StubHub vs SeatGeek vs Vivid Seats

The Three Platforms at a Glance

The Fee Problem: What You Actually Pay

Fees are where the real difference lives. All three platforms advertise low starting prices and then add fees at checkout - a practice called drip pricing that makes it genuinely difficult to compare costs until you are deep in the purchase flow.

One analysis of real ticket transactions across platforms found that StubHub charges an average of 27.76% in total fees, Vivid Seats averages 31.29%, and SeatGeek averages 37.66% - the highest of the three. These are averages across all price points; individual events can be higher or lower depending on demand, timing, and ticket price.

The practical implication: always enable the "all-in" or "include fees" view on every platform before making any comparison. A ticket listed at $80 on StubHub and $72 on SeatGeek may actually cost more on SeatGeek once fees are added at their respective rates.

See It With Your Numbers: Fee Calculator

Enter a ticket price to see estimated total costs across all three platforms side by side.

Round by Round: Who Wins What

The Honest Verdict: When to Use Each

None of these platforms is always the cheapest. The smartest approach is to check two or three before buying, with "all-in" pricing displayed on each. Here is the shortcut:

• Use StubHub when the event is sold out everywhere else, when you need maximum inventory to find specific seats, or when buying last-minute and need the widest possible selection.
• Use SeatGeek when buying tickets for one of the 6 NFL teams they partner with (face value available), when you want the best possible seat map experience, or when the Deal Score is visually flagging a value listing.
• Use Vivid Seats when you are a frequent event-goer and the rewards program has real value for you, or when Vivid Seats has noticeably lower fees on a specific event you are comparing across platforms.
• Also check TickPick before committing to any of the three above. No buyer fees means the listed price is the total price - often 10-25% less than comparable listings on StubHub for the same event and section.
• And TicketNetwork - their broker network runs deep on concert inventory and their all-in pricing is worth checking as a fourth comparison point, particularly for major tours and sold-out shows.