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SeatGeek Fees: What SeatGeek Says Is in the Price, and What We Saw at Checkout
by TicketScanner Team
Key Takeaways
- SeatGeek’s help center says the price shown already includes all mandatory fees; taxes, shipping and optional add-ons can be added at checkout.
- At SeatGeek’s checkout for five NFL, NBA and NHL games on Oct. 8, 2026, fees on the cheapest seat were a median 21.7% of the seller’s price, from 18.7% to 27.9%.
- Cheaper seats paid a larger share: 27.9% on a $53.00 seat, 18.7% on a $252.00 seat.
- Sales tax did not appear before the email step, so the fee-included price is not yet the final charge.
How much does SeatGeek add in fees?
SeatGeek’s first checkout page lists the ticket price and the fees on separate lines. For the cheapest seat at each of the five games we checked, bought as a pair, the fee came to a median 21.7% of the seller’s price. At the Celtics game, that meant a $160.00 seat carried $34.66 in fees, or $194.66 per ticket before tax.
| Game | Seat | Seller’s price | Fees | Fee share | Per ticket with fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers at Eagles, Oct. 18 (NFL) | Section 240, Row 22 | $163.00 | $32.27 | 19.8% | $195.27 |
| Chargers at Chiefs, Oct. 18 (NFL) | Section 318, Row 37 | $252.00 | $47.16 | 18.7% | $299.16 |
| Knicks at Celtics, Oct. 23 (NBA) | Balcony 306, Row 15 | $160.00 | $34.66 | 21.7% | $194.66 |
| Ducks at Rangers, Oct. 19 (NHL) | Section 415, Row 5 | $87.00 | $20.44 | 23.5% | $107.44 |
| Knicks at Bulls, Oct. 28 (NBA) | Section 306, Row 16 | $53.00 | $14.81 | 27.9% | $67.81 |
Source: SeatGeek checkout (Tickets and Fees lines), cheapest seat for two tickets, recorded Oct. 8, 2026. Per ticket, before tax. Fee share is fees divided by the seller’s price.
The fee did not rise in step with the price. The $53.00 seat in Chicago paid 27.9%; the $252.00 seat in Kansas City paid 18.7%. A fixed amount added on top of a percentage would produce that pattern, but SeatGeek does not say how its fee is built, so we cannot confirm it. In dollars, the pricier seat still carried the bigger fee: $47.16 against $14.81.
What SeatGeek says is in the price
SeatGeek’s help article on buyer fees answers the question in one line: “The price displayed on SeatGeek includes all mandatory fees associated with the ticket.” The same article says those fees “may be set by SeatGeek and/or the teams, venues, leagues, promoters, and other partners involved in the event.” The fee line is not always SeatGeek’s own choice.
What can still be added at checkout, per the article, is applicable taxes, shipping when it applies, and optional services or add-ons you choose. That is the same short list the federal rule allows a seller to leave out of the up-front price. The article gives no fee percentage, and SeatGeek’s terms page gave us none either. Percentages that circulate online come from third-party sites; we did not use them.
| Charge on a SeatGeek ticket | In the shown price? | Rate published? |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory fees | Yes, per SeatGeek | No |
| Sales tax | No, added at checkout | Set by law |
| Shipping | No, when it applies | No |
| Optional add-ons | No, if you choose them | No |
Source: SeatGeek help article on buyer fees and SeatGeek terms page, read Oct. 8, 2026.
Where the tax comes in
At all five games, SeatGeek’s first checkout page showed Tickets, Fees, Subtotal and Total, then asked for an email address. No tax line appeared before that point, and we stopped there without entering anything. So the per-ticket prices above are what you see before tax, not necessarily what you pay.
By comparison, StubHub showed tax as a separate line at checkout for the same five games: $1.31 to $4.65 per ticket. That is StubHub’s figure, and tax depends on where the game is, but it shows the size of what can still move.
What SeatGeek covers if something goes wrong
SeatGeek’s help center says all orders are backed by its buyer protection program. It generally covers three things: tickets delivered in time for the event, tickets that give valid entry, and tickets that match what you ordered. If one of those fails, SeatGeek says it may provide comparable or better replacement tickets or a refund, depending on the situation. If an event is officially canceled and not rescheduled, it says it will refund the full purchase price to the original payment method or, subject to state law, issue a credit.
