How Much does it Cost to Create an Eventbrite Clone?

Eventbrite is a platform for launching events and selling tickets. It is very popular in the US and Western Europe for its simplicity, functionality and built-in marketing solutions. Next, we will tell you how to create a clone and how much it costs.

What determines the development price

Complexity. Most of all, the cost of creating a platform like Eventbrite is influenced by two factors: the complexity of the project and the location of the developer company. The complexity of the project means the number of implemented functions and the depth of their elaboration. Usually the gradation of projects by this parameter is as follows:

• Simple - up to 400 hours to develop. Such projects usually do not have a server side (or it is very simple) and integration via API. The design is created according to a template, and the functionality is limited to basic capabilities.
• Average - from 500 to 800 hours. They have a normal server side, a full set of basic functions, API integration, responsive design.
• Complex - from 800 to 1500 hours. Multi-language support, a wide range of third-party API integrations, advanced functionality and a unique design tailored to the niche and target audience.

Developer location. The best way to create your own clone is through custom development, since this is the only way to guarantee the reliability and security of the software. Plus, with this approach, you only pay for what you need. Whereas in the case of SaaS or white label, you pay for the entire set of capabilities of such solutions, even if you never fully use it. And pay constantly, not once.

The cost of custom development depends most of all on the location of the technical partner, since the salaries of developers vary greatly depending on the region. Thus, the average rate of a specialist from the United States is $ 95/hour, in Western Europe - $ 67/hour, in Eastern Europe - $ 32/hour. Interestingly, the results of the work of a developer from the United States or from Eastern Europe are essentially the same. What is often used by Microsoft, Apple, Google, Sony, IBM and other IT giants, outsourcing to cheaper countries part of the development of their own projects.

Here's how much the development of a clone can roughly cost, depending on the complexity of the project and the location of the developer company:

The cost of creating an Eventbrite clone

Developing a clone of the Eventbrite application consists of several stages: researching the market, competitors and target audience; design development; coding and testing. Below you will find a brief description of these stages and their estimated cost.

Market research

If you just create a clone of Eventbrite and release it to market, it is unlikely that such a project will be successful, since there will be no reason for users to migrate to your platform. To get people to use a new project, you need to create a unique value proposition for it. Such an offer can be unique functionality, targeting a specific niche, an extended set of integrations, high-quality support, better protection of user data, etc.

You can understand what exactly users need by analyzing the market, target audience and competitors. The cost of such analysis depends on its depth:

• Top-level report - from $ 100 to $ 1000. This is a cursory study of the industry, which provides answers to basic questions: habits and preferences of the target audience, market size, pros and cons of competitors, trends. Also, such a report usually includes a brief historical background on the development of the market as a whole and / or in a particular niche (country).
• Full market report - from 1.5 to 8 thousand dollars (median average - 3.5 thousand dollars). Such a document implies a deeper analysis of the market. So, in addition to basic things, the full report contains a detailed description of the target audience (demographics, habits, goals, pains), the current state of the industry, the advantages and disadvantages of competitors (and ways to fix them), as well as market development forecasts, taking into account current trends.
• The detailed market report on the product - from 15 to 35 thousand dollars (median average - 25 thousand dollars). A document of this kind implies the maximum analysis of the market, target audience, competitors, legislation and trends. Moreover, not only the linear development of existing trends is taken into account, but also the likelihood of the emergence of new ones and their impact on the market and competitors. Even in the detailed report, sub-niches are usually described, the orientation to which gives a new project the most chance of success.

Website / app design

If you just clone the architecture and appearance of Eventbrite, then it will not take much time, therefore, the price of such work will be relatively small - from 20 to 50 hours, or from 640 to 1600 dollars at a designer's rate of 32 dollars / hour. But again, this option is only suitable for those who plan to enter markets where there is no Eventbrite or other venues for organizing events and selling tickets.

In all other cases, simply repeating the Eventbrite design will not be enough to lure users to a new site. To do this, you will need to develop a unique design tailored to the chosen niche and target audience. Here is the estimated cost of such a design:

• Wireframing- from 14 to 140 hours ($448- $4480). Includes the development of several wireframes for your Eventbrite clone, testing them on the target audience, choosing the best one and optimizing it.
• Creating an interface design - from 14 to 210 hours ($448- $6720). This stage involves the development of a highly detailed design prototype of the Eventbrite clone, where all design elements (buttons, text, images, video, etc.) and transitions from one screen to another will be displayed.
• Creating a working prototype - from 7 to 200 hours ($224- $6400). It implies the development of an interactive prototype of the application interface design, where all buttons and transitions work. Such a prototype allows you to more clearly understand what you will end up with and how everything will work, which is very useful for getting feedback from the target audience.

