# Ludus — Per-ticket ticketing, box office and fundraising for performing arts groups, with no subscription. > Source: Box Office Fees — https://boxofficefees.com/ludus (structured, researched, re-verified) Ludus is a ticketing, marketing and fundraising platform for performing arts organizations, schools and venues, covering reserved seating, box office sales, passes, classes and donations. It charges a per-ticket fee instead of a subscription. **Best for:** Community theatres and school performing arts programs selling reserved seats | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Website | https://ludus.com/ | | Category | Ticketing platforms, Classes and workshops, Free for organizers, Lowest fees on 200 tickets, Theatres and performing arts | | Open source | No | | Price | Free | | Price checked | 27 October 2026 | **What we checked** - Pages last read: 27 October 2026 - Price on its site: Free plan (From its pricing page) ## Ludus price and terms **Terms** - Free plan: Yes — No subscription, setup or annual fee at all — unlimited events, seating charts, users, passes, price tiers and ticket types, plus live seven-day support. The only charge is the per-ticket fee on card sales, which the organization may pass to patrons so it pays nothing. Premium features (Marketing, Classes, Embed Widget) each add $0.05 to that per-ticket fee. - Sign up without sales: Yes Pricing page as we captured it: https://boxofficefees.com/img/1920/screenshots/ludus/pricing.webp, captured 30 October 2026 Read on its pricing page, 27 October 2026. ## What we checked on Ludus ### What the fees come to **The fee per ticket** · Yes — Ludus charges a percentage plus a fixed amount on every card ticket, with no cap and no monthly platform charge. > 5% + $0.75 per ticket using credit card > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · Pricing hero, fee headline beneath 'Simple, transparent pricing', checked 27 October 2026 **Who pays the fees** · Yes — The organization decides per event whether patrons pay the convenience fee on top or it absorbs the fee itself; passing it on is the published default. > (If you'd like to absorb the convenience fee instead of passing it on to your patrons, this is possible.) > — https://support.ludus.com/how-much-does-ludus-cost · 'So, how does Ludus make money?' section, checked 27 October 2026 **Card processing** · Yes — Ludus processes the card itself and states processing is inside the single per-ticket fee, so no separate processor rate applies. > Credit card processing fees are already included. > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · Pricing hero, line directly under the 5% + $0.75 headline, checked 27 October 2026 **All-in price at checkout** · Yes — Patron-facing prices show the fee-inclusive total per ticket when fees are passed on, and Ludus says this display cannot be switched off. > Your patron-facing pricing will list the total, including fees for each ticket, when these fees are passed on to the patron, such as the Ludus fee or any Custom Fees you create. > — https://support.ludus.com/transparent-fees · Transparent Fees article, opening paragraphs on the FTC Junk Fees Rule, checked 27 October 2026 **Free events** · Yes — Comp tickets, $0 tickets and cash sales carry no Ludus fee at all, so a genuinely free event costs the organizer nothing. > $0 fees for comp or $0 tickets. > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · 'Cash, comp & free tickets stay free' section, bullet list, checked 27 October 2026 **Fees on refunds** · No — Refunding a buyer does not return the Ludus convenience fee; patrons agree it is non-refundable, and the organization absorbs it if it asks support to refund it. > All Ludus application/convenience fees are non-refundable. > — https://support.ludus.com/what-happens-if-i-request-to-refund-a-patrons-fees · Article body, quoted patron refund policy, checked 27 October 2026 **Plans and subscriptions** · No — There is no monthly or annual plan to buy: Ludus bills only the per-ticket fee on card sales and states no recurring charges exist. > There are no setup fees, hidden costs, annual costs, fees to send your funds, minimums, etc. > — https://support.ludus.com/ludus-pricing-table · Opening sentence above 'What are the fees for using Ludus?', checked 27 October 2026 **Donations and tips** · Yes — Donations can be taken at checkout or on a Donate tab at 3.5% + $0.50 absorbed, dropping to 0% when the opt-in Donor Tips feature asks donors to tip Ludus. > 3.5% + $0.50/donation (absorbed) (0% w/ Donor Tips feature) > — https://support.ludus.com/ludus-pricing-table · Fee breakdown table, Donations row, checked 27 October 2026 **Refund protection at checkout** · Yes — Offered, off by default: Ludus Protect is a