How to sell workshop tickets

A workshop can be a practical class, a guided group experience, a creative retreat or a session focused on personal development, well-being, business or faith. What these events have in common is that people book a place to take part at a particular time, either in person or online.

Selling those places means keeping bookings organized as well as accepting payment. Depending on the format, you may need to set a capacity limit, collect attendee details, issue tickets you can check people in with at the door and manage cancellations.

This guide compares ticketing platforms with selling directly through your own checkout page. It covers pricing, capacity, what attendees receive and the costs of each option when a session sells out.

Quick answer: To sell workshop tickets, you need an event page that takes payment, limits the number of places and sends each attendee a ticket. Ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite, Luma, Tito and Humanitix do this for a fee on each ticket. You can also sell from your own checkout page with a tool like Checkout Page. Payments go into your own Stripe account, and you pay card processing on each ticket, plus a monthly plan once sales pass $3K a month. You don't need a website for either.

Where to sell workshop tickets

Where you sell workshop tickets depends on how people will find the workshop, how many places you have and how much of the fees you're comfortable passing on to attendees. Most options fall into two groups, ticketing platforms and your own checkout.

Ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite, Luma, Tito and Humanitix give you an event page, handle payments and issue tickets. They charge fees per ticket, and some let you pass those fees on to the buyer. Our comparison of event ticketing platforms covers more options.

Eventbrite and Luma also have event listings that can help people discover your workshop, although the interest you get may depend on the topic and the city.

Alternatively, you can sell from your own checkout. You have more control over the page, the ticket types and the questions you ask attendees, and their details stay in your own records.

With Checkout Page, payments go directly into your own Stripe account, and each attendee receives a ticket with a QR code to show at the door.

How tax works when you sell workshop tickets

Tax is another thing to factor in when choosing where to sell your workshop tickets. Admission to an in-person event is taxable in some US states and countries, and the rules vary from place to place. Depending on the platform, it may handle that tax for you, or you may need to take care of it yourself.

• Eventbrite: collects and remits sales tax on ticket sales in a number of US states, where state rules make it responsible.
• Luma: on Luma Plus, you can add sales tax or VAT to ticket prices, but paying it to the authorities is up to you.
• Tito: lets you add your own tax rates to tickets, but paying that tax to the authorities is up to you.
• Humanitix: for US events, it may collect and pay state sales tax in many states. For events priced in Australian or New Zealand dollars, you set up and pay GST yourself.

If you sell through your own checkout, you generally remain responsible for your tax obligations as the seller. Checkout Page can calculate and add tax at checkout through Stripe Tax, but you’re still responsible for registering, filing returns and paying the tax due where required. Our guide to what a merchant of record is explains how this differs from using a platform that takes on those responsibilities.

Here's how the five options compare.

Fees checked on each platform's pricing or help pages on 20 October 2026. Eventbrite's figures are its US online rates, and you can absorb its fees or pass them on. Eventbrite, Tito and Humanitix charge nothing on free tickets. Humanitix lists payment processing separately from its booking fee.

Workshop for people who don't know you yet? A platform with event listings may help more people discover it.

Already have an email list, a following or a regular group? Selling from your own checkout lets you share the link with people who already know you, with booking details stored alongside your other customer records. You'll still pay card processing fees, plus a monthly plan once your sales pass the free tier.

Some organizers use both, listing the workshop for discovery and sharing their own checkout with the people who already know them.

Our guide to selling event tickets on your own website covers that route in more detail.

How to sell workshop tickets from your own checkout

The steps below use Checkout Page, and the process is similar on most other checkout tools.

Step 1: plan the session and the number of places

Decide the date, the length, the venue and how many people you can teach well at once. Hands-on workshops often work best with a small group, so that you can spend time with everyone. Your room and the attention each person needs are a good guide to how many places to offer.

Write down what's included, too, so attendees know before they book and you have it to hand when you set the price. For example:

• Materials
• Refreshments
• Something to take home
• A recording, for an online session

Step 2: create the event

In your Checkout Page dashboard, create a new event. Give it a name and a start and end time, then choose whether it's in person, virtual or hybrid.

• In person: add the venue name and a map link.
• Online: choose the platform, such as Zoom or Google Meet, and add the meeting link.

Set a maximum capacity for the event, so it stops selling when the room is full. Then add a short description of who the workshop is for and what they'll leave with, and a photo of the work or the space.

Step 3: add your ticket types

Add at least one ticket type with its price and the number available. If you'd like an early-bird price, add it as its own ticket type with a smaller quantity, then schedule the standard ticket to go on sale when the early-bird places sell out or the early-bird date passes. The price then changes without you having to do anything.

You can also add options such as a materials-included ticket, each with its own price and quantity. Capacity is checked at every level, for the ticket type, the ticket group and the event, so once the event is full, all ticket types stop selling.

Step 4: collect the details you need from attendees

Use custom fields to collect what you need at checkout, such as experience level, dietary requirements or whether someone is left-handed for a lettering class. The answers sit alongside each booking in your dashboard, so you don't need to send a separate form afterward.

Then write the confirmation message and email, telling attendees:

• What to bring
• How to find the venue
• When the doors open

For an online workshop, say when the meeting link will be live and whether there'll be a recording.

