Little Box Office vs Ticketsolve
Little Box Office and Ticketsolve are both professional ticketing platforms, but they take different approaches.
Ticketsolve offers ticketing alongside built-in project management, fundraising tools and integrations with specialist audience-insight platforms. However, not every function is native to the platform: Ticketsolve integrates with Mailchimp for email marketing, uses Tixel for ticket resale, and a fully developed website requires external web development and API integration.
Little Box Office combines professional ticketing with a native website builder and CMS, native ticket resale, CRM functionality and email marketing through Transpond. Both platforms offer CRM, event add-ons and customer protection, so these are not major differences between them.
Neither approach is automatically right for everyone. The question is what you need your ticketing system to do, and how you want to work with your ticketing provider.
The Quick Answer.
Ticketsolve may suit you if you want built-in project management and fundraising tools, and integrations with audience-insight platforms, alongside ticketing.
Little Box Office may suit you if you want professional ticketing with a native website builder and ticket resale solution, straightforward pricing, practical support and control over your ticketing operation.
The clearest differences are built-in project management and fundraising tools, audience-insight integrations and recurring membership payments on the Ticketsolve side, compared with LBO's native website CMS and resale solution. CRM, event add-ons and customer protection are available from both platforms. Marketing functionality is also broadly comparable, although the platforms integrate with different email marketing providers.
Comparison at a Glance.
Little Box Office
Professional ticketing with a native website builder and resale solution, plus specialist integrations
Most clients start at around 4% of sales; lower rates for larger businesses
No time-based contract or exit fee
Daily payouts
Yes
Integrates with Transpond, which is a lot more cost effective than Mailchimp and offers more robust segmentation
Donations are both available as an upsell during ticket transactions or as a standalone purchase. GiftAid capture and reporting is available.
Built-in custom reporting
Not available
Yes
Yes, through Protect Group
Built-in resale tools and reporting
Native website CMS and builder included in the platform
Ticketsolve
Ticketing with built-in project management and fundraising tools, plus specialist integrations
Single, organisation-specific charge
Typically time-based; exit terms and fees depends on the individual agreement
Daily payouts
Yes
Integrates with Mailchimp
Donations are both available as an upsell during ticket transactions or as a standalone purchase. GiftAid capture and reporting is available. Fundraising tools are also available with campaign goals and grant/sponsorship tracking.
Integrations with audience-insight platforms such as Audience Answers and Illuminate
Built-in project management tools
Yes
Yes, through Protect Group
Third-party integration with Tixel
Basic URL links; a fully integrated website requires external development with API
Features
Little Box Office
Ticketsolve
Professional ticketing with a native website builder and resale solution, plus specialist integrations
Ticketing with built-in project management and fundraising tools, plus specialist integrations
Most clients start at around 4% of sales; lower rates for larger businesses
Single, organisation-specific charge
No time-based contract or exit fee
Typically time-based; exit terms and fees depends on the individual agreement
Daily payouts
Daily payouts
Yes
Yes
Integrates with Transpond, which is a lot more cost effective than Mailchimp and offers more robust segmentation
Integrates with Mailchimp
Donations are both available as an upsell during ticket transactions or as a standalone purchase. GiftAid capture and reporting is available.
Donations are both available as an upsell during ticket transactions or as a standalone purchase. GiftAid capture and reporting is available. Fundraising tools are also available with campaign goals and grant/sponsorship tracking.
Built-in custom reporting
Integrations with audience-insight platforms such as Audience Answers and Illuminate
Not available
Built-in project management tools
Yes
Yes
Yes, through Protect Group
Yes, through Protect Group
Built-in resale tools and reporting
Third-party integration with Tixel
Native website CMS and builder included in the platform
Basic URL links; a fully integrated website requires external development with API
Pricing.
Little Box Office publishes a clear starting point: most clients start at around 4% of sales, with lower rates available for larger businesses. The actual rate depends on sales volume and programme complexity.
There are no setup fees, monthly subscription fees or hidden charges, and no commission on free tickets. You can also choose whether to add your own booking fees.
Ticketsolve uses a single-charge pricing model covering the platform as a whole. It does not publish a standard percentage or price. Instead, organisations provide information including annual ticket volume and ticket revenue, and Ticketsolve provides a personalised estimate. Its published pricing includes unlimited users, events and customers, with optional extras available where required.
The cost comparison should also consider what you need beyond ticketing. LBO includes a native website CMS and builder. With Ticketsolve, a fully developed website integrated with the platform can require external web development and API integration, adding complexity and cost beyond the ticketing platform itself.