patron-selected add-on at checkout underwritten by Ludus itself, with listed covered reasons, evidence requirements and a $1,000 cap. > Let patrons add purchase protection for a full refund if they can’t attend—your group still keeps 100%. > — https://hello.ludus.com/ticketing · 'When plans change' section, Ludus Protect card, checked 27 October 2026 **Sales tax on tickets** · Yes — Adds a tax line: you enter your own sales tax percentage and Ludus collects it on tickets, fees, add-ons and passes, remitting it to you in payouts. > If you are required to collect sales tax in your state, county, or city, this page lets you set your sales tax percentage. Sales Tax is added to tickets, fees, Add-Ons, and Passes. > — https://support.ludus.com/taxes · Taxes article, opening paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 ### Getting paid **When you get the money** · Yes — Proceeds are collected and sent as sales come in, with daily, weekly or monthly direct deposit, or a check after the event, and no payout fee. > There is no fee for receiving a direct deposit. Both check and direct deposits are free to receive. > — https://support.ludus.com/direct-deposits · Direct Deposits article, info callout, checked 27 October 2026 **Your buyers’ details** · Yes — Patron records live in your account, you may export them at any time, and the built-in Marketing feature lets you email those buyers directly. > Yes. You own your patron data, and it can be exported from your account at any time. > — https://hello.ludus.com/marketing · Frequently asked questions, 'Can I export my patron data?', checked 27 October 2026 ### Selling the tickets **Ticket types and discounts** · Yes — Unlimited price tiers and ticket types, tiered or premium reserved pricing, early bird pricing, access-code presales, code and bulk discounts are all supported. > No limits on passes, price tiers, or ticket types > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · 'What do you get for free?' list, checked 27 October 2026 **Reserved seating** · Yes — Buyers pick seats on charts you build yourself with a drag-and-drop editor, and Ludus builds layouts for you at no charge. > Create unlimited venue layouts with our drag-and-drop seating chart maker, including sections, rows, or tables. Prefer help? We’ll build them for free. > — https://hello.ludus.com/ticketing · 'Flexible ticket types' section, Reserved seating card, checked 27 October 2026 **Questions at checkout** · Yes — The Forms builder attaches custom questions to a whole event or to a single ticket type, so Adult and Student buyers can be asked different things. > With the Forms feature, you can add custom questions to ask your patrons and attach those questions to specific transactions. > — https://support.ludus.com/forms · Forms article, opening line, checked 27 October 2026 **Registration forms and waivers** · Yes — Forms offer text, paragraph, checkbox, multiple-choice, dropdown and file-upload fields attachable to classes and registration prices; a signature-style waiver is not named as its own field type. > Attach to specific Classes, Collections, Events, tickets, fees, and more > — https://support.ludus.com/forms · Forms article, 'What makes this feature so special?' capability list, checked 27 October 2026 **Timed entry** · Yes — Arrival Times make buyers choose a slot at purchase, printed on the ticket, and each slot has a capacity derived from the event's total tickets. > Each Arrival Time has a limited number of slots based on the event's total available tickets and the number of Arrival Times set up. > — https://support.ludus.com/enable-arrival-times · 'What are Arrival Times?' section, checked 27 October 2026 **Waitlist** · Yes — A Join Waitlist button appears on sold-out events and classes, patrons see their place in line, and you can message or add people manually. > The Waitlist feature adds a "Join Waitlist" button to your Events and Classes, allowing patrons to join the waitlist when your event sells out > — https://support.ludus.com/waitlist · 'What can this feature help with?' section, checked 27 October 2026 **Online events** · Partly — Virtual ticketing runs through AnywhereSeat, a separate site needing its own account that support must enable, and it charges a $2 fee per payout. > AnywhereSeat is a separate site from Ludus, so you will need to set up your AnywhereSeat account separately to create these virtual events. > — https://support.ludus.com/anywhereseat · 'So how does this feature work?' section, checked 27 October 2026 **Sell on your own website** · Partly — Buyers can complete purchase on your own site via the Embed Widget, but it is a premium feature adding $0.05 to the per-ticket fee and needs domain whitelisting. > The Embed Widget is one