StubHub

StubHub is a US secondary-market ticket marketplace where fans buy and sell tickets to concerts, sports, theatre, comedy and family events. Listings come from other fans, season-ticket holders and licensed brokers rather than the venue box office, and every order is backed by the FanProtect Guarantee. StubHub Holdings also operates viagogo internationally, following viagogo's 2020 acquisition of StubHub from eBay (deal finalised September 2021); StubHub Holdings became a public company via an IPO in September 2025.

The main categories are concerts and music tours, US professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS), college football and college basketball, tennis and golf majors, motorsport, theatre and Broadway, comedy tours, festivals and family entertainment. Most tickets are instant-download mobile tickets that transfer to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, with some listings still delivered as PDFs or via ticket-provider transfer (Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek).

FanProtect is StubHub's buyer and seller protection program. If a ticket does not arrive on time, is not valid at the gate, or is materially different from the listing (wrong section, wrong seat, wrong event), StubHub replaces the ticket with a comparable or better seat or refunds the purchase. Sellers are also covered when a buyer's payment or delivery falls through. FanProtect applies to every ticket bought on StubHub, not a paid add-on.

StubHub US accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, plus PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout. Availability of specific methods can vary by event category and by device, and high-demand on-sales sometimes hold the ticket price for a limited window while payment completes.

Typically yes. StubHub is one of the largest secondary marketplaces for the five major US pro leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS), covering regular season, playoffs, conference finals, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Stanley Cup Final and the MLS Cup. Season-ticket holders and licensed brokers list a broad range of price points, and the marketplace price typically moves with team form, day of the week and remaining supply.

Broadly yes. StubHub typically lists college football regular-season games, bowl games and the College Football Playoff, plus college basketball including the NCAA Tournament and Final Four. Tennis (US Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open), golf majors (Masters practice rounds via licensed brokers, US Open, PGA Championship), NASCAR, Formula 1 US races (Miami, Austin, Las Vegas) and boxing and MMA main cards also list on the platform.

Typically yes. StubHub carries a broad share of Broadway and touring theatre inventory, including long-running shows (Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Book of Mormon), current-season openings, comedy residencies at venues like Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum, and family productions. Broadway seat maps show the exact section and row before checkout, and premium orchestra seating is generally listed at a price premium during peak windows.

Broadly yes. Festival passes (Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Electric Daisy Carnival) list on StubHub through the on-sale year plus resale in the final months. Family entertainment covers Disney on Ice, Cirque du Soleil, WWE, Monster Jam, PBR and touring kids productions, with weekend matinee seats generally the tightest inventory.

When a concert sells out on the primary platform (Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek Enterprise), StubHub is one of the largest US secondary marketplaces to check next. Filtering by section, quantity, delivery type (instant mobile) and price ceiling narrows the search in a few seconds, and setting a price alert on the event page pings when a listing drops below a target.

Prices on StubHub are set by individual sellers (fans, season-ticket holders, licensed brokers) rather than the venue, and the marketplace listing price can move up or down as the event approaches. High-demand events tend to hold or rise toward the on-sale peak and then compress in the final week, while lower-demand events often see prices drop as sellers move remaining inventory. Filtering by section, quantity, delivery type and price ceiling narrows the search quickly.

There is no fixed sale calendar on StubHub because pricing is dynamic and set by individual sellers rather than by seasonal promotions. For high-demand concerts and marquee sports (Super Bowl, playoff series, opening weekend), the strongest price windows are usually a week to a month before the event, when non-professional sellers move inventory. For lower-demand weeknight regular-season games, prices often compress inside the final 48 hours before tip-off or first pitch.

StubHub lets buyers set a price alert on any event page, so a notification pings when a listing in the chosen section or price band drops below a target. This is most effective for lower-demand regular-season games and mid-week concerts where inventory softens as the event approaches. High-demand marquee events (Super Bowl, opening night of a stadium tour) rarely drop below the initial on-sale peak.

