pretix vs Eventbrite

Why Switch from Eventbrite to pretix?

Eventbrite became the default event-ticketing platform partly through brand reach, partly through aggressive growth. The trade-offs for European event organisers are real: US-headquartered company, attendee data flowing through US infrastructure, weaker EU VAT handling than the legal complexity demands, and a business model that monetises attendee data across the platform.

pretix is the German open-source alternative built by people who actually run events — Chaos Computer Club veterans, conference organisers, festival operators. It is used by FOSDEM (the largest open-source conference in Europe), the Free Software Foundation Europe, multiple national museum networks, and hundreds of regional events.

Feature Comparison

Feature	pretix	Eventbrite
License	AGPL open-source	Proprietary
Self-hostable	✅ Yes	❌
Jurisdiction	Germany / EU 🇩🇪🇪🇺	United States 🇺🇸
GDPR	✅ Native	⚠️ Provider claims
EU VAT (OSS, reverse charge)	✅ Native	⚠️ Limited
Attendee data monetisation	❌ None	⚠️ Cross-platform
Custom checkout	✅ Highly flexible	Limited
Vouchers and codes	✅ Sophisticated	Basic
Waiting lists	✅ Native	Limited
Badge printing	✅ Native	Add-on
Check-in apps	✅ Native (iOS / Android)	✅ Yes
Pricing	From €0.25/ticket	$0.79 + 3.7% + payment fees

For European events with serious operational requirements, pretix is structurally better-suited.

Pricing

pretix pricing is genuinely transparent:

• Self-host: Free, AGPL licence (you provide your own infrastructure and operations)
• pretix Hosted Free tier: €0/ticket fixed fee, but 2.5% commission on ticket value
• pretix Hosted Starter: €0.25/ticket + 1.5% commission (better for higher-value tickets)
• pretix Hosted Premium / Enterprise: custom pricing for large or complex events

Eventbrite pricing for comparison:

• Essentials: $0.79 per ticket + 3.7% + payment processing
• Professional: $1.79 per ticket + 6.95% + payment processing
• Premium: custom

For a €50 ticket, pretix Hosted Starter total is approximately €0.95. Eventbrite Essentials total is approximately $3.04 (roughly €2.80). For higher-volume events the difference compounds quickly.

Privacy & Data Sovereignty

pretix’s structural advantages:

• Berlin-based pretix GmbH — fully German corporate jurisdiction
• EU-only data centres for pretix Hosted (primarily German hosting)
• Self-host option — full operational data sovereignty if you have the technical capacity
• No cross-customer data aggregation — your attendee data is yours, not pooled with other organisers
• Open-source codebase — auditable; no hidden tracking

For events that take attendee privacy seriously (privacy conferences, NGO events, regulated-industry conferences), pretix is a default choice.

Migration Guide

Moving an existing Eventbrite event to pretix takes 2-4 hours for a moderately complex event:

1. Set up a pretix Hosted account at pretix.eu (or deploy self-host if going that route) (15 minutes)
2. Create your event with basic information, dates, and venue details (30 minutes)
3. Configure ticket types — copy pricing tiers, variations, capacity from Eventbrite (30-60 minutes)
4. Set up VAT handling — country rates, OSS configuration if cross-border B2C, B2B reverse charge if applicable (15-30 minutes; this is where pretix shines)
5. Configure payment provider — Stripe, Mollie, PayPal, or others (15 minutes)
6. Customise checkout — questions, fields, terms acceptance (30 minutes)
7. Test purchase flow including refund flow (30 minutes)
8. Switch your event URL — redirect from Eventbrite landing to pretix; close Eventbrite event for new sales (5 minutes)
9. Optional: import past attendee data if needed for marketing or reporting (30 minutes)

Estimated total time: 2-4 hours for a moderate event; full day for a complex multi-track conference. Difficulty: Moderate; primary complexity is reconstructing pricing tiers and VAT configuration.

Real-World Use Cases

FOSDEM, Europe’s largest open-source conference (8,000+ attendees, free entry but registration required), uses pretix to manage registration, badging, and on-site check-in. Self-hosted; data never leaves their infrastructure.

