Comparison · October 2026

StubHub vs Vividseats vs SeatGeek — the honest 2026 comparison.

The three dominate US ticket resale, and after three years of weekly checkout tests we have strong opinions about which wins which category. This piece is written for buyers, not for platforms — we earn affiliate commission from all three, and the editorial order below is unchanged by that.

Reading time ~14 minutes · ~2,200 words · Prices verified against each platform's checkout 20–22 October 2026 · Affiliate disclosure

1. TL;DR — which to pick for your use case

Use case	Our pick	Runner-up
First-time ticket buyer	SeatGeek (welcome credit)	Vividseats
Repeat buyer, 3+ events a year	Vividseats (Rewards stacks with codes)	SeatGeek
High-ticket playoff / Broadway marquee	StubHub (deepest inventory + flat-$ codes)	Vividseats
MLB / NFL regular season	StubHub	SeatGeek
NBA / MLS where team uses SG as primary	SeatGeek (face-value primary)	Vividseats
Country music & smaller touring acts	Vividseats	StubHub
Mobile-only buyer	SeatGeek	Vividseats
Flat-$ discount on >$500 order	StubHub	Vividseats

2. Fees & all-in pricing

All three now display all-in pricing by default — the days of the hidden-fee surprise at checkout are formally over on every US-regulated resale marketplace. The headline fee comparison looks tight on paper but splits open once you look at how each platform calculates demand-based fees.

Platform	Buyer fee range	How calculated	Price-display default
StubHub	~20–28%	Flat tier based on list price + event category	All-in on
Vividseats	~22–30%	Dynamic by event demand + loyalty-member discount applied	All-in on
SeatGeek	~18–25%	Flat tier + Deal Score adjustment for highly-rated seats	All-in on

On a $400 three-ticket order to a mid-market NFL game in October 2026, SeatGeek beat StubHub by $7 and Vividseats by $11 — before any promo code. Apply a code (which these numbers do not), and the ordering flips.

3. Buyer protection & refunds

Three different names, roughly the same substance:

• StubHub FanProtect — equivalent-or-better replacement on seller cancellation; cash refund on event cancellation (not postponement by default).
• Vividseats 100 % Buyer Guarantee — equivalent-or-better replacement; cash refund on event cancellation; same-day refund processing claimed, our test confirmed within 48 hours.
• SeatGeek Buyer Guarantee — equivalent-or-better replacement; event-cancellation refund; postponement rebooks to the new date automatically where the venue honours the original ticket.

Where SeatGeek edges ahead is the postponement default — StubHub and Vividseats require you to opt in to the rebook; SeatGeek assumes you want it unless you cancel out.

4. Loyalty & recurring buyers

Only Vividseats runs an always-on loyalty programme. Buy 10 tickets, get a reward credit at the average per-ticket price you paid across those 10. Compound effect over a season of a dozen events is non-trivial — around 10 % value in year two for a steady buyer.

StubHub does not have a loyalty tier. SeatGeek's welcome credit is a one-off: it applies to the first order on a brand-new account and does not recur. If you've already used it, SeatGeek is a flat-fees platform for you from then on.

5. Promo-code cadence & stacking

This is where our weekly verification data matters:

• Vividseats keeps the most promo codes in rotation at any time — we currently publish 4, with another 2–3 category-locked codes that come and go within a week. Codes stack with Rewards credit.
• SeatGeek runs 3–4 codes concurrently, dominated by the welcome credit and category-locked follow-ups. Codes stack with the welcome credit on first order but not with each other.
• StubHub runs 2–4 codes concurrently, usually tied to seasonal moments. Flat-dollar codes are more common here than on the other two.

If you're hunting the single highest redeemable discount, Vividseats VS-DEAL19 at 19.99 % off concerts $300+ with a $140 cap is the current king. If you're hunting the biggest absolute dollar saving on a single order, StubHub's SH-FALL59 flat $59.99 off any order over $400 is more straightforward.

6. Inventory depth per category

Category	StubHub	Vividseats	SeatGeek
NFL regular season	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★☆
MLB regular season	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★☆
NBA regular season	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★★
NHL regular season	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆
MLS	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★★
Arena-tier concert tours	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★☆
Small-venue club tours	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆
Broadway marquee shows	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★☆☆
Regional theatre	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★☆☆
Country music tours	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★☆☆

7. Mobile checkout & ticket wallet

SeatGeek is a mobile-first product and feels like one — the lightest install, the fastest payment flow, native support for Apple Pay and Google Pay with saved cards in a card-swipe UI. StubHub's app is slightly older in feel but equally stable. Vividseats' app is the newest and still carries a few quirks around the Rewards redemption step (the credit sometimes doesn't surface until you tap "Review order" twice).

For ticket wallet transfer — moving the ticket from the marketplace to Apple Wallet, Ticketmaster or the venue's native app — SeatGeek wins again by one step. StubHub and Vividseats both require you to open the venue's app before you'll see the transferred ticket; SeatGeek handles the Apple Wallet handoff inside its own app.

8. FAQ

Can I use a code from each platform in one order?
No — a given cart on a given platform accepts one promo code. You can of course split your purchases across platforms and apply a code on each.

Do these codes work for international events?
The three marketplaces primarily serve US events. All three list some Canadian and UK events; codes we publish are tested against US checkout only.

Why do you ask me to sign in before applying?
Because the promo-code field is in the account-authenticated checkout step on all three platforms. Our modal takes you to the correct sign-in URL in a new tab — paste the code there.

Are affiliate codes different from retail promo codes?
No. The codes we list are the same codes the platforms publish on their own promotions page or email newsletters. The affiliate link just means the destination platform credits our account with a small commission when you complete a purchase.

SeatPromoHub earns affiliate commission from StubHub, Vividseats and SeatGeek. This comparison was written editorially; our commission rate differs between the three (SeatGeek pays more, Vividseats pays less) but our editorial ordering is unchanged by that. We re-verify every quoted figure before each publish and date the top of the article accordingly. See affiliate disclosure.