High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, Philippines, Mexico, UK
Top Countries:
USA, Canada, Philippines, Mexico, UK
What We Like
Has a lot of users (more options for tickets)
Has amazing customer service
Has a ‘buy 10 get 1 free’ Rewards Program
What We Don't Like
Has some of the highest buyer fees at a whopping 32%
Our Recommendation
VividSeats offers an all-around great user experience with a nice website, great customer service, a huge pool of options for your tickets, and a cool rewards program, so it's a great standard to start your ticket search out with. But your tickets will come with a massive service fee price tag on top of the ticket cost, so don't use this is price is your number one priority.
5. TicketNetwork
Buyer Fees:
None, but ticket prices are inflated
Buyer Fees:
None, but ticket prices are inflated
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy
What We Like
No buyer fees (but prices are inflated)
Has promos for its buyers
Has good customer service
What We Don't Like
Has below average Guarantee and refund policies
Has a mid-range number of users and ticket options
Inventory isn’t updated immediately
Our Recommendation
TicketNetwork advertises no buyer fees, so you may get your tickets cheaper, but our research indicates that the ticket prices are inflated, so the service fee is still essentially worked into the overall cost; with a promo, you may still come out ahead though, so use this when you want to compare the bottom line cost of your tickets to other ticket websites, as you might be able to save some money.
6. Ticket Liquidator
Buyer Fees:
31%
Buyer Fees:
31%
Seller Fees:
15%
Seller Fees:
15%
Ticket Availability:
Low
Ticket Availability:
Low
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Israel. Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico
Top Countries:
US, Israel. Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico
What We Like
Offers buyers seasonal sales and ticket coupons
Offers decent customer service, Guarantee, and refund policies
You never have to deal directly with a seller
What We Don't Like
Buyer fees are relatively high at 31%
User base is fairly low, so you have less buying options
Our Recommendation
With fairly high fees and a small user base, your options as a buyer are more limited, but with their seasonal sales and coupons, you might still be able to find a good deal on TicketLiquidator, so use this site to compare the overall costs of tickets you find on other sites to improve your chances of saving money.
7. SeatGeek
Buyer Fees:
Ranges from 34-44%
Buyer Fees:
Ranges from 34-44%
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
High
Ticket Availability:
High
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone Number, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone Number, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, India
Top Countries:
US, Canada, Mexico, UK, India
What We Like
Big volume of users offers more options for ticket purchases
Has unique partnerships with many sports teams and venues
Has good customer service for buyers
What We Don't Like
Unbelievably high buyer fee range of 34-44%
Mobile app isn’t as robust as the site
Our Recommendation
SeatGeek has many options for tickets and because of their partnerships - especially with sports teams - so you can often get discounts on tickets, but SeatGeek also has the absolute highest seller fees on the market, at an astounding 34-44%, which is difficult to justify if you care about costs.
8. TicketSwap
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany
Top Countries:
Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany
What We Like
Resale markups are limited to only 20%
Secure Swap system ensures ticket validity
Lower seller commissions attract better sellers
What We Don't Like
A mid-range amount of sellers on the platform
Refund timeline is relatively long
Our Recommendation
TicketSwap is one of the best options out there for buyers by capping seller markups and charging low fees, you’re spending more on tickets and less on your ability to use the site, however, this site isn’t incredibly popular with sellers yet, and is really only popular in Europe, so your ticket options will be a little more limited, and it's best to use only if your event is in the EU.
9. TicketCity
Buyer Fees:
27% + $7.50 delivery fee
Buyer Fees:
27% + $7.50 delivery fee
Seller Fees:
Offer made to seller case-by-case
Seller Fees:
Offer made to seller case-by-case
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Email, FAQ
Support Methods:
Instant Chat, Phone, Email, FAQ
Top Countries:
US, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK
Top Countries:
US, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK
What We Like
You can regularly find discounts on tickets here
Fees are mid-range at 27%
Has amazing customer service
What We Don't Like
Sellers don’t sell directly on the site, so options are limited
User volume is relatively low
Our Recommendation
TicketCity doesn’t have a lot of unique features, but they do have regular discounts and decent customer service. However, because sellers can’t create accounts and list tickets directly, you’re buying directly from the website, which offers a lot less variety in the cost of tickets, so use this site mainly as a comparison for price against other sites with higher service fees.
10. viagogo
Buyer Fees:
Buyer Fees:
Seller Fees:
Seller Fees:
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Ticket Availability:
Medium
Buyer Guarantee:
Buyer Guarantee:
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Support Methods:
Phone, Email, Contact Form, FAQ
Top Countries:
Brazil, Argentina, US, Czech Republic, Spain
Top Countries:
Brazil, Argentina, US, Czech Republic, Spain
What We Like
Covers more worldwide areas (outside the U.S.)
Has original tickets for sale as well
Has mid-range fees at 24-28%
What We Don't Like
Guarantee and refund policies are subpar
Refund processes and issues with tickets are timely to resolve
Our Recommendation
With a much bigger coverage area and mid-range fees, viagogo is a great option to look for resale tickets if your priorities are cost and ticket availability. But if you have any issues with your tickets, it might not be worth the effort to get them resolved, so don't use it if customer service is important to you.
Ticket resale site, buying, and reselling FAQs
If you have more questions about how these websites work, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about how to buy tickets on resale sites.
Is buying resale tickets legal?
Buying resale tickets on websites like this is completely legal, and there are no issues surrounding the legality of any typical ticket exchange. However, each site has terms of use and its own policies which could result in bans from using it in the future, though these instances of misuse typically apply to sellers misrepresenting the tickets they are reselling.
Are ticket resale sites safe for buyers?
