The best StubHub alternative depends on what bothers you most. If it is surprise fees, look for sites that show a total price early. If it is trust, look for a written guarantee on authenticity and delivery. If it is selection, check that the site covers your city and your type of event. Below we compare the main options on those three points, including our own, Capital City Tickets, and give you a way to check any site before you pay.
TL;DR
- No site is cheapest for every event. Compare the same section, row and quantity on at least two sites, and compare the final total, not the first price you see.
- Fees are the main complaint. The FTC settled with StubHub for $10 million over deceptive pricing display in May 2025.
- Pay by credit card, and buy only from sites with a clear guarantee and real customer support.
- Capital City Tickets backs every purchase with a 100% guarantee on ticket authenticity and delivery, and covers concerts, sports and theater nationwide.
Table of Contents
- Why people look beyond StubHub
- How resale fees really work
- StubHub alternatives compared
- Our perspective: price is a total, trust is a promise
- A five-step way to compare any ticket site
- Staying safe, whichever site you choose
- Which one fits your situation
- Find discounted tickets with Capital City Tickets
- FAQ
- Sources
Why people look beyond StubHub
StubHub is the largest name in resale, which is why it is the benchmark. Most readers who search for alternatives have one of three reasons.
Fees that change the price. In April 2026 the FTC announced that StubHub would pay $10 million to consumers who bought tickets between May 12 and 14, 2025, when total prices were not clearly disclosed up front. The Hill's coverage explains that the payments reimburse fees such as service and fulfillment charges. The case covers a two-day window, not StubHub's whole history, but it shows why the checkout total matters more than the listing price.
Disputes and delivery worries. Public forums are full of buyers describing cancelled orders or long disputes on every major platform. We cannot verify individual stories, and the same complaints appear about nearly every marketplace. Still, they explain why a written guarantee is worth reading before you buy.
Thin inventory for your event. Big platforms do not always have the best price for a regional theater show, a minor league game or a mid-size club concert.
How resale fees really work
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reviewed live event ticketing in 2018 and found that fees on primary tickets averaged 27% of face value, while resale platforms averaged 31% of the list price. Some combinations ran as high as 56%. The same review found concerts and theater carried higher fees (around 30%) than sports (around 20%). Those are 2018 figures, so treat them as a sense of scale, not a current quote.
Resale sites often stack a markup, a service fee and a delivery fee, and sometimes tax on those fees. This pattern is sometimes called a waterfall, and it is why a $60 listing can become $85 at checkout. Regulators have pushed for all-in pricing, where the mandatory total is shown at the start of the search, so buyers are not lured by a low number.
The practical lesson: judge every site by the number on the final checkout screen, for the same seats.
StubHub alternatives compared
The table below describes how each site positions itself and what to check. We deliberately avoid quoting exact fee percentages for competitors, because they change by event and by day. Verify them yourself at checkout.
| Site | Best known for | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Capital City Tickets | Discounted concerts, sports and theater, promo codes, 100% guarantee on authenticity and delivery | Final total at checkout against another site |
| SeatGeek | Large inventory, app-first experience, primary and resale | Whether all-in pricing is turned on in your view |
| Vivid Seats | Wide resale inventory, rewards program | Fees shown at checkout versus in the listing |
| TickPick | Marketing built around no buyer fees | Whether listing prices already absorb the seller's cost, and coverage of smaller events |
| Gametime | Last-minute mobile purchases | Total after fees on the final screen |
| Ticketmaster | Official primary seller for many venues, plus its own resale | Fees on both primary and resale tickets |
| Venue box office | Face-value tickets, no middleman | Often sold out for popular events |
Investopedia's overview of StubHub's competitors lists SeatGeek, TickPick, Ticketmaster, Ticket Liquidator and Vivid Seats as the main rivals, which matches the field above. And Sportico's comparison notes that StubHub is generally focused on resale, as are Vivid Seats and TickPick.
Capital City Tickets
We are a marketplace with more than 20 years in live entertainment. You can browse concerts, sports and theater, and filter by city, venue, date and category. We accept promo codes, and we support last-minute purchases with instant-download tickets. Our main promise is a 100% guarantee on ticket authenticity and delivery.
We do not publish a single price list, because ticket prices come from the event and the seats, not from us. What we can say is that our focus is affordable access: fans who want to see a popular artist, a favorite team or a Broadway-style show without stretching the budget.
We earn a fee on completed transactions. That is the same basic model as the other marketplaces here, which is why we encourage you to compare the final total before you commit. If you want the detail on how we handle resale, our guide to verified resale tickets and the FTC rule walks through it.
SeatGeek
SeatGeek is the closest rival in scale. It sells both primary and resale tickets, and its app is strong for mobile delivery. It offers an all-in price view, but check that the setting is on so you are not comparing a base price on one site with a total on another. We compare it head to head in SeatGeek vs StubHub.
Vivid Seats
Vivid Seats has deep resale inventory and a rewards program that can matter if you buy often. Look closely at how fees are displayed before checkout, and read its guarantee terms for what happens if an event is cancelled or tickets do not arrive.
TickPick
TickPick built its brand on not charging buyers a separate fee. That can make listings easier to read. The trade-off to check is whether the seller's cost is already built into the listed price, and whether it carries enough inventory for Broadway, smaller concerts or niche sports.
