Universe alternative scorecard Event Schedule vs Universe
Ticketing with zero platform fees, payouts into your own account, two-way calendar sync, and reserved seating on Enterprise.
4/22
lines where Event Schedule has the edge.
The other 18 are a match or go to Universe.
Every line on this card is scored from the same table below. Nothing is averaged, weighted or rounded.
The card
Scored line by line.
A feature-by-feature comparison of Event Schedule and Universe, in 22 lines across 6 sections. Our column names the plan behind every gated feature, because a comparison that hides the tier is not a comparison.
| Line | Event Schedule | Universe |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Fees 1 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| Free plan | Included forever | Free to publish (fees on paid tickets) |
| Paid plan price | $5/mo (7-day free trial) | No subscription (Pro plans custom) |
| Platform fees (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | 0% | 2% + $0.79 per ticket (US Starter) |
| Payment processing | Stripe/PayPal/Payfast (processor rates apply) | Universe Payments (3%) or your own Stripe |
| Events & Ticketing 1 of 8 to Event Schedule | ||
| Ticketing | Included free RSVP, paid on Pro | Included |
| QR check-ins | Included Free | Included BoxOffice app |
| Ticket waitlist | Included Pro | Included automatic |
| Recurring events | Included Free | Included repeating timeslots |
| Online events | Included Free | Included virtual events |
| Free event RSVP | Included Free | Included no fees on free events |
| Promo/discount codes | Included Pro | Included |
| Reserved seating (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered retired in 2019 |
| Integrations 0 of 1 to Event Schedule | ||
| Newsletters | Included Free | Message attendees, Mailchimp sync |
| Customization 0 of 2 to Event Schedule | ||
| Custom fields | Included ticket questions free, event fields Pro | Included checkout questions |
| Built-in analytics | Included Free | Included dashboards and reports |
| Unique Features 0 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| Embeddable calendar | Included Free | Included ticket, listings and calendar widgets |
| Private/password-protected events | Included Enterprise | Unlisted events, password-protected ticket types |
| Team collaboration | Included Enterprise | Included team permissions |
| Platform 2 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| REST API | Included Pro | GraphQL API |
| Webhooks | Included Pro | Included ticket purchase and update |
| Open source (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included | Not offered |
| Selfhosting (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included | Not offered |
Selfhost Event Schedule and every one of those plan chips opens: a selfhosted install resolves to Enterprise, so no line on the card is held back by a plan. Either way, ticket sales run through your own Stripe or PayPal account and Event Schedule takes 0%.
Straight answers
Three lines we do not claim.
A card you can trust has to name what is missing from it. These three are true about Event Schedule no matter which platform you are holding it against.
No marketplace
You bring the audience
Your public events can be listed on the Event Schedule browse and search pages, but a listing is not a marketplace's built-in audience. What actually fills a room is your own schedule page, an embeddable calendar, a follower QR code, newsletters, and an interest list that emails people when tickets go on sale.
Seat maps are Enterprise
Ticket types, then seats
On Free and Pro a ticket type has a name, a price and a quantity, and buyers are not choosing a specific seat. A reserved-seating house needs Enterprise, where a venue schedule draws the room once and buyers pick their seats from the map.
One team member on Free
Extra members are Enterprise
The free plan is one person per schedule. Adding team members is on Enterprise and is capped at five on the hosted platform, so do not plan on inviting a whole staff for nothing.
Everything else on this page is a line you can check for yourself. Back to the card
The margin marks
Where the marks fall our way.
4 of the 22 lines above carry a diamond. Here are the 6 advantages over Universe that most often decide it, in plain language rather than table cells.
0% Platform Fees
Universe charges US organizers 2% + $0.79 per ticket on Starter plus 3% processing. Event Schedule takes no platform fee on any plan.
Paid Into Your Own Account
On Pro, ticket money goes straight into your own Stripe or PayPal account, not into a balance you withdraw after the event.
Reserved Seating
Venue schedules draw a seat map once and buyers pick their seats, on Enterprise. Universe retired seating plans in 2019.
Two-Way Calendar Sync
Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync both ways, free, and anyone can subscribe to your schedule's live calendar feed.
A Public Schedule Page
Every event sits on one public schedule page with followers, sub-schedules and an embeddable calendar.
Open Source
Read the code and selfhost it on your own server. Universe is a hosted service only.
Both columns
Read both sides before you sign.
About Universe
Universe is a self-serve ticketing platform owned by Ticketmaster since 2015, used by attractions, clubs and event organizers. Publishing is free, paid tickets carry a per-ticket service fee plus a processing fee, and custom Pro plans add selling on Ticketmaster.
