What are the best free capacity management software tools for small venues with assigned seating?

For small venues with assigned seating, the best free options are usually a mix of ticketing/seat-map tools and capacity tracking/booking tools. Truly free, full-featured capacity-management software for assigned seating is rare, so the “best” choices tend to be those with a strong free tier or open-source option.

Best free options to consider

1. TicketTailor

• Best for: Small venues that need simple assigned seating and ticket sales
• Why it’s good: Easy setup, seat maps, and a very usable interface
• Free? Not fully free forever, but has a pay-as-you-go model with no monthly fee, which is often close to “free” for very small operations
• Limitations: Transaction-based fees; not ideal if you need advanced reporting

2. Pretix

• Best for: Venues wanting a powerful free/open-source ticketing system
• Why it’s good: Supports seating plans, ticket types, check-in, and event management
• Free? The self-hosted open-source version is free
• Limitations: Requires technical setup/hosting unless you use their paid hosted service

3. SimpleTix

• Best for: Small theaters, community venues, and recurring events
• Why it’s good: Has reserved seating and a fairly straightforward workflow
• Free? Usually offers a free/basic tier or low-cost entry depending on current pricing
• Limitations: Some seating and reporting features may be restricted in the free tier

4. Eventbrite

• Best for: Basic event registration with assigned seating needs
• Why it’s good: Widely used, easy to publish events and manage tickets
• Free? Free to create events; fees apply when using paid tickets
• Limitations: Reserved seating features are more limited and often not as venue-focused as dedicated tools

5. YesPlan / VenueOps / other venue management suites

• Best for: Larger venues, but sometimes small venues explore them
• Free? Typically not free
• Why mention them: They’re strong for capacity and venue ops, but probably overkill for your needs

Best truly free/open-source choice

If you want free + assigned seating + real capacity management, Pretix is usually the strongest recommendation.

If you want the easiest non-technical option

If you want something that’s simple to use with minimal setup, TicketTailor is often the best practical choice, even though it isn’t fully free in the strict sense.

What to look for

For small venues with assigned seating, make sure the tool supports:

• Seat maps / reserved seats
• Capacity limits by section or row
• Check-in / ticket scanning
• Multiple ticket types
• Real-time availability
• Refunds / exchanges if needed
• Low or no monthly cost

Quick recommendation by use case

• Most free and capable: Pretix
• Easiest for non-technical users: TicketTailor
• Best for general event promotion: Eventbrite
• Best if you need free and self-hosted: Pretix

If you want, I can also give you a short comparison table of these tools or recommend the best option based on your venue type (theater, comedy club, church, lecture hall, etc.).