Cheapest ticket sites: monthly price study (2026)

Many “cheapest ticket sites” lists name a winner with no price data behind it. We will not do that. The cheapest site for one show can be the most expensive for the next one. The only fair test is the final checkout total for the same seats, on the same day, on several sites. This page publishes our study design before we collect any data, so the method cannot bend to the results. We read every source on Oct 20, 2026.

Status

First results come after the first wave. We have not measured any checkout price yet. The Ticketmaster feed we use has no price fields: its min and max price fields are empty. Wave 1 starts when we have price data from ticket-site partner feeds and our manual capture process is ready.

How the study works

1. Pick 60 events per wave. 5 cities times 4 event types times 3 events. The cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami. The types are arena concerts, club or EDM shows, festivals, and theater or comedy. Each event is 7 to 45 days away.
2. Match one listing. For each event, pick 1 listing (section, row, quantity 2) that appears on at least 3 resale sites. If a site does not have it, we record that.
3. Capture inside 2 hours. We capture every site for one event inside a 2-hour window, because prices move.
4. Use the same conditions. Logged out, the same ZIP code, the cheapest delivery, no insurance. We stop at the final review page before payment.
5. Record every fee line. Base price, each fee, tax, delivery and total. We also record whether the first price shown matched the total.
6. Repeat monthly. Once a quarter we add a last-minute wave for events inside 48 hours.

How we will report results

The main result is the share of events where each site had the lowest total. With 60 events, the 95% error margin for a 50% share is about plus or minus 12.6 points. With 2 waves pooled, it is about plus or minus 8.9 points.

We call a site “cheapest” only when its interval does not overlap the next site’s interval. Otherwise we write “tied for lowest total in our sample” with the month. We also report the median premium over the cheapest total. Each wave gets a CSV file, one row per capture, and dated screenshots.

What is true today

Every US site must show the total. The FTC fees rule took effect on May 12, 2025. It requires the total price with mandatory fees whenever a live-event ticket price is shown. It covers resellers and third-party platforms. Taxes, shipping and optional extras can still be added before payment. In April 2026 StubHub agreed to pay $10 million to settle FTC charges under this rule.

Some sites make price claims. TickPick says “We don’t charge any fees” to buyers. Gametime says it uses “true all-in pricing”. DICE event pages show one price, labeled “The price you’ll pay.” Ticketmaster shows an “All In Price”. These are the sites’ own words. We have not tested them.

A lower fee does not prove a lower total. Sellers set the base price on each resale site. A site with no buyer fee can still show a higher total if its sellers ask more. Only a same-listing comparison answers the question.

Price promises have conditions. Gametime’s Lowest Price Guarantee pays 110% of the difference as Gametime credit, up to $200, if you claim within 2 hours of purchase. TickPick names a “BestPrice Guarantee” on its About page. We have not read its terms.

How to compare prices yourself

1. Pick the exact section, row and quantity you want.
2. Find that listing, or the closest one, on 2 or 3 sites.
3. Go to the last review page before payment on each site.
4. Remove insurance and other optional extras.
5. Choose the same delivery method on each site.
6. Compare the totals, with tax. Take a screenshot of each.
7. Buy within a short time. Prices and listings change.

For sold-out shows, check face-value options too. Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange lets fans sell eligible tickets “for the original price paid”. See our guide How to avoid ticket fees for more tips.

Claims we will not make

• “Cheapest ticket site” without a current wave that meets the claim rule above.
• “No fees” for any site, unless our own checkout capture shows zero buyer fees in the final total.
• Fee percentages from third-party estimates. We publish only values we measure.
• Prices from Ticketmaster feed data. The feed has no price fields today.

Our conflict of interest

PartyJunky has applied to Ticketmaster’s affiliate program. The application is in review. If a program approves us later, we may earn a commission on some links. The study does not read commission data. The design on this page is fixed in version 1.0. Any change gets a new dated version.