Step 5: run a test booking

Before you share the event, use Make test payment to book a ticket with a test card, following the test payment steps. Check the confirmation screen, the email and the ticket itself. Test bookings don't count toward your available places, so you can try it as often as you need.

You can also open a test version of the ticket scanner and practice checking yourself in, so you know how check-in works before the day.

Step 6: share the event

Publish the event and share the link wherever your audience is most likely to see it:

• Your newsletter
• Your social media bio
• A local community group
• The post where you announced the workshop
• Embedded on your own website

A photo from a previous session, or of the finished piece people will take home, can help people picture the day before they book.

How much to charge for a workshop

Start with your costs. It can help to add up the room hire, materials, refreshments and any printing, then divide the total by the number of places before adding what your time and expertise are worth. Comparing four or five similar workshops nearby or online can give you a feel for what others charge for a similar length and level.

Consider an early-bird price. Offering the first few places at a lower price can encourage people to book early and show you sooner whether the workshop will fill. The standard price can then apply automatically once those places have gone.

What's included can support a higher price. A ticket that covers materials and something to take home can often be priced higher than a talk-only session, and it gives attendees a clearer idea of what they're paying for.

How attendees get their ticket

Once someone books, they see a confirmation screen and receive an email with their ticket. Each attendee gets their own ticket with a unique code and QR code, even when several tickets are booked in one order, and can find it again in their customer portal.

For an in-person workshop, you can check guests in with the ticket scanner on a phone or computer, by scanning the QR code or searching by name. Staff who help you with check-in need a paid plan. For an online workshop, the meeting link is in the confirmation email and the customer portal.

What happens when the workshop is full, or someone can't come

When a ticket type, ticket group or the whole event reaches capacity, it shows as sold out and no more bookings can be made. If you'd like to keep track of people who are interested, a short sign-up form or a note in your newsletter can help you build a list to contact first when you add another date.

If someone can't come, you decide whether to offer a refund, a move to another date or a credit. It can help to say which in the event description, so people know before they book. In Checkout Page, you can refund a booking in full or in part from your dashboard. A refund returns the money but doesn't void the ticket, so you may also want to cancel the booking to remove it.

What it costs to sell workshop tickets

Whichever route you choose, there are up to three kinds of cost: a per-ticket platform fee, a monthly plan and card processing. None of the platforms in the table charges platform fees on free tickets, so those fees only apply once you charge for a ticket.

You can usually cover per-ticket fees yourself or pass them on to the attendee. Passing them on keeps your takings the same but increases the price the attendee pays. In some places, rules also require the full price, including fees, to be shown up front.

Here's how 12 tickets at $55 ($660 in sales) work out on each route, with all fees absorbed by you and before any monthly plan.

Rates checked 20 October 2026. Card processing is Stripe's US rate of 2.9% + 30¢, assuming one ticket per order; Eventbrite's processing is 2.9% of the order with no fixed fee. Platform fees are as in the comparison table above. Figures exclude tax.

Your costs also depend on the checkout tool you use. Checkout Page is free up to $3K in monthly sales. Paid plans are a monthly price based on your sales volume. Stripe's processing fees apply. On the free plan, your pages pause once you pass $3K in a 30-day period and reopen when the period resets or you upgrade.

The difference grows as you run more sessions. With one sold-out workshop a month, the gap between your own checkout and Eventbrite with fees absorbed comes to about $500 a year. Our Eventbrite fee calculator works out the numbers for your own ticket price, and our breakdown of Eventbrite fees explains each one.

Sell more than workshops

Alongside a workshop, you could offer a PDF guide to the techniques for people who can't make the workshop date, run the same session online as a paid webinar, or start a membership for regulars that includes a monthly session.

With Checkout Page, you can sell event tickets and products from the same dashboard, with your customer information in one place. If events are a large part of what you sell, our event ticketing page covers ticket types, check-in and capacity in more detail.

If you'd like to try it, you can start selling workshop tickets on the free plan and upgrade once your sales pass $3K a month.

How to sell workshop tickets FAQ

How much should I charge for a workshop?

Add up your costs per place, including the room, materials and refreshments, then add what your time and expertise are worth. Compare four or five similar workshops nearby or online for the same length and level. An early-bird price for the first few places can help bookings start early, with the standard price taking over afterward.

Can I sell workshop tickets on Eventbrite?

Yes. Eventbrite lets you create a workshop event and sell paid tickets, with a US service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% processing. Free tickets cost nothing to sell. Selling from your own checkout has no per-ticket platform fee, though you'll pay card processing and, above $3K a month in sales, a monthly plan.

How do I limit the number of people at a workshop?

Set a maximum capacity on the event and a quantity on each ticket type. Once the limit is reached, the event or ticket shows as sold out and no more bookings can be made. For an early-bird allocation, give it a small quantity and let the standard ticket go on sale when it sells out.

Can I sell tickets for an online workshop?

Yes. Set the event as virtual, choose the platform, such as Zoom or Google Meet, and add the meeting link. Attendees receive it in their confirmation email and can find it again in their customer portal. It can help to say in the description whether there will be a recording, so people in other time zones know what to expect.

Do I need a website to sell workshop tickets?

No. An event page has its own link, so you can share it in a newsletter, a social media bio or a community group, and attendees book and pay there. If you do have a website, you can embed the event on it. Ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite and Luma need no website either.