of the Premium Features within Ludus. This will add .05 to your base Ludus fee. > — https://support.ludus.com/embed-widget · Info callout above the example list, checked 27 October 2026 **Website builders** · Partly — Embed only: Ludus supplies custom embed code for an existing site and names no WordPress, Squarespace, Wix or Shopify plugin anywhere in its help center. > Once you elect to use this premium feature, you will be directed to a page with custom code. From here, you can add that code to your existing website. > — https://support.ludus.com/embed-widget · 'So how does this feature work?' section, checked 27 October 2026 **Add-ons** · Yes — Add-Ons sell merchandise and extras such as shirts, flowers, candy grams and meal choices alongside tickets in the same order. > Sell additional items, such as T-shirts, candy grams, flowers, shout-outs, VIP wristbands, and more, along with your tickets. > — https://hello.ludus.com/ticketing · 'More than just a ticket' section, Add-ons card, checked 27 October 2026 **Recurring events** · Yes — One event holds as many event times as you need, so a run or series is set up once rather than rebuilt per performance. > An event mainly consists of event times (the dates/times patrons can attend) and ticket prices (how much patrons pay to attend), with everything else supporting those core traits. > — https://support.ludus.com/events · Events article, second paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 **Refunds and transfers by buyers** · Partly — Buyers can transfer tickets themselves from the confirmation page by email or phone, but refunds stay at the organization's discretion from the admin panel. > Refunds and releases (opening up tickets previously sold without refunding any money) are always at the discretion of your organization. > — https://support.ludus.com/refund-or-release-an-order · Article opening sentence, checked 27 October 2026 ### At the door **Check-in app** · Yes — The free Ludus Mobile app scans QR codes with the device camera and offers a searchable patron list for manual check-in; offline scanning is not documented. > You can either use our free ticket scanning apps > — https://support.ludus.com/ludus-pricing-table · Ticket Scanners section under Hardware, checked 27 October 2026 **Door sales** · Yes — The admin panel sells at the door as Credit, Cash or Comp from any browser or the mobile app; cash and comp sales carry no fee, card sales the standard rate. > you'll find a New Order button next to each time, which can be used to process sales as Credit, Cash, or Comp. > — https://support.ludus.com/box-office-selling · Article body, admin panel paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 **Apple Wallet** · Yes — Apple Wallet is one of the digital retrieval options buyers may pick at checkout, alongside email display, Google Wallet and an SMS link. > Apple Wallet > — https://support.ludus.com/ticket-retrieval-options · Retrieval Options, Digital list, checked 27 October 2026 **Google Wallet** · Yes — Google Wallet is listed as a digital ticket retrieval option buyers can choose, and organizers can disable individual options per event. > Google Wallet > — https://support.ludus.com/ticket-retrieval-options · Retrieval Options, Digital list, checked 27 October 2026 ### Finding buyers **Email to buyers** · Partly — Email campaigns to past buyers are real but sit behind the Marketing premium feature, which adds $0.05 per ticket; every account gets one free blast to try it. > Marketing is an optional add-on to your Ludus account. We add $0.05 to the Ludus convenience fee, which you can pass on to patrons or absorb. > — https://hello.ludus.com/marketing · Frequently asked questions, 'How much does Marketing cost?', checked 27 October 2026 **Ad tracking** · Yes — You paste a Google Analytics code into Advanced Settings and Ludus fires Viewed Event, Add To Cart and Purchase events; a Meta pixel field is not documented. > If you utilize Google Analytics, that code can be input under Settings (gear at the top of your account) -> Advanced Settings. > — https://support.ludus.com/google-analytics · Google Analytics article, opening paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 **Promoter links** · Yes — Named referral codes give each promoter or channel its own URL, and orders carry the code so you can report sales per link; promoters get no login of their own. > Referral links are unique URLs that let you track how patrons arrive at your site to purchase tickets. > — https://support.ludus.com/create-referral-links · Create Referral Links article, opening paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 ### Starting and getting help **Free to start** · Yes — With fees passed to patrons the organization pays