Universe's strengths
- Timed-entry tools for attractions, with repeating timeslots that each have their own prices and capacity
- Selling on Ticketmaster, on custom Pro plans
- The BoxOffice app for scanning and card sales at the door, plus a GraphQL API and webhooks
Why choose Event Schedule?
Three things decide it against Universe: the money is yours, the code is public, and the calendar keeps itself in step with the one you already use.
What you get
- Zero platform fees on ticket sales, at every plan level, into your own Stripe or PayPal account
- Free registration with no monthly ceiling, and a ticket scanned at the door on every plan
- Refunds from the Sales page on Pro, in full or in part, that send the money back through Stripe or PayPal
- One checkout for tickets to several of your events, and an interest list that emails people when tickets go on sale
- Passes, gift cards and installment payments on Pro, and allocated seating for venues on Enterprise
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync, free, so the public listing and your own diary cannot disagree
- Open source under the Attribution Assurance License, and selfhostable, which resolves to Enterprise
A fresh card
How to switch in 4 steps
Nothing has to move on day one. The schedule is useful the moment it exists, and the events and the list follow at whatever pace suits you.
01
Create your schedule
Free, no card, and it has its own address the moment it exists. Nothing has to move before it is useful.
02
Bring the events across
Paste a listing or upload the flyer and the parser fills in the name, date, time, venue and description for you to check. Fifty a day on the free and Pro plans (ten during a Pro trial), a hundred on Enterprise.
03
Bring your list across
Export the addresses you already have and paste them in or upload a CSV, up to ten thousand rows, on any plan. What the newsletter allowance counts is sending to them, not holding them.
04
Connect Stripe or PayPal and sell
Your own Stripe or PayPal account, so the money settles into it rather than into ours. Zero platform fees on every plan, a ticket with a price on it is Pro, and refunds go back through the same account.
Free forever. Upgrade when you're ready.
Free registration for as many people as you like. When you start charging, zero platform fees on every plan - the only deduction is your payment processor's own.
Everything you need to publish a schedule and fill the room, for as long as you like.
- Unlimited events, sub-schedules and recurring dates
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync
- Unlimited free registration and RSVPs, scanned at the door
No expiry, and no card asked for.
Start charging, and the rest of the selling kit arrives with it.
- Sell paid tickets, with the live check-in dashboard
- Promo codes, add-ons, passes and gift cards
- The REST API, webhooks, and no Event Schedule branding
7-day free trial, cancel any time.
For a room with a seating chart, a team, and a domain of its own.
- Reserved seating, drawn once and reused every date
- Your own domain, and up to five team members
- Internal and unlisted events, and 1,000 newsletter recipients
Included free on every selfhosted install.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about switching from Universe.
How does Event Schedule pricing compare to Universe?
Universe charges US organizers 2% + $0.79 per paid ticket on its Starter plan, plus a 3% processing fee through Universe Payments, passed on to buyers or absorbed by you. Event Schedule Pro is a flat $5/mo with zero platform fees, so you pay only Stripe's or PayPal's own processing.
When do I get paid?
On Pro, paid tickets are charged through your own Stripe or PayPal account, so the money goes there as each order is placed. With Universe Payments, funds reach your Universe balance 48 hours after the event ends, and connecting your own Stripe account is its option for money before the event.
Does Event Schedule have reserved seating?
Yes, on Enterprise. A venue schedule draws its room once, with sections, rows, tables, standing areas and wheelchair spaces, and buyers pick their seats from the map at checkout. Universe stopped offering seating plans for new listings in 2019.
Can I run a long series of dates?
Yes. Recurring events repeat daily, weekly on chosen days, every few weeks or monthly, with dates you can skip, and each date keeps its own tickets and capacity. For attractions with many entry times a day, Universe's timed-entry events go further.
Can I keep my events in Google Calendar?
Yes. Google Calendar sync runs both ways on every plan, and Outlook and CalDAV calendars sync the same way. Anyone can also subscribe to your schedule's live calendar feed.
Is it easy to switch from Universe?
Yes. Create a free schedule, paste your event details or upload a flyer and the AI parser fills in each event for you to check, then connect Stripe or PayPal and move to Pro to sell paid tickets.
Free forever, 0% platform fees
That is the card. Now sign it.
Final tally: 4 of 22 lines to Event Schedule.
Create your free schedule today. No credit card required, and nothing taken from your ticket sales.
Open source, and yours to selfhost whenever you want it.
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Ticket Fee Calculator
What Universe, Eventbrite and five other platforms take from your ticket sales.
Read moreAllocated Seating
Draw your room once and let buyers pick their own seats from a map of it.
Read moreRecurring Events
Set a long run of dates once, with tickets counted per date.
Read morePricing
See what is included on Free, Pro, and Enterprise plans.
Read more