FairGate — Transparent Ticketing with Instant Payouts
Keep more of every ticket dollar, get paid as you sell instead of after the event, and reach a real human when something breaks — with pricing you can actually see before you commit.
Explore the concept Compare all threeThe opportunity
FairGate replaces percentage-stacked ticketing fees with a published, predictable flat per-ticket fee (or optional low subscription) and releases funds in real time as tickets sell rather than days after the event. It pairs this with genuinely accessible human support, directly inverting the three loudest self-serve organizer complaints.
Key features
- Flat, publicly published per-ticket pricing with a live fee calculator (no 'paying twice' tiers)
- Instant or daily payouts as sales occur, with optional pre-event advance for cash flow
- Real human support with guaranteed response SLAs and a named account contact above a volume threshold
- Built-in fraud screening and buyer verification to protect organizers and attendees
- Simple branded event pages and checkout that small organizers can launch in minutes
- Transparent payout dashboard showing exactly when money moves and why
How it's different
A single, transparent, organizer-favorable economic model (flat fees + instant payouts + real support) marketed explicitly against Eventbrite's most hated traits, rather than a feature war.
Best-in-world potential
Strong potential to become the default 'fair' alternative for small-to-mid organizers. The wedge is sharp and emotionally resonant, but payments/payouts and fraud protection are operationally demanding and incumbents can compress fees in response, so winning requires relentless trust-building and execution.
Low flat per-ticket fee on paid tickets (free for free events) plus an optional flat monthly Pro subscription for advanced branding, payout advances, and priority support; payment processing passed through at cost.
Independent and small-to-mid-size event organizers — workshops, classes, concerts, community and nonprofit events — who currently use Eventbrite and feel punished by fees and slow payouts.
- Punitively high ticketing and processing fees
- Fee structure punishes small events
- Delayed payouts create pre-event cash-flow problems
- Payouts held, cancelled, or stuck in verification
- Inaccessible or unhelpful customer support
- Security and fraud concerns
See FairGate in action
Keep more of every ticket. Get paid as you sell. — An organizer sets ticket price and instantly sees the transparent flat fee they'll pay, launches a branded event page in minutes, then watches money land in their account in real time as tickets sell — with a real human one tap away.
The live fee calculator that shows—side by side—exactly how much MORE you keep versus Eventbrite, then the payout dashboard where each ticket sale drops cash into your balance in real time instead of after the event.
Why this MVPThe idea lives or dies on trust and transparency, so the prototype leads with the two emotional wedges organizers feel most: a side-by-side fee comparison that proves 'you keep more,' and a real-time payout balance that proves 'you get paid as you sell.' These two screens alone refute Eventbrite's most hated traits—hidden stacked fees and held payouts—making the value proposition undeniable in seconds.
Voices behind the demand
Real signals from user discussions and web research about event managment — the unmet needs this concept addresses.
“G2 reviewers say the most glaring issue is pricing: ticketing and processing fees are exceptionally steep compared to alternatives, and newer organizer subscription tiers feel like 'paying twice.'”
“A reviews-summary site cites 'high percentage fees' as a top recurring pain point for Eventbrite.”
“A summary of organizer reviews notes the fee structure is 'proportionally harder on smaller budgets,' even though setup is easy for small events.”
“By default Eventbrite funds are released three days after the event ends; getting money beforehand requires digging into settings — a common complaint from organizers with pre-event cash flow needs.”
“One organizer reported payouts simply showing 'cancelled' with no option to reissue despite weeks of emails, flagged as a real operational risk for events with tight timelines.”
“Reviews describe a 'severe lack of human customer support,' with one organizer transferred to a call center that only repeated apologies with no resolution after a week.”
“An organizer recounted being unable to get resolution after a week of contacting support.”
“A review roundup quotes a user citing 'No customer support, rampant fraudulent purchases, customers don't receive their tickets, security breaches.'”
“A review roundup quotes users citing 'rampant fraudulent purchases' and 'security breaches releasing personal information.'”