Eventbrite and Eventbee are both companies that offer simple, convenient and relatively low-cost online registration for events. Like Annie Oakley and Frank Butler, each company seems to be on a quest to out-do the other – and in doing so it’s becoming hard to tell them apart. Even their names and orange logos are similar.
So, which system should you choose for your events? In this first ‘versus’ challenge we compare Eventbee and Eventbrite to see which one comes up a winner.
Round 1: Online Registration
Punch for punch there is not much to distinguish Eventbee from Eventbrite. Both systems offer basic ticketing, deadlines, number limits, promo codes, donations and the ability to add customized fields. Both systems operate in an almost identical matter and both do a really great job of setting up an event.
Feature for feature it’s hard to tell these two companies apart.
Round 2: Usability and Look and Feel
Eventbrite takes the edge in terms of the way the application actually works. There’s nothing wrong with Eventbee – it’s simple to use and easy to follow. However, Eventbrite comes across as a bit more polished.
Both systems result in a very nice, smart event webpage complete with details, your logo and a map. Eventbee offers a few more options for adding your own custom banner to make your website your own. However, when I uploaded my own banner image I broke my webpage and I couldn’t work out how to fix it.
Round 3: Features
Both companies provide check-in, QR codes, ticketing, marketing tools, name badges and social media. Eventbrite took a big leap forward this year with their Facebook app for events (see, it started with a KISS). However, just last week Eventbee answered back with their own Facebook app. It seems that as soon as Eventbrite adds a new feature you can bet that Eventbee will be adding it soon.
One key difference is that Eventbee can provide seating options for performances or sporting events, allowing attendees to book a seat. This option comes at a premium ticket price (an additional $1 per ticket, see pricing below).
While blow-for-blow there is not much to distinguish these two companies in terms of feature sets there is one substantial difference to take into account. Eventbrite have invested in developing an API for their system – in other words they make it easy for other companies to build tools and services that hook into the Eventbrite system. While this might not make much difference to you as a consumer in the short term it does give Eventbrite a business edge in the long run. It means there is an almost unlimited supply of new Eventbrite add-ons and services that will come in the future.
Round 4: Pricing
Eventbee market themselves as having simple, flat-fee pricing at $1 per ticket and tout themselves as cheaper than Eventbrite. But, on closer inspection it is not as simple as that.
Which system comes out cheaper depends on two things: (1) Whether you use the built-in credit card processing or Paypal; and (2) which features you need. Evenbee only comes out as cheaper than Eventbrite if you use Paypal. If you use their built-in credit card processing then there really isn’t a big price difference between them.
Eventbee’s pricing is actually way more complicated than Eventbrite’s. Many of their customization options come at an additional cost (up to an extra $1 per ticket). They also have various volume discounts and non-profit discounts (but only on the more expensive ‘pro’ packages). This actually made it more difficult to figure out the real cost of using their system.
And the winner is ….
In terms of features, usability and pricing there really is very little difference between Eventbrite and Eventbee. The real winner in this game is you, the consumer. These two competitors are keeping each other on their toes which means we can count on both companies to keep on bringing out new tools and services.