Ticket fees: who pays
Who pays which fee, and how prices show to buyers.
Each ticket type has its own fee settings (right side of the ticket window):
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Pass Maingate fee to customer | The guest pays the MainGate fee ($1.00, or $1.50 for seats). You pay $0. |
| Absorb Maingate fee | The ticket price stays as shown and the fee comes out of your payout. |
| Use other fee amount | Charge your own per-ticket fee amount. |
| Add card processing fee to order | Adds the card processing cost to the order instead of you paying it. |
| Add additional fee | A building or facility fee per ticket. |
Tip: Want an even total like $25.00? Enter it next to Force Round Up Pricing after setting tax and fees, and click the link. MainGate works out the price.
What buyers see
Every ticket shows one big all-in price that includes the ticket and all fees, with the breakdown right under it, for example:
$37.17
$35.00 ticket + $1.00 ticket fee + $1.17 card processing fee
+ sales tax at checkout
U.S. rules for live-event tickets (the FTC all-in pricing rule) require the price with all required fees to be the main price buyers see. Sales tax is added at checkout, and the checkout summary lists every fee and the tax.
If you set a Compare-to Price (like a gate price), "You save" compares it with the all-in price, so the savings are what buyers really save. It shows in your brand color.
Still stuck? Call 713-303-4094 or send us a message.