Posh vs Luma (2026): Fees, Payouts, and Which One Fits Your Events

Luma is the better free RSVP tool. Posh is the better paid-ticket business. The fork is whether you need money before the event.

Posh and Luma both let you publish a polished event page in minutes, but they are built around different jobs. Luma grew up around free community calendars, meetups, and tech events where RSVPs matter more than revenue. Posh is a general events and ticketing platform where the ticket sale, the payout, and the audience you keep are the product. This comparison is for organizers deciding which one to run paid events on, using each platform's published terms.

What Is the Difference Between Posh and Luma?

Luma is an event registration and community calendar platform built for free or lightly paid events; Posh is a ticketing and audience platform built for selling tickets and getting paid. Luma's free plan gives you unlimited events and guests with a 5% platform fee on paid tickets plus Stripe processing. Posh charges a flat 10% + $0.99 per paid ticket, all-in, with no separate processing line, and adds a consumer marketplace feed, free SMS blasts, referral links, and door tools on top of the ticket page.

How Much Does Luma Charge vs Posh?

Luma's free plan takes 5% of each paid ticket plus Stripe processing of roughly 2.9% + $0.30, and Luma Plus removes the 5% for $59 per month billed annually. Posh charges 10% + $0.99 per paid ticket with processing included, and you choose whether the buyer pays it or you absorb it.

On a $30 ticket, Luma Free costs you about $1.50 in platform fee plus roughly $1.17 in Stripe, around $2.67. Posh costs $3.99 and can be passed to the buyer at checkout. Luma is cheaper per ticket at low volume; the gap narrows once you count what Posh includes that Luma charges for or does not offer, covered below.

When Do You Get Paid on Posh vs Luma?

Both platforms pay before the event, unlike DICE and Partiful, and unlike Eventbrite’s default schedule, where pre-event payouts are limited to eligible organizers. Luma routes ticket funds through your own Stripe account, and most Stripe accounts pay out on a rolling schedule, typically the next business day after settlement. On Posh, sales settle into your Available balance within 24 to 48 business hours, you can set payouts to Daily or Manual, and a standard payout reaches your bank by free ACH in 3 to 5 business days. Posh also offers Instant Payout, which moves settled funds to your bank in seconds for a flat 5% fee once your organization has passed $2,000 in lifetime sales.

The practical difference: Luma's payout speed is set by Stripe and your Stripe account; Posh's is set inside the Posh finance dashboard, with an instant option when you need cash for a deposit or a bar guarantee.

Does Luma or Posh Bring You Buyers?

Posh does; Luma does not try to. Posh runs a consumer marketplace feed that surfaces events algorithmically and by category to people browsing for things to do, plus a "Market My Event" toggle that pushes your event into that feed and across partner distribution. Luma is built for organizers who already have a community and want a clean calendar, invites, reminders, and event referrals that reward guests for bringing friends. If you drive 100% of your own demand, Luma's model is fine. If you want a platform audience to find you, that is a Posh feature Luma does not replace.

Which Platform Has Better Event Tools?

Luma wins on registration workflow for free events; Posh wins on revenue and door operations. Luma offers approval and token-gated registration, coupons, group purchasing, CSV import and export, Zoom integration, and, on Plus, custom URLs, Zapier, API access, and signed webhooks. Posh offers ticket tiers, promo codes, guest lists and comps, waitlists, approval-required tickets, ticket transfers, table service with a seating map, Affirm installment plans, in-person payments at the door, a scanner app with shareable door PINs, unlimited free SMS blasts, referral sales links, and server-side Meta Conversions API, TikTok, and Google Ads tracking.

Who Should Use Luma?

Luma fits communities, meetups, workshops, startup events, and recurring calendars where most events are free and the paid ones are occasional. If you need polished invites, a public calendar people subscribe to, and lightweight paid tickets on top, Luma Free is a strong choice, and Luma Plus makes sense once the 5% fee costs more than $59 a month.

Who Should Use Posh?

Posh fits organizers who sell tickets as a business: parties, nightlife, festivals, dinners, fitness, fashion, and community events where revenue, payouts, and repeat attendance decide whether the next event happens. Posh is a general events and ticketing platform, not a niche tool; the common thread is that your event is paid and you want the platform to help sell it, pay you quickly, and run the door.

FAQ

Is Luma cheaper than Posh? Per paid ticket, usually yes: 5% plus Stripe on Luma Free versus 10% + $0.99 on Posh. Posh includes payment processing, marketplace discovery, SMS blasts, and door tools in that fee, so the comparison depends on what you would otherwise pay for or lose.

Can I move from Luma to Posh? Yes. Luma exports guest lists to CSV, and Posh lets you publish an event in under 2 minutes and message your audience by SMS once they buy. Keep your Luma calendar live for free events if your community is used to it.

Does Luma pay out before the event? Yes, through your Stripe account on Stripe's rolling schedule, typically next business day. Posh also pays before the event, with a free standard payout in 3 to 5 business days or an Instant Payout in seconds for 5%.

Does Posh have an API like Luma Plus? No public API or Zapier integration is published for Posh. If your workflow depends on webhooks into other tools, Luma Plus is the better fit today.

Which is better for a free meetup? Luma. Unlimited free events and guests, invites, and reminders are its core. Posh supports free RSVPs, but its strengths are on the paid side.

Can Posh Help?

If your events are paid and you want the platform doing some of the selling, Posh is built for that: 10% + $0.99 all-in, setup in under 2 minutes, payouts you control from the first ticket sold, and a marketplace of people looking for events like yours. If most of your events are free, start on Luma and bring the paid ones to Posh.

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