Work backwards from your prize cost and target margin to the ticket price you need to charge.
Your payment fees and target margin add up to 100% or more of revenue — no ticket price can achieve that. Lower the target margin.
Fill in your costs, cap and expected sell-through to see the price you need to charge.
Results are estimates for guidance only and assume the inputs you provide — they aren't financial advice.
Pricing from costs, not vibes
The most common pricing mistake is dividing the prize cost by the full ticket cap and adding a bit. That implicitly assumes a 100% sell-out — so the moment a competition closes short, the margin evaporates. Pricing against the tickets you expect to sell builds your forecast risk into the price itself.
The formula works backwards: revenue must cover prize and overheads after payment fees and still leave your target margin, so required revenue is costs ÷ (1 − fees − margin). Dividing by expected sold tickets gives the price. Sense-check the result against the market — if comparable prizes sell at half your required price, the answer isn't a lower margin, it's a different prize or cap. Validate the whole model with the profit calculator before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How should I price competition tickets?
Work backwards from costs: total your prize cost (including fulfilment and any cash alternative), add overheads, decide the margin you need, then divide by the tickets you realistically expect to sell — not the full cap. Then sense-check the result against what similar prizes sell for across the market.
Is it better to sell more cheap tickets or fewer expensive ones?
Lower prices widen your audience and suit impulse entries, but raise payment costs as a share of revenue and need much higher volume. Higher prices need a prize that justifies them. Most operators converge on £0.99–£4.99 for mainstream prizes, reserving higher price points for premium draws with shorter odds.
What margin do competition operators typically target?
After prize cost, fees and marketing, established operators commonly aim for a 20–40% net margin on a sold-out competition, accepting that some draws run at break-even or a loss to acquire customers. Your break-even sell-through matters as much as the headline margin.
Find Competitions tracks live ticket sales, pricing and sell-through across the UK competition market — see how your numbers compare to operators like you.