Event teams frequently offer multiple ticket types to accommodate different attendee segments, pricing tiers, and access levels. But more choices in the registration flow come with a cost that is rarely measured.

In this Event Data Lab report, we analyzed aggregated registration data across thousands of live events to examine how the number of ticket options available during registration relates to registration completion rates.

Executive Summary

• Events with a single ticket option achieve a median registration completion rate of ~93%, compared to ~83% for events offering 11 or more ticket types.
• The steepest decline in completion occurs between one and three ticket options. Beyond that threshold, additional ticket types continue to reduce completion, but more gradually.
• At every ticket count, variability within each group exceeds the differences between groups, reinforcing that registration flow design matters more than any single configuration variable.

Dataset Overview

Dataset overview

• 3,600+ live events analyzed
• Event data spans a two-year observation window
• Ticket counts range from zero (no ticket selection step) to hundreds
• Test, sandbox, and internal events were excluded
• Events with very low registration volume were excluded
• Data aggregated and anonymized across live events

Metric definition

Registration completion rate is defined as the percentage of users who completed registration out of all users who initiated the registration process (completed / [completed + incomplete] registrations).

This metric measures conversion within the registration flow and does not account for website traffic or users who did not begin registration.

What the Data Shows

Across all events, registration completion rates decline as the number of available ticket options increases.

Events with no ticket selection step serve as a baseline. When registrants encounter even a single ticket option, median completion drops by approximately 7 percentage points. Introducing a second or third ticket option reduces the median by an additional 4-5 points.

Beyond three ticket types, the pattern continues but flattens. The difference between offering 4-5 tickets and offering 11 or more is roughly 3 percentage points at the median, a modest gap relative to the initial drop.

The lower tail tells a sharper story. At the 25th percentile, completion drops from ~80% for single-ticket events to ~70% for events offering 11 or more options. The proportion of events achieving 90% or higher completion falls from 58% (one ticket) to 36% (11+ tickets).

This suggests that while well-executed multi-ticket events can still achieve strong completion, the floor drops considerably as ticket complexity increases. Events that are already experiencing friction are disproportionately affected.

Key insight: The largest completion penalty comes from introducing ticket choice at all, not from the total number of options offered. Planners should focus friction management on the initial ticket selection step rather than solely on reducing the total number of ticket types.

Practical Implications for Event Teams

• Events offering multiple ticket types should treat ticket selection as a distinct friction point within the registration flow and design accordingly.
• The sharpest completion drop occurs between one and three ticket options. Teams managing events in this range should prioritize clear labeling, concise descriptions, and simplified presentation of ticket choices.
• For events offering six or more ticket types, completion continues to decline, but the incremental effect of each additional option is smaller. Consolidation may help, but other registration flow factors likely contribute more at this stage.
• Teams diagnosing low completion rates on multi-ticket events should examine ticket presentation, pricing clarity, and decision complexity before removing ticket types entirely.

Download the Full Report

Download the full Event Data Lab report
Get the complete dataset, extended benchmarks by event type and size, and detailed methodology notes.

This report is part of the Event Data Lab, an ongoing research initiative analyzing real-world event performance across registration, onsite operations, engagement, and ROI.