Vivid Seats

What Vivid Seats does

Vivid Seats is a Chicago-headquartered, publicly traded (NASDAQ: SEAT) online ticket marketplace founded in 2001 that operates a two-sided platform connecting individual ticket buyers with resellers for live events including concerts, sports, and theater across North America. The platform is built around All-In Pricing with no hidden fees, a 100% Buyer Guarantee covering transaction safety and authentic ticket delivery, and the Vivid Seats Rewards loyalty program that issues a free 11th ticket after ten purchases. The mobile app, which accounts for over 40% of Marketplace GOV with 20% YoY growth, incorporates interactive Map Discovery, hyper-realistic seat previews, and a Spotify-driven personalization engine alongside the proprietary Deal Score rating system.

The company monetizes via transaction fees on Marketplace Gross Order Value, with Q1 2026 revenue of $125.8M generated on $612.4M of GOV at an approximately 20.5% take rate. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through vividseats.com and the iOS/Android apps, supplemented by partnerships with ESPN, United Airlines MileagePlus, and the College Basketball Crown that expand top-of-funnel reach. Vivid Seats has historically pursued adjacency expansion through acquisitions including Betcha Sports (2021, online gaming), Vegas.com (2023), and Wavedash (2023).

The business is currently in a defensive phase. FY2025 results showed a steep net loss, Q1 2026 revenue declined 26% YoY, and the share price has fallen approximately 90% over the trailing twelve months, prompting a 20-to-1 reverse stock split and an October 2025 corporate simplification that eliminated the dual-class structure and terminated the Tax Receivable Agreement. New CEO Lawrence Fey (Nov 2025) and new CFO Joseph Thomas (Jan 2026) have launched cost-reduction initiatives while investing in app-led personalization, the Lowest Price Guarantee, and partnerships aimed at stabilizing GOV and shifting mix toward higher-margin mobile transactions.

Name

Vivid Seats

Legal name

Vivid Seats LLC

Website

https://vividseats.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Vivid Seats is a publicly traded online ticket marketplace connecting individual fans with resellers for concerts, sports, and theater across North America, monetizing via a ~20% take rate on Marketplace GOV through its website and mobile app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Ticket Marketplace

NAICS

All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (45999)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Event Ticketing (Concerts, Festivals, Comedy) (HSACALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater & Performing Arts Ticketing (HSACALAC), Sports Hospitality, VIP, Ticketing & Fan Experience Services (MPAKAKAG), Event Discovery, Listings & Calendar Platforms (MPAGAJAL), Pricing, Yield Management & Anti-Fraud Services (MPAGAJAH)

Keywords

• Online ticket marketplace
• Secondary ticket resale
• Live event ticketing
• Concert sports tickets
• Event ticket platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Transaction Fees: Vivid Seats earns revenue through transaction fees (take rate) on marketplace gross order value. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of $125.8 million from $612.4 million in Marketplace GOV, representing approximately 20.5% take rate.
2. Seller Fees: Fees charged to ticket sellers for listing and completing transactions on the marketplace platform
3. Buyer Fees: Fees included in All-In Pricing model where all fees are bundled into the listed ticket price

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vivid Seats operates an online ticket resale marketplace that connects individual ticket buyers with third-party ticket sellers for concerts, sports, and theater events across North America. The platform features All-In Pricing that bundles all fees into the displayed price, a 100% Buyer Guarantee that protects against fraud, delivery issues, and canceled events, and a Lowest Price Guarantee that matches lower competitor prices with 115% credit back. A mobile app with Map Discovery, hyper-realistic Seat Discovery, and Spotify-driven personalization serves as the primary growth channel, augmented by the Vivid Seats Rewards loyalty program that awards a free 11th ticket after 10 purchases.

