Selecting a Ticketing System: The Best Ticketing Software of 2015 – Part 1

We know all about the trials and tribulations of selecting a ticketing system. Do we need reserved seating? Do we want to sell tickets online? Will we still have an operational onsite box office? What about fundraising management? What can we realistically afford? With so many different aspects to consider it’s a wonder that you even get around to making a decision! From reserved seating and season tickets to fundraising management and (perhaps most importantly) your bottom line, there are many, many vital components that require your thought and attention to determine which ticketing platform is the right one for your company.

But fear not…I’ve decided to help you out by doing some of the preliminary research! Over the next several weeks I’ll be releasing weekly instalments that contain brief overviews of the 100 best ticketing softwares available (as per Capterra reviews and ratings). In addition to my series of posts, I’ll also be posting Twitter and Facebook updates with our custom hashtag, #TicketingSystemTuesday, so be sure to click ‘Follow’ for all of the latest and greatest tips to help you select a ticketing system.

Last but certainly not least, The Best Ticketing Software of 2015 Series will culminate in a downloadable whitepaper. You’ll be able to access this whitepaper for even more information for each and every software covered in the series – all in one convenient and easy-to-read chart!

Up first we’ve got Tix, Agile Ticketing Solutions, CenterEdge Software, PrimeTix, Seat Advisor, ThunderTix, Vendini, ShoWare, TicketSpice, as well as our very own TicketPeak.

Agile Ticketing Solutions

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: $500/monthly
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not available
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: No
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

CenterEdge Software

Deployment: Installed
Pricing: $5,000/Installation
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not available
Reserved Seating: No
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: No
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: No

PrimeTix

Deployment: Installed, Web-based
Pricing: Not listed
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not available
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

Seat Advisor

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: Not listed
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not available
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

ShoWare

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: Not listed
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not available
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

ThunderTix

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: Starting at $60/monthly
Fee for $20 Ticket: Not availabe
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

TicketPeak

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: $0.50 + 1.5% per ticket
Fee for $20 Ticket: $0.80
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

TicketSpice

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: Starting at $19/monthly + $0.89 per ticket
Fee for $20 Ticket: $0.89
Reserved Seating: No
Onsite Ticketing: No
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: No
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: No

Tix

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: $0.25 – $3.50 per ticket
Fee for $20 Ticket: $0.25 – $3.50 per ticket
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

Vendini

Deployment: Web-based
Pricing: $0.85 + 3.5% per ticket
Fee for $20 Ticket: $1.55
Reserved Seating: Yes
Onsite Ticketing: Yes
Online Ticketing: Yes
Season Tickets: Yes
Customer Database: Yes
Fundraising Management: Yes

As you can see, our first ten ticketing software companies vary widely in both the services that they offer and their price-points. What works for one performing arts organization may not work for another, but it’s important to note a few different aspects about the software listed above:

CenterEdge Software and TicketSpice do not offer reserved seating.
Agile Ticketing Solutions, CenterEdge Software, and TicketSpice cannot offer season ticket support.

While not all performing arts organizations require reserved seating or season ticket support, most do. I cannot stress how crucial it is to realistically consider what it is that your performing arts organization needs. Bells and whistles are great, but they come with a cost. Why pay more for something that you don’t need?

Of course, we think that you should also consider our own ticketing system, TicketPeak. Call us biased, but we truly believe that our system holds its own against our competitors and offers feature-rich cloud-based software at a very reasonable and cost-effective price-point.

Are you interested in learning more? Click here to find more information about TicketPeak and how it works!