Quick answerBoth are giants, but they serve slightly different masters. Ticketmaster dominates primary ticket sales with exclusive venue deals, while StubHub shines as a resale marketplace with a more seller-friendly fee structure and a FanProtect guarantee that actually means something.
Business Model
Resale marketplace (secondary)
Primary + secondary sales
Buyer Fee Range
~10% service fee on purchase
15–30%+ in service & facility fees
Seller Fee
~15% of sale price
~15% (varies by event)
Buyer Guarantee
FanProtect: full refund if event cancelled or tickets invalid
Ticket guarantee + refund if event cancelled
Exclusive Venue Access
No exclusive deals
Exclusive contracts with 80%+ of major US venues
Last-Minute Tickets
Strong resale inventory up to game time
Limited last-minute primary stock
Mobile Tickets
StubHub app with barcode delivery
Ticketmaster app required for many venues
International Markets
Available in 40+ countries
Primarily US/UK focused for primary sales
Price Transparency
All-in pricing shown upfront (in most regions)
Fees often revealed only at checkout
Fan-to-Fan Selling
Core product — easy listing in minutes
Fan-to-fan resale exists but secondary to primary
Price Floor
Market-driven, can go below face value
Face value or above for primary tickets
NFT/Digital Collectibles
Not offered
Offers digital collectible tickets for select events
Worth knowing
- StubHub was founded in 2000 and was acquired by Viagogo in 2020 for $4.05 billion.
- Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, creating a live-entertainment behemoth that controls venues, artists, and tickets.
- Ticketmaster's service fees have been publicly criticized by artists like Taylor Swift fans during the Eras Tour sale — the site crashed under demand.
- StubHub's FanProtect guarantee covers buyers even if sellers back out at the last minute, a genuinely reassuring policy.
- Ticketmaster holds exclusive ticketing rights to over 80 major US arenas and stadiums, meaning you often have no choice but to use them.
During the 2023 Taylor Swift Eras Tour pre-sale, Ticketmaster's system generated over 3.5 billion total system requests in one day — enough to crash the site and trigger a US Senate antitrust hearing. StubHub just sat back and watched resale prices soar.
If you wantYou want the cheapest or below-face-value tickets to a sold-out show
StubHub's resale market often has tickets at or below face value once hype dies down, and fees are more transparent.
→ Pick StubHub If you wantYou need tickets the moment they go on sale for a major artist or sports team
Ticketmaster holds exclusive primary sale rights to most major venues — there's simply no alternative for first access.
→ Pick Ticketmaster If you wantYou're selling tickets you can no longer use
StubHub's seller tools are intuitive, the audience is massive, and the 15% fee is competitive for a hassle-free sale.
→ Pick StubHub If you wantYou want the best mobile venue entry experience
Many venues are built around the Ticketmaster app for seamless barcode scanning — fighting it can cause entry headaches.
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