Product overview

Vivid Seats operates as a unified online ticket resale marketplace platform enabling fans to buy and sell tickets for live events including concerts, sports, and theater. The core product is the Vivid Seats Marketplace, supplemented by a mobile app with personalization features including Spotify integration and Deal Finder. The platform includes loyalty (Vivid Seats Rewards), buyer protection (100% Buyer Guarantee), pricing tools (Lowest Price Guarantee, All-In Pricing), airline rewards integration (United Airlines MileagePlus), and seller services. The company has expanded through acquisitions including Betcha Sports for online gaming and maintains partnerships with ESPN and college athletics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vivid Seats Marketplace Online ticket resale marketplace connecting fans with third-party ticket sellers for concerts, sports, and theater events across North America, featuring All-In Pricing with all fees included upfront, 100% Buyer Guarantee, and Vivid Seats Rewards.
• Vivid Seats Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android providing real-time event browsing and ticket purchasing, featuring Map Discovery, hyper-realistic Seat Discovery, Spotify integration for personalized concert recommendations, and Deal Finder. The app represents 40%+ of total GOV and grew 20% YoY.
• Vivid Seats Rewards Loyalty program offering a free 11th ticket after purchasing 10 tickets (a Reward Credit equal to the average price of the 10 tickets, excluding taxes, fees, and processing costs), plus birthday rewards, seat upgrades, and VIP event invitations for individual consumers purchasing tickets on the marketplace.
• Sell Tickets Marketplace service that allows individual ticket holders to list and sell event tickets to the Vivid Seats buyer audience, providing a transactional, self-serve channel for individual sellers across North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million tickets sold with 100% Buyer Guarantee
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• College Basketball CrownflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Official ticketing provider and founding partner for the postseason college basketball tournament. Tournament features teams from Big Ten, Big 12, and BIG EAST conferences with $500,000 NIL prize pool.
• WeShopminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 February 2026Strategic partnership allowing WeShop members to earn WePoints on live event ticket purchases through Vivid Seats under the ShareBack rewards model.
• United AirlinescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 November 2025Strategic partnership allowing MileagePlus members to earn miles on live event ticket purchases through Vivid Seats. Different credit card tiers earn varying miles per dollar spent. Includes integration with United's traveler media network.
• ESPNcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 October 2025Partnership supporting Vivid Seats' Lowest Price Guarantee program with national marketing campaign. ESPN integration for promotional visibility.
• JSXminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2024Founding partner and official air carrier for College Basketball Crown tournament. Partnership includes exclusive team transportation and bundled travel packages with Vivid Seats tickets.
• I Am AthletecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2024Exclusive multiyear media partnership with sports media brand I Am Athlete for content and audience engagement.
• Betcha SportsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2021Acquisition of Betcha Sports real money sports app for $25 million upfront plus $40 million earnouts, expanding into online gaming and daily fantasy sports.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• StubHub: StubHub is the largest U.S. secondary ticket marketplace, holding ~14% share versus Vivid Seats' ~11%. It competes head-to-head across sports, concerts, and theater with similar buyer guarantees and fee structures.
• SeatGeek: SeatGeek is a primary-and-secondary ticketing platform with a mobile-first product, dynamic Deal Score, and major sports league partnerships. It directly competes with Vivid Seats for fan ticket purchases and is named alongside it in Ontario enforcement actions.
• TickPick: TickPick is a no-fee secondary ticketing marketplace competing with Vivid Seats on sports, concerts, and theater. Its all-in pricing model directly mirrors Vivid Seats' All-In Pricing feature.
• TicketCity: TicketCity is a long-tenured secondary ticket reseller across sports and concerts, comparable in customer targeting and marketplace model to Vivid Seats, though smaller in scale.
• Razorgator: Razorgator is a secondary ticket reseller competing across sports, concerts, and theater with similar buyer-protection guarantees. It is a smaller-scale direct competitor in the U.S. resale space.

Broad incumbents

• Ticketmaster (Live Nation Entertainment): Ticketmaster is the dominant primary ticketing platform and, through its resale exchange, competes in the secondary market. As part of Live Nation, it controls venue relationships and primary allocations that shape secondary supply for Vivid Seats.
• AXS (AEG): AXS is owned by AEG and operates both primary and resale ticketing, especially across AEG-owned venues. It competes with Vivid Seats in concert and sports resale, particularly where AEG controls primary allocations.
• Live Nation Entertainment: Live Nation is the world's largest live entertainment company, controlling Ticketmaster, venue ownership, and artist promotion. Its vertical integration shapes secondary-market supply and competitive dynamics for Vivid Seats.

Emerging players

• Gametime: Gametime is a mobile-first last-minute ticket marketplace focused on sports and concerts with a clean UX and price-drop alerts. It targets the same mobile-savvy buyer persona as Vivid Seats' enhanced app and represents a younger-skewing competitive threat.

Regional players

• TicketSwap: TicketSwap is a European fan-to-fan ticket exchange with price-cap mechanisms, comparable to Vivid Seats' resale marketplace model but primarily serving European geographies rather than North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VividSeats
• Facebookfacebook.com/VividSeats
• Instagraminstagram.com/vividseats
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vividseats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vivid Seats