Humanitix Review 2026: Is This Ethical Ticketing Platform Right for You?

Humanitix has carved out a unique position in the event ticketing industry by donating 100% of its profits from booking fees to charities focused on education, healthcare, and other essential services for children worldwide. This "profit-for-purpose" model has earned the platform significant attention and loyalty, particularly among non-profits, schools, and socially conscious event organizers.

To write this Humanitix review, I've analyzed the platform extensively. I believe it's the ideal choice if:

• You want your ticketing fees to fund education and healthcare charities
• You're a non-profit or school seeking discounted ticketing rates
• You value accessibility compliance and inclusive event experiences
• You value responsive customer support
• The ethical "feel good" factor is a marketing asset for your events

However, Humanitix might not be the best choice if:

• You need advanced marketing tools to actively drive ticket sales and profits
• You want to run Ambassador programs or viral promotional contests
• You need detailed reporting, enterprise level personalized event consulting + support
• You need data-driven audience listening insights for booking decisions
• You need integrated live streaming or custom branded mobile apps for attendees

In this case, you should consider PromoTix: a marketing-first event management platform built by an event promoter who experienced firsthand how other ticketing platforms promised marketing help but never delivered. With patented features like Ambassador program management, viral contest pages, Spotify artist insights, and secured integrated streaming, PromoTix focuses on helping organizers sell more tickets and maximize revenue.

I've included a detailed look at PromoTix later in this Humanitix review, as the leading alternative for organizers who prioritize marketing capabilities. If you're ready to explore a more marketing-focused approach to event ticketing, you can create your event for free on PromoTix.

Table of contents:

• What is Humanitix?
• Humanitix Pros & Cons
• Humanitix Review: How it Works & Key Features
• Where Humanitix Falls Short
• Top Humanitix Alternative: PromoTix
• Humanitix or PromoTix: Comparison Summary
• Final Verdict

What is Humanitix?

Humanitix is what it describes as the world's first not-for-profit ticketing platform. 

Founded in 2016 by Adam McCurdie and Joshua Ross in Sydney, Australia, the platform emerged from a simple idea: what if the booking fees that attendees already pay could fund something meaningful instead of just generating corporate profit?

The two co-founders, close friends who had made a pact to build a business that solved a social problem, identified the ticketing industry as ripe for disruption. They saw competitors charging high fees while providing limited value, and recognized an opportunity to redirect that revenue toward charitable causes.

Today, Humanitix operates as a registered charity in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, with operations also in the United Kingdom. With no private shareholders, 100% of profits from booking fees are donated to organizations focused on closing the global education gap, including Room to Read, Yalari, and Code.org. As of late 2024, the platform has donated over $16.5 million to these causes.

The platform provides comprehensive event management tools including event page creation, ticketing and registration, seating maps, attendee check-in apps, email campaigns, and virtual event capabilities. It has particular strength among non-profits, schools, conferences, and community events that naturally align with its charitable mission.

Humanitix Pros & Cons

Humanitix Review: How it Works & Key Features

Event Page Builder: Clean design tools with native Canva integration.

Humanitix's event page builder uses a step-by-step process to create professional landing pages for events. 

Organizers enter basic details (name, date, location), then customize the visual design by uploading banner images and logos. A standout feature is the native Canva integration, which allows users to design graphics directly within the Humanitix interface without switching to external tools.

Source: Humanitix

The builder supports light and dark theme options, custom primary colors via hex codes, and rich text editing with video embedding from YouTube or Vimeo. For organizers running multiple events, branding settings can be saved as templates and applied to future events with one click.

Privacy options include setting events to "Private" (removing them from search) or creating hidden ticket types that require an access code to reveal, useful for pre-sales or member exclusives.

Ticketing & Registration: Flexible options for complex event structures.

The ticketing system supports paid, free, and donation-based (pay-what-you-want) tickets with unlimited ticket types per event. For venues with capacity constraints, the "Grouped Capacities" feature allows multiple ticket types to draw from a single inventory pool, preventing overselling.

