The short answer
Make one ticket type for each way people come: on their own, as a couple, as a table, or at a different price, such as member and non-member. Give each its own price and a cap counted in people, and make the caps add up to your room. Most events need one to three ticket types.
Below are setups for a class, a workshop, a gala and more, each taken from a free event template you can start from.
Why your ticket types matter
Ticket types are the first thing people look at when they decide to book. Too few and you lose the couple who wanted one booking, or the company that wanted a whole table. Too many and people hesitate over which to pick.
They’re also where events oversell. A table of eight that counts as one place lets far more people in than the room holds. Set the caps in people, and that can’t happen.
The building blocks
Almost every ticket type is one of these:
- A single ticket. One person, one price. Most events have one.
- A group ticket. One price for two, four or eight people: a couple, a family, a table. Price it below the same number of single tickets, or nobody will choose it, and count every person against your capacity.
- A different price for a different person. Member and non-member, or adult, concession and child. Say who qualifies in the ticket’s description.
- A different price at a different time. An early bird, then the general price. Give the early bird a cap or an end date.
- A different price for more. A day pass and a full pass with workshops, or entry with a signed book.
- A free ticket. For a free event, volunteers, or children under a set age, so you still know who’s coming.
Examples by kind of event
A class
A weekly class usually needs one ticket type. The mat pilates term template has a single Drop-in ticket at $25, capped at 18 mats, one per order, and a required question about injuries or pregnancy. Regulars who come every week can subscribe to the series, which is a setting on the series rather than another ticket type.
A partner class adds a couple ticket. The salsa class template has Single at $22 and Couple at $40, which admits two, and asks each booking to lead or follow.
A workshop
Workshops are capped by equipment: stations, wheels or benches. The pottery workshop template has one ticket at $125, capped at 8, one to a wheel. The cooking class has A place at a station at $110, capped at 12, two to an order.
When two people share the equipment, make that its own ticket. The pottery date night template sells Couple, one wheel at $150, admitting two and capped at 20 people, beside 4 single places at $85.
For an early bird, the paint and sip template has an Early bird at $59 capped at 10, then General at $69. Its tip: end the early bird on the day you order the canvases.
A gala or a dinner
Sell single seats and whole tables. The charity gala template has a Single seat at $165 and a Table of eight at $1,200, which admits eight and is capped at 96 people: twelve tables. Eight single seats would be $1,320, so the table is the better deal. It asks for dietary needs for everyone on the booking, and who to seat them with.
A trivia night works the same way: a Table of six at $150, capped at 120 people (twenty tables), and Single player at $25, capped at 24, for people who’ll join a team on the night.
A show or a members' event
Price by who’s coming. The community theatre template has Adult at $35, Concession at $28 and Child under 15 at $18. The business lunch template has Member at $55 and Non-member at $75, and suggests giving the member ticket an access code so only members can choose it.
A festival or a day with extras
Sell a pass for the day and a bigger pass for the parts with limited places. The wellness festival template has a Day pass at $45 with no cap, and a Full pass with workshops at $89 capped at 60.
All of these prices are examples. Set yours from your own costs: see how much to charge for event tickets and the break-even calculator.
Capacity: count people, then add it up
Two rules prevent almost every oversold event:
- A group ticket counts everyone it admits. A table of eight uses eight places.
- The caps add up to the room. For a gala in a room of 120, twelve tables of eight use 96 places, so cap the single seats at 24.
A cap per order helps too: it stops one person buying out a small class. See how to set a capacity for your event.
How to set up ticket types on One Ticket
- Choose New event. Every new event starts with one free ticket type called General Admission.
- Choose Tickets, open a ticket type or choose Add a ticket type, and fill in the Ticket name, Price (0 for free), Capacity (how many people it admits; empty for no limit) and Max per buyer.
- For a couple, family or table, open More options and set People per ticket, up to eight. Each person gets their own ticket and QR code and counts against capacity.
- For an early bird, choose Add a price change and pick when the new price starts: on a date, so many days before the event, or once so many tickets are sold.
- For a members' price, make it a Secret ticket under More options, with an Access code you give your members.
- To cap each order, use Max tickets per order under Ticket settings (up to 25).
Or start from one of the setups above: on the new event screen, choose Start from a template under Event name, or choose Use this template on any template’s page. It fills in the ticket types with their example prices, caps and people per ticket, and the checkout questions. Nothing is saved until you save, so change the prices and caps to yours first. See free event page templates for what else it fills in.
Everything in this post works on every plan, Free included. Pay what you want tickets and extras sold with a ticket are on every plan. Free tickets cost nothing; on a paid ticket by default the customer pays a small booking fee and you receive your full price. See Tickets and prices and pricing.
Go further
Answers to your questions
How many ticket types should an event have?
Usually one to three: one for each way people come, such as single and couple, or member and non-member. Past four, it gets harder to choose.
Should a table ticket be cheaper than single seats?
Yes, a little, or nobody will choose it. In the charity gala template a table of eight is $1,200 against $1,320 for eight single seats.
Does a table of eight count as one ticket or eight?
Eight. Set People per ticket to eight and the buyer gets eight tickets, one per person, and eight places come off the capacity.
How do I cap the whole event?
Set each ticket type’s capacity so the caps add up to your room. You can also limit each order under Ticket settings.
Can members get a cheaper price?
Yes. Make the member ticket a secret ticket with an access code, and give the code to your members. Everyone else sees only the general price.