How to sell tickets online for your event

To sell tickets online you need four things: an account on a ticketing platform, an event page, a link to share, and a phone at the door. On DIY Stubs, a live sales page takes about 5 minutes. This guide walks through all seven steps, using DIY Stubs as the example because that is what we built.

1. Pick a ticketing platform

A handful of things to look for:

• Clear pricing. You should be able to read the pricing page once and know what a $20 ticket nets you, without a sales call.
• No required monthly fee or per-event fee. You should pay when you sell, not before.
• QR ticketing built in. The buyer gets a QR code by email, and you scan it at the door from any phone.
• Weekly payouts. Money in your bank every week while tickets sell, not only after the show. Expect a longer hold on a brand new account.
• Fast support. When something goes wrong on show day, someone needs to answer.

DIY Stubs charges a flat 3% per paid ticket. You keep 97% by default, or 100% of face value when buyers cover the 3%. Buyers pay Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ card processing as its own line at checkout, plus tax where it applies. There is no subscription required, no per-event fee, no per-scanner fee, and no other buyer fee from us. The Free plan covers up to 5 active events and 250 tickets per event; Pro ($12.99/mo or $129/yr) is optional and keeps the same 3%. See Payouts and fees for the full breakdown.

2. Connect your bank with Stripe

After you sign up, you connect a Stripe account so you can receive payouts. Stripe handles identity verification, the bank link, and compliance. The flow takes about 3 minutes if you have your tax info handy. Stripe holds the first payout for about 3 weeks, its standard hold for new accounts. After that, payouts are weekly.

See What is Stripe Connect? for what Stripe does in this flow, and Payouts and fees for timing details.

3. Create the event

From the dashboard, create an event. Fill in:

• Title. What people would type into a search bar to find the show. Skip the inside jokes.
• Date and time. Doors and showtime, separately, in your local timezone.
• Venue and address. The actual address. Maps embed uses it.
• Description. Two short paragraphs. What it is, who is on the bill, what the buyer is getting. Avoid wall-of-text.
• Image. Upload a flyer or a high-quality photo. Used on the event page and in social link previews.
• Slug. The URL ending. Keep it short and readable. /e/spring-fest-2026 is better than /e/event-1234567890.

4. Set ticket tiers and prices

Start simple. For most small events, one general admission tier is plenty. Add a second tier (early bird or VIP) once you know the first will sell.

For each tier:

• Name. What buyers see. "General admission", "VIP (includes meet and greet)", "Early bird (first 50)".
• Price. See our pricing guide if you are starting from scratch.
• Capacity. How many tickets are available in this tier. Make sure the sum across tiers is below your venue's legal capacity, with room for staff and comps.
• On-sale and off-sale. When this tier opens and closes. Used for early bird windows and to stop online sales at doors-open time.

For a deeper look, see Ticket tier structure that sells.

5. Publish and share the link

Publish the event. You get a public URL of the formdiystubs.com/e/your-slugthat you can share anywhere: Instagram bio, email blasts to your existing list, posters with a QR code, your own website. Every DIY Stubs event also has a downloadable QR code from the event manager dashboard, ready to drop onto a flyer or laminate for the door.

If you have your own website, you can also embed a checkout widget so buyers never leave it. See For organizers for the embed steps.

6. Scan tickets at the door

On show night, sign into DIY Stubs on any phone and open the door scanner for your event. Point the camera at each buyer's QR ticket. The scanner shows:

• Green for valid. The ticket is real and unused. Let them in.
• Amber for already used. Someone already scanned this ticket in. Each code checks in once, so a screenshot shared around a group of friends gets the first person in and nobody after them.
• Red for invalid. The code is not a DIY Stubs ticket, or it is for a different event.

If you have multiple door staff, invite each of them as a scanner user by email. They only see the scanner, not your finances. See How to scan tickets at the door for the deeper walkthrough.

7. Get paid

Ticket revenue accumulates in your Stripe Connect balance as people buy. The first payout lands about 3 weeks after your first sale (Stripe's standard new-account hold), then every week after that, into the bank you verified during Stripe onboarding. Refunds and chargebacks come out of the same balance.

For payout timing, refund handling, and how the math works on a sample $20 ticket, see Payouts and fees.

Common questions from first-time organizers

• Can I sell free tickets too? Yes. Set a tier at $0. There is no platform fee on free tickets on DIY Stubs.
• Do I need a website? No. The event page on DIY Stubs is the page. People link straight to it.
• Can buyers cover the 3%? Yes. You choose who covers the 3% when you create or edit the event. If buyers cover it, they see it as its own line at checkout and you keep 100% of face value. See Buyer-paid vs organizer-absorbed fees.
• What about refunds? Refunds are set by you, the organizer. Put your policy on the event page so buyers know it before they pay.
• What if the event is cancelled? Cancel it from the dashboard and we refund every order whose money is still on the platform. Buyers whose money was already paid out to you get your contact details to arrange their refund with you.

Related guides

• How to price tickets for your first show
• How to scan tickets at the door
• Day-of-show checklist for organizers