Main functions of the Eventbrite clone

Panel of event participant - from 200 to 900 hours ($6400- $28800). These users need a platform where they can easily and quickly find the event they need and buy a ticket for it. That being said, they will probably also need the ability to track the location of the event on the map and its date in the calendar.

• Registration, login. In Eventbrite, you can create an account using email or Facebook and Apple accounts. When developing a clone, you can also add registration via phone number or google.
• Geo-targeting of participant. It is needed to track events near the current location of the user. In the phone, the location is tracked using a GPS sensor, in the desktop and web versions - via IP or cookie.
• Event search system. In addition to searching with keywords, the Eventbrite clone should also allow you to search for events by location, type, availability of tickets for booking, ticket prices, etc.
• Listing of events. On the platform home page, you need to add a list of all events occurring near the user today and in the near future. This will increase user awareness of events, which in turn will increase user experience and engagement.
• Reviews and ratings. These features will help users make smarter choices and share their experiences with others.
• This functionality should include direct booking, as well as seat selection, payment, confirmation via email or phone, downloading a ticket and cancellation of a booking with a refund.
• Booking history. Allows you to track future events and see which events the user attended in the past (how much did the ticket cost).
• Will remind you of upcoming events, changes in their status, the appearance of new events from the organizers marked by the user, etc.

Panel of event organizer - from 150 to 400 hours ($4800-$12800). Organizers need a simple and effective tool for planning, organizing, running and promoting events and selling tickets. The functionality of their panel will largely overlap with the panel of an ordinary participant, with the exception of the following features:

• Organization of the event. Includes all stages of events: planning, ticket sales, mailing to participants, cancellation, refund, etc. All this should be as simple and intuitive as possible.
• Marketing tools. These are functions responsible for the creation of advertising and / or informational messages and their distribution to platform participants via emails, SMS, messengers or social networks.
• Information about the participants. Data about users who bought tickets to the event through the app. This should only be general information, not implying the use of confidential data.
• Event statistics. It will help to track statistics of current, future and past events (how many tickets were bought, who came, what feedback the participants left, how the marketing campaign went, etc).
• Panel of service admin - from 100 to 200 hours ($3200- $6400). The role of the Eventbrite clone administrator is as follows: setting up the platform, monitoring the platform status and solving problems that have arisen, as well as communicating with users.
• Allows you to track performance data, events, users, payments, marketing and other things that the administrator will be responsible for, as well as customize them.
• Event management. The administrator has the right to change information about events or cancel them at any time. For example, the administrator can clarify the location, change the price of tickets or temporarily restrict their sale if there are any violations.
• Content management. The administrator can change, edit and delete any content on the site and in the application in real time.
• Notification management. The operator can send users a notification about the event and its details, price change or event cancellation.
• Payment management. This functionality is responsible for adding and removing payment methods, setting them up and setting commissions.

Additional functions

• Events on the map - from 50 hours (from $1600). This screen will show on the map all events near the user that will occur in the near future. Moreover, they will all be divided by cost, distance, availability and type, each of which will have its own marker on the map.

What the functionality of displaying events on the map might look like

• QR and barcode scanner - from 20 hours (from $640). After booking or buying a ticket, the system will send the participant a unique QR or barcode, with which the event organizer can identify the participant and provide him with access to the event.

• In-app chat - from 50 hours (from $1600). This feature will allow event organizers and their participants to communicate with each other, clarify event details, solve problems and share impressions.
• Favorites list - from 10 hours (from $320). It allows event attendees to mark favorite events and/or their organizers and receive notifications when such an event repeats or the organizer starts another event.
• Multilingual support - from 20 hours (from $640). It will give an opportunity to expand coverage to other countries, regions or reach migrants.

What you need to create an Eventbrite clone

Technology stack:

• Hosting — Google, AWS, Azure.
• Content delivery network — Cloudflare / Amazon CloudFront.
• Programming languages — Node.js, Java, PHP and Ruby on Rails.
• Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) — Firebase, Parse, Oracle and Red Hat.
• Database — MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
• Analysis, reporting, statistics — Google Analytics or Mix Panel.
• Payment services — Braintree, Stripe, PayPal.
• Data backup — Amazon S3.
• Geo targeting — API Google Maps and Google Places.
• Push notifications - Twilio, Push.io, Firebase, RabbitMQ.
• SMS, voice communication and phone check — Nexmo, Twilio
• Nginx messaging queues — AWS Simple Queue System
• Log management — Logstash, ELK Stack.
• Deployment — Docker and Ansible
• Load balancer — Nginx.
• Security — Spring Security.
• Email — MailChimp Integration.
• Code repository — Git.

Composition of development team:

• Project manager.
• 1-2 iOS developers.
• 1-2 Android developers.
• 1-2 Front-end developers.
• 1-2 Backend developers.
• 1-2 UI / UX developers.
• 1-2 QA specialists.

Summing up

The cost of creating an Eventbrite clone (Eastern Europe)