Eventbrite vs. GoFundMe Pro

This software is very well suited for a variety of larger events, like lectures and performances. I have appreciated setting it up and allowing it to run around the clock for our participants, which ultimately provides a smoother experience. However, I probably wouldn't recommend it for events where you're expecting a smaller audience. It can take a while to set up exactly as you'd like, and it may not be worth the time if you're expecting 30 people or less (depending on how much info you're trying to gather, of course).

Incentivized

Well suited for organizations with large fundraising programs or many recurring donors, especially those who have the staffing to devote to reporting and fundraising data analysis. Variety of payment options is good for mobile-first or younger audiences who may be taking more frequent advantage of payment methods like Venmo and Apple Pay. Most useful if it is used in tandem as an event registration/event hosting platform (Classy Event Registration or Classy Live) as attendee data and fundraising is kept in a single place. Less appropriate for smaller organizations, or folks that will not be doing crowdfunding/peer-to-peer/events. There are other platforms that do standard donation pages well that have fewer bells and whistles but are accordingly cheaper.

Incentivized

• Eventbrite is a well-known and trusted place for purchasing tickets. That trust helps us sell tickets. It also eliminates the need for integrating some other payment system into a webpage, which would be the alternative.
• Eventbrite makes sending invitations easy. Upload contacts and using contacts from a previous event is very straight-forward. Building emails is simple, since there are a couple of prebuilt templates.
• Discount codes and strategic pricing structures are a significant part of our marketing for events. Eventbrite makes it easy to offer discount codes. We also create several ticket types that include multi-ticket discounts, early-bird type specials and more. Each of which help us reach our audience at the right time with the right price.

Incentivized

• The Classy platform is easy to use, both for the staff and our volunteer fundraisers
• It's easy to build a great looking fundraising page
• Classy support (particularly chat and phone) are attentive and responsive. Every one there is smart and nice!

Incentivized

• While integration with Facebook is fairly seamless, once you have uploaded the event description to Facebook, any additional revisions must be made on both Eventbrite and Facebook individually. It's not a live integration.
• My initial on boarding was extended by needing to seek information through various blogs, outside users and exploration through the site. More comprehensive training for first timers to the site would be welcome.
• Integration with the manager calendar would help the marketing timeline. It's helpful to get email reminders, but would be fabulous if milestones could be dropped in my calendar.

Incentivized

• Campaigns lack customization options which can be limiting- while you can add code to make some changes, there is a basic framework that you can't always override.
• Slow to roll out some donor payment options like Venmo.
• Not inexpensive price point and on an annual contract, so the software is definitely an investment.

Incentivized

Excellent platform and easy to use to create events. Eventbrite sets the standard for simple, effective and safe ticketing platforms. Our customers trust Eventbrite and we've always done well when we use this platform for ticketing. They have recently updated some of the virtual connectivity tools which make it even easier to set up and promote virtual events.

Incentivized

Great platform with so many incredible features. It streamlines workflow, communication, messaging, and analyzing data. I know of no other platform that can do what Eventbrite can do for the price or user-friendliness. They also offer great support for new users and integrate well with other platforms (i.e., social media and Sched).

Incentivized

VERY easy to use, but lacks flexibility. But very easy to learn and master, even for someone with technical skills. They offer live chat which is a great help for on-demand support. At higher call volumes, you may wait 10 minutes, but I’ve never waited for more than that and the support if 90% of the time very helpful.

Incentivized

Always willing to help out and they have a ton of information handy on their website for self-service. If you can't find what you're looking for, their support team is quick to help out and provide any assistance you may need.

Incentivized

Classy's team was very helpful as we transitioned over, and helped us get everything set up quite easily. The few times we've had issues or questions, their online chat feature has been a quick way to get answers. On Giving Tuesday last year, the site went down, but Classy was quick with communication to its clients and had the problem resolved in about an hour. I know that if we have any problems or questions, the company and its team will be responsive and helpful. That makes a difference to me and our small team. We don't have time to troubleshoot or stay on hold for a long time waiting for support.

Incentivized

Just jump in, don't over thinking it, doing it will net the very few basic questions you'll have. There's not much complexity so one doesn't need to plan as if moving a canal. It's as simple as can be.

Incentivized

My "go to" for event registration has always been Constant Contact because they don't charge additional processing fees above the standard transaction. If it's a more basic event where I just need to capture name, email, and payment, I'll continue to use Constant Contact over Eventbrite. However, if it's more complex and requires marketing, I would choose Eventbrite.

Incentivized

I have not used any other platforms like Classy. Given I came into this organization after Classy was already chosen, I was pleased with how easy it was to learn the platform and how user-friendly the entire thing is. Although I haven't used any other platforms like it, I would highly recommend it.

• We have greater flexibility using Eventbrite than with our previous system. Previously, we could not schedule events or invites to occur at a specific time. If we wanted to promote our event 1-week in advance, our invite would go out based on the date/time of the event.
• Generally, about half the number of people who register for our events actually attend. But there are occasions when we need to limit registrations, something we couldn't do with our previous system.
• Eventbrite allows us to email our registered attendees ahead of an event with further details, or to follow-up with things discussed during our event. It provides yet another way of promoting our next event.

Incentivized

• This has been nothing but positive. We use the basic version so there is no fee associated with it other than a percentage of each transaction. So everything that comes in is added revenue where the only investment is staff time, but there is no monetary investment.

Incentivized