So it isn't useful to simply say one platform is cheaper without knowing the quote and the organisation's requirements. The important question is what you're paying for, including any external development, and whether you need a ticketing platform bundled with a wider range of business tools.
What are you actually buying?
The main differences are more specific than simply a broad platform versus a focused ticketing system.
Little Box Office covers the practical business of selling and managing tickets, including online and in-person sales, seating, customer management, discounts, payments, scanning and reporting. It also includes a native website CMS and builder, as well as a native ticket resale solution.
Ticketsolve adds built-in project management and fundraising tools, including campaign goals and grant/sponsorship tracking. It also offers Ticketsolve Pay, whose clearest additional payment benefit is recurring payments for memberships, and integrations with audience-insight platforms such as Audience Answers and Illuminate.
Other capabilities are broadly comparable. Both platforms offer CRM, event add-ons and customer protection through Protect Group. Both support email marketing, but LBO integrates with Transpond while Ticketsolve integrates with Mailchimp. Ticketsolve uses Tixel for ticket resale, while LBO's resale solution is native. A fully developed website integrated with Ticketsolve requires external website development through their API, whereas LBO's website builder is included in the platform.
The key question is which of those specific differences matter to your organisation.
Getting up and running.
Ticketsolve provides a structured implementation process, including data migration, system configuration, tailored training and a dedicated project manager. There are no upfront onboarding or migration fees.
Little Box Office also includes onboarding and live-data migration at no cost, with a focus on getting organisations up and running quickly.
For a larger organisation undertaking a substantial technology change, a structured implementation can be valuable. For an organiser that primarily wants to move its ticketing and start selling quickly, a more focused implementation with on-demand training may be preferable.
Fundraising and project management.
Both platforms offer CRM, customer segmentation, donations and email marketing. These capabilities should not be presented as a major functional difference between the systems.
The clearer difference is fundraising and project management. Ticketsolve offers fundraising tools with campaign goals and tracking for grants and sponsorships. Their platform also includes a project management software. These features may be valuable for organisations with substantial fundraising and projects activity.
LBO focuses on ticketing and customer management rather than offering the same dedicated fundraising and project management tools.
Data and reporting.
Both platforms provide ticketing and sales reporting. Ticketsolve also integrates with audience-insight platforms such as Audience Answers and Illuminate, which can provide additional ways to analyse audiences.
The distinction is the availability of these specialist audience-insight integrations, rather than a general difference in whether the platforms provide reporting.
Branding and your website.
Little Box Office includes a native website CMS and builder as part of the platform. Organisations can build and manage their website and ticketing experience without having to commission a separate website development project and API integration just to connect the two.
Ticketsolve provides basic URL links. For a more fully developed website integrated with Ticketsolve, organisations will need an external website, third-party development. This adds complexity and cost that need to be considered alongside the platform price.
If you want to create and manage your website as part of your ticketing platform, LBO offers that functionality natively. If you already have a website and development resource, a Ticketsolve integration may suit your setup.
Which approach might suit you?
Ticketsolve might suit you if you want:
Built-in project management alongside ticketing
Fundraising tools with campaign goals and grant/sponsorship tracking
Integrations with audience-insight platforms such as Audience Answers and Illuminate
Recurring payments for memberships through Ticketsolve Pay
An existing Mailchimp integration
Structured implementation and ongoing Customer Success support
A large community of other organisations using the same platform
Little Box Office might suit you if you want:
Professional ticketing with a native website CMS and builder
Native ticket resale rather than a third-party resale integration
Straightforward, transparent pricing
CRM and customer management, with email marketing through Transpond
Ticket revenue available as sales are made, with daily withdrawals available
No time-based contract or exit fees
Seven-day phone and email support
Included onboarding and live-data migration
Both platforms offer CRM, event add-ons and customer protection through Protect Group. The choice is better made on the specific differences above than on a broad claim that one platform offers more functionality overall.
Already on sale on Ticketsolve? No problem.
If you are already selling tickets on Ticketsolve and want to move, you don't need to wait until your event is over to switch. LBO includes a managed live data migration at no extra charge. Your existing events, orders, and seating plans can move smoothly while sales remain open. We work with you to handle the logistical heavy lifting so you can get back to the fun part of your job: putting on a brilliant show.
FAQs
Little Box Office publishes a starting point, with most clients starting at around 4% of sales and lower rates available for larger businesses. Its native website CMS and builder are included in the platform.
Your next step.
Ask us anything we haven't covered, or book a demo to see the platform in action.