The same page lists what is not covered: buying the wrong tickets, a change in your own plans, performer or schedule changes that are not cancellations, being refused entry under venue rules, and travel, hotel or parking costs. Postponed events are generally not refunded. The fee article adds that fees are generally not refundable except as that program provides.
What the rules require SeatGeek to show
Since May 12, 2025, a federal FTC rule has required anyone showing a live-event ticket price, including resale marketplaces, to show the total price up front. Only taxes, shipping and optional add-ons can be left out, and the rule does not cap fees; state rules and the full detail are in our ticket site fee comparison.
How SeatGeek’s fee compares
Measured the same way, StubHub’s fee on the cheapest seat at the same five games was a median 19.7% of the seller’s price. Gametime’s, read from its listing pages rather than a checkout, was 16.3% across seven games. A lower share did not settle which seat cost less. With fees included and before tax, StubHub’s cheapest seat came in $2.82 to $11.52 per ticket below SeatGeek’s, and at three of the five games most of that gap was the seller’s price, not the fee. The fee comparison puts the sites side by side, game by game.
How to see your SeatGeek total
What matters is the total shown at checkout before you pay, with tax and shipping, for the same section and quantity you would buy elsewhere. The step-by-step method for comparing that total across sites is in our ticket site fee comparison. On SeatGeek, two details deserve a look before you pay: the delivery method, and whether the listing is a seat or standing room.
What SeatGeek buyers say about fees
SeatGeek has a Trustpilot score of 4.2 from 17,434 reviews, 2,776 of them from the past 12 months. One-star reviews make up 13.9%. On the US App Store, the SeatGeek app is rated 4.86 from 1,078,648 ratings.
We read the 60 most recent English Trustpilot reviews, posted Oct. 2-8, 2026. None named fees as the main complaint. Three mentioned fees in passing, and all three were positive about them. One five-star reviewer wrote that SeatGeek shows “the actual dollar amount including fees right from the get go so no confusion.” Another said its fees were lower than StubHub’s. On the cheapest seats at our five games, SeatGeek’s fee in dollars was the larger of the two at every game.
The complaints were about other things:
- Delivery or transfer of tickets was the main complaint in nine reviews. One reviewer wrote: “I paid over $400 for tickets and never received them from the seller!”
- Payment or account problems came up in four. Three reviewers said they were charged twice, one of them for parking.
- Seats that differed from the listing came up in three. Two of those reviewers said standing-room tickets were not clearly marked as standing room.
These are the reviewers’ own claims, which we did not verify. Problems with duplicate charges or ticket type can matter as much as the fees themselves. That is why you should check the ticket type and final total before you pay.
How SeatGeek’s review numbers should be read
Sixty reviews cover less than a week, so they are a snapshot of what people are writing now. Of those 60, 44 came through SeatGeek’s own invitations, and only 2 of those 44 gave one or two stars. Of the 16 reviews not marked as invited, 15 were rated one or two stars.
Trustpilot also shows how often SeatGeek answers. Its reply figure for SeatGeek shows replies to 47.9% of negative reviews, 208 of 434, with an average of about nine days to reply. Trustpilot does not state the period that figure covers. For the full breakdown, see our SeatGeek reviews article.
Where SeatGeek fits on TicketScanner
TicketScanner does not track SeatGeek prices, so we have no daily SeatGeek price records to compare. TicketScanner does track daily fee-included lowest prices on Gametime and Vivid Seats; see Gametime vs Vivid Seats for which one was lower more often, by league.
For the other single-site guides, see Ticketmaster fees, StubHub fees and Vivid Seats fees.
How we measured
On Oct. 8, 2026, we read each site’s own help, fee and terms pages and recorded what they state about fees. We checked listings without signing in or completing a purchase. Gametime shows the fee split on its listing page: we recorded the seller’s price, fees and total for 1,754 seated listings across seven NFL, NHL and NBA games. On StubHub, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats, we chose the cheapest seated listing for two tickets at five NFL, NBA and NHL games and went to the first checkout page, stopping at the email field without entering anything. StubHub and SeatGeek showed the ticket price and fees as separate lines there; Vivid Seats showed only the fee-included price. We could not view a fee breakdown on Ticketmaster or TickPick. Fee percentages here are fees divided by the seller’s price, per ticket, before tax.
SeatGeek’s fee and buyer protection wording comes from its help articles, read in full the same day. Trustpilot and App Store figures were recorded the same day.
Data as of Oct. 8, 2026.
