Comp tickets are complimentary tickets you issue to specific people without charging them: performers' families, press, sponsors, VIPs, or anyone else on your guest list. This article walks through how to issue, manage, and track comp tickets on Eventrise.
How to issue a comp ticket
From your Organizer dashboard, click Orders in the sidebar
Click + Add Order
Choose the event you want to comp tickets for
Complete the three sections of the order form:
Tickets — Pick the ticket types and quantities to comp
Attendees — Add attendee details (name and email) for each ticket
Options — Configure two toggles:
Reduce ticket inventory — When checked, these tickets count against capacity for sale
Send confirmation email to attendees — When checked, each attendee receives the standard order confirmation with their tickets attached
Click Create order to issue the tickets
The recipient receives an email with their ticket attached, just like a regular paid ticket. No payment is required from them.
Tip: Comp tickets aren't a separate ticket type. Any ticket in your event's inventory can be comped through this workflow — you simply select the ticket type you want to comp in the Tickets section of the order form. This means comps draw from the same inventory as your paid tickets (controlled by the Reduce ticket inventory toggle).
Single recipient vs. multiple recipients
You have two patterns for issuing multiple comp tickets:
One order with multiple tickets to a single person
For when one person needs multiple tickets (e.g., a press writer plus two guests; the headliner's spouse plus their kids). Create one order with the quantity set to however many tickets they need. All tickets go to that person's email.
Multiple separate orders, one per recipient
For distributing comps individually (e.g., a sponsor allocation of 10 tickets, each going to a different person on their team). Create separate orders so each recipient receives their own confirmation email and their own ticket.
Comp tickets with reserved seating
If your event uses a seat map, the order flow shows your seat layout when you create a comp order. You can pick exactly which seats to assign:
Performer guests near the stage
Press in the back row or designated press section
Sponsors in premium seats or VIP boxes
Family members together in front rows
If you don't want to assign specific seats, you can comp any other available ticket in your inventory (like general admission) instead.
Tracking comp tickets
Comp orders show up in your Orders list with a COMPED tag and a $0 total. You can filter or search the list to see only comp tickets, helpful for:
Tracking comp allocations against your budget
Auditing comps for sponsor reporting
Spotting trends (which performers are getting heavy comp allocations across multiple shows)
Common questions
Can I revoke or cancel a comp ticket?
Yes. Cancel the comp order from your Orders list, the same way you'd cancel any other order. The ticket is invalidated and won't scan at the door.
Do comp tickets count against my ticket inventory?
It depends on the Reduce ticket inventory toggle in the Options section of the order form. When checked, comp tickets count against capacity for sale (e.g., if you have 200 tickets total and comp 20 with this option checked, you have 180 available to sell). When unchecked, comp tickets are issued without affecting your available inventory.
Is there a limit on how many comp tickets I can issue?
No platform limit. The practical limit is your event capacity. Some venues set comp limits per show (e.g., "no more than 10% of capacity as comps") for budget reasons.
Do attendees know it's a comp ticket?
Yes. The order confirmation email and ticket show the original ticket price along with a $0 total, and the order is clearly labeled with a COMPED tag. At the door, their check-in experience is identical to any other attendee.
Can I issue comp tickets after the event has started?
You can issue comp tickets as long as the ticket purchase window is open. By default, this matches your event's start/end date and time in Event Details — useful for walk-up guests, last-minute press, or surprise VIPs. Note that individual tickets can have their own purchase window defined at the ticket level, which will override the event-level window for those specific tickets.
Need help? If you have questions about comp ticket strategy for your specific venue, or need to issue a comp on an event that's not behaving as expected, reach out to our support team at support@eventrise.com. We're here to help.