Vivid Seats
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.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
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.
Vivid Seats firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Vivid Seats industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Vivid Seats is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Vivid Seats business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- Seller Fees: Fees charged to ticket sellers for listing and completing transactions on the marketplace platform
- Buyer Fees: Fees included in All-In Pricing model where all fees are bundled into the listed ticket price
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | All-In Pricing with fee transparency |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Vivid Seats product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Vivid Seats
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Vivid Seats technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature7 records
Vivid Seats partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- College Basketball CrownflagshipOfficial 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.
- WeShopminorStrategic partnership allowing WeShop members to earn WePoints on live event ticket purchases through Vivid Seats under the ShareBack rewards model.
- United AirlinescoreStrategic 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.
- ESPNcorePartnership supporting Vivid Seats' Lowest Price Guarantee program with national marketing campaign. ESPN integration for promotional visibility.
- JSXminorFounding 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 AthletecoreExclusive multiyear media partnership with sports media brand I Am Athlete for content and audience engagement.
- Betcha SportsminorAcquisition 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
Vivid Seats competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
Vivid Seats social profiles
Digital presenceVivid Seats financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vivid Seats leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Vivid Seats subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Vivid Seats funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vivid Seats M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vivid Seats
What does Vivid Seats do?
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.
Is Vivid Seats a public or private company?
Vivid Seats is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Vivid Seats founded?
Vivid Seats was founded in 2001. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Vivid Seats based?
Vivid Seats is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Vivid Seats make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Ticket Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are seller Fees and buyer Fees.
Who are Vivid Seats's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are StubHub, SeatGeek, TickPick, TicketCity and Razorgator. Broad incumbents are Ticketmaster (Live Nation Entertainment), AXS (AEG) and Live Nation Entertainment. Gametime is listed as an emerging player. TicketSwap is listed as a regional player.
Does Vivid Seats have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vivid Seats.
What industry is Vivid Seats in?
Vivid Seats's product category is Online Ticket Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACALAA, Live Event Ticketing (Concerts, Festivals, Comedy), with a secondary code of HSACALAC, Theater & Performing Arts Ticketing. Its NAICS code is 45999 and its SIC code is 7900.