Checkout questions can be configured per order or per ticket, with conditional logic that shows specific questions based on ticket type. For example, dietary requirement questions can appear only for tickets that include meals.

Discount codes support percentage and fixed-amount discounts with usage limits and expiration dates. The waitlist feature automatically activates when ticket types sell out, and organizers can configure auto-offers to the next person in line when spots open.

Source: Humanitix

Seating Map Maker: Visual seat selection for reserved seating events.

The drag-and-drop seating map builder allows organizers to create digital replicas of their venue layouts. Users can add rows (for theatres), tables (round or square for galas), and general admission areas. Non-bookable elements like stages, bars, and exits can be added for attendee orientation.

Different ticket types can be mapped to specific sections with variable pricing. The system tracks seat availability as tickets sell, and maps can be saved as templates for recurring events at the same venue. Seat holds can be managed through hidden ticket types with access codes.

Source: Humanitix

Humanitix for Hosts: Mobile scanning with offline capabilities.

The "Humanitix for Hosts" mobile app (iOS and Android) handles day-of-event operations. Staff can scan QR codes from digital or printed tickets, with clear visual feedback indicating valid, invalid, or already-scanned tickets.

A key feature is offline mode. The app downloads the attendee list when first opened, allowing scanning to continue even without internet connectivity. Once reconnected, scan data syncs automatically to the cloud.

For volunteers, organizers can generate a QR code that grants restricted "scanning-only" access without sharing login credentials or exposing financial data. The app also includes a manual search function for checking in attendees who've lost their tickets.

Email Campaigns: Built-in communication with scheduling flexibility.

The email campaign feature allows organizers to message ticket holders directly from the dashboard. Campaigns can be scheduled immediately, at a specific date/time, or relative to the event (for example, "1 day before" or "1 hour after").

Personalization shortcuts (merge tags) include first name, event name, event date, and a unique ticket link. Audience segmentation options include filtering by ticket type, buyer versus attendee, or specific event dates for recurring events.

Source: Humanitix

One notable limitation: Humanitix does not provide open rates or click-through rates for email campaigns. Organizers can see a list of recipients but cannot track engagement metrics. For advanced tracking, Humanitix recommends integrating with third-party tools like Mailchimp.

Virtual Event Hub: A portal for online content, not a streaming platform.

The Virtual Event Hub provides a branded landing page where ticket holders access digital content. 

Organizers can add stream links, pre-recorded videos, speaker profiles, and downloadable files. Specific elements can be restricted by ticket type (for example, VIP-only Q&A links) or time-gated to unlock closer to the event start.

An important distinction: the Hub is a portal, not a streaming platform. 

For live video, it embeds YouTube or Vimeo streams, or links out to Zoom (attendees click a button and their Zoom app launches). Humanitix does not provide native streaming infrastructure, though organizers can upload video files to the Hub. 

Post-event recordings are typically hosted on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and embedded back into the Hub, though files can also be uploaded directly.

Source: Humanitix

Where Humanitix Falls Short

While Humanitix excels at its charitable mission and core ticketing functionality, several limitations reveal a platform optimized for ethical impact rather than aggressive revenue growth. These constraints are worth considering for organizers who view marketing as central to their event's success.

Marketing Capabilities Gap: Humanitix provides basic promotional tools, including affiliate tracking links, but lacks the advanced marketing features found in dedicated platforms. 

There are no full-featured Ambassador or influencer program management tools, no viral contest functionality, and no GPS tracking for physical promotions. Organizers who want to turn attendees into active promoters will need external solutions or significant manual effort.

Email Analytics Absence: The email campaign feature, while useful for basic communications, provides no open rates or click-through tracking. Organizers cannot measure engagement, test subject lines effectively, or identify which messages drive ticket sales. For data-driven marketers, this blind spot makes campaign optimization difficult.

No Audience Listening Analytics: While Humanitix does offer Spotify integration for event promotion (syncing events to artist profiles), it does not provide audience listening data. This means promoters cannot use their existing ticket buyer database to identify which artists their specific audience listens to or inform booking decisions based on streaming behavior.