Ludus nothing and receives the full ticket price, including on cash, comp and free tickets. > Ludus is 100% free for organizations choosing to pass on fees. > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · Pricing hero, line under the main heading, checked 27 October 2026 **Sign up without a sales call** · Yes — You can create an account and start selling immediately from the Get started—free link; a demo is offered alongside but is not required first. > Get started—free > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · Pricing hero, primary call-to-action button beside 'Book a demo', checked 27 October 2026 **Contract** · Yes — No contract is required and none is imposed by default, so there is nothing to see out between events; Ludus will sign one only if you ask. > No contracts...unless requested > — https://hello.ludus.com/pricing · 'No hidden fees. Ever.' list, first item, checked 27 October 2026 **Support on event day** · Yes — Live chat, email and phone are included at no cost, staffed 9am-8pm ET weekdays with urgent cover to 10pm and weekend hours Saturday and Sunday. > Weekdays: 9am–8pm ET (Urgent Requests 8pm-10pm) > — https://hello.ludus.com/support · Availability section, first checked line, checked 27 October 2026 ## Ludus alternatives - [Race Entry](https://boxofficefees.com/raceentry) · Free plan: Free race management software paid for by one per-registration fee that already covers card processing. - [Ticket Tailor](https://boxofficefees.com/ticket-tailor) · Free plan, then £0.60 (about $0.80) per ticket: Flat per-ticket fee ticketing paid into your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account. - [TicketSpice](https://boxofficefees.com/ticketspice) · From $0.99 per ticket: Flat 99¢-per-ticket ticketing for events and attractions, with in-house payments and a box office app. - [Humanitix](https://boxofficefees.com/humanitix) · Free plan, then $1.29 per paid ticket: Nonprofit ticketing: 5% + $1.29 a paid ticket, card processing included, profits to charity. - [Eventbrite](https://boxofficefees.com/eventbrite) · Free plan, then $69 a month: Ticketing platform with a buyer-discovery marketplace and optional fee transfer. - [RunSignup](https://boxofficefees.com/runsignup) · Free plan: Free endurance-event registration platform billed only through per-transaction processing fees. - [UltraSignup](https://boxofficefees.com/ultrasignup) · Free plan, then $2.50 per registration: Race registration, results and free timing for trail, ultra and endurance events in North America. - [RSVPify](https://boxofficefees.com/rsvpify) · Free plan, then $0.90 per ticket: Registration, ticketing, guest management, seating, and QR-code check-in in one platform. - [Auctria](https://boxofficefees.com/auctria) · Free plan, then $375 a year: Fundraising event and auction platform with admission tickets, bidding and an event website, sold as an annual license. All 9 publish a price. [All 9 alternatives](https://boxofficefees.com/ludus/alternatives/) ## Sources and changes Last changed 30 October 2026 **Sources** (22) - https://hello.ludus.com/pricing, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/ludus-pricing-table, read 27 October 2026 - https://hello.ludus.com/ticketing, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/embed-widget, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/forms, read 27 October 2026 - https://hello.ludus.com/marketing, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/ticket-retrieval-options, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/anywhereseat, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/box-office-selling, read 27 October 2026 - https://hello.ludus.com/charge-on-card, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/create-referral-links, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/direct-deposits, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/enable-arrival-times, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/events, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/google-analytics, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/how-much-does-ludus-cost, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/refund-or-release-an-order, read 27 October 2026 - https://hello.ludus.com/support, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/taxes, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/transparent-fees, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/waitlist, read 27 October 2026 - https://support.ludus.com/what-happens-if-i-request-to-refund-a-patrons-fees, read 27 October 2026 ## Is this yours? Claim Ludus: https://boxofficefees.com/claim/ludus Report an error if a fact is wrong: hello@boxofficefees.com, subject "Report an error: Ludus (ludus)".