Compare · Verified August 2026
FestKit vs ShowUp.
ShowUp is vendor management for markets and series events: one application across many dates, per-date booth inventory, and vendor payments.
ShowUp is free to organizers, and that is a real advantage: there is no subscription to justify and nothing to cancel in the off season.
The cost does not disappear, it moves: ShowUp adds 5% to vendor purchases at checkout. On a $22,000 season that is $1,100 paid by your vendors. FestKit Free costs $440 total at 2%. Spotlight costs $1,789 for the organization and covers every event with day-of operations.
Published pricing
| Plan | Subscription | Fee on vendor payments |
|---|---|---|
| FestKit Free | $0 | 2% |
| FestKit Spotlight | $149/mo or $1,349/yr | 2% |
| FestKit Showcase | $299/mo or $2,699/yr | 2% |
| ShowUp Free | $0 for organizers | 5% added to vendor purchases at checkout |
ShowUp charges organizers nothing. Its published fees are 5% added at checkout on vendor purchases and $0.50 per attendee ticket, plus standard Stripe processing (2.9% + 30¢). The row below shows who actually pays.
All-in cost for a market season
A recurring market: 40 stalls at $25 a date across a 22-week season, or $22,000 in vendor payments per year. A FestKit paid plan covers every event in the organization. Card-processing fees (Stripe or equivalent) apply on every platform and are excluded on all rows.
| Platform | Subscription | Platform fees | All-in / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| FestKit Freelisting, applications, and payments | $0 | $440 (2%) | $440 |
| ShowUp (free plan)organizer pays $0 | $0 | $1,100 (5%, paid by vendors) | $1,100 |
| FestKit Spotlightunlimited events + day-of operations | $1,349 | $440 (2%) | $1,789 |
FestKit Free includes the public listing, vendor applications, and payments with no subscription. Spotlight adds exact placement, vendor broadcasts, staff and attendee maps, schedules, live updates, and insights across unlimited events. The table shows its full annual workspace price. Both rows use the same 2% platform fee.
Where FestKit wins
- FestKit Free has the lower total cost: $440 against $1,100 taken out of vendor pockets.
- Spotlight covers unlimited events with staff maps, attendee maps, broadcasts, schedules, feeds, and insights.
- Vendor goodwill: your stallholders are not surcharged 5% for the privilege of paying you.
- Deeper vendor operations: separate application forms and booth offers, approval-first or pay-at-application workflows, deposits, added charges, vendor history, and organizer ratings.
- A georeferenced site plan on a satellite basemap rather than a drag-and-drop floor plan, so your public map puts a shopper's own location on it.
- A shared operational layer for organizers, vendors, staff, and attendees, not only vendor applications and payments.
Where ShowUp is a better fit
- Your out-of-pocket cost is zero, which is hard to argue with for a brand-new or very small market.
- You would rather pass platform costs to vendors than carry a subscription line yourself.
- You want attendee ticketing on the same platform at $0.50 a ticket.
ShowUp pricing verified August 2026 from their pricing page. Vendors change pricing; if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Free to list · Free to take applications
See what FestKit can do across your calendar.
List every event and sell booths for free. The trial unlocks day-of operations across the whole organization.
Start free · No credit card