Source: Humanitix

Third-Party Streaming Dependence: The Virtual Event Hub requires external streaming services for live video. Organizers must manage separate Zoom or YouTube accounts, and depending on configuration, attendees may leave the Humanitix environment to watch streams (though embedding is also possible). 

This creates both friction and a security vulnerability: if streaming links get shared beyond ticket holders, organizers can end up with viewers who never purchased tickets, a revenue leak that's difficult to track or prevent.

No Branded Mobile Apps: Humanitix does not offer custom-branded mobile apps for events. Organizers cannot create their own app presence in app stores or use push notifications as a direct marketing channel.

These limitations aren't failures; they reflect Humanitix's deliberate focus on being an ethical ticketing platform rather than a marketing suite. But they create clear gaps for organizers who need more than social impact to fill seats.

Top Humanitix Alternative: PromoTix

PromoTix takes a fundamentally different approach to event ticketing. 

Founded by Will Royall, a veteran of music festival production who also owned a concert venue, booking agency, and advertising agency, the platform was built specifically to solve the problems Royall experienced firsthand: high ticketing fees and the absence of effective marketing tools.

What makes PromoTix's origin story unique is that it started as marketing software first, not a ticketing platform. 

The company was originally an Eventbrite Spectrum partner, offering marketing tools to help Eventbrite customers grow their events. When Royall realized he could improve ticketing too, PromoTix evolved into a full platform with patented marketing features that competitors simply cannot offer.

Where Humanitix channels profits to charity, PromoTix channels its energy into helping organizers maximize revenue through marketing. The platform combines ticketing with an integrated suite of promotional tools, secured live streaming, and custom mobile apps. 

PromoTix is particularly strong for sports events of all ages (their largest vertical), music events, festivals, venues, theaters, and virtual events where family members may want to watch remotely.

Integrated Marketing Suite: Patented tools to turn attendees into promoters.

PromoTix's marketing capabilities center on its patented Ambassador program management system, the most advanced on the market. 

Organizers can recruit fans and influencers, assign them specific tasks (social media sharing, flyer distribution, direct ticket selling), set commission structures, and track performance on a leaderboard. Ambassadors use a dedicated mobile app with a built-in point-of-sale system to sell tickets face-to-face, accepting both cash and card payments.

What sets PromoTix apart is access to an existing network of 6,500+ Ambassadors ready to promote events. Organizers can tap into this network immediately rather than building a street team from scratch.

Source: Promotix

The patented Viral Contest pages allow organizers to launch gamified pre-sale campaigns that build large marketing databases of interested attendees, capturing names, emails, phone numbers, social media follows, social shares, and Spotify listener data, all before tickets even go on sale. 

Participants earn points by following social media accounts, sharing content, and referring friends. The system tracks entries automatically and provides a ready-made audience for email campaigns, SMS, and social ads. Event creators using PromoTix's Ambassador and viral contest tools sell up to 22% more tickets to their events.

For physical promotions, GPS tracking verifies where Ambassadors post flyers or distribute materials. Organizers can see a map of promotional activity and identify geographic gaps in coverage.

Spotify Artist Insights: Data-driven booking decisions.

For music events, PromoTix offers integration with Spotify that provides insights into what artists ticket buyers and registrants are listening to. The dashboard shows top-streamed and top-followed artists within the organizer's specific audience over the previous 90 days.

This data helps promoters make booking decisions based on actual listener behavior rather than assumptions. Organizers can compare an artist's popularity within their audience against booking fees to identify cost-effective performers likely to drive ticket sales, potentially saving tens of thousands in mis-spent booking fees.

Source: PromoTix

Branded Mobile Apps: Your event in the app stores.

PromoTix allows organizers to create custom-branded mobile apps for their events or venues, published to both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app builder requires no development experience; organizers fill in details, upload images, and PromoTix handles submission.

Apps can feature event schedules, performer lineups, maps, social media feeds, and in-app ticket purchasing. Push notifications provide a direct marketing channel to anyone who downloads the app. For venues with recurring events, this creates an ongoing engagement tool beyond individual event promotion.

PromoTix Streaming: Secured integrated streaming that protects your revenue.

