TryBooking alternative for amateur theatre societies
TryBooking is a pay-as-you-go ticketing platform popular with UK amdram groups and drama societies. But if your society needs more than show-night ticketing, TheatreHQ offers a full management platform with no per-ticket fees. Here's how they compare.
At a glance
Quick summary.
Choose TheatreHQ if…
- You want ticketing connected to membership, committee tools, and rehearsals
- You need an integrated society website — not just a ticketing widget
- You want zero per-ticket platform fees on your ticket sales
- You're looking for year-round society management, not just show-night tools
Stick with TryBooking if…
- You want cheap, flexible pay-as-you-go ticketing with no subscription
- You already have strong infrastructure for everything else
- Your needs are primarily front-of-house operations on show nights
- You value TryBooking's partnership with amdram.co.uk for discovery
About the competitor
What is
TryBooking?
TryBooking is a UK-based ticketing platform with strong roots in the amateur theatre community. They're a partner of amdram.co.uk, which gives them visibility among drama societies looking for ticketing solutions.
Their pricing is straightforward: with their standard payment gateway, it's 5% of the ticket price plus 15p per ticket (including VAT and card processing). Alternatively, societies can connect their own Stripe account and pay a flat 75p per ticket plus Stripe's processing fees. Free events are completely free.
TryBooking offers good operational tools — seating plans, QR code tickets, mobile scanning apps, discount codes, and donation handling. They're a genuine, well-run platform that many amateur theatre groups use happily for their ticketing needs.
Key differences
Show-night tools vs
year-round platform.
TryBooking excels at the front-of-house side of amateur theatre: selling tickets, managing seating, scanning at the door, and handling the financial side of a production run. For drama societies and amdram groups whose main challenge is getting tickets sold and audiences through the door, TryBooking does this well.
TheatreHQ covers the same ticketing ground but extends into the year-round operations of running a society: membership management, audition workflows, rehearsal scheduling, committee tools, and your public website. For societies where the challenge isn't just show nights but the 48 weeks between productions, this broader scope matters.
The fee structures are different too. TryBooking's standard rate of 5% + 15p per ticket is competitive for low-volume societies, but on a busy year of 2,000 tickets at £12 each, those percentages add up. TheatreHQ's flat monthly model with no per-ticket fees becomes more economical as your ticket volume grows.
TryBooking's Stripe option (75p flat per ticket + Stripe fees) is worth considering if you prefer flat-fee predictability without a subscription — though at 75p per ticket, 2,000 tickets a year still costs £1,500 in platform fees alone.
Feature comparison
Detailed
comparison.
| TheatreHQ | TryBooking | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly (from £20/month) | 5% + 15p/ticket or 75p + Stripe fees [Verified 2026-04-18 from trybooking.com/uk/pricing] |
| Per-ticket platform fee | None | From 15p to 75p depending on plan |
| Society website included | ✓ | ✗ |
| Member database | ✓ | ✗ |
| Committee tools | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rehearsal scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audition management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Seating plans | Custom seating plans | ✓ |
| QR code tickets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile ticket scanning | PWA (any device) | ✓ (native app) |
| Discount codes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Donations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Amdram.co.uk listing | ✗ | ✓ (partner) |
| Free events | No charge | No charge |
| Subscription required | Optional (from £20/month) | No subscription — pay per ticket |
| UK-based | ✓ | ✓ |
Pricing example
What it costs
in practice.
A typical society: 4 productions per year, 500 tickets per production (2,000 total), average ticket price £12.
Annual ticketing cost comparison
+ 15p × 2,000 = £300
Includes VAT and card processing
[Verified 2026-04-18 from trybooking.com/uk/pricing]
No per-ticket platform fees
Plus flat monthly subscription (from £20/month)
Includes website, membership, committee tools
TryBooking's standard fee (5% + 15p) includes VAT and card processing — so £1,500 is all-inclusive. TheatreHQ's only variable cost is Stripe's standard processing (£528 in this example), plus a flat monthly subscription. TryBooking's Stripe option would be 75p × 2,000 = £1,500 in platform fees plus ~£528 in Stripe processing on top.
Switching
Moving from TryBooking
to TheatreHQ.
TryBooking operates on a pay-as-you-go model with no contracts, so there's nothing to cancel — simply start using TheatreHQ for your next production.
Your data: Export your attendee and booking data from TryBooking. Import contact records into TheatreHQ to maintain your audience database.
Timing: The natural switch point is between productions. Set up your TheatreHQ site, configure your seating plans, and test the booking flow before your next show goes on sale.
Amdram.co.uk listing: If you value TryBooking's amdram.co.uk partnership for event discovery, note that TheatreHQ doesn't have this integration. Consider whether your audience finds you through amdram.co.uk or through your own website and social channels.
Need help migrating? Get in touch.
What groups say
"TryBooking handled our tickets well, but we needed a proper website and member area too. TheatreHQ gave us everything in one place."
— [TODO: real society name and role]
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Frequently asked
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