Gametime
Gametime is built around buying close to showtime on a phone. If you are shopping on the day of the event, it is worth a look. As with every app, tap through to the last screen before you decide.
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster is the official seller for many arenas and theaters, so it is often the only place to buy at face value when tickets first go on sale. Its resale tickets carry fees too. We lay out the differences in Ticketmaster vs. StubHub.
Our perspective: price is a total, trust is a promise
After two decades in this business, we think buyers should ask two questions of any ticket site, ours included.
First, what will I pay once everything is added? A low headline price means little if the total jumps at the last step. Always compare the same section, row and number of tickets across sites.
Second, what happens if something goes wrong? A guarantee is only useful if it is specific. Ours covers authenticity and delivery: you get a valid ticket for the event, or the problem is on us to fix. That is the standard we want buyers to hold every site to.
We also think the cheapest seat is not always the best deal. A fair price on a ticket that arrives on time, with a human to talk to if it does not, beats a bargain from a stranger.
— Capital City Tickets
A five-step way to compare any ticket site
- Pick exact seats. Choose one section, row and quantity, and search for the same seats on two or three sites.
- Go to the last screen. Do not stop at the listing. Reach the payment page, where mandatory fees must show.
- Read the guarantee. Look for authenticity, delivery and event cancellation. Vague promises are a warning.
- Check delivery. Confirm whether tickets are digital, transfer or print-at-home. Our guide to print-at-home tickets explains what to expect.
- Set a price alert. If the event is weeks away, price alerts can catch drops, as long as you count every fee.
The GAO also found that professional brokers can buy tickets faster than ordinary fans, using staff and software, which is one reason popular events often appear on resale sites above face value. Patience and comparison help more than speed once tickets are on the secondary market.
Staying safe, whichever site you choose
The biggest danger is not a fee. It is a fake. A few rules from consumer advocates apply on every platform:
- Pay by credit card. The BBB and consumer experts advise credit cards because they allow chargebacks. Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and wire transfers offer little recourse. Refuse any seller who asks for "friends and family" payment.
- Skip social media sellers. The same Checkbook article says to forget Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Instagram. A Greensboro woman lost $1,000 to a Stanley Cup ticket scam that started on Facebook in 2026.
- Be suspicious of prices far below market. Fake sites use low prices to harvest card details.
- Check the padlock and the delivery method. Paper tickets for a digital-only event are a red flag, and you should move digital tickets to your phone wallet right away.
- Look for accountability. The National Association of Ticket Brokers and BBB.org are places to confirm a professional seller, according to NBC DFW's reporting.
Scammers also tend to cluster around sold-out events. The BBB issued a warning to concertgoers ahead of Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2026, for example. For a broader look at spotting fraud when you are hunting for cheaper entry to popular shows, this guide on verifying agents, invoices and sellers before paying covers habits that carry over. And our own ticket scam checklist includes a recovery timeline if you have already been caught out.
Which one fits your situation
- You want the lowest total on a big concert. Compare three sites on identical seats. Include us in that comparison and test any promo code at checkout.
- You want face value. Start with the venue box office or the official primary seller, then move to resale if it is sold out.
- You are buying on the day. Look for instant-download delivery, and make sure the guarantee covers delivery.
- You are buying for a family. Quantity matters: confirm that four seats are really together before you pay.
- You are chasing a Broadway or theater show on a budget. Check several sites, because inventory differs a lot, and consider weekday performances.
Find discounted tickets with Capital City Tickets
If you want a marketplace that puts affordability and a 100% authenticity and delivery guarantee first, start with our category pages: concert tickets, sports tickets and theater tickets. Filter by city, venue and date, add a promo code if you have one, and compare the total with any other site you are considering.
FAQ
Who is StubHub's biggest competitor?
In the U.S. resale market, SeatGeek is usually named as the closest in scale, followed by Vivid Seats, TickPick and Ticketmaster's resale. Which one is biggest for you depends on the event, since each has stronger inventory in different cities and categories.
What is the most trustworthy ticket resale site?
No single site wins for every purchase. Look for a written guarantee covering authenticity and delivery, clear contact options, and payment by credit card so you can dispute a charge. Our guide to why resale tickets can be safe explains what to look for.
Are there sites like StubHub with lower fees?
Some sites advertise no buyer fees, and others show all-in prices. Fees change by event, so the only reliable test is to compare the final checkout total for identical seats. Remember that a fee absorbed into the ticket price is still a cost.
Is it safer to buy from the venue?
It is generally the safest route, according to consumer advocates quoted by Checkbook, but popular events often sell out there. When they do, use a marketplace with a real guarantee, not a stranger's social media post.
Sources
- FTC: StubHub refunding $10 million in fees after deceptive ticket pricing
- The Hill: StubHub to pay customers $10M in settlement
- U.S. GAO: Event Ticket Sales, market characteristics and consumer protection issues
- GAO-18-347 full report (PDF)
- New York State Senate committee report on live event ticketing practices
- The Pricer: ticket fee comparison
- Investopedia: StubHub's top competitors
- Sportico: StubHub vs. Ticketmaster vs. SeatGeek
- Bay Area Consumers' Checkbook: Fraud alert, ticket scams
- WRAL: Greensboro woman loses $1,000 to Stanley Cup ticket scam
- NBC DFW: How to avoid scams for FC Dallas-Inter Miami tickets
- CBS Chicago: Lollapalooza ticket scams