Softwr

Event Management · head to head

Brown Paper Tickets vs Partiful

B

Brown Paper Tickets

Event Management

The fair-trade ticketing company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Partiful logo

Partiful

Event Management

The party planning app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Partiful no automatic email or SMS delivery to guests, requiring manual link sharing for event invitations
  • They diverge on capability: Brown Paper Tickets covers Ticketing, Partiful covers Digital invitations.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brown Paper Tickets and Partiful actually diverge.

Attributes where Brown Paper Tickets and Partiful differ
AttributeBrown Paper TicketsPartiful
Pricing modeltransactionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
Founded20002021

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Event Management).

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

  • Ticketing
  • Will call
  • Seating charts
  • Reporting
  • Customer service
  • PayPal
  • Google Analytics
  • Mailchimp

Only in Partiful

  • Digital invitations
  • RSVP tracking
  • Guest messaging
  • Photo sharing
  • Calendar sync
  • Apple Calendar
  • Google Calendar
  • iMessage

Both cover

  • 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 Partiful
  • Handling ticket distribution and door lists for independent organisersnot Partiful

Partiful

  • Event planningnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Ticket salesnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Attendee managementnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Virtual eventsnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Event marketingnot 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

Partiful

  • No automatic email or SMS delivery to guests, requiring manual link sharing for event invitations
  • Ticketing fees are not disclosed until setup time, making budget planning difficult for event hosts
  • No support for interactive seat maps or assigned reserved seating for ticketed events
  • Designed primarily for informal social events and works best for gatherings under 300 people

Pricing, plan by plan

Brown Paper Tickets

Free
  • StandardFree
    • $0.99 + 5% per ticket
    • Free events free
    • All features

Partiful

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Partiful review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Brown Paper Tickets if

  • You need ticketing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want will call.
Brown Paper Tickets review

Choose Partiful if

  • You need digital invitations.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want rsvp tracking.
Partiful review

Questions people ask

Is Brown Paper Tickets or Partiful better?
Neither clearly leads. Brown Paper Tickets starts at Free and Partiful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brown Paper Tickets or Partiful?
Brown Paper Tickets starts at Free and Partiful at Free.
Does Brown Paper Tickets or Partiful run on more platforms?
Brown Paper Tickets runs on Web, Ios, Android. Partiful runs on iOS, Android, Web.
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 Partiful is typically brought in for.
What can Brown Paper Tickets do that Partiful cannot?
Brown Paper Tickets covers Ticketing, Will call, Seating charts, Reporting. Partiful covers Digital invitations, RSVP tracking, Guest messaging, Photo sharing. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Partiful: Is Partiful free to use for creating events?

Yes. Creating events and inviting guests is completely free. Ticketing features are available with variable fees based on ticket price and event size, but the basic event creation and RSVP collection has no cost.

Source
Partiful: Does Partiful support assigned seating or seat maps?

No. Partiful Ticketing supports tiered pricing and capacity limits but does not currently support interactive seat maps or assigned-seat reserved seating.

Source
Partiful: How does Partiful notify guests about events?

Partiful primarily uses link sharing rather than automated email or SMS delivery. Hosts must share event links with guests, typically via text message or social media.

Source
Partiful: What ticketing features does Partiful support?

Partiful Ticketing supports tiered pricing for different ticket tiers, capacity limits with QR code check-in, and promo codes. However, it does not support ticket add-ons, waitlists for ticketed events, or individual refunds from the dashboard.

Source
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Related pages

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