Software · head to head
Brown Paper Tickets vs Humanitix
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Brown Paper Tickets fees are charged to ticket buyers rather than the organiser, at $1.49 plus 6.0% of the ticket price in USD; Humanitix standard paid tickets carry a booking fee of 4% plus $0.99 per ticket excluding GST
- They diverge on capability: Brown Paper Tickets covers Will call, Humanitix covers Registration.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Brown Paper Tickets and Humanitix actually diverge.
| Attribute | Brown Paper Tickets | Humanitix |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | transaction | freemium |
| Founded | 2000 | 2016 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Brown Paper Tickets
- Will call
- Customer service
Only in Humanitix
- Registration
- Check-in app
- Stripe
- Zapier
Both cover
- Ticketing
- Seating charts
- Reporting
- PayPal
- Google Analytics
- Mailchimp
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Brown Paper Tickets
- Selling tickets for events, performances and workshopsnot Humanitix
- Handling ticket distribution and door lists for independent organisersnot Humanitix
Humanitix
- Selling tickets for events with proceeds directed to charitynot Brown Paper Tickets
- Running free event registrations at no costnot Brown Paper Tickets
- Managing attendee lists and check in for community eventsnot Brown Paper Tickets
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Brown Paper Tickets
- Fees are charged to ticket buyers rather than the organiser, at $1.49 plus 6.0% of the ticket price in USD
- The 6.0% applies regardless of payment method, including when the organiser uses their own merchant account or PayPal
- The flat component varies by currency, running from roughly $0.99 to $1.99 equivalent
- Because the buyer pays, the advertised ticket price is not what the buyer is charged
Humanitix
- Standard paid tickets carry a booking fee of 4% plus $0.99 per ticket excluding GST
- The reduced 2.5% plus $0.50 rate applies only to charities and schools
- Larger operations are pushed to a custom plan with no published rate
- The pricing page publishes no payment processing fee, payout timing or currency list
Pricing, plan by plan
Brown Paper Tickets
Free- StandardFree
- $0.99 + 5% per ticket
- Free events free
- All features
Humanitix
Free- FreeFree
- Free events
- No platform fee
- Charity impact
- Paid EventsFree
- 2% + booking fee to charity
- All features
- Tax deductible
Which should you pick?
Choose Brown Paper Tickets if
- You need will call.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want customer service.
Choose Humanitix if
- You need registration.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want check-in app.
Questions people ask
- Is Brown Paper Tickets or Humanitix better?
- Neither clearly leads. Brown Paper Tickets starts at Free and Humanitix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Brown Paper Tickets or Humanitix?
- Brown Paper Tickets starts at Free and Humanitix at Free.
- Does Brown Paper Tickets or Humanitix run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Brown Paper Tickets for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Brown Paper Tickets best used for?
- Brown Paper Tickets is most often used for selling tickets for events, performances and workshops, handling ticket distribution and door lists for independent organisers. Of those, selling tickets for events, performances and workshops and handling ticket distribution and door lists for independent organisers are not what Humanitix is typically brought in for.
- What can Brown Paper Tickets do that Humanitix cannot?
- Brown Paper Tickets covers Will call, Customer service, Facebook. Humanitix covers Registration, Check-in app, Stripe, Zapier. Both handle Ticketing, Seating charts, Reporting, PayPal.