PromoTix's streaming solution addresses the security problems that plague platforms dependent on third-party services like Zoom or YouTube. 

Source: Promotix

Each ticket holder receives a unique secured URL, and the system restricts each ticket to one active session at a time. If someone shares their link, the new viewer gets blocked with a message saying the ticket is already in use, while the original purchaser continues watching uninterrupted.

This means every viewer will have purchased a ticket, guaranteeing organizers don't lose income from unauthorized viewership. Many event creators who watched their virtual events reach thousands of viewers despite selling only hundreds of tickets have switched to PromoTix to lock down viewership and monetize every view.

The system supports both webcam-based streaming for simple setups and RTMP integration for professional productions using OBS or similar software. Streaming quality options include standard definition, HD, and 4K (by request). Unlike platforms that rely primarily on linking out to external services, PromoTix Streaming keeps viewers on the PromoTix platform with integrated live chat.

Reporting, Analytics & Support: Customer insights with dedicated growth consulting.

Beyond standard sales reports, PromoTix provides a "Customer Insights" dashboard that calculates lifetime value across all of an organizer's events. The system tracks which customers have spent the most money, attended the most events, and when they first purchased.

Source: Promotix

Marketing ROI is traceable through the platform's pixel integrations (Meta and Google Analytics) and affiliate tracking links. Organizers can see which campaigns, Ambassadors, and channels are driving ticket sales.

PromoTix also provides dedicated Client Success Managers who consult on growth tactics to drive new ticket sales, increase revenues, and identify sponsorship opportunities. For Ambassador programs, clients also get an Ambassador Program Manager who helps build, recruit, and run the promotional team. Attendees receive 24/7 phone and chat support with a maximum 4-hour email response time.

Additionally, PromoTix offers daily payouts through Stripe, PayPal, or your own merchant account at no additional cost, helping organizers fund event production and improve cash flow.

Additional Capabilities

PromoTix includes several other features worth noting:

• Resale Marketplace: A reseller marketplace with 1M+ users where organizers can control the secondary market for their tickets, featuring ticket authentication and escrow protection against fraud
• RFID Technology: For events of 3,000+ attendees, enabling access control, cashless payments, and sponsor activation
• Embedded Checkout: White-label checkout widgets that can be placed on your own website, keeping customers on your domain during and after checkout
• Reserved Seating: Interactive seating charts for small to medium venues with tiered pricing
• Dynamic Pricing: Ticket prices that adjust based on inventory, plus timed entry and conditional logic

There's no comparison in the marketing value you'll get with PromoTix compared to ethical or budget-focused ticketing platforms, these are patented features unavailable elsewhere.

Humanitix or PromoTix: Comparison Summary

Final Verdict

The choice between Humanitix and PromoTix comes down to what you want your ticketing platform to accomplish beyond processing transactions.

Choose Humanitix if your event's identity aligns with social impact. 

The platform transforms booking fees from a grudge purchase into a charitable contribution, and that story resonates with certain audiences. Non-profits and schools benefit from discounted rates, while community events and conferences can market the ethical angle to attract socially conscious attendees. If your priority is a clean, accessible ticketing experience that generates feel-good impact rather than aggressive marketing capabilities, Humanitix delivers exactly that.

Get started with Humanitix here.

Choose PromoTix if you view ticketing as just one part of a larger marketing operation. 

The platform treats every feature as an opportunity to sell more tickets, from patented Ambassador programs that turn fans into salespeople, to Spotify insights that inform booking decisions, to secured streaming that ensures every viewer has paid. Sports tournaments, music festivals, concert venues, and organizers who measure success by revenue rather than social impact will find PromoTix's marketing suite worth exploring. Case studies show results like over $404,000 in additional ticket sales and $42,000 saved in fees through their patented tools.

Create your event for free on PromoTix.

Both platforms take different approaches to the industry's high-fee concerns: Humanitix charges fees but redirects all profits to charity, while PromoTix offers professional plans with 0% ticket fees and focuses on helping organizers maximize their revenue through patented marketing tools unavailable elsewhere. Your answer to which approach matters more will guide your choice.