A German contemporary art museum uses pretix Hosted for ticketed exhibitions and events. The native EU VAT handling matters for their cross-border online ticket sales. The platform replaced an expensive proprietary ticketing system at significant annual savings.

A Brussels-based tech conference with 800 attendees moved from Eventbrite to pretix after a sponsor complained about Eventbrite’s US-centric VAT invoicing. The migration took half a day; the savings on platform fees alone paid for the effort within one event.

Company Background

pretix is developed and operated by pretix GmbH, a Berlin-based German company. The product began as the ticketing system for the Free Software Conference and Nördlichste Linux User Group, then evolved into the general-purpose open-source platform that emerged from the requirements of European technical and cultural events.

pretix GmbH was founded by Raphael Michel and team to provide commercial support and managed hosting (pretix Hosted) for the open-source pretix software, while maintaining the AGPL licence for the codebase. The company is privately held with strong roots in the German open-source ecosystem.

As of 2026, pretix Hosted serves thousands of events annually, ranging from 50-attendee meetups to multi-thousand-attendee conferences and festivals.

Security & Compliance

• AGPL-3.0 open-source licence
• GDPR-native with Article 28 DPA available
• PCI DSS compliance for payment handling (via integrated payment providers)
• TLS 1.3 for all data in transit
• EU data centres (Germany) for pretix Hosted
• DPA available for B2B customers
• Penetration testing conducted regularly by independent German security firms
• NIS2-aligned practices for essential-entity supply chains

Integration Ecosystem

• Payment providers: Stripe, Mollie, PayPal, Banktransfer, SEPA Direct Debit, Klarna, several regional options
• Email: native; SMTP integration with your own provider
• Check-in: native iOS and Android apps
• Webhooks: extensive event-driven integration
• API: comprehensive REST API
• Custom plugins: rich plugin architecture for AGPL extensions

Who Should Switch?

pretix is ideal for:

• European conferences (technical, academic, professional)
• Festivals and cultural events (film, music, art)
• Museums and venues with ticketed exhibitions
• NGO and advocacy events requiring strong attendee privacy
• Any event organiser for whom EU VAT correctness matters operationally

The Bottom Line

Eventbrite remains a credible choice if its brand reach matters specifically to your event. For every other European event use case — conferences, festivals, museums, professional gatherings — pretix is the structurally better choice: lower costs, better EU VAT handling, real data sovereignty, and a product engineered by people who actually run events.

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Looking for more European e-commerce and SaaS alternatives? See also: Mollie vs Stripe and Yousign vs DocuSign.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pretix really used by major conferences?

Yes. pretix is the ticketing platform for the Chaos Computer Congress, FOSDEM, EuroPython, the Free Software Foundation Europe events, multiple European film festivals, and many regional museums and conferences. It is battle-tested at scale.

How does pretix handle EU VAT?

pretix is designed around EU VAT complexity. It handles the One-Stop Shop (OSS) regime for cross-border B2C, B2B reverse charge with VAT number validation, country-specific VAT rates, and event-location VAT (the digital vs physical event distinction). Eventbrite's VAT handling is significantly weaker for EU operators.

Self-host or pretix Hosted?

pretix Hosted (operated by pretix GmbH from EU data centres) is the simplest option — pricing scales with ticket volume. Self-hosting gives you full data sovereignty but requires technical capability. Both options run the same open-source software. For most organisers, pretix Hosted is the right starting point.

Where is attendee data stored?

If you use pretix Hosted, attendee data is stored in EU data centres (Germany) operated by pretix GmbH. If you self-host, attendee data is wherever you put it. Either way, pretix GmbH does not aggregate or monetise attendee data across customers — unlike Eventbrite's data practices.

Can I migrate from Eventbrite to pretix?

Yes. pretix supports importing attendee lists, ticket types, and event configurations from common formats. For complex events with extensive customisation, pretix support can assist with migration. Plan for a few hours of work for moderate events; days for the largest multi-track conferences.