Resale ticket websites are safe to use as a buyer, mainly because of the guarantees they offer to buyers which ensure a 100% refund if the tickets you pay for don’t work or were misrepresented by the seller. Most of the big sites use verified payment methods like PayPal for transactions, and some websites are using cutting-edge fraud-prevention technology that make original tickets invalid and generate new tickets - so you’re always guaranteed entry.
What’s the difference between an original ticket and a resale ticket?
An original ticket is generated by the institution who has the rights to sell tickets to a particular event, for prices that are decided by that team and those involved in the event. Ticket prices are typically more standardized here based on sections in a venue, where - for example - all upper bowl tickets cost the same, or all general admission tickets cost the same.
A resale ticket is a ticket that was purchased as an original ticket, and is then listed on a resale site by a seller for a price that they choose. Sellers often resell tickets because they either can no longer attend an event, they purchased different tickets for the event later after changing their mind, or to make a profit by buying in-demand tickets they know they can sell for a marked up price.
Why do buyer service fees vary so much, even on the same site?
Ticket resale sites each have their own system for how they charge service fees to buyers in a market that is completely unregulated and within which a single website has a monopoly on selling almost all original tickets to events (especially for concerts and sports events). Because of that, these websites can really charge anything they want, and there’s little that buyers can do aside from not using websites that don’t offer low, transparent service fees.
TicketSwap always only has a 5% service fee for buyers, and TickPick has no buyer fees whatsoever, making the sellers pay a standard 15% commission on their sales, which is how they make their money. These two websites are the only resale sites with a transparent standard buyer fee that’s less than 24%. All other websites charge fees of more than 24% and / or have fees that inexplicably range in percentage based on the event, location, or venue.
What can I do if my event is canceled?
Look for the guarantee offered by the site you purchased tickets from for information on whether or not you need to take action. All of the ticket resale sites here offer a refund for event cancellation (or a replacement ticket for a postponed event), but some offer this automatically while others require you to engage with customer service to process your refund.
5 tips for getting the cheapest tickets on resale sites
If you’re about to use one of these sites to buy tickets, try out some of these strategies below to save some money on your overall purchase.
1. Look for your tickets as early as possible, or at the very last minute
When sellers list tickets, the earlier you come across them - especially if you’re looking as early as the day the tickets are sold out - the prices are likely to be lower because it’s not yet clear how big the demand is for the tickets, so this is a good time to try to buy.
It’s also clever to wait until much closer to the actual event - like 2 days or less before it's happening - to try to buy your tickets. At this point, sellers will be lowering their prices on tickets that aren’t selling to ensure they still sell them prior to the deadline of the event. If you are willing to wait until the day of the event and risk not getting tickets, you may get a fairly significant discount on them.
2. Look for comparable tickets in the same section
Once you find tickets you’re interested in, use the seat map on each site to look for similar tickets that might be in the same row or section. Sellers will generally look at tickets like theirs on the site they are listing on, and then list the tickets for $5-10 cheaper per ticket to entice you to buy theirs rather than the neighboring tickets. Take a look around your section to see if you can find tickets that are basically the same, but a little cheaper.
Pro Tip
Keep in mind that because you are paying a service fee on top of your ticket cost, $10 more on a website that charges a 30% service fee is actually $13 more per ticket.
3. Search for the same tickets on another website
Once you’re then sure about the exact tickets you want to buy, try looking through some of the alternative websites listed here to see if you can find the exact same tickets for a cheaper price on another website. Sellers will also often list their tickets on multiple sites to increase the number of potential buyers they have, and they may list them for a little bit less. And again, even if the base cost of the tickets are the same, if the second website has a lower service fee, you may still get them cheaper.
4. Search for promos and discounts before you checkout
Once you’re through the checkout with the final tickets you want to purchase, do one final sweep of the website you chose to check for promotions or discounts on the purchase. Many ticket sites will offer this, but won’t make it obvious to you during the checkout process that they have promos.
5. Try Tick Pick’s Best Price Guarantee
One final swing for the fences option is to try out the Best Price Guarantee on Tick Pick. This offer is to give you 110% of your purchase in credit on your TickPick account if you can find the same seats on a competitor’s site within 30 minutes of placing your order.
Even if you aren’t choosing TickPick as your final site because you found the tickets cheaper, you should buy the tickets on TickPick, and then initiate a claim for a refund by showing them you found them cheaper somewhere else. Just make sure you read the Guarantee thoroughly, and make sure you qualify for it before making your purchase.
How we completed our ticket resale site research
Techboomers has been helping our users learn how to use popular sites and apps for years, but learning about the resale ticket industry was an immense challenge, as this industry has many nuances - especially regarding the way these sites structure their fees - so it was not easy to compile all this information into separate guides for buyers and for sellers to help you make the decision that’s right for you.
While working on this guide and some of our other guides, we have completed over 30 painstakingly detailed and thorough hours of research to understand everything about these sites and try to establish rankings to show how they stack up against one another. And though there are some other websites you could use, we narrowed this list down only to ones we thought were genuinely useful, and likely to offer you a good experience while using them.
When we were researching, we even went to the trouble of trying to buy tickets for the same event in different locations and at different venues to verify the real way these sites charge service fees, since accurate information about it is so difficult to find.
We tried our best to be as informed as possible while rating these websites based on their various aspects, and feel we were able to do this well knowing so much about what the baselines are within the industry, and therefore, are very aware of what stands out and offers the best options for a buyer like you.
That wraps up our detailed comparison of the best resale ticket sites for buying tickets. If you’re interested in reselling tickets on these sites and want to see which ones stand out for sellers, check out our guide on the best ticket resale sites for sellers. And if you want to learn more about how some of these sites stack up directly against each other, check out our overview of StubHub vs Ticketmaster.