Most StubHub tickets deliver as instant-download mobile tickets that add to the phone's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet from the confirmation email or the StubHub app. Some listings deliver as a transfer from the original ticket provider (Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek) and land in that account before the event. StubHub sends the delivery method and expected delivery window on the confirmation page and again by email before the event.

Rescheduled events on StubHub carry the original ticket to the new date and time by default, and buyers keep their seat unless they choose to sell it back through the platform. Cancelled events without a rescheduled date are refunded under FanProtect, with the refund path and timing set by whether the ticket was already delivered and how the seller listed it. Confirmation emails carry the current status per order.

Typically yes. StubHub is a two-sided marketplace, and season-ticket holders, fans and licensed brokers list tickets they cannot attend or want to resell. Listings ask for the section, row, quantity, delivery method and asking price, and StubHub surfaces comparable listings to guide pricing. Payouts land after the event completes and FanProtect confirms the buyer attended without issue, via direct deposit or PayPal depending on the seller's payout setup.

For groups, filtering by quantity (four or six or eight together) is the fastest path since consecutive-seat listings are limited on high-demand games. For corporate buyers, licensed broker listings tend to carry cleaner delivery paths (single transfer for the full group) than combining multiple two-ticket listings. StubHub Corporate handles bulk and hospitality bookings for events above the standard checkout limits.

Ticketmaster is primarily a primary-ticketing platform, selling tickets directly on behalf of venues, teams and promoters when a show first goes on sale, with a resale surface (Ticketmaster Resale) layered on top. StubHub is a pure secondary marketplace: every ticket is listed by another fan, season-ticket holder or licensed broker. For an on-sale day where inventory is still available at face value, Ticketmaster is generally the first check. Once an event sells out or the price gap widens, StubHub carries a broader spread of secondary inventory and applies FanProtect on every order.

StubHub and SeatGeek are both major US secondary marketplaces with broadly overlapping inventory for concerts and sports. SeatGeek is known for the Deal Score algorithm that grades each listing against comparable seats and for a mobile-first UX that colour-codes value directly on the seat map. StubHub typically carries a larger overall US resale inventory pool, the FanProtect Guarantee, and stronger festival and Broadway coverage. Cross-checking both is usually worthwhile for high-demand events.

Vivid Seats runs a comparable US secondary marketplace with the Vivid Cash rewards program (a bonus after a set number of bookings) and displays lowest-total-cost pricing earlier in the flow. TickPick positions on a zero-buyer-fee model, showing the sticker price closer to the final total. Gametime is mobile-app first, weighted to last-minute sports ticketing where deep-discount listings appear in the final hours. StubHub carries the largest US resale inventory, the FanProtect Guarantee, mobile-wallet delivery on most listings, and the broadest festival and Broadway spread.

StubHub and viagogo are both part of StubHub Holdings following viagogo's 2020 acquisition of StubHub (deal finalised September 2021). StubHub is the US-facing marketplace, and viagogo carries broader international coverage across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. For US events, StubHub is the direct route; for international events (Premier League, La Liga, European tours, F1 races outside the US), viagogo generally carries the deeper listing set.

StubHub has operated as a US secondary ticket marketplace since 2000 and is part of StubHub Holdings. Every ticket is backed by the FanProtect Guarantee, which covers non-delivery, invalid tickets and listings that are materially different from what was booked. Payments settle through StubHub rather than directly with the seller, and delivery is coordinated through the platform (mobile wallet, ticket provider transfer or PDF).

To earn cashback on StubHub, sign in to ShopBack, open the StubHub merchant page above and click through to StubHub. Complete the booking in the same browser session without switching to third-party coupon or referral links, and avoid pasting unsupported voucher codes at checkout since they can break tracking.

After clicking through to StubHub from ShopBack and completing a booking, the order is submitted to ShopBack by StubHub and typically appears as pending cashback within a few days. Cashback confirms after the event completes and FanProtect confirms the booking without a return or replacement. Bookings paid with a third-party voucher code or completed outside the same browser session may be excluded from cashback.