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Ticketmaster Fees: The Service Fee, the Facility Charge and What Gets Added at Checkout
by TicketScanner Team
Key Takeaways
- Ticketmaster says its up-front price includes face value and all required fees, generally before tax.
- At checkout, Ticketmaster can add taxes and a delivery fee if you pick a delivery method that carries one.
- The fee line can hold two charges: a per-ticket service fee and, at some events, a facility charge the venue sets.
- Face value exchange tickets carry no resale fees, Ticketmaster says; other resale tickets do. Check which kind you are buying.
How much does Ticketmaster add at checkout?
Ticketmaster’s up-front price already includes face value and all required fees, so what gets added at checkout is tax and, for some delivery methods, a delivery fee. For scale, on Gametime listings we recorded Oct. 8, 2026, sales tax added $1.08 to a $73.92 ticket at a Washington, D.C., NHL game and $18.79 to a $477.21 ticket at a Green Bay NFL game.
Those tax figures are Gametime’s, from two listings, and tax depends on where the event is. Ticketmaster’s help pages give no fee percentage or dollar amount, so the fee itself sits inside the price you see. Here is how Ticketmaster describes each charge:
| Charge | In up-front price? | When it applies | Rate published? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service fee | Yes | Once per ticket | No |
| Facility charge | Yes | Some events; venue sets it | No |
| Resale service fee | Yes | Resale tickets | No |
| Delivery fee | No | Some delivery methods | No |
| Tax | No | Depends on location | Set by law |
Source: Ticketmaster help center, read Oct. 8, 2026.
The Ticketmaster service fee
The service fee is the main fee on a Ticketmaster ticket. Ticketmaster’s help article says “The service fee is charged once per ticket” and that it is shared among the parties to the event.
So a large fee line does not all go to Ticketmaster, by Ticketmaster’s own description. The page does not say how the split works or how big the fee is. We searched Ticketmaster’s help pages for a percentage or a dollar figure and found none. Any rate quoted online for Ticketmaster comes from someone other than Ticketmaster.
The fee is charged once per ticket, so four tickets incur four service fees. Look at the per-ticket breakdown, not only the order total, when you compare quantities.
The facility charge
Some events carry a facility charge. Ticketmaster’s help center says the venue sets it, and “Ticketmaster does not keep any portion of the facility charge.”
That means two tickets at a similar price on Ticketmaster can carry different fee lines, because one venue adds a facility charge and another does not. It counts as a required fee, so it should already be inside the up-front price rather than appearing as a surprise on the last screen.
If you are deciding between two events, or the same act at two venues, the facility charge is one reason the totals can differ. Ticketmaster does not publish venue-by-venue amounts on the help pages we read.
What gets added at checkout
Ticketmaster says “The upfront price includes all required fees in addition to the face value.” The price is generally shown before tax.
According to the same article, “some charges may be added during checkout based on your choices or location.” Ticketmaster names two:
- Delivery fees, only if you pick a delivery method that carries one.
- Taxes, which depend on where the event is.
Optional add-ons you choose also sit outside the up-front price. No other mandatory fees should first appear at checkout.
Where to see the fee breakdown
Ticketmaster’s help center says you can see the split between ticket price and service fee “by selecting the dropdown arrow next to the Subtotal amount.” That dropdown is the place to read the face value, the service fee and any facility charge as separate lines.
To calculate fees as a percentage of the ticket price, divide the fees by that price. Then add tax and delivery from the final screen; that total is the figure to compare with any other site.
Resale tickets and the face value exchange
Ticketmaster sells three kinds of tickets that can look alike on the event page:
- Primary tickets start from face value, and the up-front price adds the required fees described above.
- Resale tickets are priced by the reseller and carry resale service fees, according to Ticketmaster.
- Face value exchange tickets carry no resale fees. Ticketmaster says: “Ticketmaster does not charge any resale fees on these tickets.”
The help article does not give an amount for any of these fees. Tax and some delivery fees can still apply to a face value exchange ticket, so read the final screen as you would for any other ticket.
When you compare Ticketmaster with StubHub, Vivid Seats or Gametime, you are usually comparing resale with resale. A primary ticket at face value and a resale ticket for the same section are different products with different fee lines.
What the rules require Ticketmaster to show
Ticketmaster’s up-front pricing matches what the federal FTC rule has required since May 12, 2025: show the total price first, and leave out only taxes, shipping and optional add-ons. The rule governs how fees are shown, not how big they are; the state rules on top of it are in our ticket site fee comparison.
What fees looked like on other sites
We could not reach a Ticketmaster checkout in our Oct. 8, 2026, check, so we have no Ticketmaster fee figure. Across the cheapest seated listings we checked on three resale sites, fees were a median 16.3% of the seller’s price on Gametime (listing pages, seven games), 19.7% on StubHub and 21.7% on SeatGeek (checkout, five games). Treat those as those sites’ figures, not Ticketmaster’s; the game-by-game table is in the fee comparison.
To compare a Ticketmaster total with a resale site, use the same section and quantity and read each site’s final checkout screen before you pay. The full step-by-step list is in the fee comparison.
TicketScanner does not track Ticketmaster prices. It tracks daily fee-included lowest prices on Gametime and Vivid Seats; see Gametime vs Vivid Seats for which was lower more often. For other single sites, see StubHub fees, SeatGeek 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 also opened ticket listings without an account and without buying anything. 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 reach a Ticketmaster listing or checkout in our check that day, so we have no Ticketmaster fee breakdown. Fee percentages here are fees divided by the seller’s price, per ticket, before tax.
Ticketmaster facts here come from its help center (help.ticketmaster.com). We did not collect Ticketmaster reviews for this article.
Data as of Oct. 8, 2026.
FAQ
What is the Ticketmaster service fee?
A fee charged once per ticket and shared among the parties to the event, according to Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster does not publish its size. It is included in the up-front price.
Does Ticketmaster include fees in the price?
Yes, required fees. Ticketmaster says the up-front price includes face value and all required fees, generally before tax. Delivery fees for some methods and taxes can be added at checkout.
What is a facility charge on Ticketmaster?
A charge set by the venue at some events. Ticketmaster says it does not keep any portion of it, and it is part of the required fees in the up-front price.
Does the Ticketmaster face value exchange have fees?
Ticketmaster says it does not charge resale fees on face value exchange tickets. Tax and some delivery fees can still be added at checkout.
Where do I see the Ticketmaster fee breakdown?
At checkout, open the dropdown arrow next to the Subtotal amount. It splits the ticket price from the service fee.
See today’s fee-included lowest prices for every NBA game on TicketScanner’s NBA page.
Sources
- https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/9663528775313-How-are-ticket-prices-and-fees-determined (up-front price, service fee, facility charge, checkout charges, resale and face value exchange; no rate given)
- https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/35127799858193 (fee breakdown under the Subtotal dropdown)
- https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/rule-unfair-or-deceptive-fees-frequently-asked-questions (effective date, total price, exclusions)
- https://gametime.co/nhl-hockey/rangers-at-capitals-tickets/10-9-2026-washington-dc-capital-one-arena/events/6a5966642da5c11be1387f50 (Gametime listing with fee and tax, Rangers at Capitals)
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.
SeatGeek Fees: What SeatGeek Says Is in the Price, and What We Saw at Checkout
At SeatGeek’s checkout for five games, fees were a median 21.7% of the seller’s price on the cheapest seat. What SeatGeek says is in the price.