Penguest vs Luma
Luma's free plan takes 5% of every paid ticket. Removing the fee costs $59 a month, billed annually. Penguest charges $39 for an event of up to 250 attendees, with no subscription.
Platform fees on three typical events
Platform fees only. Card processing is extra on both. Assumes one attendee per ticket.
| Event | Luma, free plan | Penguest |
|---|---|---|
| Half-day workshop40 tickets at $120 | $240 | $39Starter tier |
| Training course200 tickets at $50 | $500 | $39Starter tier |
| Society conference600 tickets at $250 | $7,500 | $79Growth tier |
5% platform fee on paid tickets. Luma Plus removes it for $59 per month, billed annually.
How they compare
| Topic | Luma | Penguest |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds ticket money | Your own Stripe account. Stripe is the only payment provider Luma names. | Your own Stripe or PayPal account. Money arrives as tickets sell, on your gateway's normal payout schedule. |
| Platform fees | Free plan: 5% of paid ticket sales. Luma Plus: 0%, for $59 a month billed annually. Stripe processing is extra. Fees come out of your ticket price; Luma has no option to pass them to buyers. | One flat fee per event: $39 up to 250 attendees, $79 up to 750, $149 up to 2,000. No commission on tickets. |
| Registration questions | Text, options, checkbox, company, website, social profile and terms questions. | Text, email, dropdown and checkbox questions. Mark any as required. |
| Discount codes | Coupons on the free plan. Bulk import by CSV needs Luma Plus. | Coupon codes on every paid tier. |
| Check-in | QR codes scanned in the Luma app. Separate check-in staff needs Luma Plus. | QR tickets by email. Scan from any smartphone, with a live arrival count for your team. |
| Attendee export | CSV. | CSV or Excel. |
| Event discovery | Curated explore pages and newsletters in over 50 cities, for public in-person events. | None. Penguest does not list your event to a public audience. You share your own link. |
Choose Luma if
- Most of your events are free community meetups.
- You want your event considered for Luma's city pages and newsletters.
- You run enough paid events each year that a fixed subscription costs less than per-event fees.
Choose Penguest if
- You run a handful of paid events a year and don't want a yearly commitment.
- You want to take payments through PayPal as well as Stripe.
- You want check-in included on every tier, with no extra plan.
Questions about switching from Luma
How many events a year before Luma Plus is cheaper?+
Luma Plus costs $708 a year. That equals about 18 Penguest events of up to 250 attendees at $39, or about 9 events of up to 750 at $79. If you run fewer, paying per event costs less.
Do both use my own Stripe account?+
Yes. With either platform, ticket payments go to your own Stripe account and Stripe charges its usual processing fee. Penguest also supports PayPal.
Can I use Luma for free events and Penguest for paid ones?+
Yes. Nothing stops you from keeping free meetups on Luma and running paid courses and conferences on Penguest.
Luma details are taken from Luma's own pages, checked October 2026: Luma pricing, Luma Plus, Creating a paid event, Registration questions, Coupons, Check-in, Featuring your event. Luma is a trademark of its owner. Penguest is not affiliated with Luma. Something out of date? Email support@penguest.app.
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