FAQ
Does SeatGeek include fees in the price?
Yes. SeatGeek’s help center says the displayed price includes all mandatory fees. Taxes, shipping and optional add-ons can be added at checkout.
What is the SeatGeek service fee percentage?
SeatGeek does not publish one. At its checkout for five games on Oct. 8, 2026, fees on the cheapest seat were a median 21.7% of the seller’s price, from 18.7% to 27.9%, with the cheaper seats at the high end.
Why is my SeatGeek total higher than the listed price?
The shown price already carries mandatory fees. What can still be added is sales tax, shipping for some delivery methods and any optional add-on you choose. Tax did not appear on SeatGeek’s checkout before the email step.
Do SeatGeek reviewers complain about fees?
Not as a main complaint in recent reviews: none of the 60 most recent English Trustpilot reviews did. Delivery or transfer problems led, in nine reviews.
Does TicketScanner compare SeatGeek prices?
No. TicketScanner compares daily lowest prices on Gametime and Vivid Seats and has no SeatGeek price records.
Check today’s fee-included lowest prices for NHL games on TicketScanner’s NHL page.
Sources
- https://support.seatgeek.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036685293 (SeatGeek help article on buyer fees: shown price includes mandatory fees, who sets fees, what can be added at checkout, fee refunds)
- https://support.seatgeek.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007200174-Can-I-trust-tickets-sold-on-SeatGeek (buyer protection program: what it covers and what it does not)
- https://seatgeek.com/terms (no fee rate could be confirmed)
- https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/rule-unfair-or-deceptive-fees-frequently-asked-questions (effective date, total price, exclusions)
- https://seatgeek.com/philadelphia-eagles-tickets/10-18-2026-philadelphia-pennsylvania-lincoln-financial-field/nfl/18016482 (SeatGeek checkout, Panthers at Eagles)
- https://seatgeek.com/kansas-city-chiefs-tickets/10-18-2026-kansas-city-missouri-geha-field-at-arrowhead-stadium/nfl/18014274 (SeatGeek checkout, Chargers at Chiefs)
- https://seatgeek.com/boston-celtics-tickets/10-23-2026-boston-massachusetts-td-garden/nba/18473221 (SeatGeek checkout, Knicks at Celtics)
- https://seatgeek.com/new-york-rangers-tickets/10-19-2026-new-york-new-york-madison-square-garden/nhl/18377598 (SeatGeek checkout, Ducks at Rangers)
- https://seatgeek.com/chicago-bulls-tickets/10-28-2026-chicago-illinois-united-center/nba/18495737 (SeatGeek checkout, Knicks at Bulls)
- StubHub checkout pages for the same five games, Oct. 8, 2026 (tax lines; listed in our StubHub fees guide)
- https://gametime.co/nhl-hockey/rangers-at-capitals-tickets/10-9-2026-washington-dc-capital-one-arena/events/6a5966642da5c11be1387f50 (Gametime listing with fee breakdown, one of the seven Gametime games)
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/seatgeek.com (SeatGeek Trustpilot score, counts, reply figure and recent reviews)
- https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6ac3a8c0e567362545aba873 (quoted review on fees)
- https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6ac6ef766a8ec96c86a085d3 (quoted review on delivery)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seatgeek-buy-event-tickets/id582790430 (SeatGeek App Store rating)
About TicketScanner
TicketScanner is an independent ticket price comparison platform built to help fans find the cheapest tickets available online. We aggregate publicly available ticket listing data from multiple marketplaces and present it in a structured, easy-to-compare format.
TicketScanner does not sell tickets and does not process payments. Instead, we provide pricing insights and redirect users to third-party marketplaces where transactions are completed.
Which Ticket Site Has the Lowest Fees? Fees at Three Sites, and Why the Total Matters More
On the cheapest seat, fees ran a median 16.3% to 21.7% of the seller’s price at Gametime, StubHub and SeatGeek. A lower share was not always cheaper.
StubHub Fees: How StubHub Sets Its Buyer Fee and What Gets Added at Checkout
At StubHub’s checkout for five games, fees were a median 19.7% of the seller’s price on the cheapest seat, with tax on its own line. What StubHub says.
Ticketmaster Fees: The Service Fee, the Facility Charge and What Gets Added at Checkout
Ticketmaster’s up-front price includes face value and required fees; tax and some delivery fees come at checkout. What its help pages say, line by line.