A billable item is whatever noun a platform's meter counts: a paid ticket, an order, a "redeemable item", a registrant, a reserved seat or a user. The same event can trigger one tick of that meter or six per delegate, depending on the noun. Ask for the noun before you negotiate the rate, because the rate only means something once you know what it multiplies.
What does "billable item" actually mean in a ticketing contract?
It means the unit the vendor invoices against. Most pricing pages quote a rate (a percentage, a flat amount, a seat price) and leave the unit implied, which is a bit like a restaurant advertising "£4" without saying whether that is per dish, per table or per guest. The rate is the number everyone compares. The unit is the number that decides your bill.
The units in circulation are surprisingly varied. Some platforms count each paid ticket. Some count each order and each ticket separately. One major name counts each redeemable item. Others count registrations drawn against a contracted allotment, and a few ignore attendance altogether and count the people logging in to run the event.
Which nouns do the platforms count today?
Here is what each vendor's own pricing page says, read on 2 October 2026. The figures show the platform fee only, for a ticket priced at 50 in the currency shown, with one ticket per delegate, before VAT or sales tax and before card processing unless stated. Showpass and Swoogo publish in US dollars, so those cells are in USD.
| Platform | What the meter counts | 500 tickets | 5,000 tickets | 50,000 tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket Tailor pay as you go | Each ticket, at GBP 0.60; reserved seats need extra credits per seat | GBP 300 | GBP 3,000 | GBP 30,000 |
| Ticket Tailor prepaid credits | Each ticket, from GBP 0.22 | GBP 110 | GBP 1,100 | GBP 11,000 |
| Humanitix UK | Each paid ticket, 4.67% + GBP 0.46 | GBP 1,397.50 | GBP 13,975 | GBP 139,750 |
| TryBooking UK, default gateway | Each ticket, 5% + 15p, processing included | GBP 1,325 | GBP 13,250 | GBP 132,500 |
| Showpass Essential | Each redeemable item, 1% + $0.59 | $545 | $5,450 | $54,500 |
| Showpass Professional | Each redeemable item, 2.5% + $1.69 | $1,470 | $14,700 | $147,000 |
| Swoogo Professional | A licence for one full user and one reporting user, unlimited registrations | $11,800 a year | $11,800 a year | $11,800 a year |
| Cvent | Registration allotment and user logins; no figures published | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only |
| eventcloud Team, annual seat | Each user, from one; unlimited events, tickets and registrations | GBP 950 | GBP 950 | GBP 950 |
Sources: Ticket Tailor, Humanitix, TryBooking, Showpass, Swoogo, Cvent and eventcloud. Eventbrite's UK page quotes a per-ticket service fee and a per-order processing fee but mixes pound and dollar symbols in the amounts, so its figures are left out rather than guessed. vFairs publishes no price at all, and a competitor's review dated 25 September says its price depends on add-ons.
How do you read that table fairly?
Three cautions before you quote it at your finance director. First, the rows are not like for like: TryBooking's default rate bundles card processing, while the others leave it to your processor or add it separately. Second, every figure assumes one ticket per delegate and nothing else, which flatters the per-item meters, since real delegates buy more than one thing. Third, a quote-only platform such as Cvent can land anywhere, and that is the point: with no published rate there is no noun to compare, so the first job is to get one in writing.
What the table does show is the shape. Six of the rows climb in a straight line with volume, because the noun is the thing you sell more of when you succeed. Two more do not move at all, because their noun is the licence or the person running the event.
What Would Zero Booking Fees Save You?
eventcloud charges a flat subscription, not a cut of every ticket. Compare it with what your current platform takes.
Why does the noun matter more than the rate?
Because a per-item meter multiplies with every extra thing you sell. Take 1,000 delegates who each buy a ticket, a workshop place, a dinner and a donation. If each of those counts as an item, Showpass's fixed $1.69 component on its Professional tier runs 4,000 times, which is $6,760, instead of 1,000 times, which is $1,690. The percentage component sits on top.
That is a hypothetical, and an important caveat comes with it: Showpass's page says pricing is "per redeemable item" without defining the term, and says donations can be added as a product. Whether a free add-on, a refunded item or a re-issued badge counts is exactly the sort of detail the page does not settle. Showpass also lists card fees at 2.9% plus $0.30 CAD per paid item, so the noun applies to processing as well.
Ticket Tailor shows the same effect in a smaller way. Reserved seating takes extra credits per seat reserved, so the seat becomes a billable noun on top of the ticket. Nothing wrong with that, provided you knew before you drew the floor plan.
What should you ask before you sign?
Put these questions to any vendor and get the answers in writing:
Does a free ticket, a comp or an exhibitor pass count as an item?
Does each add-on, donation or merchandise line count separately?
Does a refunded or cancelled item still count?
Does a re-issued ticket or reprinted badge count again?
Is card processing charged per order or per item?
If you commit to a volume up front, what happens to the unused part, and what happens if you go over?
The last question is the subject of our piece on registration allotments and per-head fees. If the vendor will not answer in writing, treat the silence as the answer.
Where does an unlimited model fit?
A flat subscription answers the noun question by changing the noun. eventcloud counts users, from one, at GBP 95, USD 125 or EUR 110 per user per month, or GBP 950 a year per user. Events, tickets and registrations are unlimited, so a workshop add-on, a second dinner and a fiftieth event do not change the line. The price is the same whether you sell 500 tickets or 50,000, which is why the last column of the table does not move. Ticket money goes straight to your own Stripe account, and the only charge outside the subscription is Stripe's own card processing.
The edges matter, and they cut both ways. Unlimited covers usage, not people: a larger team means more seats. White-label is an Enterprise feature, not part of the Team plan. And per-ticket pricing wins at the small end: Ticket Tailor's pay-as-you-go line is cheaper than one eventcloud seat below roughly 1,300 to 1,600 tickets a year, depending on VAT, and its prepaid credits stay cheaper until somewhere around 3,600 to 4,300. Our full cost comparison at 500, 5,000 and 50,000 tickets shows where each line crosses.
Who this is not for
eventcloud does not do virtual or hybrid events. If most of your programme happens on a screen with a broadcast production layer behind it, Bizzabo or vFairs will serve you better. Its only connector is Stripe. Registrations leave as an Excel file, so whatever system you keep your contacts in, the import happens at your end. And if you sell a few hundred tickets a year, a per-ticket meter will cost you less, and there is no shame in taking the cheaper line.
If you run in-person conferences, trade shows or summits and want one line on the budget that does not care how many nouns you invent, the pricing page has the whole story on one screen.
