# Alternatives to Universe

Universe is a self-service event ticketing platform (a Ticketmaster company) for selling tickets online with embeddable widgets, reserved seating, mobile check-in, and low flat fees.

Universe ranks #5 of 9 in Event ticketing, with an Alt Score of 89. It is proprietary and available on Web, iOS and Android. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/universe/
Category: Event ticketing

## Where Universe stands out

- **Embeddable / white-label** — 4 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Event organizers ranging from independent hosts to growing brands and enterprise venues who want a self-serve ticketing platform, with a custom Pro tier for organizers needing onsite support, RFID access control, or a listing on Ticketmaster.
- **What you get**: A free-to-create event page and checkout (charged only per paid ticket sold), custom checkout questions, discount codes, donation/pay-what-you-want tickets, timed-entry multi-session scheduling, an embeddable widget to sell on your own site, a GraphQL API/webhooks for integrations, and a native BoxOffice app for QR check-in and door sales on iOS and Android.
- **How it works**: Organizers build and manage events from the universe.com web dashboard, embed the Universe checkout widget or API on their own site, and sell through Universe, Facebook, or (on paid plans) Ticketmaster; on event day, staff use the BoxOffice app to scan QR tickets, and funds are withdrawn via Universe Payouts 48 hours after the event ends. Universe is owned by Live Nation Entertainment (Ticketmaster's parent company), which backs it with sponsorship network and partner marketing resources on higher tiers.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Pricing model**: Usage-based (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Starts at**: 2% + $0.59 per ticket (USD, paid tickets); free for free events (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: acquired (verified 2026-07-13)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Ticket Tailor](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ticket-tailor.md) | 96 | Proprietary | iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Humanitix](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/humanitix.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [TicketSource](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ticketsource.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 4 | [TicketSpice](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ticketspice.md) | 93 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web |
| 5 | [Eventbrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/eventbrite.md) | 85 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web |
| 6 | [RSVPify](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/rsvpify.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Tito](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tito.md) | 85 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web |
| 8 | [DICE](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/dice.md) | 66 | Proprietary | iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Event ticketing checklist | Universe | Ticket Tailor | Humanitix | TicketSource | TicketSpice | Eventbrite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Freemium | Free | Usage-based | Freemium |
| Starts at | 2% + $0.59 per ticket (USD, paid tickets); free for free events | £0.22 per ticket (+ VAT) | 5% + $1.29 per paid ticket | Free | $0.99 per ticket | 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android, Windows | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web |
| Free event support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Reserved seating | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Check-in app (QR) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom registration forms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring / multi-session | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Discount codes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fast payouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Attendee CRM & marketing | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Embeddable / white-label | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Donations / fundraising | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Low per-ticket fee | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No |

## Sources

Sources for Universe. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.universe.com/terms-of-use> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Universe does not grant any express or implied right to you under any of its trademarks, copyrights or other proprietary information.”
- **Pricing model**: Usage-based — <https://www.universe.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: No subscription fee for the Starter/Standard tiers; cost is entirely per-paid-ticket, and $0 for free events. Pro tier is custom-priced.
  - Quote: “For Paid Events: Universe charges a per ticket Service Fee for all paid orders. ... For Free Events: There are absolutely no service fees. Universe is 100% free for free events.”
- **Starts at**: 2% + $0.59 per ticket (USD, paid tickets); free for free events — <https://www.universe.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “2% + $0.59 per ticket”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002125791-Set-up-custom-checkout-questions> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Organizer dashboard/event management is web-based at universe.com/dashboard. Onsite check-in is via native apps: 'Universe BoxOffice' on the Apple App Store (apps.apple.com/us/app/universe-boxoffice/i
  - Quote: “Log-in to your Universe account, go to your My Events page, and select the event you would like to manage.”
- **Status**: acquired — <https://www.universe.com/about> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Backed by the best in the industry. You get the best of both worlds: local account support and expertise, with the global resources and reach of a Fortune 500 industry leader, Live Nation Entertainmen”
- **Free event support**: Yes — <https://www.universe.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “For Free Events: There are absolutely no service fees. Universe is 100% free for free events.”
- **Reserved seating**: No — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002674592-Product-Updates-and-Features> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Seat-map reserved seating was briefly offered (added Sept 2018 per the same changelog) but was deprecated in April 2019 and is not available on the current platform.
  - Quote: “Deprecated seats: hosts are no longer able to create new listings with a seating plan”
- **Check-in app (QR)**: Yes — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/universe-boxoffice/id1042696018> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Also published for Android as 'BoxOffice by Universe' (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uniiverse.ticketmanager), same QR check-in description.
  - Quote: “Check-in guests using the QR codes from their tickets, or look them up by name.”
- **Custom registration forms**: Yes — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002125791-Set-up-custom-checkout-questions> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “To collect additional information from your guests at checkout, you can set up custom buyer and/or attendee check out questions.”
- **Recurring / multi-session**: Yes — <https://www.universe.com/features> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Quickly create and extend timed-entry schedules—and make bulk changes across all timeslots in seconds.”
- **Discount codes**: Yes — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006857832-Create-and-manage-discount-codes> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Create discount codes that can apply to a single ticket type, a single event, specific event dates, or all events in your account.”
- **Fast payouts**: Yes — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/sections/360000412131-Universe-Payments> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Our proprietary payment method; withdraw your funds 48 hours after the end of your event.”
- **Attendee CRM & marketing**: Partial — <https://www.universe.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Contact capture is via a Mailchimp integration and an optional marketing opt-in checkout question, not a built-in CRM/marketing suite.
  - Quote: “Automatically add attendees to your mailing list.”
- **Embeddable / white-label**: Yes — <https://www.universe.com/sell-on-your-site> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Use our out-of-the box embeddable widgets to sell directly on your site with no developer help.”
- **API access**: Yes — <https://developers.universe.com/docs/api-options.md> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Universe provides a GraphQL API for building integrations.”
- **Donations / fundraising**: Yes — <https://support.universe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002136951-Donations-and-pay-what-you-want-tickets> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Give attendees the option to add a donation to their ticket order or pay what they want for their tickets.”
- **Low per-ticket fee**: Yes — <https://www.universe.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Base per-ticket service fee on the Starter/Standard tiers; well below the 5-10%+ range charged by many competing ticketing platforms.
  - Quote: “2% + $0.59 per ticket”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/