Cheaper event tickets in 2026: StubHub, Ticketmaster and SeatGeek compared

The cheapest seat is usually the one with the lowest total after fees, not the lowest list price, and since May 2025 all three sites must show that total up front. Codes help at the edges: SeatGeek has first-order offers with minimums, while StubHub and Ticketmaster rarely publish one, so timing and comparison do most of the work.

PickedBox Team·Updated October 14, 2026·Offers checked October 11, 2026StubHub deals

Cheaper event tickets in 2026: StubHub, Ticketmaster and SeatGeek compared. StubHub savings plate, updated October 14, 2026. — StubHub deals on PickedBox

StubHub deals

What the price on screen includes in 2026

The FTC's rule on unfair or deceptive fees took effect on May 12, 2025. It requires anyone selling live-event tickets in the U.S., resale sites included, to show the total price with all mandatory fees whenever a price is displayed. Taxes and optional extras can still be added later.

Each site describes its own version:

Ticketmaster. Its fee help page says the upfront price covers face value and required fees, generally before taxes. A delivery fee applies only if you pick mail or courier delivery.
SeatGeek. Its fee article says All-In Pricing puts mandatory fees in the event page price, with taxes, shipping and add-ons possibly added at checkout.
StubHub. Its fee page says there is no set percentage. Buyers pay a service fee and a fulfillment fee that change with price, demand and time to the event, and the Include estimated fees switch under Filters shows totals.

The rule changes how prices look, not how high they are. In April 2026 the FTC announced a $10 million settlement with StubHub over purchases made in the first days after the rule took effect, as JD Supra summarized. Separately, a federal jury found on April 15, 2026 that Live Nation and Ticketmaster had run an illegal monopoly, putting overcharges at $1.72 per ticket, according to Axios. Remedies were still pending at the time of checking, and Live Nation said it would appeal.

FTC all-in ticket price rule began May 12, 2025; StubHub settled for $10 million in April 2026; a jury put overcharges at $1.72 per ticket. — Ticket fee rule and rulings, 2025 to 2026. StubHub deals on PickedBox

StubHub, Ticketmaster and SeatGeek side by side

	StubHub	Ticketmaster	SeatGeek
Main role	Resale marketplace	Primary seller for many venues, plus resale	Resale marketplace and primary seller for some teams
Who sets the price	Sellers	Event organizer for face value; sellers for resale	Sellers on resale; organizer on primary tickets
Canceled event	120% Wallet credit for a year, or cash refund on request	Automatic refund to original payment, usually within 14 to 21 days	Refund to original payment, or credit where local law allows
Changed plans	Sales final; relist with no fees	Resell on Ticketmaster; capped at the price paid on Face Value Exchange events	Sales final unless you bought the Refundable Tickets add-on

Sources: StubHub's canceled event policy, Ticketmaster's canceled event article and SeatGeek's refund page, as of October 2026. SeatGeek's Refundable Tickets add-on lets you cancel the whole order up to 48 hours before the event, but the add-on fee itself is not returned.

Canceled event policies: StubHub gives 120% Wallet credit for a year or cash, Ticketmaster refunds in 14 to 21 days, SeatGeek refunds or credits. — What each site does when an event is canceled. StubHub deals on PickedBox

New user offers: which site actually has one

SeatGeek is the only one of the three with first-order offers on record. The SeatGeek coupon page lists $10 off a first app purchase of $150 or more, with a listed end date of Nov 22, 2026, and $10 off a first order of $250 or more. Both come from a coupon tracker report dated Oct 14, 2026, not from a SeatGeek page, and SeatGeek accepts one code per order. On a $150 order, $10 is about 6.7%.

StubHub did not advertise a sign-up or first-order discount on its own pages in October 2026, and every StubHub code on file at PickedBox is marked expired.

Ticketmaster did not publish a new-customer discount either. PickedBox lists one Ticketmaster code and one deal on the Ticketmaster coupon page, both older records, so read the conditions before counting on them.

Ticketmaster deals that lower the face value

Ticketmaster's savings come from the event side rather than from codes.

Ticket Deals page. Ticketmaster links a Ticket Deals section from its help center. Its blog points there for Me+3 four-packs, which appear as a ticket type at checkout on select events.
Promoter bundles. Live Nation ran a Summer of Live 4-Pack in 2026: four lawn tickets to participating amphitheater shows for $99 before taxes, fees included, until July 17, as reported by Digital Music News. That offer has ended, but it shows the kind of deal worth watching for next season.
Face Value Exchange. When an artist opts in, resale on Ticketmaster is capped at the total the first buyer paid. Ticketmaster's explainer, dated Jan 29, 2026, says tickets can be listed until one hour after the event starts, so late listings do appear.

Timing: when to buy and when to wait

For a show that will sell out, the official on-sale or a presale is usually the lowest price you will see, because resale starts above face value. For a weeknight game or a tour with many dates, resale prices on StubHub and SeatGeek can fall below face value as the date gets close and sellers compete.

Watch the price, not the clock. The StubHub app lets you set a price alert per event with a maximum price per ticket. SeatGeek's Deal Score rates each listing against similar seats and past prices, and SeatGeek says the score updates as prices move.
Compare the same section. Open the same event on all three sites with fees shown, pick one section and compare totals for the same number of seats.
Mind delivery. Most tickets are mobile transfers. A last-minute resale purchase depends on the seller sending tickets in time, which StubHub's FanProtect Guarantee covers with replacement tickets or a refund. SeatGeek refers buyers to its own Buyer Guarantee; read its terms before buying on the day of the event.

Ways to pay less on StubHub

Since StubHub has no live public code, the savings sit in its own policies:

Turn on Include estimated fees under Filters before comparing listings.
Set a maximum price with the price slider, or an alert in the app.
Apply StubHub Wallet credit or gift cards at checkout under Gift Card.
If plans change, relist tickets bought on StubHub with no fees, even before they arrive.
On a canceled event, the 120% Wallet credit is worth more than the refund if you will buy again within a year.

StubHub accepts major cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and some buyers see Afterpay. Paying in installments does not lower the price. For more detail, see the StubHub discount guide and the StubHub coupon page.

How we checked this

In October 2026, PickedBox read Ticketmaster's help articles on prices and fees and canceled events, Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange post, StubHub's support pages on fees and canceled events, and the PickedBox records for StubHub, Ticketmaster and SeatGeek. SeatGeek's help pages and the Ticketmaster Ticket Deals page blocked automated requests, so SeatGeek details come from search summaries of its help articles and from the SeatGeek store record. The FTC settlement and antitrust jury finding come from JD Supra and Axios. No tickets were bought for this guide.